赤裸裸的滑稽故事

Her eyes fluttered open drowsily as the sound of a bird outside the window stirred her from sleep. The speckled grey tiles that came into focus above reminded her that she was still in a hospital room.

Ashleigh sighed, bringing her arm up to rest on her forehead. She closed her eyes, wondering if it was possible to fall back asleep again.

Caleb’s cold eyes flashed in her mind. She gasped and looked back around the room.

‘Awake. Awake is better,’ she thought to herself.

“Hey…” a voice called from the door.

Ashleigh turned to see a smiling Bell entering the room.

“Hey,” Ashleigh smiled back.

“How are you doing?” Bell asked as she moved to stand beside the bed. Immediately checking Ashleigh’s pulse.

“I’m ok. I guess,” Ashleigh sighed.

“You guess?” Bell questioned, “what’s going on? Are you in pain anywhere?”

Ashleigh shook her head. Bell looked at the monitors, reviewing her stats to check for any problems.

“It’s just strange to be told your heart stopped,” Ashleigh stated.

Bell turned and looked at Ashleigh with a soft expression. She sat down at the end of her bed.

“I can’t imagine,” Bell said, placing her hand on top of Ashleigh’s.

“You still don’t know what happened?” Ashleigh asked.

“No,” Bell shook her head, “I have tests running, but at this point, they’re all guesses. You didn’t happen to remember any allergies that we might not have known about, did you? Maybe I could narrow it down?”

“No,” Ashleigh said, “though Granger did take the flowers away. He said he was afraid it was his fault, that maybe I was allergic to one of them. Mother tried telling him they were fine, but he wanted to be sure.”_.

Bell nodded, she had also considered that the flowers could be the cause, but it didn’t make sense. She knew Ashleigh had never had a problem with flowers before.

“He even came back later with a box of chocolates to make up for taking the flowers,” Ashleigh laughed. “He sat there and watched me eat every one of them. He said he needed to know that I truly enjoyed them.”

Ashleigh was smiling. Her story was happy, yet, Bell could see that something was weighing her down.

“Is there something else you want to talk about?” Bell asked.

Ashleigh looked away.

“Can you tell me what happened?” Ashleigh asked quietly, “not why, just… what you saw.”

Bell hesitated, she wasn’t sure if giving Ashleigh the details was a good idea, but in the end, she knew it was Ashleigh’s choice.

“It was strange,” Bell said, “it was like your heart just stopped… Your breathing was strained, and it seemed like you had an allergic reaction. As to why we have been looking for an allergen of some sort. But your heart… it was like something just made it give up.”

Ashleigh felt a tightening in her gut as she remembered the pain of Caleb plunging the knife into her chest.

“Ash…” Bell called to her. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine,” Ashleigh said quietly, telling herself to calm down.

“That’s not what the monitor says.”

Ashleigh turned to see Bell watching as the pulse rate grew higher and higher. She sighed and laid back in bed.

The door opened, a nurse poked her head in.

“It’s ok, I’m with her. You don’t need to monitor for now,” Bell said, waving the nurse back out of the room.

When the door closed, Bell turned back to Ashleigh.

“Help me understand.”

“I don’t know either. How could I?” Ashleigh replied.

“You know something,” Bell stated frankly, “and I’m not asking you as your friend, Ash. I need to know. As your doctor.”

Ashleigh sighed deeply.

“It’s nothing, really. It was just a bad dream.”

“You had a bad dream last night?” Bell asked. “When your heart gave out?”

“Yea.”

“So, it was Granger… did he do something to you? Did he hurt you!?” Bell demanded, jumping up from the bed.

“No!” Ashleigh shouted. “Besides, even if he did, it was just a dream.”

Bell sat back down.

“Maybe, but at the same time, it’s not.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, it was the full moon, and you were pretty bad off with the mating sickness. So, it’s not impossible that your ‘dream’ could have manifested a physical problem for you,” Bell stated.

Ashleigh gave Bell a confused but concerned expression.

“Look, the bond isn’t something we completely understand medically or scientifically. But just think of what happens when a mate dies. The one who lives feels it as if it were happening to them. Some of the survivors are left physically crippled by the event.”

“So, you think my dream caused my heart to stop?” Ashleigh asked.

“That depends on what you dreamt.”

Ashleigh looked away once more.

“It wasn’t Granger,” she sighed sadly.

“What do you mean?” Bell asked.

Taking a deep breath once more, Ashleigh decided.

“Alpha Caleb… is my mate,” she said quietly, “the dream….”

“Wait…” Bell interrupted. She shook her head in confusion. “I don’t understand… I thought maybe you and he… but… mate? What about Granger? I don’t….”

“Yea,” Ashleigh replied, “him too.”

“Both of them?”

“Yep.”

“Wow…” Bell sighed, then let out a small giggle. “Renee is going to be sooooo mad.”

Ashleigh couldn’t help but laugh at the comment.

“You can’t tell her, though.”

“I know,” Bell smiled, “so… that’s what’s been going on.”

Ashleigh nodded.

“You could have told me.”

“I didn’t want to,” Ashleigh replied honestly, “I didn’t even want to say it out loud to myself.”

“I think,” Bell said softly. Then, once again, took Ashleigh’s hand in hers. “I can understand that.”

They sat quietly for a moment before Bell suddenly gasped.

“Oh shit!” she said. “No freaking wonder you ended up with mating sickness! Geez! With both of them here at the full moon! You’re like a mate lightning rod!”

Ashleigh laughed again, so hard it hurt. But it felt good, needed even. So after a few more jokes at her expense, Ashleigh and Bell were left smiling at each other.

Bell tilted her head, giving Ashleigh a comforting look and squeezing her hand.

“What happened in the dream?” she asked.

Ashleigh swallowed hard as she felt the tingling in her face, the heat in her eyes, the weight in the pit of her stomach. Her throat tightened; she closed her eyes before the tears could blur her vision.

“He killed me.”

Bell gasped.

Ashleigh nodded her head, her eyes still shut.

“He shoved a hunting knife into my heart.”

Silence filled the room. Bell squeezed Ashleigh’s hand once more.

“It was just a nightmare.”

Ashleigh opened her eyes, turning to Bell.

“You said…” Ashleigh began.

“I was wrong.”

Ashleigh didn’t understand why Bell had changed her opinion. But she couldn’t help but feel a sense of hope that she was right.

***

Bell had remained with Ashleigh for another twenty minutes, trying to ease her mind and lighten the mood. She had left when Ashleigh had started to drift back to sleep.

After making her rounds, Bell headed back to her office. She had been awake for almost twenty-four hours. One of the nurses had been thoughtful enough to make up a cot in her office. Now she finally felt comfortable enough with Ashleigh’s progress to take advantage of that kindness.

She entered the room and immediately closed the door behind her.

“What happened to her?” a voice in the dark asked.

Bell felt a rush of fear throughout her entire body. She quickly reached out and turned on the light. Shocked to find Alpha Caleb sitting in the chair beside her bookcase.

“Damn it!” Bell cried out.

She reached a hand to her chest, where her heart was beating so forcefully it felt as though it would break through her ribcage.

“You scared me!” she shouted.

“Please,” he said. His voice was desperate. “What happened to Ashleigh?”

Bell looked up at him, viewing him carefully this time.

His eyes were red-rimmed, his skin was pale. Dark circles beneath his eyes.

“What happened to you?” she asked softly, taking a step towards him.

“It happened last night.” A second voice said from behind her.

Bell jumped again, this time throwing herself against her desk. She looked up to see Galen leaning against the wall.

“What the hell is wrong with you people!” she screamed angrily.