Six Months Later

Chapter Ten

I woke up six months later sick. Eli brought me soup throughout the day but I kept refusing to eat. “Bree.” He whispered waking me up sometime in the night.

“What?” I moaned.

“Elizabeth .” He sighed and I immediately sat up. “She wants to talk to you but I told her to wait until the morning.”

“No. Tell her to come in.” I begged. I couldn’t get very loud or I would have just yelled for her. He sighed but nodded and left.

“Bree!!” Elizabeth yelled and I couldn’t hide my flinch. “What’s wrong?” She whispered moving to lay in the bed with me.

“I’m just sick.” I promised her kissing her head, “I’ll be okay in a couple days.”

“You’re changing.” Eli corrected me and I looked at him quickly. “After the Choosing I did research and found out you wouldn’t start the change until sometime after the wedding night. That sometime seems to be now.” He explained and I smiled thinking back to the wedding night and every night since then.

“But she’ll be okay?” Elizabeth turned to him.

“Yes.” Eli promised.

“Well I told Steven that you were sick so I wouldn’t be going up to Cato tomorrow.”

“No.” I shook my head, “You need to go.” I told her, “You are too good for me to not let you go.”

“But I want to stay here with you Sissy.” She begged and in her eyes I saw that frightened little girl that I had left to go to the Choosing.

“You will go straight to Cato when I’m better?” I asked her and she nodded. “Then you can stay.” I promised and she wrapped her arms around me.

“Can I stay in here tonight?” She asked me nervously.

“Yes.” I promised her without even looking at Eli. “You are always welcome to sleep with me. No matter whom I’m married to.” She smiled at that and curled up in my side.

“Will you go back to sleep now?” Eli whispered helping me back down into the bed.

“If you’ll lay down with me.” I promised and he smiled moving to lay down beside me on the side that Elizabeth wasn’t already sleeping on. I wrapped my arms around him when he turned so that he could watch me and pulled him closer to me. So close that I now couldn’t move an inch on either side.

“I love you.” He promised when I closed my eyes.

“I love you too.” I whispered and then I fell asleep. When I woke up the next morning from the usual nightmare Eli was still there and he pulled me up onto him comforting me. “Where’s Elizabeth?” I asked.

“Austin came and took her to the ocean to get her mind off things.”

“The ocean…” I smiled. We only lived a couple hours away from it but since we had been poor growing up we hadn’t ever gotten to go because we had no transportation except our feet. It had turned out though that Eli was rich and so the first thing he’d done when we’d gotten back was buy a car and take us all to the ocean. We had been going for a week out of every summer since.

“Will I be better before we go on vacation?” I asked him.

“Yes.” He promised tightening his arms, “It only takes a few days to finish the change.” He promised tightening his arms when I started to move out of them. “Stay still.” He requested and I smiled getting comfortable right on top of him.

“Hey!” I jumped, “I need a ring.” I told him but he just showed me my wedding and engagement ring.

“I had a witch do it on these.” He explained, “Because you will never be taking them off.” I giggled at that and just closed my eyes going back to sleep.

“Is Bree awake?” Elizabeth whispered waking me up.

“Yeah.” I promised her turning my face from Eli’s chest and looking at her.

“Austin is here.” She told me and I nodded understanding that he was asking for me.

“How are you?” Austin whispered sitting on the edge of the bed.

“I’m okay.” I promised kissing his hand.

“Okay… I’m sorry to do this but Bree needs to sleep.” Eli told them and Austin took Elizabeth’s hand leading her out of the room. “Now please sleep.” He requested and so I just put my head back in his chest. “Thank you.” He whispered and I just curled into his side keeping my head still.

The next week I felt better and a month later we were sitting on the beach. I was curled up in Eli’s arms and Austin was out in the ocean with Elizabeth. “Bug?!” I called after the sun had set. She came running and stopped quickly making sand fly up on me and Eli.

“Yes?” She smiled.

“It’s time to go in for the night.”

“But we leave tomorrow.” She frowned.

“I know but you can’t be swimming after dark.” I warned and she nodded with a frown. “We’ll come back after the Choosing.” I promised her with a kiss and then we all walked silently to the house. I pulled myself closer to Eli while we walked.

“Elizabeth and Austin are fast asleep.” Eli suggested later that night.

“Umm…” I sighed but he wrapped his arms around me understanding that my mind was anywhere but with us.

“What’s wrong?” He whispered.

“I was thinking about tomorrow.” I whispered.

“Everything will be okay. She won’t be called.” He promised.

“What about you?” I looked up at him.

“What do you mean?” He played dumb.

“Just because you haven’t told me doesn’t mean that I haven’t connected it. I was 21 before I changed which takes me out forever but you were 20… you’ll be entered again tomorrow won’t you?” I whispered and he took a deep breath.

“Yes.” He finally admitted a few minutes later. “I’ll be entered every five years but you saw how easy it was last time.” He promised.

“Forgive me if that doesn’t make me feel any better.” I snapped low enough to where I knew Elizabeth wouldn’t hear. “I know that this time… they are going to focus on you like they focused on us last time. They are going to try and make it where you are gone. Where I can’t have you… again.”

“They aren’t going to go out of their way to kill me.”

“What about the fact that last time we made the entertainment leave the first day?”

“Everything will be okay Brenin.” He promised softly.

“Please don’t call me Brenin.” I requested and he smiled.

“Will you try to get some sleep tonight?” He whispered.

“I’ll try.” I sighed and curled into him reminding myself that I could always volunteer. You were allowed to volunteer until you were 24 and since I was still 21 there would be no arguments if I volunteered in place of Elizabeth if she was chosen. Well none but from Eli and he was smart enough to stay quiet about his discontent.

“Bree?” Elizabeth whispered when I woke her up.

“We have to head back.” I told her and she looked up at me terrified.

“What if I get Chosen?” She whispered nervously.

“You won’t go.” I promised her and then added, “And I mean that.”

“What do you mean?” Austin asked at the door. “I was going to wake her up.”

“It doesn’t matter what I mean.” I said quickly knowing that I couldn’t tell him my plans. I walked out of the room holding onto Elizabeth and we all got into the car. Eli pulled me into the middle seat of the car and into his side.

“Relax for a little bit.” He whispered to me and so I just put my head on his shoulder. “It will all be okay.”

“I can’t sit back and wait if one of you is Chosen.” I begged him to understand.

“We won’t be.” He promised me softly. “It will all be okay.”

“No it won’t.” I whispered knowing that our conversation was too low for Elizabeth to hear my fears.

“I want you to promise me that you aren’t planning anything stupid for today.” He requested when the Mayor yelled for everybody to go to their groups.

“I’m not promising you anything.” I whispered but my hand lowered to my stomach.

“Is there something you want to tell me?”

“I’m just nervous.” I whispered my lie knowing that I was almost in the clear.

“Mr. Hampton!” Mayor called and Eli kissed me softly before joining the guys. “Welcome to the fifty-seventh choosing!!” Mayor called, “We received Memo this morning with the order to choose the men first.” He started and then waited for the whispers to end before continuing, “So we will go ahead and draw…” I stopped held my breath as he drew and then he looked up, “Elliot Hampton.” He said and Austin was suddenly holding me up. I knew that he’d used his vampire talents so that I wouldn’t be here alone during a time that Eli wasn’t allowed to be. “Will anybody take his place?” Everybody knew the answer like always there was no volunteer. Mayor turned to the girls next and Austin’s arms tightened.

“It will be okay.” Austin promised me.

“It already isn’t okay.” I snapped angrily and felt Eli’s eyes on me from the stage. I turned into Austin hiding for a second before Mayor continued.

“Let’s continue.” Mayor started, “Now for the girls… Where’s the bucket?” Mayor asked and I felt the tears of stress start to build. “Aw…” He sighed and everybody straightened again, “For the girls we have…” He read the paper and then looked right at me, “Elizabeth Paylor.” He whispered and I forced Austin to let me go.

“I volunteer.” I told him before he could ask. My hand was on my stomach and so I forced it to hang at my side. “I’ll volunteer for her.” I whispered before the tears could go and suddenly Elizabeth was beside me.

“No!” She called up to Mayor, “She can’t.”

“Elizabeth, be quiet.” I warned.

“No.” She shook her head, “I saw the test.”

“I’ll be fine.” I promised her.

“Stay here. Eli will take care of me.” She begged.

“Too late Elizabeth.” I shook my head, “You know the rules once a volunteer has spoken you have to go to the crowd unless there’s another volunteer.”

“Somebody else volunteer!!!!” Elizabeth yelled turning to Austin, “Please make somebody…” She turned to Eli when Austin turned away, “She’s pregnant.” She announced.