Chapter 21:

Sitting in the car with Jimin, on the way to the hospital, you were a bundle of nerves. You fidgeted with your fingers, tugging on your hangnails, snapping your knuckles and biting your lip. Selena had said nothing about what had happened. An accident, she'd said. That could mean anything. Was Katie unconscious? Did she need surgery? Was she dying? You choked back a sob and you felt Jimin's eyes on you.

"One of your friends?" He asked, breaking the panicked silence. You flinched, almost forgetting that he was there.

"Um, yeah... I don't know what happened. She just said that she's in the hospital, I—" You stopped and looked up, a thought occurring to you. "Jimin, how did you react so fast?"

"What?" Jimin blinked, caught off-guard by your question.

"You were ready before I even had a chance to get down the stairs." You explained, watching as wariness entered Jimin's gaze. "How were you already prepared when I got there?"

He sighed, his grip tightening on the wheel. "I was already on my way out and I heard your phone ringing, so I eavesdropped a little bit."

"On your way out? Where?" You tilted your head.

Jimin smirked wryly. "I was hoping to go to the hospital, actually. We're running low on blood bags."

You blinked in surprise and faced the windshield again. In your haste to leave as quickly as you could, you hadn't really cared that it was Jimin. But now that your initial shock had faded, you felt more than just scared for Katie. You were scared of him too.

It was a strange feeling. You hadn't been scared of him before. Before, he seemed to be the least volatile, if a bit manipulative. You knew he wore a mask around you, that much was easy. But he'd never scared you. Not like he was now. Not like he had yesterday, when he'd caged you in and spoke in that deathly calm voice that made you want to sprint in the opposite direction. Jungkook and Taehyung had both warned you about him.

He just puts on an act for you so you trust him.

You don't know what he's capable of.

You glanced at him out of the corner of your eye. He was focused on the road, his eyes narrowed and jaw tight. You wondered if he was telling the truth about the whole bagged blood excuse. You supposed it didn't matter. What mattered was getting to the hospital. What mattered was Katie. You gritted your teeth when thoughts of Katie entered your mind again. You were driving yourself crazy, thinking the worst. Selena had sounded so panicked, so rattled that you could only assume the worst. You would never forgive yourself if something happened to her. Never.

If you hadn't cut them off, if you hadn't moved out, could you have done something? Could you have protected her somehow? Perhaps you could have finally gotten her away from that toxic boyfriend, Caden. You hadn't thought about Caden for so long, but what if he'd been the cause? What if you left and then she dies because you were busy shacking up with a trio of ill-tempered vampires who all hated you in their own way?

"What about the others?" You blurted, needing to distract yourself from the horrible thoughts in your head. Jimin glanced at you and looked back at the road, remaining quiet for a few moments.

"Taehyung went out late. He was..." Jimin trailed off and looked away, you saw a wary look in his eyes, as if he were deciding whether or not to keep talking. You sighed.

"I know he was with someone. You don't have to cover for him." You deadpanned. Jimin coughed.

"Okay, well then... yeah, he had someone over. He doesn't like it when they spend the night so he went out to return them..." He trailed off again when you gave him a look.

"Return them? Like a library book?" You scoffed and looked away. You snorted and an amused bubble of laughter floated up into your chest and out of your throat. Jimin gave you an incredulous look as you started giggling. "Like a freaking library book..."

You closed your eyes and rubbed your head as you continued to giggle, the irony and incredulity of it all getting to you like it never had before.

"That's not..."

"That's exactly what you meant, Jimin." You cut him off, before he could finish the sentence. You gave him a long look and he coughed, looking away. You returned your attention to the road and sighed when you saw the hospital building through the windshield.

"When we get there," You said softly. "I don't want you with me. You can go get your blood bags, but I don't want you near my friends." You were soft, but firm. You needed Jimin to hear you when you said it.

"Y/N, you know that—"

"I don't care. Please, just stay away." You snapped, cutting him off. Jimin was quiet and you were scared to look at him for fear of seeing his expression. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he replied.

"Okay... okay, I will."

You breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

It was quiet for the rest of the ride and as soon as Jimin parked, you were out the door and sprinting inside the ER. You looked around frantically, for Katie's bushy brown hair or Selena's deep set eyes. Instead, you saw a familiar face sitting on a chair in the corner of the ER, their head clasped in their hands. A bitter taste filled your mouth. You clenched your fists and your jaw, but swallowed your pride and marched over to the corner of the room.

"Caden." You said gruffly, making him pop his head up. His sandy hair was messy, disheveled, but he didn't look drunk or high. His eyes were clear and sober, just tired with bags. He scanned your face, a million emotions running through his eyes before he leaned his head back and nodded at you.

"I didn't think you'd come." He said quietly, his voice depleted, exhausted.

"What do you mean you didn't think—"

"Y/N!" You turned as a pair of arms flung around your neck. You caught Selena's body weight and almost swallowed a mouthful of her hair. You coughed and hugged her back, recovering quickly. It felt like finally coming home, a familiar hug from a person you loved and who loved you. You closed your eyes and squeezed her tight, afraid to break the hug, afraid to let her go in case you never got to touch her again.

"Selena, thank God. What's going on, what happened?" You breathed into her hair. Selena released you, but she kept her hands on your shoulder and yours on her elbows, clutching each other like it was the last lifeline in the world. If you let go... you weren't sure what would happen. Peering into her dark eyes, you missed her so much, so much it felt like a cascade over your entire body and you were almost weak at the knees.

"There was a fight earlier." Selena explained finally, casting an angry look at Caden. "Katie was angry and she stormed out of the house. But she fell down the flight of stairs and hit her head. We rushed her here and—"

"The doctors took her into surgery." Caden finished, cutting her off. Selena whipped her head to him and scowled, pulling her arms away from you.

"Wait, surgery? Like brain surgery?" you cut in, staring in between the two of them in shock. Caden shrugged as Selena opened her mouth to respond.

"We don't know." Caden answered, cutting her off. "They haven't told us anything. They rushed her away and we haven't heard anything since." Caden muttered, clearly frustrated. Selena gave him a hard look, like she hated that he was even here.

"Right. So yeah, we've been waiting. And I... I just couldn't be alone. That's why I called you." She said, clasping your hands. Caden scoffed bitterly.

"You weren't alone." He muttered sarcastically. Selena whipped around, her eyes filling with fire.

"Shut up, Caden. It's your fault that she's here, so you don't get to say anything." Selena snapped, harsh and penetrating. You gulped. Selena wasn't this confrontational or angry. She was usually passive aggressive or went with the silent treatment. She never snapped at people and the hatred in her eyes made your skin crawl. What had you missed in the weeks you'd been gone?

Caden, to your surprise, didn't offer a rebuttal. Instead, he closed his mouth and leaned back in his seat. Normally he would make a snide remark or get defensive. He wouldn't just roll over like this.

"What was the fight about?" You asked as Selena collapsed in one of the chairs. She gestured at Caden with a dismissive wave.

"Ask the train wreck. They've been fighting every other night." She muttered bitterly. You looked over at Caden pointedly. He glanced up at you and glanced away. He didn't seem to be too keen on talking.

"Caden, what happened?" You asked again, taking a seat next to Selena. He scoffed.

"You don't get to ask me questions. You moved out." He growled, giving you a scathing glare. You frowned and fisted your hands on the arm rests.

"Just because I moved out doesn't mean I stopped caring about her. Now, she's in surgery, so tell me what happened." Your voice was slow, controlled, but there was rage bubbling in your stomach. Caden looked up at you with a cold expression.

"I don't owe you anything." He snarled, giving you a dirty look. You shook your head.

"If you were the cause of her accident, then I disagree. You owe me an explanation."

Caden stood up abruptly, rage and fear behind his blazing eyes.

"I don't have to explain myself to you! You abandoned her!" He shouted, taking you by surprise. "You left without a good explanation and then you didn't even call to tell her you were okay or to ask how she was. You think that didn't hurt?" He lowered his voice into a controlled, angry whisper so as not to make a scene. "Regardless of what you think of me and my decision to move into your apartment, you still left. And we still don't even know why you left, so for you to come back here and stick your nose into—"

"Stick my nose?" You snapped, cutting him off. Now, you stood up. "You think me coming out here in the middle of the night because I heard my friend was in the hospital is sticking my nose into this?" Selena grabbed your arm but you shook her off, glaring at Caden.

"Yes, yes I do! Because this never would have happened if you hadn't left." Caden growled, sanding to his full head so as to intimidate you.

"What the hell does that even mean?" You exclaimed, throwing your hands up.

"We were fighting about you, you selfish bitch!" Caden's shout made more than a few heads turn in your direction. You pursed your lips and calmed down instantly at his words. Caden exhaled and ran a hand through his hair, making it even more disheveled than it was before. You exhaled sharply and felt Selena's hand leave your arm.

"What do you mean?" You asked quietly.

"I wanted Katie to reach out to you. She was worried since she hadn't heard anything from you. But she was too stubborn, she was too thick-skulled, she didn't want to be the one to reach out first. She wanted you to reach out. And I yelled at her and..." He trailed off and rubbed his hands through his hair again, his eyebrows pinching together like he was going to start crying. You exhaled again and pressed your hand to your chest.

So this was your fault. You sat down on the chair and stared at the ground feeling guilt and shame crash into you like giant waves. They knocked the wind out of you and you had to force yourself to take deep breaths in case your started hyperventilating. You looked around at Selena's concerned face, at Caden's one of anguish. You pressed your lips together and leaned down, cradling your head in your hands. Tears welled up in your eyes, but you tamped them down.

"I didn't know..." You whispered. "I didn't know, I thought... I though you guys would be okay. I thought you guys would..."

"Thought we would what? Forget about you?" Selena cut into your thoughts. You glanced up to see tears welled in her eyes. "We were your family, Y/N. And you left us without really saying goodbye or even... or even calling to say that you were okay or something." Selena's voice cracked and you reached out to her on instinct.

"I'm sorry... I... I didn't know what to say to you guys and... I don't have an excuse." Not one that you could tell them anyway. You looked back at Caden.

"You wanted Katie to reach out to me?" You asked quietly, surprised at Caden's sudden candor. He nodded and met your gaze, his eyes darkening.

"Of course. I knew she missed you and was too stubborn to say anything. I just wanted her to be happy." Caden said softly. You frowned suddenly, catching something in his voice that gave you pause.

His expression was one of sincerity, of earnestness. To anyone listening, to Selena sitting next to you, to any stranger who wouldn't know better, he sounded like the perfect concerned boyfriend. But you had been around a bunch of sociopaths for weeks. You'd been living with three emotionally stunted supernatural beings who rarely ever said anything genuine. So you knew exactly what someone who was full of bullshit sounded like. And Caden sounded like he was full of bullshit.

You opened your mouth to call him out when footsteps caught your attention. You turned to see a man in scrubs holding a clipboard standing in front of you.

"Are you Kathryn Lobe's friends?" He asked. All three of you stood and nodded. "She just came out of surgery. She's stable, if you would like to see her." Caden nodded and moved forward with Selena at the same time. You stayed put, feeling rooted to the spot. Selena glanced back at you when she noticed you weren't beside her.

"Coming, Y/N?" She asked hopefully. You swallowed hard and forced a smile on your face.

"I'll meet you there, I... I need to use the bathroom." You turned around and walked away without looking back to see if Selena would do as you said. You rushed to the hallway where the bathrooms were located and disappeared around the corner, leaning against the wall. You pressed a hand to your chest and took in a deep breath. You felt the tears prick at your eyes and the lump forming in your throat. You closed your eyes, trying to keep yourself together.

"Y/N?" You gasped and turned to see Jimin standing there, holding a cooler in one hand. You stared at him for a second as he surveyed your face. "Are you okay?"

"Did you... were you listening?" You asked quietly, forcing sound to come out from behind the lump. Jimin pursed his lips and stared for a second before responding.

"Not if you didn't want me to." He said quietly.

You let out a choked laugh at his response. Your laughter died down and you pursed your lips again, blinking away tears.

"She's here because of me." You said softly. "She... she fell down the stairs because she was angry with me." You closed your eyes, feeling like the guilt was going to swallow you whole.

"You are not the reason she fell." Jimin said softly. "You can't blame yourself for this." You gritted your teeth and opened your eyes, turning to him with angry eyes filled with tears.

"But it's my fault! They were fighting about me." You protested, clasping your chest, like you might have to scratch at your lungs for air. Jimin shook his head, his eyes dark and solemn.

"You didn't start their fight. They could have been fighting about anything." He said, moving closer to you. You shook your head and stared at the ground, the tears welling in your eyes, threatening to fall.

"But if I was there..."

"You'd be dead. And they would be too." He cut in, not letting you finish.

You paused, staring up at him in surprise. His face was hard, determined, leaving no room for argument. "You would be dead." He repeated. "A vampire would have found you and would have killed you and probably your friends too. You protected and saved them by going away."

You looked away and wiped the unshed tears from your eyes before pushing yourself off the wall.

"I have to go see my friend." You said tersely, brushing past him. You heard him turn to follow you and you stopped, turning back to face him. "Don't follow me. I'll be fine on my own." You said, raising a hand up to him.

Jimin lifted his chin but didn't argue as you turned and walked away, back into the waiting room and through the double doors to the outpatient surgery wing. You looked around until you saw Caden and Selena standing the doorway of one of the rooms. You walked over to them and peered inside the room, your heart catching in your throat.

There Katie was, lying in the bed, a bandage wrapped around her head, tubes attached to her arms and her face pale and hollow, like she hadn't eaten or drank in weeks. You swallowed hard and tried not to break down right there. Instead, you took Selena's hand in yours and squeezed. She clutched your arm and leaned against your shoulder, tears dripping down her face.

"When will she wake up?" Caden asked the doctor who stood just inside.

"It's hard to say, but probably before tomorrow. She had some internal bleeding but we fixed that in surgery. She should just present with symptoms of a mild concussion now." He said, giving you all a reassuring nod. You felt Selena sigh in relief. Caden walked into the room and stood by Katie's side. She was sleeping peacefully, her chest rising and falling consistently.

Caden took her hand and Selena went to her other side, pulling up a chair. You looked up at Caden, who you were surprised to see was looking back at you. His eyes were focused on you, scrutinizing and you looked away on reflex.

"So, how've you been doing?" Caden asked, breaking the silence. You looked up at him, surprised and opened your mouth to say something, your mind going completely blank.

"I—um... nothing much." You stammered weakly. Selena looked over at you too.

"You said you'd found your family, right? How are they? Are you fitting in well with them?" She asked turning in her chair to face you better. You gulped, feeling cornered.

"I—I mean, yeah they're fine."

"Y/N." You turned around when you heard your name and almost doubled over when you saw Jimin standing there, still holding the cooler, looking past you to inside the room. "Um, sorry. We need to go soon."

"Go wait outside." You hissed, wanting him to be gone, gone, away from here.

"I have to stay with you, but we should leave soon." Jimin said, not sounding very apologetic at all. You gave him a scathing look and made to shove him with both hands.

"Jimin, I swear to god, leave please." You whispered desperately, moving closer.

"Who's this?" You jumped when the voice appeared behind you. You whirled around to see Caden was gone from beside Katie's bed and was standing barely a foot away from you, staring at Jimin with an intensity you'd never seen before.

"I know you, don't I?" Caden asked, his voice low and dangerous. "I've seen you somewhere before." You looked between them in confusion. Jimin narrowed his eyes, but his expression remained blank.

"I don't believe so, no." he said calmly. You looked over at Selena, who was frowning, staring at Jimin in confusion. Your heart slammed into your chest. You needed to get out of here, right now.

"Let's go, Jimin." You said, a little too loudly, grabbing his arm. Caden grabbed your shoulder, stopping you from leaving the room.

"What's in your cooler?" He demanded, pointing down at the box. Jimin curled his lip distastefully.

"Soda." He said tersely. Caden opened his mouth and scowled, making to argue when Selena piped up.

"Y/N, are you seriously going to leave again? Without saying anything?" She stood up and walked toward you. "Why did you even come if you weren't going to help or do anything?"

You looked into her betrayed expression and you felt the panic rise. You looked at Caden, who looked like he wanted to jump Jimin for reasons you couldn't understand. Jimin didn't look like he was opposed to a fight with Caden. In fact, he looked just as murderous. This was mistake, this was such a huge mistake. You never should have come, you never should have... You looked around at this impossible situation and a stone settled in your chest when you realized when needed to be done.

You sighed in defeat and pushed Caden's hand off your shoulder, dropping Jimin's wrist in the same motion. You swallowed and squeezed your eyes shut.

"Jimin..." You said softly, through the lump in your throat. "Compel them, please." Jimin looked down at you, surprised as Caden and Selena exchanged confused looks.

"Compel us? What the hell are you talking about?"

You wiped away the moisture from your eyes and went to stand behind Jimin. He gave you a long look, but you wouldn't meet his eyes. For a moment, nobody spoke. Then, Jimin turned to the two humans and immediately, you saw both of their gazes become glassy and unfocused.

"What do you want me to tell them?" Jimin asked, his voice hoarse. You sighed.

"I... I don't care." You whispered. Then, a thought, a horrible thought came to you. You felt tears of sadness and despair fill your eyes but you quickly wiped them away. "Wait. Make them forget me." You said, causing Jimin to turn to you in surprise. "Make them forget I existed. Do it for Katie too." You repeated, nodding to yourself. The more you thought about it, the better it seemed. This way, they wouldn't be hurt anymore. This way, things would get better for them and they'd be safe.

"Y/N, are you sure?" Jimin asked softly, reaching out for you. You stepped back and nodded, hugging yourself tightly.

"Yes, of course I'm sure. Do it." You croaked, trying to keep your voice from cracking.

You turned and walked away without looking back as Jimin spoke softly to your friends, erasing their memory of you forever.