Page 3 of Love Heals
Chapter Two
Present time — 3 Days after the explosion at Case Confidential Law Firm
Jared knocked on the door to Silas's room and then headed in. His brother, Remy, looked up at him from the chair where he sat near the bed.
"Any change?" Jared asked.
Remy shook his head. "He's been sleeping." He paused, eyeing Jared critically. "Speaking of, did you get any sleep? It's only been an hour."
Jared shrugged. The truth was that no, he had not slept, but if he told Remy that, his brother would urge him to go back to his own room, as if Jared could find sleep if he just lay in his bed long enough. But Remy liked to worry about people. Jared got that. He did too, in his own way. "I got blood for him," he said, hoping to change the topic.
Remy gave a short nod and rose from the chair. "Guess I'll leave you to it." He hesitated on his way out the door, resting a hand on Jared's shoulder. "Let me know if you need a break, all right?"
"Sure."
Jared could tell his response didn't convince his brother, but Remy left the room anyway. Jared was sure if he was Luke or Collin or even Elena, Remy would have given him more grief about the issue, but there were certain advantages to being the oldest. Generally, his siblings expected him to know what he was doing, even when he really didn't.
With a sigh, he sat in the chair that Remy had vacated and set the glass of blood down on the bedside table. It wasn't a lot of blood. They couldn't risk feeding Silas much more than he strictly needed to recover. Not while he wasn't in a sound state of mind.
Just the day before he'd tried to lash out at Luke and they'd had to chain him to the bed. Jared hated the sight of that damn chain. He wanted to wrap Silas in his arms, not tie him down. He wanted to hold him and—
Jared shut that thought down before it could fully form in his mind. How could he be entertaining fantasies like that while Silas was this vulnerable? What kind of pervert was he?
Swallowing hard, Jared studied the vampire in the bed before him. Even in his sleep, he didn't look peaceful. Worry lines creased his forehead, making Jared wonder what he was seeing in his dreams. The fire had done a number on him. Or maybe not just the fire. Every now and then, Silas spoke in his sleep. He'd whisper a name. His sire's name.
It made Jared's blood run cold every time.
Another reminder that Silas had been taken advantage of way too many times already.
Jared was never going to do that, even if there was a part of him that wanted to kiss Silas. A part of him that had wanted to kiss Silas even back before he'd become a vampire.
The timing hadn't been right, back then... And the circumstances...
They certainly weren't right now, either.
No, Jared would keep his hands and his misguided feelings to himself.
Still, he wished that he could wake Silas up and tell him that things were okay now, that he would never have to see his sire again and no one would hurt him anymore, but even if he woke the vampire... there was no guarantee that he would be lucid enough to understand. It had been three days since the fire, but recovery was slow for Silas.
At least he hadn't died.
Jared's heart squeezed painfully at that thought.
Silas could have died in that fire without Jared ever knowing.
Jared knuckled his eyes. Really, was it any wonder that he couldn't sleep at night? "I thought I'd never see you again," he whispered, studying the sleeping vampire once more.
He didn't think Silas actually heard his words, but he stirred nonetheless. Another second and his eyes flew open. "Sire?" There was a panicked note in Silas's voice that told Jared he'd been having nightmares again—and this was exactly why Jared couldn't just let his siblings watch Silas while he slept. He couldn't stand the thought that he might be sleeping while Silas needed someone to remind him of reality.
This job was too important to entrust it to anyone else.
"You're okay," he said, the way he'd talk to Luke when he was scared as a child. Silas looked his way without really seeing him. Jared sat on the bed and wrapped an arm around Silas’s thin frame. Silas didn't flinch away. Not like he had the first time Jared had tried to comfort him. "Your sire isn't here. You're safe."
Silas turned and rested his head on Jared's shoulder as if Jared wasn't a stranger to him. Jared wasn't fooled. He knew there was no way Silas remembered his pre-vampire life, but for a second or two, it was nice to pretend that they weren't strangers. That vampires didn't exist.
If only...
They would all be better off.
