Violet Eyes

36: Sleeptalk

Nate gently placed Nyx into the back seat of his mother's van as Danny and Nerissa got in on the other side. Rhys was sitting in the passenger seat after he had already placed a sleeping Soul into another seat in the back, he was leaning his head against the head rest and breathing deeply to combat the burning pain all over his body.

"Keep an eye on her." Nate said quietly as he buckled Nyx's seatbelt and looked at Danny.

"Of course." Danny responded as he placed a hand on Nyx's forehead, Danny got slightly worried when he noticed that she felt warm. "She's warm, probably a side effect of that psycho's mind control. Who the hell was that guy?" Danny asked Nate as he got into the driver's seat and turned on the van. Nate and Rhys exchanged a look before Nate exhaled deeply.

"That was my dad." He said quietly. Danny looked at Nate with a shocked expression.

"That was your father?" Danny asked in disbelief. "What is with everyone's parents being crazy?" Danny asked rhetorically before he placed a hand on Nyx's arm. It was cold, contrasted with her fever that was not good. "Uh... Nyx's body temperature is all over the place. What do we do?"

"Why are you asking us? You're the smart one." Rhys chimed in as he tilted his head backwards slightly.

"Well excuse me if I don't know what to do when someone is unconscious after being mind controlled. They didn't teach us that at school." Danny said with extreme sarcasm to hide his genuine worry. He didn't want to risk losing another friend.

Nate sighed as he glanced at Nyx through the rearview mirror and turned the key in the ignition. "I'm sorry, Danny. We didn't mean to pressure you like that...let's just...get her back to the house and put her in bed. You know, keep her comfortable until she wakes up." Nate pressed on the gas and they all started driving away from the Estate.

"You really wanna go back to the lake?" Rhys chimed in and he adjusted his posture. "Kuroi knows where that place is, it's not safe as long as he's alive."

"You mean you didn't kill him?" Nate glanced at Rhys in disbelief.

"No, he ran away like a coward. Besides, what are you so shocked about? You didn't kill your old man!" Rhys shot back at him with a bit of attitude.

"Can you really blame me, Rhys? Yeah, he's a psycho and does horrible things just for a paycheck...but he's my dad. Besides, I just wanted to get Nyx out of there." Nate said quietly as he gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"Hey, I get it dude. Let's just be glad that we all got out alive." Rhys responded as he turned his head to look out the window.

"It's unlikely that Kuroi will attack again so soon anyway. Rhys messed him up pretty good." Danny added as he felt Nyx's forehead again, still warm.

As Nate and Rhys continued talking, Danny turned over to Nerissa and placed a hand on hers. "You okay?" He asked her softly enough so the others didn't hear.

Nerissa turned her head to look him in the eyes. "I will be...I just...I thought you were gunna die..." Nerissa's voice broke as she whispered back to him.

Danny leaned over and hugged her tightly. "I know...I thought so too...but hey, I'm alive, you're alive. We're all alive, it's okay..." Danny's voice was calm and smooth and it put Nerissa's mind at ease slightly. However, she knew that the things she saw tonight wouldn't leave her mind for a long time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The door to the lake house swung open and Rhys entered first, carrying Soul bridal style as she was still unconscious. Nate entered next, carrying Nyx. Rhys started climbing the staircase with her as Danny and Nerissa entered after them.