Masked Truths: Book 1

Chapter 33: Success

Cassie's POV:

I woke up in a sweat, looking around wildly. I tried to sit up, but an excruciating pain at the back of my head stopped me. I gasped in pain and squeezed my eyes shut, wincing.

"Hey, are you okay?" A familiar voice asked beside me.

I blinked my eyes open, and looked beside me to see Blaze, in a separate bed with a few tubes connected to him. I frowned slightly in confusion, but then something clicked.

"Oh my god... did I hurt you when I passed out? Is that why you're there?" I asked anxiously.

"What?! No! We needed a blood donor for you, and I was the first match they found, so I donated you some blood, since you lost a lot." He explained.

"Oh, phew." I exhaled in relief. "W-What happened to me?"

"You passed out, but the impact went onto your claw clip, and it dug into your skull. Y-You were bleeding a lot, and it honestly scared me." He winced at the memory.

"It can't be that bad, I mean, bleed once a month and you'll know." I scoffed, but I quickly clamped my mouth shut. "I should not have said that."

Blaze looked at me with amusement. "What? Anyway, you did in fact lose a lot. You nearly lost 40% of your blood, any more and you probably would've died."

The truth dawned on me, and I winced.

"Oh god..." I whispered.

"Don't worry, I didn't donate all of it, or I would've died." Blaze snorted.

"Thank goodness you didn't, that would be concerning." I rolled my eyes.

Blaze laughed and nodded.

"So... how much did you donate?" I asked.

"Ehh, maybe around 25 percent of my blood?" Blaze shrugged.

"WHAT?!" I cried out.

"Relax! They wouldn't allow me to do that if I tried, I only donated 15 percent, a little over the average amount." Blaze laughed.

"Sly fox." I frowned.

"Dumb bunny." He smirked.

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

"Hey! Don't play that move on me!" Blaze huffed, prodding my shoulder.

"Fine." I scoffed. "Anywho, have you finished your essay for the art assignment?"

"Yep, all done and ready. You?" Blaze replied.

"Still gotta finish it." I sigh.

"Well, you do know you're going to be here for a while, right?" Blaze asked, but I could hear concern in his voice.

"Yeah... My head is killing me." I sighed.

"Well, I donated extra, so I should be here for maybe half an hour." Blaze shrugged.

"What? How come?" I asked.

"Well, the more blood you donate, the more chances there are to feel lightheaded or about to pass out, it's quite rare though." Blaze smiled.

"Oh, you're okay though, right?" I asked, tilting my head slightly, only for another shoot of pain to occur in my head.

Blaze must've noticed, because his eyes softened.

"I'm fine, the question is, are you okay?" He asked.

"Mostly." I sighed.

"Well, you're going to have surgery to get rid of that claw clip, then you'll have a few more nights here, and you'll be pain free!" Blaze chirped.

I can't remember him ever being this happy before...

"Great." I said dryly.

"Oh come on, it won't be that bad!" He scoffed.

"Since when was I the grouch and you the optimistic one?" I snorted.

"Hmm, let me think..." Blaze pretended to think, and I jabbed him in the shoulder lightly.

"Oww!" He hissed.

"That's what you get for annoying me." I rolled my eyes, but smiled.

Blaze noticed the humour in my eyes and laughed. He glanced at his watch, and frowned slightly.

"The nurse should be checking up on us right now, I'm probably going to be discharged soon." He sighed.

I honestly felt a bit sad about that, I mean, he had donated his own blood just to save me. It was only a couple of weeks ago we hated each other, how the tables have turned! As if to summon her, the nurse came in through the door to check up on us.

"Hello there honey, feeling better?" She asked me.

"Yeah, mostly." I shrugged.

"That's good. Now, Blaze, I think it's about time you can go home now, or rather your school dorms. Your friends are waiting for you there." She smiled at him sweetly.

"Okay." He sighed.

"You can take your mask off too, it's not COVID times anymore, visitors don't have to wear them." The nurse added, noticing how he had his mask on.

"That's okay, thanks." He dismissed this.

I couldn't help but wonder why he always wore a mask, but it's probably best I don't worry about it too much.

"You can freshen up now, Cassie's family will go and drop you off at school." The nurse smiled, before leaving the room.

I glanced at Blaze, who was sitting upright now.

"So, I guess you're going now." I sighed.

"Yeah..." He trailed off. "On the bright side, I can still visit you!"

"True that." I giggled. "Maybe you should go and freshen up?"

"Yep!" He smiled.

A few minutes later, Blaze was all ready to leave. He came into my room to say bye one last time, before heading for the hospital exit and car park.

Stay safe Blaze...