The buzz of fluorescent lights and the beep of a heart monitor were background music to Jeff’s rhythmic snoring. I’d heard the thunderous rumble enough times in grad school to know it was him.
Light reflected off the glass of a generic flower print hanging on the beige wall in front of me. I stared at it, disoriented until I registered where I was—a hospital room. An IV ran from the inside of my right forearm to a bag of fluids hanging next to a heart monitor showing the steady beat of my pulse.
I turned my head toward the relentless snoring and winced at the ache it caused in my neck and shoulders. Jeff was slouched in a chair, arms crossed, head resting against the wall. His eyes were closed behind his glasses in what looked like an extremely uncomfortable sleep.
“Jeff.” His name came out more like a croak than a word. I cleared my throat; it was sore and dry. “Jeff.”
He started and sat up, blinking his eyes until they focused. “Anna. You’re awake,” he said, mystified and relieved. He pulled the chair over to my bedside and took my hand. “Thank God, you’re awake.” Tears pooled in his eyes, and I squeezed his hand.
“I’m so thirsty.”
He released a nervous chuckle, and tears spilled down his ashen cheeks. “I’ll call the nurse.” He opened the door, shouted down the hallway, and came right back to my side. “Marco would kill me if I left you. Even for a second.” He smiled, his expression filled with so much relief, I wanted to comfort him.
“Marco was here?”
“Are you kidding? He came in with you in the ambulance. Stayed all night and yesterday. He didn’t want to leave until you woke up, but he had some urgent business.” Jeff’s jaw twitched, and his eyes darted away. “He told me not to leave until he got back. And to call if anything changed.”
“What—” I swallowed, desperate for water. “What happened?”
A nurse appeared carrying a Styrofoam cup with a bent straw. “Be careful,” she said. “Small sips.”
“Thank you.” The cool liquid coated my mouth and slid down my throat like ambrosia.
“I’ll let the on-shift doctor know you’re awake. He’ll be in shortly,” she said and walked out.
I sipped the water, my head still resting on the pillow, and raised my eyebrows to get Jeff moving with the story.
“You were hit by a car.”
I let the straw slip out of my mouth long enough to say, “I remember,” and resumed my sipping.
“Marco was there when it happened. He called an ambulance. You were in surgery for five hours, the ICU for twenty-four. Then, they moved you here.”
The straw fell out of my mouth. “Jesus.”
“I know.” He wrapped his hands around mine. “I was so scared, Anna. When Marco called, I…” Tears welled again, and he turned away, swallowing his emotions until they were back under control. “The doctors thought you might not make it, but I know”—he nodded to himself—“I know how strong you are. I knew you’d pull through.”
He laughed then, a bit hysterical. “Your vitals were normal by lunchtime today. The doctors said they’d never seen anything like it. Called it unprecedented. A miracle.”
Beyond Jeff’s smiling face, Marco’s imposing frame loomed in the doorway. He leaned against the jamb, arms crossed, his normally stoic features softened with relief and what looked a lot like exhaustion.
“Hi,” I said.
Jeff followed my gaze over his shoulder.
“Hi,” Marco said, the boom of his voice tempered into a low whisper.
Tears poured down my face.
Jeff stood and bent to kiss my forehead. “I’ll let your parents know you’re awake. They wanted to come down, but I told them to wait.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem. I’ll call you soon.” He squeezed my hand, grabbed his coat off the back of the chair, and made his way to the door.
“Grazie,” Marco said and clasped Jeff’s forearm. Jeff grabbed his in return and nodded. He looked back at me one last time and left.
“Don’t disturb us,” Marco barked over his shoulder.
I chuckled, but my amusement at Marco’s demand quickly morphed into gentle sobs. He slowly and calmly shut the door behind him, removed his coat and suit jacket, and rolled up his shirtsleeves. He sat on the edge of the bed, took my face in his hands, and kissed the tears streaming down my cheeks.
I held on to his wrist, desperate to feel his skin against mine, to hold on to him and never let him leave. He kissed my forehead and left his lips to linger there while I finished crying.
He trailed kisses down the side of my face until his head met the pillow, and his warm breath tickled my ear. “La mia bellissima Anna. Mi hai spaventato a morte. Non farlo più.”
He kissed my ear and brought his face to hover inches above mine, and through my tears, I saw the unending depth of his love for me revealed through dark eyes.
“I am so sorry, Anna. This is why I didn’t want you anywhere near this world. I could have lost you.” His voice trembled through his confession.
I pushed my fingers into his silky hair and left them tangled amid the waves. His eyes lidded, and he shivered at my touch. “That was bad luck, Marco. The wrong place at the wrong time.”
He winced, opening his eyes, and the set of his jaw hardened. “That’s just it. I will always be the wrong place. Around me, you will always be at risk.”
“No.” I smiled and dragged my nails across his scalp. “No, Marco. You will always be the right place. A future with you is more than worth the risk. An accident like that could have happened anywhere, at any time. But you were there for me.” Tears streamed down my face, and I tightened my fingers in his hair.
“Almost too late.” He swallowed. “Anna, I…” He placed my arm on the bed, sat back, and swiped a hand down his face. “You looked so broken. Lying there.” His lips trembled but from holding back tears or rage I couldn’t tell. “Your pulse was weak. It was fading. I should have asked permission, but you were unconscious, and the fucking ambulance was taking so long.”
“I don’t understand. Permission for what?”
“I gave you my blood.” He met my eyes, and his were haunted with shame. “Don’t you see? You’re safer without me, but I’m too fucking selfish to let you go. I know I said we couldn’t have a future together, but I can’t let you go.” He clasped my hand with his own shaking fingers and kissed it over and over. His eyelashes fluttered closed, and a tear slid down his scruffy, drawn face. “I can’t lose you. Please forgive me.”
A miracle, Jeff had said. But it wasn’t a miracle. It was Marco.
After that big argument and all the protesting, he’d given me his blood. He’d spoken about how intimate that was for a blood demon, how consent was a strict part of their moral code, and the guilt was plain in his plea for forgiveness. His integrity made my heart swell, and in that moment, I loved him impossibly more.
“Marco.” He kissed my fingers again. “Marco, look at me.” He lifted his eyes and squeezed my hand. “I wanted a future with you, remember? I asked you to bite me. I would have taken your blood eventually. You had my consent all along. You saved me, Marco.” My quiet words filled the room with all the love and gratitude I felt for the man who’d been my salvation in more ways than one. I ran the back of my fingers along his cheekbone. “You saved my life.”
He rested his head on the pillow next to mine and laid his arm across my waist. He kissed my cheek and nuzzled my neck. “No, amore mio,” he whispered into my ear. “You saved mine.”