Nightrose Chronicles: Book 1, Bloodrose

'Tia, wake up.'

Tia snapped her eyes open. Her sight was blurry at first, but cleared after some intense blinking. She was in a hospital room, an IV tube in her arms. Her head was bandaged and her left arm was in a sling.

Sitting on her chest was Orion, his eyes brimming with intelligence. He meowed loudly until someone came in.

"She's awake!" Some yelled.

Mere seconds later, Terri, Laurence, Shelby, Derrick, Terri's mom, a doctor, and a nurse came in. Terri and Shelby burst into tears as they rushed to Tia.

"W-what happened?" Tia whispered, her throat dry.

"We got hit by a truck that was running from the cops." Terri sobbed. She was shaking badly. "I thought you weren't going to wake up."

"Are you two ok?" Tia asked, staring at the bandages on their faces and on Terri's mom.

Shelby wiped tears away. "Yeah. You got hit the hardest, though."

"I heard someone. Someone was telling me to wake up." Tia looked from person to person. They all shook their heads.

"I mean, Terri and I were saying that the other day, but we've been in the waiting room for a few days now." Shelby sobbed. Orion meowed.

"We don't know where he came from." Terri pet the cat. "He just showed up and refuse to move."

"It's Damien's cat." Tia said more to herself than anyone. She struggled to sit up, but managed with Terri and Shelby's help. She pulled the cat close to her.

"Did he ask you to watch over me?" She whispered to Orion. He simply licked her nose, an obvious yes.

Terri stared at her best friend worriedly. 'Is she talking to the cat?'

"Orion, would you tell Damien I'm awake?" Tia whispered in his ear. Orion's ear twitched, then he jumped off the bed and ran out of the room.

"Here, drink some water." The nurse came in with a glass of water. Tia hadn't seen the doctor tell her to get it, but she was glad he had. She drained the glass after a few minutes.

"Feeling refreshed, she started asking questions. "How long was I out?"

"A week." Terri's mom came and sat by her. "Your mom was here yesterday, but they called her in to work for today. Bastards."

"But she'll be here in a few minutes. She got off about thirty minutes ago." She continued.

Tia nodded, then looked to Shelby and Terri. "Has Damien been here?"

"Several times." Terri nodded.

"But he's been out looking for the guy who hit us. He got away from the cops, so Damien's been hunting him for a week." Shelby patted Tia on her uninjured arm. "He was so distraught when he heard about the accident."

"Distraught is putting it mildly. He was really worried about you at first." Terri sat next to Tia like her mom was. "But then he was told the guy got away and he stormed out of here."

"They still haven't been able to fix the front doors." Shelby shook her head.

A cop came in the room just then and spoke to the doctor quietly, then left. The doctor cleared his throat. "I'll have to check you later, Ms. Brook. It seems the man who hit you was just delivered to the ER. He's in very bad shape, as I'm told. I'll be back to check on you later."

The doctor bid them goodbye and left. Everyone turned to look at Tia, who was falling asleep.

"Damn nurse spiked the water..." She groaned as she drifted into peaceful darkness.

It was some time later that Tia awoke. She could tell that her mom had been there recently, seeing as her mom's purse was on the table next to her. Tia glanced at the clock on the wall shining in the moonlight that drifted through the curtains.

'One forty-seven.' She thought. She shivered as a gentle breeze wafted from the window. It was open.

She got up silently and wobbled over to the window. Moving back the curtains, she found Damien sitting on the window ledge. He hadn't noticed her yet, because he was talking to himself. But as she listened, she heard that he was actually praying.

"Don't take her. Please don't take her. Even if she's never mine, please don't take her." He whispered. Apparently, Orion hadn't told Damien that he had woken Tia up from her coma!

Tia could feel tears coming as she listened to him continue.

"I know why you wouldn't want us to be together." He looked to the moon. "She's perfect and I'm a freak."

"You are not." Tia whispered as she hugged him, unable to contain herself any longer. "You're the nicest guy I've ever known."

He looked down to her in shock. He had almost fallen off the ledge when she grabbed him. But he could not believe what he was hearing.

"Look, I don't really know you that well, so I don't know if it would work out..." Tia said slowly.

Damien looked as if he was going to cry.

"But I want to try..." She said a moment later. Damien, unable to speak, could only hug her back.

<^>

When Tia got back to school the next week, she was greeted enthusiastically by many people. Most of them greeted her warmly and lots of nice things were said to her. She knew half of them didn't really care, but it made her feel a little better. She was looking for Damien because the week earlier the doctor said she couldn't have any more visitors so they could run a few tests. They claimed they needed to make sure there wasn't anything else wrong with her, but she wasn't so sure about that. She hadn't seen Damien much during that time, but he had snuck up to her hospital room window and talked to her for a little while. But she hadn't seen him in a few days, though. Orion was there in Damien's stead, so it wasn't so bad.

When she finally found him, he was at his locker with his back to her. She moved as silently as she could until she was right behind him. Being careful with her left arm, she wrapped her arms around him. He turned his head and looked at her.

"Hey. Out so soon?" He asked.

"Yep. The doctors said my arm would only take a few days to heal, and the cut on my head already healed. My coma was the only serious thing, and that's already passed." Tia buried her head in his back. "I missed you."

Damien smiled warmly. "I missed you too."

A little way down the hallway, Lauren, senior and head cheerleader, whipped around to the group of girls that usually followed her. "Now THAT is ugly."

Damien felt Tia tense up all of a sudden.

"She says it again, and I'll rip her fucking throat out." She spat venomously. For a moment, Damien could have sworn there was red in her eyes.

"Now now. No need to be violent." He said to calm her down. "She's a sad little preppy girl that has to put down others to make herself feel better."

That calmed Tia down somewhat. The stared in his locker for a moment. "Hey, is that the newest of that series?"

Damien looked at the book she was referring to. "Yes. You like this author?"

"His books are awesome! I've read all of them up to that one, but I don't have any of them."

Something in Damien's mind clicked together and he smiled. He had an idea now. But before he could tell her, the bell for homeroom rang. Tia hugged him again before take off. Damien watched her leave, then Shadow-walked to his homeroom.

Tia stopped at her locker for a pencil and turned around to him herself surrounded by three of the cheerleaders. She didn't know their names, but they looked agitated.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"Mind if we ask you a question." The first one asked sweetly.

"Uh, sure." Tia's eyes flashed dangerously, letting the cheerleaders know that they should word their question carefully.

"Are you and Damien an item now?" The second one asked, a curious look in her eye.

Tia blushed slightly. "Yes?"

The third one cocked her head like a parrot. "WHY?"

"He isn't how people think he is." Tia said simply and quietly. "And he's the nicest guy in this school."

The cheerleaders, puzzled, walked away without a word. Tia just shook her head and walked to class.

Tia didn't see Damien again until lunch when she stepped in line behind him.

"There you are." He glanced at her from over his shoulder.

"You're sitting with us." Tia said sweetly.

Damien faked protest. "Do I have to? Those people are so weird!"

"Uh-huh. And you and I aren't?" She asked, poking him in the arm.

He just smiled and shook his head. "Alright, alright. You win."

They made their way to the table after getting their trays. Tia sat next to Terri, who sat next to Derrick. Shelby sat across from Derrick and Laurence sat next to Shelby and across from Tia, leaving a seat next to Laurence and across from Tia for Damien.

(Confused yet?)

"Um, boo?" Damien said awkwardly as he sat down.

"Don't worry, I don't bite." He said a moment later. A nervous laugh spread around the table. Terri spoke up when it died down.

"So, it's official?"

Damien and Tia both blushed somewhat. "W-well..uh..."

"Officially unofficial, eh?" Laurence patted Damien on back.

"Yeah...kinda...well..." Damien mumbled.

"Aww, how cute!" Terri pked Tia in the side.

Tia jumped in her seat. "Terri, quit! You know I'm ticklish!"

"Yeah, but Damien didn't."

Tia turned wide-eyed to Damien, who was smiling evily. She gave him a half-hearted stern look. "You try it, and I'll kick your butt."

Damien replace the evil girn with an innocent look. "Who, me? I would never."

The for the next few minutes, they joked around. Well, Damien was mostly silent, but he spoke up every once in a while.

"So when do you think it's going to be official?" Shelby whispered to Laurence when Tia and Damien left to throw away their trays.

"I don't know. Does it matter?" Laurence whispered back as he watched them.

"Of course it matters!" Shelby said hotly. "Tia needs a guy who'll take care of her."

"Shelby's right." Terri nodded. "Tia's had bad luck with guys in the past few years. Finding one that will take care of her and actually love her must be like a dream come true."

"Trust me, Damien will take care of her." Derrick boomed. The principal signaled that lunch was over just then. Everyone started leaving when something became apparent to Terri.

"Hey, am I the only one who realized that they haven't known each other very long, and they're on the verge of dating?" She asked.

"Catches on quick, doesn't she?" Laurence chuckled.

"Are you telling me you already knew?" Terri demanded.

"No, we figured it out the Monday after she met him by accident in the park." Shelby nodded in Damien and Tia's direction. They were ahead of the rest of them.

"Well, why didn't anybody tell me?" Terri stamped her foot.

"Does it really matter now?" Derrick asked, putting his arm around her. "She's happy now, and that's all that really matters."

Terri nodded. Derrick thought about something, then turned to Laurence. "Now that Terri mentions it, it does seem a little odd. Was Tia talking to anyone on the internet?"

"Yeah, she was." Terri interrupted. Derrick looked at ground and shook his head.

"Oh, he's good."

Laurence and Shelby were nodding, seeing that Derrick had caught on. It took Terri a moment to piece it together.

"So, it was Damien she was talking to?" She asked a moment later. The others nodded.

"Do you think she knows?" Terri asked the last question on her mind.

"I dunno." Shelby shrugged. "Should we tell her?"

"Nay, Shelby." Derrick held up his hand.

"Why?"

"Because Tia is a smart girl. She will figure it out." He stopped and hugged Terri. "I have to go to the gym. See you in a little while."

Terri hugged him back. "Ok. See you later."

Afterward, Terri caught up to Tia as she was waving bye to Damien. When he disappeared from view, Tia sighed and turned to Terri, a lovestruck look on her face and in her eyes.

"So, it's official?" Terri asked, startling her friend.

Tia shook her head. "We still trying to work out the kinks in it, so we're just friends right now."

Terri gave her childhoodfriend a doubtful expression. "Just friends? Tia, quit lying. I know you two were crushin' on each other something fierce."

She snapped her fingersr a moment later. "I've got it!"

"What?" Tia asked.

"An idea!" Terri grinned evily.

"What are you going to do?"

"You'll see!" Terri cackled. "My little pretty!"

Before Tia could say anything else, Terri skitted off to class. Tia didn't really want to find out, but she did at break when Terri came running to her.

"Be in the park at eight tonight!" She said hurridly. She then ran off in a different direction, leaving Tia flabbergasted.

Damien didn't know what to say when Terri ran up to him during break. She had (briefly) explained something to him, then ran off to find Tia. He shook his head and pondered why he was supposed to be at the park at eight that night.