Heart of Stone - Book 2: Hearts Collide
Chapter 2 - Aubree

Aubree stared up at the hospital before her with her heart in her throat. She’d never stepped foot into a hospital before. The Ciardaig Clinic was as close as she’d come to a hospital—if it could even be called a clinic.

Already feeling overwhelmed with the thought of facing Dan in a hospital bed, the least of her worries should be walking into the building. Walking through those doors would mean taking one more step toward a future she wasn’t sure she was ready for. How would she react when she saw him? How should she react?

She couldn’t break up with him then and there. Not only was it wrong to do that, but he needed her right now in a way that he had never needed her before. To know that in the days to come, she would break his heart made it hard for her to get enough air into her tightly bound lungs.

“Breathe,” Stone said as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

Warmth and tenderness from his touch held her during the drive, and she was grateful for it. It helped to keep her calm despite the constant tumbling of her emotions in her stomach.

But she also got a sense of tension from him and it made both of them a little uneasy to say anything to each other.

“Stop over-thinking, both of you,” Gwen scolded from the back seat of the car. “Let’s get this done. My senses are already getting overwhelmed by this place and we haven’t even left the damn car.”

Gwen shoved the door open and climbed out.

“If she gets feisty, it usually means she’s tired,” Stone told Aubree. “Don’t take it personally.”

Aubree nodded. That was understandable.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d last in the hospital anyway. In one part of her mind, a voice told her to stay there until visiting hours ended, yet another voice told her not to keep Stone and Gwen waiting. The later she stayed there, the greater the chances the vampires might replace her. She felt bad if she left too soon though. Dan would want her to stay with him as long as possible, right?

Gwen tapped on Aubree’s window to get her attention and break her from her troubled thoughts. “Almost forgot. We gotta cleanse your scent.”

Aubree’s brows furrowed at her when the brunette held up a spritz bottle full of water.

“We need to take extra precautions now,” Stone told Aubree as she unbuckled her seat belt and opened her door.

“It’s just a bit of sea salt in water,” Gwen said. “Stick out your arms and feet.”

Aubree wondered if this was necessary, but chose not to question them. They knew more about the danger she was in than she did, after all. Besides, she probably smelled like Stone. Dan didn’t need a strong sense of smell to pick up on that.

Gwen spritzed the soles of her sandals, her legs and arms, and Aubree rubbed the water into her skin. As she climbed out of the car, Gwen continued to spritz her upper body and head while Stone got out and came around to Gwen’s side. Gwen stopped long enough to sniff the air around Aubree. “That’s better.”

“Do the vampires have a strong sense of smell like you guys?” Aubree asked as she slammed the car door shut and Stone locked it with the remote.

“To a degree,” Gwen said. “It’s about twice as strong as humans, but it’s stronger when it comes to the smell of blood. They can pick up on blood from half a mile away if there aren’t too many obstructive smells in between.”

“Your scent should be faint enough by the end of the day for them not to pick it up, but we must be diligent now,” Stone added.

His gaze was downcast and she could almost hear his lingering thoughts that he dared not to speak.

The risk is too great.

The urge to reassure him was so powerful, and her own need to replace solace in his touch, drew her to him as she gazed with longing at his lips.

As if he could sense her intentions, he took a step toward her, closing the distance between them as he held her shoulders in both of his hands.

Gwen waved her hand between their faces and cleared her throat. “Hello? I just cleansed Aubree. Don’t dirty up her scent now. You can make out after when I’m not standing two feet away. Goddess.”

Aubree’s cheeks heated up as Gwen rolled her eyes and turned away with a huff. She was so absorbed in Stone that she forgot Gwen was standing right there. She didn’t even think twice about the instinctual pull between them—to comfort him and be comforted in return.

Stone took a step back and mumbled something about staying outside and patrolling the area for threats.

The separation between her and Stone caused her stomach to clench again as dread began to set in once more.

Stone shifted his weight from foot to foot while Aubree wrung her hands together. Gwen spritzed herself with the bottle, paying particular attention to the soles of her sandals before handing the bottle over to Stone. That movement seemed to be the signal to get a move on.

Tearing her gaze away from him, Aubree turned her attention to the large brick structure before her and took a deep breath.

You can do this, she coached herself. You have to do this.

She needed to be strong. She needed to be there for Dan when all she wanted to do was collapse in on herself.

Taking another deep breath, she willed herself to take a step forward. “Okay.”

Stone remained standing next to the car while she and Gwen headed toward the main entrance.

The receptionist was kind enough upon entering to direct them to the elevator and section of the hospital Dan was in.

Aubree began to sweat as her stomach bunched into tighter knots with each step she took.

Take the elevator. Up one floor. Make a left. Walk down the hallway.

Aubree repeated the directions in her head over and over as she robotically walked to the nurses’ station. The repetition served as a suitable distraction from the nerves twisting her insides around and around.

Another woman behind the desk greeted her and directed her to Dan’s room.

Room 213. Just around the corner.

Breathe, Aubree.

She stared up at the three black numbers against the stark white door.

“Aubree,” Gwen whispered after being so quiet to get her attention.

Aubree looked up at the taller girl, feeling her eyes prickle with moisture.

“Don’t think about what you have to do. This isn’t the time for that,” she said. “Don’t think about Papa. Don’t think about his feelings. He can handle himself. Don’t worry about the vampires. Leave that to us. This is about Dan. You and Dan. Just be yourself. Just be the girl who loves and cares for Dan.”

Aubree nodded, her heart swelling. She needed that validation. She needed to hear from someone that it was okay to focus on Dan and only him right now. That both Stone and Gwen would understand and support her when she didn’t even know if she had the courage to face Dan right now was exactly what she needed to hear.

Gwen gave Aubree a hug of reassurance as a weight lifted from Aubree’s shoulders.

“Thank you,” she said as she drew away, giving Gwen a feeble but appreciative smile.

“I’ll let you have some space with him. Just call my name if you want me and I’ll hear you, even if I’m on the other side of the building, okay?” Gwen said. “I’ll be in the nearest waiting room for you. Take as much time as you need.”

Aubree nodded and thanked her softly again.

Gathering air into her lungs, she turned to the door and rapped her knuckles against it before turning the knob and pushing it open.

The room was white with a window at the other end and two white beds, both occupied with patients hooked up to monitors and a dividing curtain pulled across for privacy. A faint snore from the other occupant met her ears as her eyes settled on Dan.

He was sitting up in the bed nearest the door. His dark brown hair was tousled and the scruff on his chin was thickening into a thin beard. His brown eyes looked up from the magazine he was flipping through and widened when he saw her.

“Bree?”

Pursing her lips as she closed the door gently behind her, she shuffled to his side. A plastic chair stood next to his bed, and as she took a seat, she reached for his hand that wasn’t hooked up to the monitors via a long cord and held it in both of hers. She noticed his heart rate increased on the screen, but she pushed her anxiety down and instead forced a smile on her face.

“Dan, I’m—”

“What happened to you?”

His eyes looked up at the band-aid above her eyebrow, but his question came when he saw the ring of bruises around her neck. Obviously, that was not caused by the accident, unless her seatbelt somehow wrapped itself around her neck.

She flinched at his question, her hand releasing his as she pulled back and attempted to cover the bruises with both hands. Her mind flashed with the memory of the vampire and she looked away from him.

“I don’t want to talk about that right now,” she told him in a small voice.

He reached out with both hands, despite the one being attached to a cord, in a gesture that invited her into his arms. “It’s okay, babe.”

Hesitantly, she got up from her seat and crawled onto the small bed next to him and snuggled into the curve of his body as he held her to him.

“It’s okay,” he said again. “You don’t have to tell me what happened right now. I’m just so relieved that you’re here and you’re okay. I was worried when no one knew where you were and hadn’t heard from you.”

She nodded against him, her throat closing up as she fought back tears. Her emotions blocked her throat, preventing her from being able to tell him anything. She was relieved to see that he was okay, but that didn’t make her feel any better.

Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply. The warmth of his body and the steady beating of his heart calmed her like it always had.

“I know,” she mumbled. “I was worried about you too. I wasn’t able to call my mom until this morning and found out where you were. How are you feeling?”

“Much better now that you’re here,” he said as he rubbed her arm reassuringly. He sighed and kissed her forehead.

“And your head?” she asked.

“Better. They wanted to keep me here a bit longer to be on the safe side.”

Aubree nodded. “That’s what my mom told me.”

“It could’ve been worse,” he said. “I could’ve lost you.”

Her eyes welled with tears as she struggled to swallow. She buried her face into the thin blanket over his lean body as guilt flooded over her.

Maybe calling her mother was a mistake? Maybe she should have remained “lost” and over time, everyone would have assumed her dead and moved on with their own lives? But how cruel and painful that would be to the ones she loved? Would it have been easier for both her and them to move on?

No, she told herself as a tear rolled down her cheek and dripped onto the blanket. They would have searched for her. They would have lived every day hoping that was the day they would replace her, dead or alive. There would be no consolation in their hearts for the rest of their lives until they did. And for Aubree, guilt at abandoning them would follow her every moment for the rest of her life if she had done that to them.

That would have been the worst thing to do. They didn’t deserve that. Even though she knew it would hurt to break up with Dan, it was the right thing to do.

I’m sorry, Dan, she thought as she released a shuddering breath. I’m so sorry.