Beeping and murmuring would meet Ari whenever she woke up. A doctor, Mr. Draconis' deep voice filling the darkness. "She lost a lot of blood."
"And how's her head? She isn't in a coma or anything?" Asked Alaric.
"Thanks to what you gave us, she should be fine. She needs to take a few days to rest.""
Ari felt like she had the worst hangover of her life. Disoriented and confused, waking up somewhere unfamiliar. Her eyes opened, squinting against the harsh fluorescent lights flooding the white washed room.
"I don't have a few days," She protested. Her shop was still in danger of being closed and she wasn't assuming Alaric still wanted to help after she'd made a fool of herself getting hurt. If they refused she'd just have to sneak away when no one was watching.
Immediately his eye cut towards her. "You are not about to be up and walking about after something like that. You do have a few days. I'll take care of your shop until you're able to walk about without tripping over things. You had a small concussion. Luckily." Snapped Alaric.
The doctor jotted down some things on his notepad. "You also broke a finger too. You should be more careful young lady." he smiled at her, waving his pen around in the air.
Ari glimpsed down at her hand and sure enough her ring finger was splintered and bandages to the middle one. "I don't.." She stopped and frowned trying to recall the night before but it only gave her a headache. "Thank you for your help. Both of you."
"I'm not really sure what happened but that's not important. Rooster, my fur baby, will be terrified if some random man comes in. I never made it home to take him out." Her lips curved into an exaggerated pout while she made puppy eyes at Alaric. "Wouldn't I be safer somewhere you could keep me close?"
"We can move some medical supplies in his mansion so we can transport you there if that makes you more comfortable. I know sometimes husbands want to feel close to their wives in times like these. But I promise there should be no complications during her healing. She only has a slight hair fracture in her skull, though after what you provided, it should be completely gone like it never existed." The doctor said, glimpsing between the two.
"Husband and wife," Alaric nearly laughed beneath his breath but took it as a chance to tease the woman he knew hated his guts. "Well, wife. What do you say? We can bring your dog to my mansion and call our fight a truce?"
She wasn't going to let him win that easily. She took the doctor's assumption in stride. "That would be best, husband. I'm sure you'll treat your injured spouse with all of the respect she deserves." Ari smiled. Honestly she wanted to be far from the hospital. They reminded her of death and the people she lost. She wouldn't admit it but the idea of staying in a mansion and being pampered was exciting. As long as there were no more 'accidents'.
Though she glanced from her pseudo husband to the doctor. "Can I leave now then? I think I'll be able to recover better at home. I'm sure my doting husband can handle whatever care routine you prescribe."
The doctor nodded his head and cleared his throat, noticeable he was aware of the two of them possibly not liking one another despite them calling each other wife and husband. "Gina, come help her into the wheelchair."
Gina entered with a silver wheelchair with extra cushion on the seat, pushing it up to the edge of the bed. She unplugged Ari, took any needles out of her, then helped her down onto it. Alaric took the handles, steering her out the door.
"How do you feel?" He asked.
"Like I was used as a wrecking ball to bust down walls." Ari rested her chin in her hand while glimpsing back at him. "I meant it. Thank you for saving me and helping."
"You need to be more careful. I was trying to help you with your place and strike a deal, now I might have to subtract that statement. For your safety of course." He steered her down the hall and a ramp for those who were capable of using the stairs. He reeled her into a van, then strapped her in the back. "You must be crazy woman, wanting to leave the hospital after an accident for a damn dog."
Alaric entered the car and started driving back towards his mansion. Last time it was night, it was morning now, orange and blue dancing in the sky.
The ocean beyond the buildings that sped by glistened beneath the mellow morning. A light fog rolled in from the Sound that smelled of salt water and clear skies. She pressed the button to roll down the window, taking in gulps of fresh air. "I've never had any problems in the city until now. If you said it nicer I wouldn't have gotten pissed and stormed off." Now she was playing with the window, clicking it up and down idly.
He must have lived on the outskirts of the city to have a mansion. Downtown there wasn't much space with all of the skyscrapers and tall buildings clustered together with the mom and pop shops. It was one of the reasons she thought Seattle would make the perfect place to settle down in. The people there appreciated art and authenticity, or at least she thought.
"If for nothing else, would you at least be willing to pay the nice couple who let me stay? Of course I want to keep my place but since you're taking me in I figure that's the least I could ask. That's really why I came crawling back plus my baby needed me. He's a good doggo." And because I didn't want to give up.
"You never told me about your parents, you kinda brushed off the entire story thing. Why are you so young and working alone on such a big dream." Alaric decided to keep the conversation going. It was funny how he was a dominant and powerful man capable of getting everything easily with a wave of his hand, but her files were the bare minimum. There was always something juicy. Some history. The only thing he could find was her parents, the small shop, when she was born—not the place though.
He tapped the steering wheel as he waited at a stop light. Normally he didn't drive often. Today was different. He didn't want anyone else around her until he could find out what the hell went on at the Night world club. Driving over the arched Bridge that connected one place to another, it seemed as though they were gliding over the glistening Seattle water, seeming so close like they were above the city yet close to touch the ocean with an extend of their arm out the window.
Alaric pulled up at her house. "We're here. And yes, I know where you live. Such a small place." The car doors automatically opened, barking could be heard from the backyard, and the extendable ramp slapped down onto the concrete so she could wheel herself down.
"It's small but it's cozy. Isn't that right, Rooster?" She questioned to be answered by a frenzy of barks and whines. Ari carefully wheeled herself down and unlatched the wooden fence to the back yard. A big shaggy dog that more closely resembled a mop than a living animal bounded out of the enclosure and right into her lap. His kisses were rough. It was more like being slapped around with a giant tongue. "Okay! Okay! I missed you too." She finally conceded, hugging the dog close and burying her face into his fur.
Once she'd showered the hound with pets and affection, she shook her head at Alaric. "There isn't much to say about my history. I'm working because I want to. Not everyone has to be Harvard educated, or I should say, shouldn't need to be just to live well." Ari maneuvered past the cracked sidewalk that sprouted dandelions and weeds, up to the front door of her little studio, opening the door and flicking on the lights. There were no rooms really.
The only area that had a door was the bathroom. Otherwise it was all sectioned off by what kinda furniture sat there: couch and a cardboard box for a table in one corner, a messy bed with a clothes rack at the end and a full length mirror that was cracked in places on another, and finally a kitchen that ran the length of the wall. All of the dishes in the sink were ceramic. Painted in careful designs. Might as well use them if she couldn't sell them despite how finely made each piece was. "Definitely no mansion but welcome. And no I don't keep the door locked. My mother used to say it was like willing something bad to happen."
Her dog had started barking at Alaric, but he'd given him a mean stare before a while had left Roosters mouth. Animals didn't much like him, and if he were being honest like he always was, he didn't like them either. He followed closely behind her with his hands stuffed inside his pockets. She was right. Her house wasn't quite a mansion, though it wasn't terrible considering the area she lived in. Seattle was an expensive place, surely she struggled with the rent of her house and the rent of her shop.
He didn't want her to see the eviction notice on her door, so he had torn it down before she could glimpse up from her wheelchair. "Your mother sounds like you." A little foolish. If they knew what kind of things lurked in the dark, they'd want more than a locked door. Even that wouldn't be enough to keep them safe. It was better than nothing though.
"The outside looked better. When was the last time this place was cleaned?" His nose scrunched, running a finger along a dusty wall that left debris behind on the tip. "It's a good thing you're moving out. Working because you want to sounds silly, but I'll keep that to myself. Last time I expressed my opinion, I had wine on me."
"You just expressed your opinion anyway but I'll let this one slide." Her brows rose in surprise at him. "I'm moving? It's one thing to stay and heal but I don't think that you could tolerate me for much longer than that." Ari busied herself with stuffing her and Rooster's belongings into a backpack that had surely seen better days. Just like her, her home, and most of her clothes, it was vintage. Or at least that's what she said to anyone who questioned why her things all looked old and worn.
It was odd how Alaric inserted himself in her life and assumed that the changes he decided for her would be good. Someone didn't have to be rich to be happy. Even if things were falling apart, she could at least say that she pursued her dream and did everything she could to make it work. Her living was her passion. She wondered if he felt that same. "You don't enjoy your work, Mr. Draconis?" Ari mused aloud, wheeling out of the bathroom and finally finished packing. "You know, I think I'm actually fine. The wheelchair seems a bit much."
"It's my duty," Alaric said, rubbing his index and thumb together to remove some of the dust he collected from the wall. "How could I not like my job when it's all I've ever known. There's a passion in keeping things tidy and people in line." His shoulders lifted in a shrug before he brushed the debris completely off by slapping his hands together a few times.
"You are a headache, but nothing I couldn't handle. A man's word if everything. If I were to break my deal with you, well, then I wouldn't be worth anything either. Words that can't be kept show that you could never trust that person. I promised you a roof over your head, help with your shop. I intend to keep that, Miss Ari. No matter how troublesome you are. Now," Alaric grabbed hold of her wheelchair and pushed her back the way they came. "Let's head to my place before the storm comes or your messy hovel of a house gives me a heart attack."
By no means was he a sickly man, but every time he breathed he felt gritty and disgusting. Her dog followed behind, small head, large body trotting down the steps as he pushed her into the van. In the driver's seat, and her fur baby in the passenger seat with his head out the window, they drove back over the bridge.
Rain beaded the window and lighting streaked the skies. It wasn't too heavy. "Storm season. You gotta love it."
"I don't care for the rain but I live for the lightning storms. There's something magical about them." Her fingers drummed against the armrest, eager to see his home though a bit melancholy with the turn in weather and the sight of her studio fading behind them. "You still haven't told me what it is you expect in return. You're doing a lot for someone who has done so little. Unless you really are lonely?" Her dark brows wiggled at him trying to catch his eye in the rearview mirror.
Ari's mouth scrunched and her nose wrinkled. "Aren't I just another person to keep in line?"
Alaric purposely took a sharp turn down the road down the road that he knew would send Ari's shoulder against the window or door, then eased back on the gas pedal. "I'm not that lonely. Another person to keep in line but possibly worth something in my eyes." He replied snippily.
The longer he drove the more distant that got away from the city, and almost like the fridge, save for the fact this one was pure and smooth granite, they drove above the water which glistened like dark depths with mini diamonds floating on top—almost as though the last droplet of sunlight was caught upon its surface.
Up ahead was hardly a mansion, although its structure looked old fashioned, it was clean, six stories with many tinted windows and stone stairs that arose from the ocean towards the front door. Far away from everything, like he wanted. Gray clouds hung over the estate that was as large as a football field, fresh green grass, mazes in the front that split down the middle the nearer they got towards the front. Finally he parked and helped her out, wheeling her up the steps with her dog following at their heels.
"Well, here is my home." Alaric's voice ws crisp in the night air. His breath clouds, odd since it wasn't as cold until they were here.