A Touch of Souls (Immortal Souls) (4 page)

I
laid in the quiet room, lost completely in my thoughts, until my stomach growled so loudly it sounded like a dying whale. I groaned as I tried to roll out of bed, but fell on the floor in shock when I heard a low chuckle from the doorway. Rolling my eyes, I glared at Dimitri from the other side of the enormous bed. All was forgiven, though, when he pulled a box of donuts and a coffee from behind his back.

Relieved I sat up and gestured for him to
come sit down with me. As he sat down, he handed me the box and coffee with a small smile. "I thought you would be hungry," he shrugged.

"Thank you for your consideration," I said, pulling out a donut to hand to him. He politely grinned and shook his head. I shrugged as I put the donut back in its rightful place in the box. "Is my car here?" I asked mainly to break the awkward silence that had formed as he watched me eat.

"Yeah, it's parked right out front," he gestured toward the door of the room. Watching him, I could tell something was wrong. Seeing him bothered started a low ache in my chest. I wanted him happy.

"Did you carry me in here last night?" I asked nonchalantly, trying to hide the excitement at being in his arms again, even if I was asleep.

"Yeah, you, uh, passed out on the couch. I wanted you to be more comfortable, so I brought you to my bed and I slept on the couch," he admitted a little shyly. Just as I was about to respond, he stood up and walked out of the room. A few seconds later, he returned with some of my clothes. "I noticed how dirty you were while I was dressing your wounds, so I had some of your clothes brought here because the only thing in your car was that damn work uniform of yours," he sounded a little frustrated at the thought of me wearing my work uniform, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was jealous. Then his words truly sunk in,
my wounds?

"I'm sorry, did you say my wounds?" I asked, moving my hands over my body, searching for anything that hurt.

"Yes, you have a bad cut on your side, presumably from pressing so far up against the dumpster to hide," he answered before moving his hand to my left side, "May I?" I shakily agreed and watched as he lifted my shirt. I drew in a sharp breath at the sight. A cut traveled from my pants line all the way up to directly under my left breast.
How did I not feel that?
With shaky hands I reached to touch it, but I couldn't bring myself to, my hand hovered just above my skin before dropping down to my side.

I stepped out of Dimitri's adjoining bathroom wrapped in a towel. A small part of me wished he would be there, waiting for me. That he would see me dripping wet in his bedroom in only a towel and he would want me. I realized just how ridiculous that was when I found only my clothes lying on the edge of the bed with no sign of Dimitri.

I groaned with frustration as I tried to find my way around his apartment. There
was so many doorways. I didn't want to open any doors in fear I would find something I wasn't supposed to see.

"I know Candy, baby, I'll be there okay? Please calm down. I'm sorry I had to cancel last night, I'll be sure to make up for it tonight."

I stopped in my tracks and thought I was going to die of embarrassment if he knew that I had heard his conversation. That embarrassment was quickly replaced by a crippling jealousy. I had no idea where it came from, but I didn't want him talking to any girl like that if she wasn't me. Walking into the living room, I headed straight for the front door so that I could take my pride and go. I didn't want Dimitri to see the tears that gathered in my eyes.

"Hey, Gwen, I am so sorry about everything that has happened to you, and I just want you to know that if you ever need someone, I'm here for you." Dimitri's voice sounded so sweet and sincere, but I couldn't push the image of him being with Candy from my mind.

Whirling around, I put all of the anger and frustration I felt into my words, "I do not ever want you to speak to me again, got it? I don't care what it is, I don't ever want you to be near me again!" As the words flooded from my mouth, I felt my heart tighten in pain. I watched as hurt flashed through his eyes then his whole face hardened into an unemotional mask, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

"Guinevere, you had better make sure that is what you want before you take even one step out of that door. If it is what you want, I'll leave you be. We can forget this whole thing ever happened, just walk out and it's done. But don't forget that I was the one who was there for you when you needed help." His voice sounded gruff as he stared at me, but his face was still a mask hiding everything he was feeling. He was probably happy that I was choosing to leave, to not be in his life so that he could get with Candy as soon as possible, and that realization is what gave me the strength to do what I needed to do.

Gathering what little pride I had left, I took one last look in those eyes so beautiful, so deep that I could swim in their depths forever, and walked out the door.

Chapter 3

Stepping into my car, I couldn't help but feel the heartbreak that Dimitri just caused in my chest. It cut deep into my heart knowing that Dimitri still wanted Candy when I was right there at his apartment. How could I be so stupid as to think that there could actually be something between us? Maybe I had just imagined the electricity that I thought flowed between us every time we were around each other.

Tears blurred my vision as I started my car and pulled out of his driveway. I didn't know where I was, but it didn't matter as long as I got the hell away from Dimitri. I could drive for hours and though that would distance me from him, I doubt anything could make the pain I was feeling fade away.

I let out a long racking sob as I pulled out into the intersection a few miles away from Dimitri's house. I didn't hear the
truck, I didn't see that the driver wasn't going to stop at the stop sign. I felt as soon as the truck hit my small car, I felt the airbag deploy and I was sure it broke my nose. I heard the crunching of the metal as my car began to collapse in on itself. Somehow I knew I wasn't going to die from this. Somehow I was going to live.
Could Dimitri love me if I was broken
? That was my last conscious thought before I blacked out.

♂

I shouldn't have done it. I should have heard the accident and let it go as it was supposed to. I just couldn't. I stared down at her, looking into her bruised and bloodied face. I didn't know what made me do it. It wasn't the girl I was supposed to be saving. The girl I needed to find. I took one last glance at her and ran. I ran away from her, left her there as the sounds of sirens grew closer. They would question how she got out of the
car, say she had a guardian angel watching over her. Maybe she did.

♀

Waking up felt like trying to open my eyes after gluing the lids together. I wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, I wanted to dream of my angel. I wanted to feel his arms wrapped around me again, I wanted to stroke his wings as they wrapped around me in the most intimate of embraces. I could still feel his warm lips traveling down m-

"Oh, good you're awake!" A female voice sang from right next to me.

I jerked my head to the side, searching for the source of the unfamiliar voice, but I couldn't move it an inch. As my eyes roamed the room, I saw the thick beige edge of the brace wrapped around the circumference of my neck. The walls of the room were completely white, with the exception of a painting depicting a pond and a bridge. How dull.
Where am I?

"Good news, sweetie, we got a hold of your parents and they said they would make the next flight home from France! They were so worried when they heard of your accident!"

"My parents? What accident? Are they okay?" I couldn't the panic from my voice at the idea of my parents not being okay.

"Do you not remember anything?" A familiar male voice asked from the corner. Relief flooded me as I met a pair of emerald green eyes. I was so thankful to have Hunter here with me.
Wherever 'here' was.

"What do you mean? And why can't I move?" I asked to no one in particular, hoping at least one of them will answer me.

The nurse that was standing beside me stopped what she was doing and turned to me, grabbing my hand, "Sweetheart, you were in a terrible accident! You weren't wearing your seatbelt and a truck ran a stop sign and crashed into the driver's side of your car at an intersection. You broke your nose and almost broke your neck, you have a fracture in your arm that we will have to fix after you heal a little better. You are so lucky to be alive! You must have a guardian angel! No one knows how you even got out of the car."

"I'm lucky to be alive..." I whispered to myself. "How long have I been asleep?"

"You were never asleep, you went into a coma before the police could ever even make it to the scene! You have been out for three days, when the police and paramedics arrived, you were lying on the concrete a few feet from the wreck. It looked as though someone took you out of your car, but no one was anywhere around you." Hunter's fingers wrapped around mine and the warmth flowing from him seeped into me, making my whole body feel less stiff.

"I have to go tend to other patients now, but I want you to try and stay awake. We don't want you to slip into another coma, you have a pretty bad concussion," the nurse said softly before she slipped out the door.

"Hey baby, I was so worried when I got the phone call about your accident! I rushed up here as soon as I could! I went home every night worried sick. Every morning when I came to see you, they told me there was no change. I was so scared you weren't going to wake up," I could hear the unease in Hunter's voice as he confessed this to me.

"I just
wanna relax, really I'm okay," I forced a smile I didn't feel. "I'm probably just gonna lay here and watch T.V. for a while. Why don't you go home and get some sleep?" I hated the idea of Hunter losing sleep because I was too stupid to look both ways before driving into the middle of a four-way.

With a soft kiss to the forehead, Hunter headed to the door. As soon as he stepped out and closed the door behind him, I felt engulfed by the loneliness of the room. I tried to move my arm, but stopped when I heard a soft knock come from my door.

"Yes?"

A cute little nurse poked her head in and gestured behind her, "There's someone here to see you, Guinevere," she looked away a little shyly, "he has been here since the moment you arrived here in the ambulance," she giggled before opening the door to reveal a very disheveled looking Dimitri.

He looked like he hadn't slept in a week. His hair looked messy and he had bags under those beautiful violet eyes that looked like he had been crying for days.
What is he doing here?

"What do you want Dimitri? Can't you see I'm not in the mood for your
shit. Who has really been here for me since I got here?" I asked coldly because although I couldn't remember my accident, I did remember what had caused me to be so distracted I could have forgotten my seatbelt AND driven into oncoming traffic. Dimitri ignored my snide comments and glided into the room shutting the door smoothly behind him. As soon as we were shut out from the nurses, he rushed over and grabbed my hand tightly.

"I'm sorry that this
happened Guinevere. If I had been able to convince you to stay with me just a few moments longer, this wouldn't have happened. As soon as I heard the police sirens, I knew something was wrong. I rushed to the hospital right behind the ambulance. I stayed here waiting for you to wake up. I didn't think you ever would!" The desperation in his voice wrapped around a part of my heart he had claimed and squeezed.

"It was my fault. I should have looked where I was going," I answered, trying my hardest to end this damn conversation. Just because I could tell he did stay here, didn't mean that he didn't make sure I was okay simply to
subside his own guilt. I don't care what he said. He hurt me, and I wasn't going to be quick to forgive. I just wanted to go back to my dream Dimitri, the one who held me and kissed me without breaking my heart. Slipping into another coma seemed like a great idea right now.

"You can't do that!" Dimitri said before looking away quickly. Had he just read my thoughts? Oh my God, I am going crazy! Oh no, what if he could read my thoughts and I had fallen in love with him and now he knew every single thought that I ever had about him, every fantasy of his arms and wings. Come to think of it, why does he always have wings when I dream him? I felt myself start to slip under, I felt the darkness take hold and I let
it, I welcomed the world where Dimitri wanted me, where he loved me.
I'll take that over this cruel nightmare any day,
I think as I let the darkness envelope me in its dark welcoming arms. Maybe I was already dreaming. There was no way Dimitri was really here, and that he had actually just heard what I said silently to myself.

"No, Angel, please don't leave me, stay here for me, don't let go!" I couldn't have heard Dimitri right, there was no way he would say that to me.
I must have slipped into my dream
, I thought happily. "Nurse! Nurse!" Why does he sound so panicked? I just wanted to make him happy. He didn't have anything to worry about, I was here with him.

"Sweetie, if you can hear me, this is gonna put you in a deep sleep. You won't have to worry about going into a coma. It's okay to sleep," I heard the nurse say, but she sounded so far away.
Ow!
What the hell was that?
A burning sensation ran down my arm from where I presumed my I.V. must have been. A pleasant tingling sensation covered my body causing me to shudder, I heard Dimitri talking to the nurse, but I'm was too far gone to make out what he said.