Double Trouble

The reaction she got from her husband was exactly the one she expected. Savannah knew that Toby would not take too kindly to the fact that she would resort to returning his immortality in order to sustain his life. He never did like the fact that he was a vampire and did everything he could to get rid of it. Unfortunately, this was the only choice she had; not wanting to lose him the way she lost her parents. That loss still hurt, even after seventeen years. It always would. So, unwilling to lose the man she loved, Savannah did this for Toby. Savannah wrapped her arms around him and smiled. “I thought I lost you,” she said quietly.

“Savannah, what did you do?” he asked again.

Despite knowing that an argument would surely ensue by telling him this, Savannah knew that she had to do it. He would find out what was going on eventually. “I did the only thing I could do,” Savannah told him. “The blast from Calarasi’s fireball nearly killed you and I’m not about to lose you; not yet. So, to save you from the death you don’t deserve right now, I gave you back your immortality and the vampire tendencies that go with it.”

“You did what!” Toby exclaimed.

“I put the vampire blood back in your body,” she replied.

“Why you do that?” he asked.

“After everything I’ve been through, you ask that?” she asked. Savannah rolled her bottle green eyes and reminded Toby of something he seemed to have overlooked. “Toby, I’ve been through hell because of your family: Jason, Justin, and Calarasi. I’ve lost so much because of them; I wasn’t about to lose you too. Hell, look at my brother; Calarasi inadvertently ruined my brother’s life through his daughter’s existence. The only good thing Calarasi ever allowed to happen was Eli. And besides, I put a time limit on it; the vampire curse will only last until your injuries from Calarasi are fully healed. Then they’re gone.”

“But, what if I never recover?” he asked.

Savannah eyed her husband warily. “What are the chances of that happening?” she asked. The chance of her husband never recovering from what happened was slim to none. And, even if it was possible, it wasn’t really something that Savannah would ever want to think about because it meant that she would lose Toby in the process. “Honestly, Toby, I’ve been through this enough times to know that things we only work out the way we want them to if we wish it that way. So, I am; I am doing everything in my power to help you, but making certain that what I didn’t going to last forever. I wouldn’t let that happen.”

“I hope you know what you’re getting into,” he shrugged.

“I can assure, I do,” Savannah replied.

“Auntie V, Uncle Toby, what if this whole vampire thing doesn’t blow over by the time the weekend’s over? I mean, what’s going to happen then? Surely, he can’t teach in the state that he’s in.”

Toby shook his head. “No, I very well can’t. And, if that turns out to by the case, it is you that I will rely on to help the substitute, should there ever be one. I would only trust you to deal with that since only you know my situation. Meanwhile I will be keeping myself out of the light, ensuring that I have a fast recovery.” He glanced over at his wife. “Savannah, I really do hope you’re right about this; should you be wrong, it could seriously affect my life here with you, something we both know must never happen.”

“I’m right,” Savannah assured him.

A knock came at the door. Everyone spun around to see Thomas standing there, arms crossed as he leaned against the doorframe. “Good to see you up, Toby,” Thomas said lightly. “I don’t think I could have counseled my younger sister through your death; I believe the counseling is your area of expertise. After all, you were the only one who could bring my sister out of her depression. Losing you would bring her back to that dark place she crawled out of when you entered her life. Things would have gotten far worse than they were before.”

“Clearly,” Toby chuckled.

“She told you?” Thomas asked.

“Not really,” Toby explained to his brother-in-law. “It was more so something she did that made me realize just how much that message rung true in Savannah’s case. With what she did, there was really no need to tell me anything; I just knew that was the reason for this.”

“What did my sister do?” Thomas asked.

“Let’s just go with this; should you happen upon your father-in-law over the next few days, it would be best for you get rid of him. Running into my great, great grandson would not bode well for any of us, especially in my condition” Thomas nodded knowingly, in clear understanding of what happened. “Calarasi is still out there searching for immortality and, thanks to your sister,” Toby shot a pointed look at his wife, “he’s going to come after me. No one outside of this room must ever know that I’ve been returned to my immortal state for the duration of my recovery. Iyana, Reuben, Keith, and Dawn can never know what happened.”
Savannah nodded. It would be pointless to tell any of them anyway. She hated Iyana and her kids had no reason to find out about what she had done to ensure their father’s safety. All that mattered was that Toby was alive and there was no chance of him dying from the injuries he sustained at Calarasi’s hand. “No problem, Toby. There’s no chance of me telling them.”

“Given your track record, I don’t believe that,” Toby laughed.

“I have no reason to tell them anything,” Savannah argued, defending the choice she made. “Your brothers are mortal and I doubt Calarasi would come back after us. He knows what will happen to him if he decides to come after us. When he tried to get your immortality thirteen years ago, he just barely escaped; I’m not about to let that happen again.”

Toby shrugged. “You’ve still told your nephew what was going. And, in telling Eli of my past, it caused certain events from today to come to pass. Even if Eli can help me now that I’ve reverted back to my vampire form for the time-being, I still never wanted him to know.”

“Well, it was my choice,” Savannah replied. “I’ve protected him ever since he was a boy, having spent more time with him than his own mother. Now that he’s older and capable of taking care of himself, he can repay the favor by watching over his cousins. And, in order to do so, Eli needed to be made aware of your past and all that happened; from your brothers to Calarasi, he needed to be made aware of all that in order to be fully informed and fully equipped to protect his cousins from any force that threatened to ruin this family. And, you know that the only people who are willing to destroy this family are your brothers and Calarasi. Consequently, Eli needed to be made aware of your past to keep them safe.” Toby never seemed to understand just how much thought went into her decision to provide her nephew with the knowledge that Toby was once a vampire, as well as the fact that his brothers and Calarasi each played a major part in shaping the life Savannah now led.

“Okay,” Toby shrugged. “Now, about getting out of here?”

“I think that, for the next twenty-four hours, you should remain here,” Savannah explained. “Your injuries have begun to heal, but it would still be unwise for you to move. Plus, I doubt that Iyana won’t question it if Thomas and I take you back home. There’s no doubt in my mind that Iyana will want to know the reason we’re discharging you from the hospital so early in your recovery.” After the argument she heard a little earlier between her brother and Iyana, she suspected that it would be unwise to allow another argument to occur.

“And after that?” Toby asked.

“We’ll go from there,” Savannah replied. “And, to see to it that Iyana can do nothing to you—of which I’m sure she will try—I’ll be staying here.” She turned to her nephew. “Eli, I’m going to need you to watch over Reuben, Keith, and Dawn while I’m gone. Tell them nothing out what happened; they cannot know of the vampire blood that is currently pumping through their father’s veins to allow their father the time to heal. Since Dawn and I eliminated any trace of the vampire blood from their bodies, Jason and Justin can freely enter your father’s shop. I don’t know if they’ve regained consciousness from what happened, but I’m sure that, if they have, they’ll come find us since they know where we live. I am not about to take that chance. So, go home and watch over your cousins; they need you.”

“What about you?” Eli asked.

“I’ll be perfectly fine here. I just need to make sure that your uncle is okay,” Savannah assured her nephew. This was one thing that Savannah knew a lot about. She was thinking back to seventeen years ago when Jason and Justin ran their brother over in a hit-and-run accident—the same way they killed her parents—in an attempt to keep their older brother from helping Savannah salvage what was left of her life. Toby went to the hospital immediately and Savannah saw to it that he was okay. Just as she did seventeen years ago, she would do the same here; she would make certain that Iyana could do nothing to harm Toby.

“Auntie V, you sure?” Eli asked.

“Yes, now go,” Savannah insisted.

Eli hurried out of the room. Thomas remained in Toby’s room, however. “Savannah, are you sure that you want to stay here all night?” he inquired. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“The only reason I’m staying is because Iyana’s shift won’t be ending anytime soon,” Savannah informed her brother, knowing that he would understand her reason for this based on the argument she overheard between her brother and sister-in-law. “Given who her father is, I don’t trust Iyana with Toby’s care as far as I can throw her. Toby may be her ancestor, but that won’t stop her from wanting to go against her ethical obligations as a doctor and kill him. Iyana must have inherited her thrice great grandfather’s and father’s hatred of Toby, so much so that she’s obviously willing to give up her job in order to see to it that my husband is destroyed. So, I’m going to sit here all night and make sure that nothing happens him while Iyana’s on her shift. I have to ensure that he’s okay.”

“Got it,” Thomas replied.

Savannah eyed her brother warily. He seemed a little off. In fact, ever since he returned from speaking with his wife, he seemed almost weird. The conversation must have affected him significantly. “Thomas, your conversation with Iyana; how exactly did that go?”

“Not now,” Thomas replied. “We’ll discuss it later.”

Thomas left the hospital shortly afterwards, giving Savannah some alone time with her husband. Savannah sat there by his side in silence, not wanting anyone to walk into the room and realize what she had done. “I hope you heal fast,” she whispered, lacing her fingers with his.

“Considering what you did,” Toby replied, “I’m sure I will. I just wish that you would have tried other alternatives before resorting to the vampire curse. I rid myself of this vampire curse thirteen years ago—with your help—for a reason; I never wished to deal with it. Now I have no choice but to deal with it again and I don’t appreciate it very much.”

“Even if it will save your life?” Savannah asked.

Toby nodded. “There has to be something else that you could have used to keep me alive; a way to keep the vampire curse from returning, even if it is for a short period of time. Calarasi will come after me if he knew. And, with Iyana traversing the halls, there’s a chance she could hear what we’re talking about and alert her father. Now that the curse is back, we must be careful of what happens over the next seventy-two hours.” He gave a deep sigh before continuing. “Plus, you’ve never exactly seen me as a vampire. Oh, sure you were around, but you never had a firsthand account of my vampire curse. I was fortunate enough to have concealed that from you during the summer we were at Camp Strange. Savannah, you have no idea what you’re getting into by returning the vampire curse.”

“We’ll deal,” Savannah assured him.

“I hope so,” Toby murmured.