18. Good-bye (aka Stay Away from Me)

                                    

                                              
Eleanor stayed at the hospital until Tim Higgins arrived at dawn. She stumbled on her feet to hug him, her eyes drooping dangerously close to shutting. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and took her home, although she didn't remember the drive. They hadn't given her any drugs at the hospital, but it felt like her entire blood stream turned to Novocain. She'd slept for a whole day after having her wisdom teeth removed. This was worse. Her post-vampire induced exhaustion felt like the difference between a 5k and a marathon. When she'd got home, she didn't even talk a shower. It was only with her mom's help that she managed to get changed into her pajamas.

                          
When Eleanor woke up again, she stared out the dark window. Her nightstand light was on. She groped across the table top but couldn't find her phone.
                          
Her fingers grazed her grandpa's watch, and she squeezed it in her palm. She slipped it on her wrist, even though it was too big and banged against her bones.

                          
"You're awake," her mom said, coming into the room with a tray loaded with grilled cheese, tomato soup, and water.
                          
"Triple cheese?" Eleanor asked meekly.
                          
Her mom smiled. "Cheddar, mozzarella, and pepper jack—it's your favorite."
                          
"And rice in the tomato soup?"
                          
"Of course."
                          
Eleanor didn't eat fast, but she didn't talk to her mom while she absorbed herself in the heavenly taste of the fats. Her body felt shaky like she'd had the flu. She didn't know how long she'd slept, but she knew low blood sugar when she felt it. She was careful to eat on hikes to avoid that shaky, weak feeling inexperienced hikers got when they didn't bring enough carbs.
                          
"What day is it?" Eleanor asked. "Where's my phone?"
                          
"It's Saturday night," her mom said.
                          
"I've only been out a day? It feels..."
                          
Like a lifetime. Like she was Rip van Winkle awakening a hundred years in the future with a world filled with freaking vampires.
                          
"Tim Higgins had a deputy bring your car back today, and I've kept your phone so you could sleep. And yes, I called Jo and Brendan to let them know you're alright."
                          
"Did anyone else call?" Eleanor asked.
                          
"No, but you needed your rest, and whoever is important knows where to find you."
                          
Daniel's face floated through her head. She'd just left him at the party, running off without explanation. All the faces blurred together after she'd seen Virginia's prone body on the ground. All except the vampires. She'd never be able to forget them.
                          
She shuddered, her entire body spasming. Her mom put a hand to her forehead. She asked, "Eleanor, are you feverish?"
                          
Eleanor shook her head. Voice cracking, she said, "It's my fault, mom. I took her to that party. We should've stayed in and watched movies."
                          
Her mom gathered Eleanor into her chest. Eleanor sobbed silently into her mom's blouse, staining it with her tears. Her mom sighed and said, "You can't control what evil people do. You've always been that way, you know, caring more about others than yourself. Your grandpa was like that. He would've given the shirt off his back to help someone in need. But people do things you can't control. Not everyone is kind, dear. They're not all like you."
                          
Eleanor pulled away from her mom, wiping her tears. She stammered, "Y-you think I'm kind? Even after all we've fought about? Even after the scene I made?"
                          
Her mother sighed, wiping away Eleanor's tears with the edge of her blanket. She said, "Just because we're not seeing eye to eye doesn't mean I don't love you. I want you to take care of yourself, too, Eleanor. I try to take care of you, I do, but you're right—you're an adult. There's only so much I can do."