Chapter 13 The Heat Is On Fire
… Cassidy POV…C0ntent © 2024 (N/ô)velDrama.Org.
There is a rage starting to grow in my body, not only for Lucas but for the way I am feeling. Lucas did what he did for the mere reason of saving my life, but did he have the right? I no longer think so. For the pain and agony my body is experiencing is beyond what my fragile body can take. I thought that sleep would have done me good, when in fact, it has only made me feel worse. My head feels blown away by the most horrible throbbing. My body aches in hooks and crevices that I did not know even existed. If I knew death, then I would say this how it felt.
What was I thinking of allowing a vampire in my life when all he did was bring danger to me? How would a love between us even have lasted, for I would grow old, and he would never perish? But let us not forget that he kills humans for their blood; how long would it have taken him… in fact, he has already drunk my blood, drank to a point where I am near damn dry. And in doing so, he has put my body in danger. I have no idea what I am up against; therefore, I don’t even know how to treat it. If he has taken so much, then why am I still living?
Eva is looking at me strangely but mostly out of concern. “Cassidy, you truly do not look well. Do you want me to take you to see a doctor?”
“Eva, I am a doctor. I promise you I will be fine. You shall be the first to know if I am not.”
“Do you want me to send for Lucas?” she asks out of concern, but I immediately protest.
“No! He is the reason why I am so. I do not want him near me. Please promise you will not call him.”
I watch as she struggles to make such a promise as she is conflicted between friendship and the help she knows that Lucas can bring. I watch her so intently that I swear for a minute, I can hear her heartbeat pounding in my ear. My eyes truly deceive me, for I see the veins in her neck pulsating as the blood runs through them. I shake the thought from my head as soon as it enters. But she needs to promise me that she will not turn to Lucas if I turn for the worse.
“Eva, please promise me you won’t contact him?”
“I promise, Cassidy, but please promise that you will let me know if you start to feel worse?”
“I will, I promise,” I reassure her. “I think I shall go back to sleep. I have an early shift in the morning.”
“Do you think it is wise to go to work when you are feeling unwell?”
“I shall be fine by the morning.”
“I shall leave you alone then,” she slowly rises from my bed. “I will come to check on you in a little while again.”
“Thank you, Eva,” I gently squeeze her warm hand before she leaves the room.
… Lucas POV…
I am truly concerned for Cassidy; her body did not appear well when I accompanied her home. I know she feels that she does not need my help at present, that she feels she is quite capable of doing so herself. But this is not some modern illness; she has been filled with a poison so powerful that it either gives her life or takes the one that she has.
It broke my heart to pieces seeing her like that, but I lack that very organ, for if I had a heart, I would never have hurt the woman I truly care about. Her skin was so pale, an awful white shade of grey, her body limp and broken from what was tearing her away. I do not believe she will perish; what I do fair, though, is that her body is not fighting the venom as I prayed that it would.
I have tried to make contact with her, but I fear that she does not wish to speak to me. I have decided I shall make my way over to her home and do what I do so well, lurking in the shadows. For if I can still see her move through her window, it will ease my mind, for I will know that she is well.
But before I am about to leave, I am stopped by Breyden, who has still not made his own way home. He is truly a great friend for being present when I need him the most.
“Lucas, my friend, how is Cassidy?” he steps closer and takes my hand.
“Breyden, she refuses to speak to me. I fear I have lost her again. Whom am I fooling thinking that I can have a life with a mortal?”
“Have you given any more thought to my offer?” Breyden asks, drawing some light into the dullness of the moment.
“Breyden, that is so far away from my thoughts at present; my only concern is with Cassidy.”
“She shall be okay, my dear friend,” he tries to reassure me. “Her heart was faint, but her soul is still present.”
“As faint as mine?” my face lights up, and fear creeps in.
“No,” he says. “We both know that yours is not existent.”
“Breyden, I fear she is infected!” my voice raises as the realization sets in. “We must go at once before it is too late. Her body is fighting it, but I am afraid that she won’t make it.”
We make haste to Breyden’s vehicle, and soon we are speeding off to aid Cassidy, whom I do now fear is indeed dying.
… Cassidy POV…
I do not feel well; my body is slowly giving in to whatever has taken me over from inside. It is like a cancer growing and eating me from within. I thought this would be instant, that if Lucas had drunk me dry, that I would be long dead by now.
The fear of dying now consumes me. I need to see Damien at once. “Eva! Eva! Eva!”
Eva comes bursting through my door. “Cassidy, what is wrong?”
“Please, can you call Damien? I need to see him at once.”
“What about Lucas,” she uncomfortably asks.
“I said I do not wish to see him. Please can you call Damien? There is something deeply wrong with me; I need his help.”
She does not hesitate for a minute longer and rushes out to call Damien to come to see me.
… Lucas POV…
I just had a call from Damien about Cassidy; she has requested his presence at her home. Why would she not want to see me, is she truly so upset at me. What I did is unforgivable, but I would have hoped that she turned to me in need. It is not that which hurts and scares me the most, but the reason why she has called for him.
“Breyden, we need to hurry. I fear there is something wrong with Cassidy. She has called for Damien. As much as it kills me for what I have done, my selfishness will not allow her to drink from Damien if she wishes to turn.”
“Tell Damien we will meet him outside before he goes in. I shall go inside and see what is the matter.”
“Thank you, my friend,” my hand trembles as I rest it on his shoulder. “I fear I have truly made a complete mess of everything.”
As we pull into the driveway of Cassidy’s home, Damien is there waiting outside. He immediately walks up to me; the same fear that is hidden in my eyes is behind his own. “Lucas, Eva said that Cassidy’s health has deteriorated quite rapidly. I do not know why she wishes to see me. Do you wish to go instead?”
“My dear Damien, she does not wish to see me; please hurry inside and see what is wrong.”
Damien and Breyden rush inside, and after what seems to be the longest five minutes of my life, Breyden comes to give me the news.
“Lucas, I am afraid your fears have come true. Cassidy is about to turn.”
“My god Breyden what have I done? I have killed the woman I will ever love”, just then I experience the strangest of feelings, as for a moment, I feel tears threaten to drown my eyes. Do I actually indeed still possess my soul?
“Breyden, is there something you can do for her? Can you keep her to stay human and not turn into the monster that I am?”
“Lucas, I am afraid that she is neither human nor vampire at the moment; there is nothing I can do for her.”
Breyden hesitates for a moment. “We can give her my blood, but as with you, she too might die if her soul has not left her body. But…”
“But what, Breyden?” I know the answer to my question; therefore, I do not even know why I ask.
“She has asked Damien to save her.”
I stand in silence for a moment before the true realization sets in. “Does Cassidy wish to be turned?”