Arielle Immortal Quickening (4 page)

“He has fallen completely apart,” Mrs. Taylor cried, her voice faltering. “I’m having a horrible time consoling him. I’m so lost that I’m in no position to provide that kind of emotional support for him,” she added.

Arielle wished she could find the right words to ease their pain, but she couldn’t. Nothing would until Gabrielle was awake. She shut her eyes and prayed that this was all just an unpleasant dream.

“We are so thankful Troy was there to get her help right away,” Mrs. Taylor added. Her words brought Arielle back to reality. “She’s not out of the woods yet, but the doctor thinks that she’ll come around soon. We’re hoping that there will be no permanent injuries.” Her voice was breaking.

“I’m so sorry.”

“We are extremely thankful, Arielle, that she didn’t sustain any lasting injuries,” She added with a deep sigh. Arielle hugged her warmly. Mrs. Winters approached, and she heard her shaky voice.

“Arielle, if you saw the car you wouldn’t believe that anyone survived that crash. The front seat was pushed into the back seat. It was a miracle that both Eva and Ian escaped with small injuries. They could have died!” she said with a strained light in her eyes. “The amazing thing is that Troy was completely unscathed.” Gabrielle’s mom glanced over. “I’m really happy, Mrs. Winters, that Eva didn’t get seriously hurt.” Eva’s mother didn’t seem to hear a word Mrs. Taylor said.

“Nobody, including the police investigators, could understand this type of outcome from such a horrible accident. It was a miracle that they survived!”

“I’m so glad they survived,” Arielle said pressing Mrs. Taylor’s hand softly. “Now all I want to think about is their speedy recovery,” she added.

“Yes, that’s what we are praying for,” both mothers murmured simultaneously.

“I wish I had been here,” Arielle said with a shaken voice. “It was hard getting the news over the phone and not knowing the details.”

Their expressions became alarmed. “We are glad you weren’t here.” Mrs. Winters voice was unyielding as she reached over and took Arielle’s hand in hers. “What if you were in the same car? No… no… we’re glad you weren’t here.”

“I feel awful; they are my best friends, my sisters,” Arielle mumbled, and the words trembled in her throat.

“They love you, too, Arielle. You girls have been inseparable since you were little girls,” Mrs. Taylor said. Arielle gave her a sweet smile. Both ladies reached out and took her in their arms, and their eyes welled up with tears once again.

Arielle glanced between the two of them, and her expression became thoughtful. “I spoke to my mum on the phone before we left Italy, and she told me that she would be coming to be with you.”

“Aaa…Both your mum and dad were here yesterday. They spent several hours with us, and it was very comforting. In fact, they were here when the doctor told us that Gabrielle is very strong, and she will recover quite well with time.”

“That’s excellent news!” Arielle remarked. There was a long pause.

“Eva and Ian will be going home the day after tomorrow,” Mrs. Winters broke the silence. Arielle smiled in obvious pleasure.

She hesitated a few more minutes, and then she glanced in Sebastian’s direction, trying to get his attention. He had taken a seat next to Mr. Taylor, and they were conversing quietly. Sebastian finally looked up, and their eyes locked. His expression spoke volumes; there was warmth in his eyes, and she smiled. He stood up slowly and politely took his leave from Mr. Taylor. He crossed the room in a slow stride and came to stand right next to her.

“Sebastian,” she breathed, and took his hand. “We should go and visit with Eva and Ian before we go home.”

“Yes,” he said, “I had the very same thought.” They said their goodbyes and walked away.

“Thanks for coming, Sebastian. I’ll treasure our talk.” Mr. Taylor’s clear voice startled her. She gazed back toward him, and he was watching Sebastian with a grateful look. She was completely amazed at the extraordinary appeal Sebastian projected around him. She stared at the most striking man on this earth as he walked next to her and held her hand. Her eyes rested on his gorgeous face one more time.

“Let’s go see Eva first,” she said. He nodded in agreement. Bending down, he brushed his lips across her forehead.

Eva looked remarkably well. A wide smile spread across her badly bruised face when she saw them walking in.

“Hey, Arielle! Hey, Sebastian! I’m so happy to see you both,” Her voice was weary and extreme emotion haunted her expression as tears rolled down her face. Arielle was pleased that all she could see was a large cast on her right leg and several black-and-blue bruises on her face. She also saw bruises on the part of Eva’s body where the hospital gown left her skin exposed. Sebastian bent down and gave her a warm hug, and Eva squeezed him tightly.

“Hey, you handsome man! I missed you and your dazzling eyes.” Her remark made Sebastian chuckle as he released on her a good dose of his dazzling power. Eva immediately went numb; she tried to open her mouth, but she was unable to speak. Arielle heard her gasping for air as her head fell back on the pillow, unable to hold herself up. Sebastian broke out into soft laughter as he looked away from Eva’s eyes. It was but a few minutes later when they heard her sigh under her breath. Shaking her head, she mumbled, “That’s not fair Sebastian; that’s just not fair,” For a moment, it seemed like the accident had never happened.

“I’m so happy to see that you came out of this without major injuries,” Arielle said. Her voice was jubilant, and her heart was full of joy for Eva’s wellbeing.

“Oh, Arielle, me too. It must of have been a horrible accident! I haven’t seen any pictures, and I just can’t remember a thing!”

“It was…it was a pretty bad accident,” Sebastian said.

“I saw the paper, and I’m so happy about you and Ian escaping with a few broken bones and some bruises,” Arielle added.

“Poor Gabby!” Eva murmured. “My mum said that she’s in bad shape, and my heart is breaking. Have you seen her?”

“Yes,” Arielle replied. “I just did. She’s still in ICU in a coma, so she didn’t know that I was there. Troy looked devastated.”

“We are all thankful that Troy was indestructible, because he saved our lives,” Eva whispered and let out a soft sigh. “I know that his immortal speed had everything to do with getting help quickly. I know that he saved Gabrielle’s life.”

Arielle smiled and bent down to give her a kiss. “I’m so happy that you weren’t badly hurt,” she said, palming her cheek. “Can you remember anything at all?” she asked, searching Eva’s face and struggling to read her thoughts.

Arielle ran her fingers through her hair and blew out an exasperated breath. She turned to look at Sebastian, a perplexed look spreading across her face. Her special gift of being able to read her best friend’s thoughts was not working. Sebastian’s eyebrows furrowed quizzically. Arielle flinched and fixed her gaze back on Eva.

Eva’s eyes widened. “What is it?” she asked, noticing Arielle’s odd facial expression.

“I’m really puzzled. I can’t read a single thought in your head. This is the first time in seventeen years that all I get is complete silence.”

“Really!” Eva said, seemingly relieved. “How about that? Maybe that’s a good thing. Now I can keep my thoughts to myself,” she added and chuckled. Reaching over, she took Arielle’s hand and pressed it softly. “I’m only joking, Arielle; maybe it’s temporary, and maybe it has to do with the accident. Or the medicine, the hospital, who knows?”

Arielle nodded in agreement. “Yes, maybe you’re right. Try and see if you can remember anything at all about the accident.”

Sebastian was standing right behind her, and he stiffened at her words.
Yes, I do believe this is going to be a rather ghastly blow to Arielle, Eva, and Ian,
Sebastian thought. He closed his eyes, trying to elude the painful thoughts about the upcoming encounters. Things were going to turn terrifying, painful, chilling. All three had to be told in the next two days. Eva’s voice brought him out of his private struggle, and opening his eyes, he felt that he was moved by a profound reality.
God, how am I going to tell them?

Chapter 4

D
espite Arielle’s burning curiosity, she remained silent, waiting for Eva to say something, and she did.

“Like I said before, I don’t remember anything about the accident,” Eva said, pressing her lips together. “But I do remember having a strong scary premonition about the party the night before. At first, I didn’t want to go, but I finally agreed because Troy and Loren were going to be there to keep us safe if something were to happen. As it turned out, we had an incredible time. The food was delicious, and we danced way past midnight.” She smiled distantly. Arielle remained silent as Eva continued, “I do remember a peculiar incident at the club that bothered me a bit.” Eva’s blue eyes narrowed to slits.

“What was that?” Arielle asked inquisitively. Arielle was a little surprised by the amount of eagerness in the tone of her own voice. She noticed a deep crease across Eva’s forehead trying to remember, but eventually she just shrugged her shoulders, giving up.

“Oh, please, try to remember, Eva; it is important!” she said. Even Sebastian appeared curious about the details.

Eva remained silent for a very long time, trying to collect her thoughts about that night. She finally gazed between Sebastian and Arielle, and began slowly, “Arielle, do you remember the feeling I had before Savanna showed up at your birthday party?” Her face twisted in disgust, and Arielle felt a strong jolt at the sound of the name.

“Yes… I do,” she replied as her body went very still. Sebastian edged closer. “What are you trying to say?” Arielle asked impatiently.

Eternity passed before Eva’s voice continued, a bit eerie against the silence. “I got the exact same feeling at the club when an exceptionally beautiful young woman came up to our table and introduced herself as Miss Willington. She said that she was in charge of the sitting arrangements for the night,” Eva said slowly.

“What happened then?” Arielle insisted.

“Well, she said that she was trying to balance the attendance sheet she was holding with the actual people that showed up for the fundraiser. The questions that followed didn’t seem so strange except that her presence was creating a feeling of pure terror for me.”

“What did you do?” she asked.

“I reached under the table and touched Troy’s leg, making him look at me. I was sure that he noticed the anxiety that was starting to spread across my face, because he put his hand over mine and pressed softly.”

“Then what happened?” she heard Sebastian asking as he stared at Eva.

“The woman’s next statement was not very strange either, but my anxiety was getting stronger.”

“What was the next statement?” Arielle could hardly wait for a reply.

“She asked us to give her our names, so she could check them off the sheet. She did ask quite politely. We gave her our names, and she looked as if she was putting a checkmark next to each name.

“The tone of her voice was still very professional and very polite, but there was something repulsive about her. Her next question made me wonder why she was so persistent. She said that she showed two more names, and she was wondering if they were going to be attending the dinner.”

“Arielle’s and mine?” Sebastian questioned, sure of her reply.

“Yes, we knew that the names on the sheet were yours, but we didn’t think it was important for her to know that you were not going to be there. We didn’t think it was important for her to know that the tickets were given to Loren and Paul instead. I guess our thought was that as long as tickets were purchased for six it would make no difference what the six names were on that sheet. Paul and Loren were about forty minutes late, and Miss Willington was back at our table asking if the other two people were going to show up. Her voice had grown agitated. Troy was composed and polite as he explained that the other two should be there shortly, as they had encountered car trouble. Strangely enough, she gave us a half a smile and walked away. I still had a terrible feeling about her presence, and I was very worried about her being in close proximity.”

“Ian was pretty aggravated. He wanted to know ‘what in bloody hell’ it mattered if the party was two, four, or six. The entire table was paid for, so the club shouldn’t care if a couple people didn’t show. Troy remained unruffled, and he went to see the club manager. We were all watching, and he had the strangest expression on his face as he walked back to our table.”

Eva paused, swallowing. The story was drying her mouth. Arielle spotted the glass of ice water on the dinner tray and handed it to her friend. After sipping cautiously, Eva rested her head on the pillow for a minute and closed her eyes. Though she was obviously exhausted, they desperately needed to hear if the rest of the story gave them any answers.

“Gabby wanted to know what Troy said to the manager. I remember Troy’s eyes narrowing and him pinching the tip of his nose, shaking his head in perplexity. He told us that the Club Manager was in charge of the personnel roster, and he had never hired a Miss Willington.” Eva stopped talking and gazed again between Arielle and Sebastian. Arielle looked over at Sebastian and caught a glimpse of anxiety in his eyes. He clenched his jaw for a brief moment. Eva’s voice distracted her, and she turned to look at her friend as she continued with the recollection of that night’s events.