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Post by Lydia Edwards on Sept 6, 2010 10:22:01 GMT -5
Lydia had stayed for a few days, mostly to make sure that he was alright, to make sure that the venom had not hurt him and that it was clear of his system. Still she could only imagine that he was anything but fond of her now, so she kept her distance from him when she could. It was hard enough for her to be in Miami but now that she knew the route of any friendship or emotion was due to her venom she felt even more alone in this strange place. She needed to get out though, so the need to feed was a welcome escape from him.
So Lydia had set out not long after the sunset, heading for the park as that seemed the best place to hunt, and so she proceeded with little enough care and a lot of distraction plaguing her. She saw the figure of a man in the distance, target locked.
~
A few hours later Lydia returned, or rather nearly dragged herself back. Her breathing was labored with every step she took, often catching in the back of her throat. She stumbled as she moved up the stairs and made it into the apartment. She was a bloody and bruised mess. She had been beaten at her own game, and for it came more broken ribs, a nasty gash in her side, and two holes in her neck that were still bleeding.
Saber trotted over and whined at her, obviously aware that something was very wrong. Lydia stood there, shakey and half confused. Her mind told her that she had just cleaned and she was going to get blood everywhere. She stumbled towards the bathroom to the tub. There she sank into the mass of porcelain, her skin very nearly matching its color. She could not stop this bleeding or the pain, and she was barely away of saber standing next to the tub whimpering at her.
She managed to reach out once and touch him, leaving a smear of blood on his snout. Then Lydia’s eyes closed and her head rolled to the side, that hand simply dangling over the edge of the tub.
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Post by Leon Banx on Sept 6, 2010 11:37:08 GMT -5
Leon had passed out after she left days before that. He had recuperated quite quickly, being totally fine the next morning when he stirred. He had stayed home from work again, however, spending his time with Lydia in an effort to figure out if he were feeling and different. And, surprisingly...he wasn't.
He didn't know how to exactly tell Lydia this, however. And he sure as hell didn't want her to leave. So to give her a reason to stay, he had pretended to get a cold; it hadn't been that hard, he had perfected the art of faking sick a while back in his middle school days. But today he had gone to work, and then later he'd gone out with some friends to the bar.
Leon missed seeing Lydia drag herself into the apartment by a five minuet margin. He was calmly riding up in the elevator now, humming along with the music. He hadn't drank that much at all, being he had again placed as the designated driver for the night, so he wasn't even slightly buzzed. However he did smell of alcohol. A few of his friends had spilled some on him. He rolled his eyes at the thought. "Drunk idiots," he grumbled.
When the doors parted with a shudder and groan, he stepped out, casting the machine a wary glance over his shoulder. Next time he'd take the stairs, he decided. The last thing he ever wanted was to be stuck in an elevator; his luck he'd suddenly become claustrophobic or something and then die.
The keys on his keyring jingled softly as he turned them in the lock, and he began to hum. No sooner had he opened the door and stepped in than Saber had been attacking him, barking and nipping and whining loudly. The dog's tail was tucked firmly between its legs, and its ears were flattened against its furry head.
"Holy crap, dog!" Leo yelped falling backwards against the now closed door. He leaned against it, watching as Saber jumped and leaped. "What's on your nose?" Tenderly he reached out, his fingertips grazing the puppy's snout. It was read against his lightly tanned skin; he swallowed nervously.
"Blood?"
He swallowed uneasily, jogging into the kitchen to wash his hands. He picked up the dog and stuck its face under the faucet. Saber, in response, whined and squirmed. The blood was rinsed off of his little face, and Leon dried him with a paper towel. As soon as he was set back down, Saber went at Leon again.
"Boy, what's wrong?"
Saber barked wildly, turning and scrabbling against the floor for a grip. As soon as he got one, he was bounding across the floor; he practically slammed into the bathroom door. Leo slowly walked after him, his teeth nervously grinding. "Boy, what's wrong?" he repeated, his hand settling on the knob.
When he opened the door and saw Lydia a second later, it took all he had not to vomit.
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Post by Lydia Edwards on Sept 6, 2010 11:47:38 GMT -5
Five minutes was long enough for there to be a thin red trail going down the tub towards the drain, five minutes was enough for the blood to soak her abdomen. Five minutes was enough for her to sink deeper into a state of unconsciousness. At least she was unconscious though, that was a mercy for now. While it meant she very well might not wake up she was out of pain. Perhaps that was Karma, as she was never the sort to let many of her victims suffer.
She didn’t move at the barking, or the noise of Leo coming home. In fact Lydia was widely unaware of all the things going on around her, and that was good too. She did have some knowledge that she might end up causing Leo some distress when he found her dead body in the bathtub, but he hadn’t done this so it wasn’t like he’d be charged. In fact disposal of it could be easy enough, just leave her out in the sun, she’d be gone in a matter of minutes.
However something did trigger her, maybe the sound of Leo and Saber in the bathroom. She just barely twitched and then let out a soft groan. Still that hand lay over the edge of the tub, just dripping.
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Post by Leon Banx on Sept 6, 2010 12:17:55 GMT -5
Leon gagged, feeling as though he'd walked onto a set for a horror film. "Oh my God," he groaned, stepping back a few lurching steps. "Oh my God." He slid against the wall, his boots finding as little traction on the tiles as Saber's small paws; probably because his knees were quaking so violently. He gripped to sink near by to prevent from falling completely down.
Saber sat down next to her hand, whining loudly and licking at it. Leon watched him, swallowing repeated times to try and keep down his bile. No, he wouldn't throw up; he couldn't, and he wouldn't. He had to have a strong stomach, at least for the next few minuets. He needed to get her help.
Running his hand shakily over his face, he got the courage to speak. "Lydia, what happened?" It was a stupid thing to ask, since obviously, something terrible resulting in blood had happened. He managed to stumble against the sink, his legs having their own mind and taking their sweet time getting him to where he wanted to be. He picked up a cup off of the edge of the sink; one of those dixie cups, the kind he used to rinse his mouth when he brushed his teeth. He filled it with water.
Falling to a kneel next to the tub, he began to gently douse her wounds. He paused after a moment and turned on the faucet in the tub, making the water warm. He was careful to keep her dry body away from it, so as not to wet her clothes; he unplugged the drain and kept filling up the cup, rinsing the blood from her neck, cleaning her hands to his best abilities.
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Post by Lydia Edwards on Sept 6, 2010 14:34:04 GMT -5
Lydia’s mind was just a simple swirl of colors, nothing more and nothing less than that. She was out for the moment, so she didn’t witness Leo’s disgust and attempt to keep himself together, she didn’t feel Saber licking her fingers. Still there was some level of dim awareness in her mind, and it was her nose that reacted first to it.
The smell of blood was overwhelming to her, but it made her feel sick because it was her own blood. It was the pain of feeling water over her neck wound that finally woke her. She let out another groan as her eyes opened. The pain was extreme. She whimpered and trembled, unable to hold herself still. Still any motion made the pain worse, and her hands clasped over the wound to her side, growing bloody once again.
“Leo?” She was disoriented and just looked up at him for a few minutes. She was in too much pain to say anything about the pain, it was driving her mind into shock and she couldn’t stop shaking. Naturally the wires in her brain got crossed. “I’m cold Leo.”
It did briefly occur to her that he was supposed to be sick and resting, but that thought quickly slipped away. She was fairly sure that she was done for.
“I made a mistake,” she admitted to him. “I messed up…” Her eyes fluttered, threatening to close again.
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Post by Leon Banx on Sept 6, 2010 18:48:27 GMT -5
Leo looked down at her. "It's okay, Lydia," he said, his voice shaking as badly as she was. "It's okay. You're alright, it's okay, everyone makes mistakes, Lydia." He craned his neck and kissed her nose lightly, staring down at her. "Where does it hurt the most?"
He paused and was suddenly on his feet, running towards the cabinet. The run was short, being the cabinet was directly across from the tub. He threw the little doors open and madly rooted around until he found a small towel. He was back at her side then, gingerly placing it on the wound of her neck. "Where else are you hurt?" He glanced down towards her side.
That was too much for him. Seeing all the blood--so close now, bent over her, one hand stroking her cheek jerkily the other pressing the towel--smelling it--he could smell nothing else--it assaulted him brutally. He turned his head away, pressing it under his arched arm so she didn't see him wretch. He didn't throw up, no, just dry-heaved once or twice.
When he managed to calm himself--eyes watering--he turned back to her. He was only looking at her for a moment, and then he was trying to figure out how he could gently stroke her cheek while simultaneously keeping pressure on the wound--while simultaneously calling 9-1-1. His phone was in his back pocket, and currently, he wasn't sure whether or not he should let go to grab it.
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Post by Lydia Edwards on Sept 6, 2010 19:02:31 GMT -5
Lydia was trying to keep herself together in the wake of all of this, trying not to become upset or freak out. She had been through worse right? Right? She wasn’t sure. Also she was terrified, who the hell was that thing? How had it been so strong? These thoughts all frightened her, they frightened her deeply which almost made the shaking worse. “It’s not ok.” The words were a struggle for her.
Still he had asked her a question and she waited for a moment, gathering strength. Then she moved her hands so the gash that was better than 6 inches in her side could be seen. It was too much damage, she was going to bleed out between those two wounds, and quickly. She would have bled out from just one anyways, so two was even worse. She saw him turn her head away and heard the gagging noises.
She felt just wretched and she was sure she looked that way too. She tried to train her eyes on Leo but they were starting to go blurry. She was concerned for a moment until she realized that it was simply tears welling up that she could not control. She just let them slip from her eyes as she pulled the small towel off her neck. She spat on it and pressed it back there, feeling that wound start to close.
It was a start for her and she just needed that. Her hand reached up and grasped the one that Leo had on her cheek. She was frightened and she felt alone in a world of pain. “Am I going to die?” Her voice was weak.
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Post by Leon Banx on Sept 6, 2010 19:48:56 GMT -5
Leon sighed softly when she told him it wasn't okay. "It's going to be okay, though," he whispered, kissing her again and continuing to stroke her cheek. "It's going to be okay, trust me." He looked down at where her more serious wound was, and he felt the urge to vomit once more. This time, however, all he did was pale. "That looks horrible," he said, starting to laugh. As soon as he started, he couldn't stop. He was hysterical for a good thirty seconds, staring down at all the blood.
However, the laugh cut off as soon as she clasped his hand. He looked down at her. "I won't let you die," he promised, nodding slowly. "I won't let you die, I swear to God Lydia Edwards, you're not going to die." Slowly he edged his hand away from the towel on her neck, pulling his phone from his back pocket.
He dialed 9-1-1 faster than he had ever dialed any number before. Using his shoulder as a prop, he kept the phone snugly between his cheek and shoulder. He babbled as soon as the "click" of someone picking up was audible. "Hello, yes, I need some help--"
He talked and talked and talked for a full minuet without taking a breath. As soon as the lady on the other end managed to calm him, he fell silent and listened to her speaking. "Yes. Yes. I can. Yes. Okay. Thanks."
Leon moved his head so that the phone slid to the floor, and then he grabbed a towel from the rung near the shower. He very carefully wrapped it around her waist. "Okay, I'm going to have to pick you up now," he told her softly, slowly. "I want you to close your eyes and relax, okay?"
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Post by Lydia Edwards on Sept 7, 2010 15:28:20 GMT -5
Lydia was ready to pass out in the bathtub again. She wasn’t sure what to do, and it seemed that there was nothing she could do except lay here and bleed. Her expression changed vaguely to confusion when Leo started to laugh. She didn’t understand it, and she just blinked a few times trying to stop the tears that were flowing over her cheeks. She half wanted him to stop laughing, and she half wanted him to keep going. It was helping her forget that she was dying in a bathtub miles away from home.
All the same her eyes were locked on him. It was an either way situation. Her fingers were still weakly twined with his. She simply wanted some form of comfort, and his swearing that she would not die could satisfy that in her for now. Her lips could barely press back against his. It was a matter of passing time, and ever single second counted for Lydia.
She waited, just listening, because of anyone or anything could help her at this point he was it, or the pathway to it. Then her brow furrowed at him. “I thought that you had a cold…” There was something about her eyes that was starting to dull.
She was listening too, though her ears were pounding. She felt like her heart was beating too fast.
Then she tensed when he said he’d have to lift her. She nodded her head and braced herself. "I might be thick headed but I think this might hurt a lot." She closed her eyes, but as soon as she was lifted she let out a cry of pain, her eyes opened and then she passed out, going limp in his arms.
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Post by Leon Banx on Sept 7, 2010 20:37:53 GMT -5
"I'm not sick," he admitted quietly, just before she spoke that last sentence. He winced horribly. If he hadn't played sick, than this would not have happened to her. No. She would have been perfectly fine; fine, living, breathing, smiling, fine. Leon felt guilt slam into him like a wall of lead bricks. His heart caught in his throat, and he slammed his lids close to prevent from crying.
Taking a deep breath, he managed to solace himself the slightest with thoughts like, She's going to be fine, just don't panic, and she'll be fine. Swallowing again, he staggered to his feet. With a gentle jerk of his wrist, he pulled a towel off of a near by rung and held it carefully near her waist.
The next five minuets took an eternity to tick on by. His feet didn't seem to move fast enough; the elevator seemed to chug along, taking its own sweet time as this woman lay bleeding to death in his arms. The lady on the other end of the line at the hospital seemed to think that Lydia had just cut herself on accident or something, and had told him to rush, but there was no need for an ambulance.
At the time, Leon had agreed. But now he was regretting the fact that he had concurred; that was probably the second mistake he made since he found her there dying.
As soon as the doors to the elevator shuddered open, the lobby fell silent. "I need help," Leon panted; he was breathing raggedly because of how hard it was to carry her. He may have had a strong build and was indeed not at all weak, but he wasn't superman or the hulk or something. Where was a radioactive spider when you needed one?
"I NEED HELP!" he shouted now, veins bulging from the side of his neck. "SOMEONE HELP ME, DAMN IT! Can't you see this woman needs medical services!?!?" His voice was shrill with fear; he could have been screaming.
The nearest civilian rushed towards the door, throwing it open and holding it open for him. He nodded his head, babbling a short thank you before darting out as fast as he could. The walk to his car wasn't a long one; with his long, practically galloping stride it was at maximum ten seconds. The woman followed behind him, sensing that he would need more help.
Leon shifted Lydia very carefully in his arms as he instructed the kind stranger to take his keys from his pocket and open the back door of his car. She did so, and as this happened, Leon's eyes were locked on Lydia's face. His heart gave the most violent ache he had ever felt before, and he sighed deeply. "It's gonna be okay." He cooed to her, as if she were a small child. "It's gonna be okay."
Once he was able to lay her in the back of the car, and again thank the woman, Leon got to the quick job of wrapping the towel around her waist. It was harder than he thought it would be, since he was trying to be as gentle as possible and along with that fast. Both adjectives were hard for him to act out, however, being his arms were on fire and his mind was raging with thoughts.
When he thought she would be comfortable enough, he slammed himself into the driver's seat and glued his foot to the gas pedal. The only frivolous thing he did was turn on the air conditioner; he hoped that some how it would help. {Dear any mod people who end up reading this: We're doing the hospital scene in this thread because we haven't posted much on it, and don't want to waste it. If this is against the rules or something, please let us know and we'll gladly start a new RP in the hospital section. Thank you, Heather [& Claire]}
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Post by Lydia Edwards on Sept 8, 2010 19:21:08 GMT -5
Lydia had blacked out again by this point. She was unaware during his mad dash to the elevator and then the car. All that she left behind were drops of blood, making a faint trail to the direction they were heading. Needless to say it was a shocking sight for the lobby given what a bloody mess she was. One could only guess at what those nearby speculated.
In the car on the way to the hospital she woke, surprised almost to find herself there. It took her a few moments to remember what was happening to her, given how light headed the blood loss had made her. She let out a groan as she tried to move, but then froze as the pain hit her. Lydia managed to let her body go limp but she stayed conscious. Still she had some feeling that wasn’t going to last for long.
“Leo,” she said, managing to lift a hand to touch his arm. “Leo, if this is it… if this is goodbye… then…. thank you.” While the majority of the time their relationship had been stressed he had still been good to her. He had let her stay in his apartment after all, and she was getting used to that closet in all honesty.
She was barely conscious upon arrival at the hospital and completely out of it. Still that ended when she was moved once again by the staff that rushed her into surgery. Her mind was just a continuous black space.
When Lydia did wake up the generic florescent lights were painfully bright. She blinked a few times, failing to understand where she was. Where was Leo? Why did it smell like rubbing alcohol? That thought hit her and she tensed, despite the pain it caused in her side. Lydia’s system went into escape overdrive.
“You look like you’re doing bett-“ The nurse who entered was cut off as Lydia practically flew past her to get away. Unfortunately the Doctor following her did manage to stop her. Lydia was sedated and restrained, to her great displeasure. She hated hospitals, mainly because she hated that smell, it drove her crazy.
Another doctor went out into the waiting room. "Leon Banx?"
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Post by Leon Banx on Sept 9, 2010 21:09:11 GMT -5
Lydia's words had scared the crap out of him in the car. He had nearly gotten a ticket and almost caused a good dozen and a half accidents; he had sped through the area, his foot lead on the pedal beneath it.
He had spent the past however long he'd been unable to be with Lydia in the waiting room. His elbows were in his knees, and his hands were running through his hair. He stared blankly at the floor, his gaze distant and his mind even farther away. Leon Banx had been sitting in this same position for what seemed like forever, simply praying and hoping that she would be alright.
In that time, Leo had made it official to himself. He liked her. A lot. And he couldn't turn himself off to her, no matter how hard he tried. Or at least, he thought these statements were true; he had, of course, had girlfriends in the past, but nothing had been like this before--not as strong, as wrenching, as unique.
He was terrified to tell her this, however. No, he simply couldn't! She would laugh at him or--or--or something. Certainly. There was no doubt about it that she wouldn't feel the same way, and then she would probably leave, and he'd miss her--
His head snapped up and he stood, saying, "Yeah, that'd be me." One hand slipped into his pocket and the other sort of held the back of his neck. His gaze focused on his feet again, and he murmured softly, nervously: "How is she?"
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Post by Lydia Edwards on Sept 9, 2010 21:34:52 GMT -5
The Doctor smiled at the young man’s question. He was not sure how these two knew each other but the fact remained that she didn’t seem to have anyone else, or any medical record for that matter. Also he was well aware of what the young woman was. He had seen enough vampires, and he was lucky to know that there were such species dwelling in the area.
“Her chances are excellent. That was a hell of a wound, but in this case I know better than to ask questions about how she got it.” That was the Doctor’s way of letting Leo know that he knew what Lydia was. It was not a big deal to him but at least there were no necessary secrets that way.
“The internal injuries have been repaired and she is doing well, she has already made one break for it. She seems very uncomfortable here, so to be fair we did sedate her and restrain her.” Some people were sensitive about having their relatives, or loved ones, or friends restrained.
“You can see her now if you want. She’s in room 126.” The doctor led the way to an average hospital room in the left wing. It was the ICU area but there seemed to be very little fuzz around there.
Lydia looked anything but pleased, and very dazed. Her eyes rolled a little as she tried to focus them. There was a slight clatter as she tested the restraints on her wrists and ankles.
“You shouldn’t move unless something is supporting you,” the doctor warned her. Lydia seemed to pay no attention.
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Post by Leon Banx on Sept 9, 2010 21:48:27 GMT -5
Leon's eyes trained on the man's face as he spoke. He nodded his head slowly, listening. His lip twitched upward the slightest when the man spoke about not asking; it was that international little hint that he Knew and was alright with it.
"Okay," was all he murmured. Silently he followed after the man. He didn't mind the restraints, although he knew Lydia certainly would. They were for the best; otherwise, she could get loose again and hurt herself. He sighed. What was he going to have to do, put her on a leash now?
When they arrived at her room, Leo gave the doc a small nod of thank you and then was standing at Lydia's side. He gently put a hand on her good shoulder (not near where the neck wound was). "Hey," he said quietly. "So you're not dead. That's good." He gave her a bit of a grin, and ruffled her hair, afraid to kiss her for some reason.
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Post by Lydia Edwards on Sept 10, 2010 15:31:27 GMT -5
Lydia struggled with words, given that she was fighting the effect of the drugs as well. She wanted to be able to talk to Leo, well mostly tell him to get her out of here. It was a struggle for her to moved due to the sedatives. That meant it was hard for her to keep her head up, but she did if only out of pure determination.
As uncomfortable as she was here, as frightened and scared, she was comforted that Leo was still here. At the same time she felt very guilty about that. She didn’t want to take up Leo’s time, and in fact she would have left a while ago if he hadn’t fallen ill. Now she felt as if she was the one in need of some solace. She didn’t say anything but her eyes had the residue from the tears earlier and the tears that continued now.
Her hand tested the restraint again as she moved an arm to reach for Leo. Naturally she could not reach because of them. Instead she settled by managing out a few words. “Thank you…”
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