Trapped (28 page)

“Don’t worry about Hayden.
H
i
s body
is
protected in a hospital in a secret location. He didn’t want anyone to try and stop him so
unfortunately
I can’t tell you where he is. We just ha
ve to wait,” Carlos said as he tried to hide his anger. H
e stood
, pacing back and forth in front of me. I wasn’t sure how to feel anymore.

“No one knows whe
re his body is
? Why did he wait until I woke up
to do this
?
Why didn’t he tell me this was his plan
yesterday
?
” I have
so many ques
tions. I began
to feel
frustrated
and angry
with Hayden myself.

“No one knows Natalie, at least no one I know. He left a message with Clive shortly
before he left explaining he i
s well taken care of an
d
to have me sent here to take care of you until he returned. I believe you waking up gave him the courage to go
ahead with his plan. I’m sorry Natalie,
I’ll stay for as long as
I
can
but I may have to leave
I’m afraid, for Clive
,” he said, as
he
reached his
ar
ms out to me and held me close to him.

“Thank you
Carlos
, I appreciate your support
, I really do
,” I said pulling away.

“I
f you don’t m
ind though, I’m feeling kind of tired.
I think I’m going to have a nap. I’ll see you in a bit,” I said as I turned and quickly walked to the bedroom. I shut the door and threw myself on
my
bed. I began to punch t
he pillow
. Why did you leave
me? Why
aren’t you
here with me, l
ike you said you
always would be?

             
W
hen I
woke
up
I glanced over at the clock and sat up quickly.
I
hadn’t expected to sleep so long
. A
sudden u
rge to go to the high school to
try and find Beth
overcame me. I needed
to know why she did this to me.
I stood beside the bed
wishing Hayden would come walking
through
the bed room door but I knew he wasn’t going to
. I looked up
at the picture of the woman again,
hung at the end of the bed.

Carlos said that Hayden believed we have
known each other in
a different life
. I wondered about that as I looked at this
woman. She seemed older than me and she appeared so confident. She looked
strong
and determined
. May
be in another five years or so
I’ll be ju
st as
strong.
Hayden’s been alive
fo
r a long time. If he knew me in my previous life then the
woman
in the picture
must have died in orde
r to have reincarnated in to me again.
My head began to swirl
with the idea that he has loved me twice,
in
two different life times.
How is that possible? If she was as strong as she looked
, if
I am just as
strong
now
, how did I die
then
?

After traveling to anothe
r realm this idea didn’t seem quite so
strange to me anymore
. It kind of explained why I
loved Hayde
n
instantly the first time I met him, years ago, as a young girl
. It also explained why I felt
drawn to him even
when I t
h
ought there wouldn’t be anyone else for me except Adam
. Hayden held an intense
power over me
. I sighed as I st
ood and walked out of the room.

“Carlos?” I called as I walked into the kitchen. I
guess he isn’t
here
.
I opened the fridg
e and foraged for dinner
.
The thought of going to the school crossed my mind again. I knew Carlos and Hayden would both be angered by this,
but
I needed to see her
.
I wanted
to talk to Beth
, alone without Stella. I have
to know why
she
put such a horrible
curse on me and
if she knew how I could bring Hayden back.
I changed
quickly
and as I put on my shoes
to leave
Carlos opened the front door, followed by Clive. My heart sunk,
I immediately began
thinking the worst.

“We’ve found his body Natalie, we’ll take you to him,” Clive said as he held out his arms
to me.

“It’s so good to see you up, you’ve been missed my darling,” he whispered as he held me close.
I tried to smile as I held
onto
him
.

             
We drove to a side of town I have never
been to before. I felt so disappointed that
Hayden wo
uld have trusted his body here. It seemed careless, not like him at all.

“How did you find him?” I as
ked as I looked out the window.

“One
of our trusted seekers searched
for a ghost
in this area
when he came u
pon this
place. He felt all the spirits on the first floor and decided to explore a little. That’s when he
saw Hayden l
ying on a bed
in one of the rooms
. He called
me
and here we are
now
,
” C
live sighed. I could tell he felt
disappointed with H
a
yden
too
. I realized Carlos must have been right when he said this wasn’t the first ti
me Hayden upset
Clive
.

             
Carlos stopped in front of an old hospital. It didn’t look
like much government funding has
been
sent this way
,
unfortunately
. Surprisingly it still functioned
as a normal hospital. We walked to the elevator and went up to the third floor. I hated the f
act that I’m in
a hospital so soon after being released
from one
.

“Why
have you done this
Hayden?” I whispered
as I walked quickly
. Clive smiled and reached for my hand. He held it as the doors opened and we walked
down the barely lit hall to hi
s room. I began to shake. I felt
scared to see him all of a sudden. Clive pulled me along. Carlos opened the door and I walked in slowly
behind him
.

I let go of Clive’s hand and stood over the bed looking
down at the motionless
body ly
ing in front of me
. I could feel
tears pouring from my eyes.
I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop
them
so I didn’t try. All the
anger
I have been feeling since I left the hospital disappeared, r
eplaced
now
by absolute sorrow and despair. I placed my hands on his shoulders
and rested my head on his chest. I listened for his heart
beat. I smiled when I
finally
heard it. I kissed his neck, his che
e
ks then
his mouth.

“Oh Hayden, please come back to me,” I whispered into his ear.
I brushed his
long
hair
from his face and knew there’
s
no way I’m
going
t
o leave this room until he wakes
. I
looked up at Cli
ve who stood
stari
ng
solemnly
out the window.

“Do you have an
y idea how he is?” I asked him.

“Hayden hired
a
fellow
seeker here, as his doctor.
He informed me that he has done all he can. H
is heart is still beating
Natalie
. They are doing the same for him as was done for you. We can only hope he won’t be lost to us for as long as you were,” he said quietly.
I leaned over Hayden again
. I needed
to feel his breath, h
owever faint blow onto my face.

             
“It’s so strange that just a week ago we were watching Hayden doing the
exact same thing to you
,” Carlos said as he
left the room. I sat beside the bed
and held his hands
in mine
. I wished so much he would just sit up an
d hold me. I wondered if this i
s
how Hayden felt when I slept. I looked back to Clive.

             
“When Carlos returns I think
we should inform you of what’s
been going on for the last seven months,” he
looked over at me and
smiled quickly, the
n lo
oked out the window again. I began to wonder if he’
s watching someone or waiting for someone
out the window
.

“He is safe here
,
right
Clive
? When we f
irst entered the hospital I saw a lot of
ghosts but since we reached this floor they seem to have vanished, it
’
s
protected right?” I asked him.

“Yes, Natalie. The doctor made sure of that before Hayden went out,” he informed me.
I nodded, feeling a little more at ease.

             
Carlos returned with coffee and cafeteria food. I noticed the
brief
exchange between the two of them
as Carlos handed him a snack
.
I’m
interested
in what they have
to tell me
.
I released my grip on Hayden and sat
back in a
chair
beside the bed
.
I slowly sipped my coffee
as I waited
for one them to start.

             
“I guess I’ll start at the beginning,” Clive sighed as he sat down in a chair on the oppo
site side of the bed. I nodded
as I ate the san
dwich Carlos handed to me, feeling
s
hocked by my unending hunger
. I haven’t felt satisfie
d since I woke over a week ago.

             
“Carlos and Hayden
found you lying on the ground
in the woods
outside of the city
. They
kept you there for a few d
ays because
we were worried you wouldn’t
be able to f
ind your body if we moved you, b
ut as the days went by I realized we had no choice but to move you to a hospital. We couldn’t feed you or give you enough water to keep you
alive. S
o I made a few calls to some seekers and we were lucky enough to get you in under
Louis
a’s
protecti
on
after a short stay at an unprotected hospital
. Of course we were worried about
possible
bo
dy snatchers,” Clive explained.

“Of course
, body snatchers, wait, you mean actual
‘body snatchers’? I gasped at the thought.
I hadn’t even considered that a possibility.

“
To a ghost that can travel between both realms, the idea of seeing a
lost
spirit in the same realm as them and realiz
ing
that they
still had a body to return to would be irresistible
to some, I’m sure they would have tried
. The same is true now for Hayden. Luckily he took precautions in finding Tyler. He actually lives here in the hospital. He protects him night and day.
Louisa
cou
ld only protect you when she stayed
at the hospital, so between the three of us we took turns when she wasn’
t there,” Clive stopped and drank his coffee. He looked up at Carlos to continue.