Forbidden (Fallen 2)

He gave me a small smile. “I’ll get some rest eventually.”

“Patrick, you need to rest now. You will be help to no one if you suddenly fall over,” I said.

“You’re right. We’ll rest in shifts,” he said rubbing his face. His dark hair hung lank and lifeless over his forehead as if it too was exhausted.

“Shifts are better than nothing,” I replied.

He smiled and closed the door behind him. I climbed into bed and hoped that this time I might finally get some rest.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Coping

Two weeks have passed since the night Selena and so many others died. Jonathon stayed in his comatose state for five days before finally waking up. When he did he needed my blood again. Like Gabriel predicted he wasn’t acting his normal vampire self. He kept getting sick which surprised us all and he complained of pains in his stomach. Danny and Mason finally figured out that he needed food. When Jonathon ate human food, scarfed it really, it surprised us all. Even Danny and Mason were surprised even though they were the ones that figured out what he needed. His body wasn’t healing rapidly and he was weak so he’d had to get around on crutches. He’d been sleeping on a normal human schedule and eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner with snacks in between. At first my hopes soared thinking that somehow, through some miracle, he had become human but my hopes were quickly dashed. He still had to drink blood and he still had his power even though the fire burned only slightly. But every day he was gaining his strength back. All though at first I was sad that he wasn’t human I quickly got over it. He was alive and that was what mattered most.

“Are you okay?” I asked leaning over.

“I’m fine. Just like the last ten times you asked,” he said smiling sweetly at me.

I scooted down the couch to be closer to him. The others were out hunting and it was just the two of us home. “I’m just a concerned fiancé. Plus, this is the first time something has happened to you and not me. It’s nice to dote on you for a change. Are you hungry?” I asked.

“I am actually,” he said.

“Do you know what you want?” I asked.

“No idea. Surprise me,” he grinned. Jonathon was loving this chance to eat human food and he often experimented. Pickles dipped in yogurt had been the grossest but he claimed it was delicious and tried to get me to try it. I politely refused.

I left him sitting in the living room and went to get him something to eat. I grabbed a bag of chips and tossed them to him. He ripped them open and inhaled the scent. “Mmm. My favorite. Salt and vinegar,” he said and stuffed a couple of chips in his mouth.

“They’re my favorite too,” I smiled. I settled back on the couch and cuddled gently up next him. I was so scared of hurting him. I did not want to cause him any pain.

“Jonathon, I’ve been wanting to ask you something?” I prompted hesitantly.

“Ask away,” he said while chips crunched in his mouth.

“That night, when you did your fire thing, how did you kill her? I know she had her shield up so I don’t see how it worked.”

“Well,” he said chewing, “I don’t know. I know she’s dead. I- I felt it,” he said and his eyes seemed to glaze over as he remembered. “I could feel her burning and screaming. It was terrible. I had no idea I even had the power to do what I did. I was just so angry. She killed so many. She killed Benji. And-and Isaac,” he said and turned to look at me, “I

’m really sorry. I tried to stop her. I did. And then the fact that Aleksei, their leader, betrayed us made me even angrier, and I just couldn’t take it anymore. I could feel the power building in me. I could feel it growing bigger and burning brighter and then I just kind of exploded. And then, wait- I do know how it worked,” he said suddenly as the puzzle pieces clicked into place. “The power and the heat of the fire was so strong, almost like a bomb, that it burned straight through her shield. She didn’t stand a chance. I hope I never have to do something like that again. It’s been so draining. But at least she’s gone and we don’t have to worry about her anymore. We can go on and live our lives in peace, I hope,” he smiled, “We can get married and live happily ever after. I think it’s about time don’t you?”

“It is time. I feel like in the time we’ve been together so much has gotten in our way. We haven’t even known each other a year yet,” I said.

He crumpled up the empty bag of chips and tossed it on the coffee table. He pulled me close trying to prove that he wasn’t as breakable as I thought. “When you’re soul mates time doesn’t matter. We’re meant to be together.”

“Then why does everything try to tear us apart?” I asked softly.

He sighed, “I don’t know. But hopefully that’s all over now.”

“You don’t sound so sure,” I said pulling away to look at him.

He rubbed his face, “I’m not sure of anything anymore, unfortunately.”

“Well,” I sighed, “please tell me before something bad happens. I’d like to be prepared next time.”

“I’m going to make sure there isn’t a next time,” he said with conviction.

“You can’t promise that, Jonathon. You can’t control fate,” I said.

“You’re right, like always, but I am going to try. I don’t want you to have to go through anymore horrors because of me,” he said quietly and turned so I couldn’t meet his silver eyed gaze. I knew he was lost in thought most likely worrying about something that was completely unnecessary.