23. Severn
SEVERN
It was well past the time of morning when Aiden usually gets up. Walking to the kitchen, I made the coffee and waited for it to be done so I could fix Aiden’s for him. Carefully, I walked our full glasses to his room where we slept the night before.
Aiden lay in bed, still asleep, covered in sweat but shivering. I set the coffee cups on the dresser and hurried over to the side of the bed. Aiden had a crazy fever and looked like he felt horrible. As much as I didn’t want to wake him, I knew he needed something. He was sick.
With a wet cloth from the bathroom, I wiped his forehead. “Aiden?” I tried to keep my voice quiet. I wanted to wake him but not scare him. “Aiden?” This time I spoke a little louder. Finally he groaned and opened his eyes. “Hey, you’ve got a crazy fever.”
“Ugh, I knew it had to be soon.” He rolled his eyes and moved to sit up in the bed.
My arms flew out, and I encouraged him to lie back down. “Aiden, lay back down. Just tell me what you need.”
“I appreciate it, Sev.” He grabbed my arm and squeezed it. “But it will pass in a few days. This happens every so often.”
“What?” I was so confused.
“I get a little sick, like this.” He gestured to himself.
“Probably once a month. Sometimes it's worse than others. Hell, I don’t even notice it some months. My throat just hurts or something.” Shrugging, he continued to move and stood from the bed.
Almost immediately, he saw the mugs on the dresser.
“Did you make the coffee?” When I nodded, Aiden squeezed my hand in thanks and walked out to the living room.
When Aiden sat down on the couch, he looked so uncomfortable.
It was like no position he sat in could ease whatever pain he was feeling.
I kept watching him readjust, and I wanted to do something about it but didn’t know what I could do.
Finally,y I had to say something. “Aiden, can I do anything for you?”
“Can we talk about anything else? Distract me, please.” He closed his eyes as he tossed back the rest of his coffee.
“Okay, so we haven’t talked much about our special senses. I honestly don’t know too much about mine other than what I told you. Are you a Pisces too? Your sense being linked so closely to emotion is very reminiscent of Pisces traits.”
Aiden grimaced as he leaned forward to place his coffee mug on the table. “I don’t know my zodiac. I never really questioned how I got my special sense. I just accepted it and trained it.” Aiden lay down, his head close to me, and I started running my fingers through his hair.
“Don’t you know when you were born?” A being not knowing both of their parents wasn’t uncommon in Noirhaven. But they could always get birth records.
“Nope. It’s like I just appeared here.” He closed his eyes. “I met Des when I was young, and Vea treats me like a son. I was just really lucky.”
“So you're vampire and…?” Only anomalies, like Senketsu, do offspring have physical traits of both parents. The most dominant gene takes over the physical attributes for beings.
Aiden shrugged. “I have no idea.”
A phone began ringing from the other room.
Aiden started to stand. “No, stay. I’ll go get it.
” I jogged quickly to the room and grabbed the phone.
It was Milo’s name on the screen. I answered it so that he wouldn’t miss the call.
“Hi, Milo, it's Severn. Just a second, I’m bringing the phone to Aiden.”
“Hi, um, okay,” the voice on the other end said. I couldn’t tell if it was actually Milo or not. I didn’t remember much about him. So many things about that night were a blur.
“It’s Milo,” I whispered as I handed the phone over to Aiden.
He was still lying on the couch. He wasn’t sweating any longer, but he still looked uncomfortable.
I stood staring at him, trying to find a way to make him more relaxed while he talked with Milo.
But I didn’t know what he needed, so I just sat down and lifted his legs into my lap.
“Yeah, that’s fine.” Aiden nodded. “Whenever we are up. Just text me when you’re close.”
Aiden dropped the phone on the floor and covered his eyes with his arm. “Milo is going to drop by today. He has something to talk to me about.”
I nodded and shifted more comfortably on the couch, holding his legs tightly in my lap so he didn’t move them. I wanted to continue to soothe him and remind him that I was there.
“I never really thought too much about what kind of being my father was,” Aiden spoke up after a minute. “According to Vea, my mom was a vampire. She knew her. But my father has always been a mystery.”
“You should be able to get records, though. That should be enough information.”
Aiden leaned up on his elbows and looked at me. “I’ve never wanted to. Why does it matter?”
Shrugging, I couldn't argue with him. It was information to find out if he wanted to.
Aiden’s fever went up and down through the day. I just kept bringing him water and whatever snacks he asked for. He kept insisting that I stop, but I didn't. He groaned in pain every time he moved.
“Where do you hurt? Is there anything that helps?” It was so hard to see him like this.
“I'll be okay, Severn. But thank you, I really appreciate it.” Aiden’s voice was soft as he placed his hand on my thigh.
A low humming sound came from the small door at the storeroom before it beeped and unlocked. The tall, silver-haired vampire ducked into the Pulse Den dressed in a sharp black suit and stood up straight. “We need to talk, Aiden.”