The Unwanted Imprint

Chapter 23

It took over a week before Nichole woke up. She was very disoriented as she did so, and she looked around the bedroom, blinking a bit to try and clear her vision.

"You're awake." Carlisle was by her bedside in an instant. "How do you feel?"

"Like I got ran over by a truck." The memories of what happened flashed back vividly, and she gave Carlisle a confused expression. "I don't understand...I should either be dead or turned..but...but I still feel like myself. What happened?"

"It's a long story." Carlisle said. "Nichole...what do you remember about your mother?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did she have an...odd occupation?"

"No...not that I can think of. I mean, she was gone a lot on business trips, but I just figured that it was normal because she said that she worked for a big corporation. Carlisle, what's going on?"

Carlisle gave her the shortened version of what the shaman had told him and Amun.

"So I-I'm cursed?"

"I would call it more of a blessing in this case. But you didn't know any of this about your mother?"

"No, she never did anything out of the ordinary, at least not around me. So you're saying that she was what? A hunter of vampires? A witch?"

"Both, actually. The kind of hunter that we suspect she was was a hunter with magic. I have a friend, he knows a lot about this subject, and about hunters in general, their bloodline, and all of that. I'm going to give him a call when we get back to Forks, he lives in Seattle."

"You seem to have connections everywhere, don't you?"

"After living for hundreds of years that tends to happen."

Nichole smiled a bit, but then the memory of what happened to Tia came to her mind and the smile vanished. "I was so stupid." She whispered. "I thought that we could fight off Abasi and his friends. But that...that got Tia killed."

"Nichole..." Carlisle reached for her hand, but Nichole turned away from him. She knew that what had happened to Tia had been her fault, if she had just listened to Abasi and done what he had asked of her, then Tia would still be alive. "I loved her Carlisle. She made me feel things that I hadn't felt around anyone before. I loved her and now she's gone." Her voice cracked and she started to cry.

Carlisle sighed before getting into the bed and holding Nichole in his arms. "Nichole, you were trying to protect them and yourself. The only one to blame for this is Abasi, and he's already paid for it with his life. If Tia loved you like you loved her, then she would have still tried to protect you, no matter what you would have tried to do."

Nichole sniffled as she laid her head on Carlisle's shoulder. "I never even got to tell her how much she meant to me."

"I'm sure that she knew. You don't have to tell someone that you love them for them to know it. Sometimes actions can speak much more than words ever can. I'm sure that she knew how much you loved her. Now, I'm going to go and talk to Amun, and then we're going to get ready to go home, okay?"

Nichole nodded her head, she just wanted to get the hell out of Cairo and leave all of this behind her.

While Carlisle was talking to Amun, Benjamin helped Nichole to pack her things. "Don't be a stranger, okay? Message me every once in a while."

Nichole looked at him. "You mean that you aren't mad at me?"

"What would I be mad at you for? For Tia dying? Her death wasn't her fault, she would have sacrificed herself the same for myself or Amun. She always put the safety of other people before her own." He pulled Nichole into a hug. "I know that my words may not do much to help, but none of us blame you for Tia's death, and neither should you."

"Nichole." Carlisle rapped lightly on the doorframe. "You ready?"

"Yeah." Nichole zipped her bag shut, and she cast Benjamin one last glance before walking out of the house.

Nichole was mostly quiet on the way to the airport.

"Rosalie is very antsy about you coming back," Carlisle said as they walked into the airport. "Of course, everyone else is too, but she hasn't been the same without you there, she's been worrying about you constantly."

"Do they know? About what happened?"

"Esme knows, and naturally Edward found out about it, but we told him not to tell anyone else about it. They don't need to know, the only thing that matters is that you're safe. Now, let's go home."

Nichole had never been tackled by a bear before, but from the way that Emmett leaped at her and hugged her, she imagined that it was pretty similar. "Emmett..." She gasped, patting his chest. "Can't breathe..."

"For God's sake, let her go." Rosalie sighed as she pulled Emmett off of her. "I know that you're big on the bear hugs, but just remember that your kind of bear hug can kill a human." She gave Nichole a more tender hug. "I've been worried about you. Carlisle wouldn't tell us anything, just that you were safe." Rosalie frowned as she looked into Nichole's eyes. "Something happened, didn't it?"

Nichole shook her head. "Not here." She whispered. She could hide things from the others, but she wouldn't be able to hide this from Rosalie.

"Let's go for a little drive, hm?" Rosalie suggested, and Nichole nodded her head.

Carlisle nodded his head. "As a matter of fact, why don't you two go shopping? As I recall, the prom is coming up, isn't it?"

"Ooh, let me come!" Alice squealed, and Rosalie looked at Nichole. "She might be able to help you." She whispered, and Nichole nodded her head, putting a fake smile on her face. "Uh, sure, prom dress shopping sounds like fun."

Alice squealed again and she dragged Nichole out to the car. Nichole wasn't sure which would be worse: telling them what had happened to Tia, or bringing Alice into a dress shop. She just knew that she had a long day ahead of her.