36
Camila was sitting in the hospital waiting room when Marisa, Sigrid, and Mr. Duncan rushed in.
“How is he?” Marisa gasped.
“I haven’t heard from the doctor yet.”
“Why did you fly him all the way home before getting him medical attention!” Sigrid barked. She’d been in a state since receiving the shaky call from Camila hours before.
Camila glared at her. “I wasn’t given a choice!” A shiver went through her as her mind flashed back to the moment.
There was a large thump from the back which shook the plane. Then the lights suddenly went out, plunging her into darkness. She felt the cold hand on her shoulder and the voice by her ear sent a burst of terror through her.
“Bring him home.”
Only three words but Camila knew exactly who had spoken them and how far away she’d been when she spoke them. The lights came back on and the Pilot was finally able to open the stuck cockpit door. He came rushing back into the passenger section.
“What was that?!?” he called out as Camila looked into the back room. She saw Stanley’s large body on the floor and the broken plastic panels on the side wall where he’d slammed against them. Bits of plastic were in his fur and his clothes were shredded.
She turned to tell them to call an ambulance but her voice stuck in her throat. She took a breath and felt the compulsion ease. “Get us home,” she managed.
The pilot looked like he was going to argue but he suddenly turned and made his way back to the cockpit.
“Camila!”
She snapped back to the present to see Sigrid holding her shoulders.
“Sorry. I had a… visit from someone we all met that first night. She told me to bring him home. I had to,” she said with a shiver.
Marisa touched her mother’s arm and the woman seemed to relax. “What happened to Stanley?”
“We flew to Japan and he switched late to recharge after we flew from Anchorage. We got into Japan and he switched back. It was only 2AM there so we went all the way to 10PM the following night before we boarded the plane. Stanley was barely keeping it together. He needed to switch but he couldn’t until we had the privacy of the plane. Something must have gone wrong during his change. There was a terrible crash and when I looked inside the room he was unconscious on the floor in his other state. The inside wall of the jet, just the plastic interior part, was smashed to bits.”Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.
Marisa gasped and made a sympathetic noise.
“He slept all the way back to Alaska. We refueled but stayed on the plane this time. I don’t know what was happening to the flight crew as they acted like we weren’t there from that point on. When we got back to New York I called in the support teams to extract him but when I went back to check on him he was back to his other state but still unconscious. The sheets were shredded but at least he didn’t get thrown against the wall again.”
“She’s still watching over him?” Mr. Duncan asked quietly.
Camila nodded. “He isn’t to know,” she found herself saying and looked nervously at Sigrid as she touched her lips. Sigrid shared her worried expression.
“Geezus,” the big man growled nervously.
They all jumped when the doctor pushed through the door.
He looked at them in surprise. “Are you all here with Mr. Garin?”
“Yes, I brought him in,” Camila stated. “How is he? Can we see him?”
“He’s badly bruised. Was he in a car accident or fall from a height?”
“I didn’t see it happen but I believe he fell,” Camila answered as honestly as she could. “Anything broken?”
“Miraculously no, and no concussion thank goodness but he’s going to be in a lot of pain for a little while. I’ll prescribe him some strong painkillers but they’re highly addictive so he should try to limit his intake when possible,” the doctor explained. He looked at the group. “I think initially only one visitor. I’ll write up the script and I’d like to keep him overnight for observation-”
“No! Sorry, he needs to come home. Now,” Camila blurted, once more feeling the compulsion flaring.
The doctor scowled at her. He looked upset but nodded brusquely and left the room with Marisa following. Camila sagged against the back of the row of chairs.
“I assume the crone knows what’s best for him,” Sigrid said quietly and Mr. Duncan shivered.
Marisa followed the doctor into the private room where Stanley was resting. She sighed as she saw the bruising on his arms on top of the sheets.
He had a nasty bruise on his jawline as well.
The doctor checked the readings on the monitor, confirmed the IV drip contained the painkiller he’d ordered, then nodded to her as he left.
“Oh Stanley,” she moaned gently.
His eyes cracked open at the sound of her voice. “Hello Marisa,” he said weakly.
“Shhh… rest. I’m so sorry you injured yourself,” she said.
He turned his hand over on the bed next to her and she slipped her hand into his. He sighed happily.
“There is something in your touch that sooths me. That makes me feel like everything is going to be ok,” he whispered.
Tears popped up in her eyes as she recalled the words the old woman spoke about how life wouldn’t be good to her boy. So far her words had been fairly prophetic.
She did her best to suppress her sight when she looked at Stanley as there was something big in his future and that event had a kind of gravity to it. It pulled at her new, more powerful abilities so she looked away.
“Am I hideous?” he murmured.
“What? No! You’re just bruised. You’ll heal,” she assured him.
His eyes closed and he fell asleep once more. She leaned over and kissed his forehead. When she pulled back he had a sweet innocent smile on his lips.
Camila signed the release forms for Stanley and with Mr. Duncan’s help to carry the unconscious young man they took a limo back to his condo. Sigrid carried his suitcase, Marisa had his computer bag, and Camila had his keys while the big man gently cradled Stanley in his arms.
“OH MY GOD! What happened to Stanley!”
They turned to see a young blond woman in hospital scrubs rushing up to them.
“And you are?” Camila asked.
“I’m Sandy, his neighbor and friend!” she blustered as she looked nervously at the big man carrying Stanley.
“Ah! Right. Stanley was in an accident. He’s badly bruised but otherwise uninjured. I’m Camila Villamor, his employer. Could we get him inside?”
“Of course! Sorry.” Sandy said and rushed forward to get the door. The rest followed, the big man carefully navigating Stanley’s prone body through the doors.
Sandy got a close look at the bruises on Stanley’s face and her eyes widened in shock. She looked at the large woman with a long blond braid and her eyes widened as the white blond beauty stepped past. She followed and ducked into the elevator with them at the last second though she was pressed up against the abundant chest of the young beauty.
“I’m Marisa Villamor, Stanley’s executive assistant.” She tilted her head towards the woman with the braid. “This is Sigrid Gunderan, VRL’s Head of Human Resources. Carrying Stanley is Mr. Duncan, our Head of Security. My mother is the CEO.”
Sandy’s eyes were wide with surprise. So many top level executives looking after Stanley. But then he did say he was the CIO. “It’s great you’re all so concerned with Stanley’s well-being!” she ventured cautiously.
Marisa smiled warmly. “Stanley is a very special young man. We have a major investment in him.”
Sandy giggled nervously, overwhelmed by the raw beauty of the people protecting her neighbor. Even the silent Mr. Duncan had a… savage beauty about him. She felt a shiver run down her spine as he smiled at her stare.
The elevator stopped. “Your floor I believe,” the HR Executive said as she looked to Sandy.
“Oh! Uh, ok. I’ll check in on Stanley later I guess,” Sandy stuttered as she stepped back from Marisa’s warm body. She felt the oddest urge to step forward again to return to that soft embrace. She gave herself a shake as her face flushed.
“When Stanley is awake I’ll let him know you were asking about him. It was nice meeting you,” Marisa said kindly as the door closed.
Dazed, Sandy made her way to her condo. She felt so tingly where she’d touched Marisa. She wasn’t attracted to women! She wasn’t!
As she let herself into her front door she realized she might be willing to amend that policy for Marisa. The idea shocked and thrilled her equally.
Up on the ninth floor, Camila opened Stanley’s front door and made her way inside. She looked at the furnishings in surprise as the others followed her in.
“Oh! This is lovely!” Marisa gushed.
“Where is the bedroom?” Mr. Duncan growled.
“The door to the left,” Sigrid offered.
“Is that his bed?” the big redhead said in surprise, looking at the mattress on the floor.
Marisa took her shoes off and hurried into the bedroom to pull back the comforter. She guided the big man to gently set Stanley down but he moaned as his body settled down onto the pad.
Stanley’s eyes opened and he looked up. “Wha… Dad? Where am I? Why do I hurt so much?”
The Security Chief glanced uneasily at Marisa. Dad?
“It’s the pain meds. They’re confusing him,” she said with a grin.
“Oh, Mr. Duncan? Are your servers working? The software is new. I got the latest version. How about the monitor bank?” Stanley struggled to ask as his eyes threatened to close again.