XVI

Odette’s eyes burned and she hadn’t even opened them yet. Contrary to what happened with most people, she remembered exactly what happened the last time she was awake. She could still feel the water surrounding her and the plastic hindering her movements. Her body jerked violently, arms pulling against the plastic, and her legs flailing. She gasped, expecting to inhale more water from the pool like before, only to find out that she could actually breathe. Her eyes flew open and she came face-to-face with a scratchy white blanket. She wasn’t under water but being covered made her panic, so she kicked the blanket off of her as fast as she could.

“Odette! Hey, hey, it’s okay! You’re okay!” It was a masculine voice coming from her right. A voice she really didn’t want to hear.

She turned around, eyes blazing, to see Grayson. “Where am I? Where are my parents?” Her voice was scratchy and thick with tears that had yet to fall.

Grayson put his hands up in defense, picking up one of the blankets that she had just kicked off. He laid it on the bed, not on her, though, before he responded. “You’re okay now. I got you to a hospital. Your parents just stepped out of the room. I’ll get them now, if you would like me to.”

Grayson started to rise up slowly, almost like he thought Odette was a wild animal and, if he made any sudden movement, she would attack him. She hated being looked at like that. She had enough of it from everyone in her life; she didn’t need him doing it too.

Odette didn’t answer, she only frowned. She wondered why they had left her alone with him of all people … but then again, they probably still thought they were dating like the rest of the world did.

“You look like crap,” Odette rasped. She grabbed the blanket with numb fingers and handed it to him. “Take it. You need to sleep.”

Grayson accepted the blanket and sank back down in the rickety hospital chair. He really did look like crap, the worst that she had ever seen him. He had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was an absolute mess. His clothes were rumpled and he smelled like chlorine and something else that was probably just teenage boy body odor.

“Why are you here?” she finally asked, looking away from him.

She noticed the IV and that the area they had stuck the needle in was hurting, probably from her freak-out when she woke up. There was even a little blood. She looked away from it, adjusting her hospital gown. It was the kind that opened in the front so that they could put multiple electrodes on her chest.

Grayson played with the end of the blanket, his eyebrow deeply furrowed. “Do you remember what happened?”

Odette tensed up, drawing her knees in closer. She hated how cold it was in the ER. “Yes.”

“I pulled you out of the water,” he murmured. “That was the worst moment of my life, Odette, do you know that? Seeing you so helpless…I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to…”

The girl glanced at him from the side of her eye. He was crying. She picked at her hospital gown awkwardly, not knowing if she should say something to comfort him or not. Did she need to? He wasn’t the one who was drowning. Maybe a “thank you” would be enough.

Grayson looked up, his cheeks shining from his tears. He looked so innocent and like a little boy, not the dark male who had nearly broke her hand. “Why…why would you play with Greer?” he sniffed, wiping his tears.

“I don’t know what you mean by that. She’s my friend.”

Grayson shook his head vigorously. “No, no she’s not. Greer has these sadistic tendencies—”

“Sadistic tendencies?” Odette echoed. “What is that supposed to mean, Grayson?! You’re telling me that this wasn’t an accident? That she meant for me to fail?”

“Any other day, I would have said ‘no’, she wouldn’t kill you. She likes you—or she did. But then again, she knows that you and I…” his jaw flexed as he cut himself off. “So, she might have changed her mind…I should have protected you better.”

Odette couldn’t move, it was like she was in the water again. She could not believe what she was hearing—almost like it wasn’t English. She could hear the words and the sounds he was making but they didn’t make sense. How could she believe him?

She, however, could recall the look on Greer’s face before she sank into the water. That cold, stony glare. It had hardly seemed important in the moment, not when she was thinking that her life was about to end.

“So, she tried to kill me?” Her voice was far away and the hospital was suddenly too cold for her liking. She was afraid, she was very afraid. “She tried to kill me because I ended it with you.”

“Odette—” Grayson started but he didn’t finish. He couldn’t think of what to say.

Odette’s mind felt as though it had been wiped clean. Her insides twisted up with nausea. Her mouth tasted like a swimming pool; that was the clearest thought she had and it wasn’t helping. She knew it was only the calm before the storm as this rising, unsettling panic was proving to be too much. Another clear thought pushed through the sea of muddy blankness and that was, if it wasn’t for Grayson, she probably would have been dead.

She could have died….

A choked sob left her mouth. The girl wasted no time and flung her arms around him. His neck was cold but, still, she buried her face deeper in it. The day had started out with her fearing him but now she knew that she needed him in order for her to be safe. She needed comfort.

Grayson moved himself to the edge of the hospital bed and allowed her to cry on him. He stroked her hair calmingly, wrapping the discarded blanket around her again. He whispered words of comfort in her ear, which she greatly appreciated.

“What did you tell my parents?” Odette muttered in his ear.

Grayson shook his head. “I only told them about when I got there. Greer hasn’t talked to them, so they will ask you about it.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, wiping away her tears. “Will you tell them?”

Odette laughed bitterly. “How can I? I’ll lie. It’s what will be best for all of us.”

There was no way around it. Any other way would be unsavory for everyone involved. She would have to tell them about Grayson sneaking into her room and having his mini freak-out, resulting in her bruised hand. Even if she did lie about that part, it would only add to the pile of lies. She would run the risk of ruining the Mages forever, or Greer would just try again.

“Are you sure?” Grayson searched her eyes for any sign of doubt but he found none. “And…what about…us?”

Odette smirked without humor, Yes, what indeed. She knew that it would be smart to have nothing to do with him and his family to avoid something like this again. It would also be smart to take him back for the protection he could provide. Did she have feelings for him?

Yes.

That, however, could just be her strung out emotions talking. He hurt her but he saved her from his sadistic sister. This was the second time that he had taken her to the hospital and, even though that may not be a good thing, he would do it.

She cupped his cheek with her hand and brought his face close. She could feel his heart beating fast through his chest, but it was comforting. For some reason, she liked knowing that he could be flustered too. He inhaled sharply before their lips connected, his hair tickling her face.

Grayson pulled away after a few seconds, his nose nudging hers. “Don’t just take me back because you think it’s the safe thing to do. I won’t be used. Besides … you would be miserable.”

“I’m not,” Odette whispered. “I like how I feel around you. I like that you’ll always protect me and how I always feel warm next to you. You saved me today and I can never thank you enough.”

Grayson shook his head a little. “No, I should have been there any way. I shouldn’t have let the two of you get close in the first place. I just thought that you would be different—”

The door opened up at that moment and he stopped himself. Pamela and Jonah just stared at their daughter for several seconds, trying to process that she really was awake. It was when Grayson moved off her bed that their hesitation seemed to break and they rushed to her side.

“Oh sweetheart,” Pamela was crying. Her eyes were red and puffy and she didn’t bother hiding it this time.

“How did this happen?” Jonah asked. He grabbed Odette’s hand and held it tightly. “Please, do you remember at all?”

Odette nodded, swallowing hard. She looked down at her lap—to her parents, it probably looked like she was gathering strength to tell the story, but she was trying to think of a believable lie.

“Greer was showing us the indoor pool. I walked a little too close to the edge and … well, I had been feeling pretty weak all day. The food helped a little but I got very dizzy and I fell into the pool. I tried to get out but it was pretty impossible and I fainted.” She glanced up at Grayson, who was his stoic-faced self.

Jonah’s face dropped and his shoulders hunched over. He pulled his daughter’s hand closer and kissed the back of it. Odette frowned as her skin began to feel wet until she understood that it was her dad’s tears.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have forced you to go. You told me that you weren’t feeling well … my mistake could have gotten you killed.”

Guilt ate at her insides but Odette pushed passed that. “It’s okay, Dad. You didn’t mean to, you thought you were doing what was right.” The words were making her sick. She didn’t want her dad to think that this was because of him.

“No Odette.” His voice was shaking and he finally looked up at her. She had never seen her father cry before. It disturbed her more than any dead body ever could.

“It’s not your fault,” her tongue felt heavy. “It’s this weak body of mine. Don’t blame yourself. Besides, it’s because of Grayson that I’m here at all.”

Grayson met her eyes, his face blank but his eyes still shining with some of the tears from earlier. He wouldn’t let them fall.

“We can never thank you enough, Grayson,” her mother said. She gave him a tight smile and motioned for him to come closer to her. The boy did so cautiously and was overly surprised when Pamela pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. His arms were plastered to his sides like he didn’t know exactly what to do, but he recovered from his shock and hugged the older woman back.

“If you don’t mind, could you tell me what happened when you pulled me out?” Odette asked.

Grayson sat himself on the end of her bed, his gaze not wavering from her. “I had trouble getting you out of the cover at first but, after pushing a lot of it away, I could get to your hand. You had stopped moving for a little while,” he winced while admitting that. “Even though I had you, getting you out was hard because your legs were caught up in the plastic. It wasn’t much of a problem in the actual water but, when I was trying to pull you out, it was weighing you down.

“The other girls weren’t much help because they were … frightened. I did get Nadia to help get you untangled, though. I gave you CPR, my sister and I had taken a class on it in our last year of high school and I’m actually glad now that I took it.” He smiled a little before his face turned somber once again. “You took so long to wake up. I was about to just throw you in my car and speed to the hospital when you finally started to cough up water.

“You just … you didn’t wake up. I was scared that something else might have happened because your heartbeat was faint, so I took off without talking to anyone else. I called your parents once we got here.”

Odette nodded, “Thank you.”

“I’m just happy that you’re safe.”

If her parents weren’t there, she might have kissed him again. She wanted him to hold her again so she wouldn’t feel so vulnerable like always. But they were there on either side of her and watching both of them with hawk-like gazes. Grayson leaned down and picked up the other blanket that she had kicked off earlier, covering her legs with it.

“Does your grandfather know that you’re here?” Jonah asked, helping him cover Odette up.

Grayson hummed. “He does. He only wishes for Odette to recover as soon as possible.”

“Good, we wouldn’t want him to worry too much.”

“Actually, I think I will make a quick run home to grab Odette’s things that she left,” Grayson said. “Zeke messaged me that he found her things in the room the girls were having brunch in.”

“Oh, thank you.” Odette had completely forgotten about her things.

Grayson took a couple steps forward but he stopped as Jonah was blocking most of the way. “Of course. I’ll see you in a little bit.”

Odette had been released from the hospital a few hours later and she didn’t miss the questioning glances that the doctors and nurses sent her way as she left. They had come in after she woke up and asked her a series of questions that boiled down to “Are you being abused at home?” She was glad to be out of there. The sight of her home had never been more welcome. Her phone was held tightly in one hand, hot from the constant use of it. After Grayson came back with her belongings, he had to leave again but he was constantly texting her to make sure that she was fine. She sent him silly hospital bed selfies and, in return, he sent her a photo of him at rehearsal. He was “levitating” the phone when he took it. Odette didn’t tell him but she saved it because it was cute. She called him a dork after that and he had to leave or else

Greer would throw a fit.

Odette went up to her room and flopped onto her bed, inhaling the musty scent of it. She had acquired a thin sheen of sweat just from being outside and in the car. It was nearing the hottest days of the summer, apparently, and their air conditioner was weak.

“Hey, Runt.” Odette scooted to the edge of her bed and reached down to pet the sleeping kitten. The cat raised her little head and looked at the girl with her big blue and brown eyes. “How are you, kitty?”

The cat mewled, rubbing her head against her hand.

“I’m sorry I left you alone all day. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to either.” Odette frowned and scooped the cat up so that she could hold her.

Runt cocked her head to the side, as if asking what was wrong.

“It’s nothing now. Everything has gone back to normal … I hope. I’m giving Grayson a second chance.”

Runt meowed in protest, her claws digging into Odette’s flesh.

“Ouch! Hey! You don’t do that. What do you know anyway, cat? Huh?”

No reply.

“That’s right. He saved me, okay? He protected me from something that could have been a lot worse. You could have never seen me again, kitty. Mom and Dad might have gotten rid of you too.” She gave her cat a pointed look, which Runt seemed to return. Odette sighed, scratching the little pet behind the ears. “I’ll let you stay up on this bed while I get cleaned up if you promise you won’t hurt yourself.”

Runt didn’t answer but Odette didn’t expect her to. She laid the kitten to the side gently and dug around in her drawers before she left the room. Runt didn’t watch her go like she normally would but instead watched the window with careful eyes.