The Freeing Blood

Chapter 3

One week later

I was home from the hospital finally, but unfortunately they refused to allow me to do anything except shower and change my own clothes. And by ‘they’ I mean Zak and Mason. Mason would keep an eye on me throughout the day and then switch out with Zak at night when Mason had to head over to work my shift at Luke’s pizza place. For now, Zak had edited all the episodes and sent them into the TV station saying he was going to go on temporary hiatus from the show. The producers were ok with it since he had turned in everything for the next season. They just didn’t want the break to last for an extended period of time.
Mason was just about to head out for work, we were just waiting on Zak to arrive.
“You know you can leave, Mason,” I sighed as I sat on the couch watching him wear down a slight trail in the carpet from all his pacing. He glanced down at his watch for the thirtieth time in the past five minutes.
“No. I won’t leave you here alone,” he answered gruffly.
“I was shot by some emotionally unstable man who is now locked up in jail a couple towns over. I wasn’t kidnapped nor did I try to commit suicide, so I don’t need to be under constant surveillance.”
Mason stopped in his tracks then and turned those chocolate brown eyes on me. “It’s not that, Aerolynn. I don’t think you fully comprehend the gravity of the situation. You acted rashly even after we warned you to back off because we had a handle on it. We don’t need you doing something again, ripping open your stitches, and creating another problem. The guy nicked the edge of your lung for heaven’s sake. You should be lucky he didn’t pierce it. You’re too headstrong and think you can do everything and anything on your own no matter if it could cause you possible harm. So, until your wound heals completely, and I will take your doctor’s word for it not yours, then you will be under constant surveillance.
“We’re not telling you that you can’t always go out and do something as long as it poses no harm to possibly opening your wound back open. We don’t need you bleeding out on us anytime soon. The fact that you died and the doctors were barely able to revive you is a big enough scare ok? I swear to God, if I had lost you that day…” Mason stopped and released a long slow breath. “Just don’t scare me like that anymore, okay? I don’t think I will be able to handle it. So next time when I arrive home, try to be a little less dramatic about you not wanting me to leave alright? Just say ‘hey, Mason, stay for a little bit longer’ instead of getting shot in the back by some emotionally unstable gunman, got me?” Mason chided staring me down with those serious brown eyes of his.
Seeing him be so dead serious about everything was new to me. I had seen him serious before, but nothing like this. I could tell I had really given him a fright when I had gotten shot. I hadn’t meant for it to happen and he knew that, but he still slightly blamed me for acting brashly and turning my back to a gun.
I nodded in understanding. “Okay, Mason, I got you. But seriously, Zak will be here in a few minutes. I think you can trust me enough to leave me on my own for a few minutes,” I reassured him. He glanced once more down at his watch and anxiously watched the door.
He let out a sigh of defeat. “Fine. I’m going to head to work to cover your shift, but I want you to have Zak call me as soon as he arrives, got it?”
I nodded. “Understood, now go. I’ll relay your message to Zak.”
Mason bent down and kissed me on the forehead. He headed for the door, but paused to look back at me before he left.
“Oh, and one more thing,” he called back. I arched a brow in curiosity.
“Don’t get all hot and heavy with Zak on the couch or any other area where I may have to possibly sit, eat, bathe, or, well, wherever I would be. So keep it exclusively in the bedroom, ok?”
I tossed a pillow at him. He caught it in midair and flung it back at me with a smile. I dodged the oncoming pillow and laughed.
“It’s not like that with us right now,” I admitted to him. Hell, I hadn’t even said I love you to him yet even though he had said it to me. Actually, we hadn’t even kissed since that night at the hospital. It worried me.
“Key words: right now. Anyways, have fun, but not too much fun. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Alright. Bye!” With that Mason left to head to work. So there I sat alone wondering what in the hell I was going to do until Zak decided to show. My eyes lifted up to look at the clock hanging on the wall above the flat screen TV. He was twenty minutes late. Where could he be?
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~~~~~~Zak’s P.O.V~~~~~~

I approached the door to her apartment and took a glance at my watch. I was almost an hour late and she would probably be extremely angry with me once I went inside. I hadn’t seen her brother’s car downstairs which meant he must have left by some miracle. I don’t think I could handle his anger although I should probably call him and let him know I had finally arrived although I was kind of scared to do so.
I took a deep breath and opened the door. I expected Aerolynn to either be on the couch watching television or in the kitchen whipping herself up something to eat, but I didn’t see her anywhere. The lights were on and everything seemed to be ok…just no Aerolynn in sight.
Just then my phone went off.
“Hello?” I answered.
“You better fucking tell me that you are with my sister at this very moment,” a demon named Mason growled in my ear. I gulped.
“Uh yeah, bro. I’m here. Have been for a while. I must have forgotten to call you,” I nervously chuckled. How could a man that was younger than me frighten me to the very core of my being?
“Forgotten…sure. You better thank your still attached balls that my sister likes you otherwise you’d be in the hospital right now getting a certain appendage taken care of.”
Mason hung up. A chill ran down my spine at the not so subtle threat. Her brother could be one scary man when it came to the care of his little sister. I slipped the phone back into my pocket and closed the door behind me. Where was she?
“Aerolynn?” I called out.
“Zak?” I heard her voice call from the bedroom. I saw her head poke out of her bedroom, a large smile on her face.
“Zak!” She darted down the hallway and flung herself into my arms.
I laughed and twirled her around. “Hey, is everything ok?”
“Yeah fine,” she smiled. “Oh! You need to call my brother,” she reported.
“Uh, yeah, I already did.” I wasn’t going to mention he actually called me first and threatened to rip off a certain important part of my body.
“Oh, great! So, uh, why are you so late?”
At that question, a wide smile split my face. I raked my gaze over her body and observed her clothing. She was wearing pajama bottoms and a tank top.
“You’re gonna have to change,” I tsked at her shaking my head.
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Why?”
“Because…I’m taking you somewhere. Now go change into something comfortable and warm,” I demanded.
“Yes sir!” she giggled running back to her room. I rubbed my hands together and released a deep breath.
I really hoped she would like what I had planned for her.