Crazy in Love Chapter Five
Chapter Five
The next few days passed in a sort of haze for her. Nick told her that he had told Rosalee and Monroe that they were together and unsurprisingly, they weren’t too keen on them being together. Nick couldn’t seem to understand why. In his mind they were perfect together, and he didn’t know why his friends weren’t being more supportive. It was a good thing; he needed to be cut off from them. If anyone could find a way to break the spell she had cast on him, it would be Rosalee. Her and Nick were always together. He went with her whenever he was free, and called her when he was at work. He had initially suggested not going at all so he could stay with her and protect her. But she had insisted, ostensibly because what he did was important, and the precinct needed him. But the reality was if he started skipping work, people would notice. And it would do no one any good if people started getting suspicious over what was going on between them.
She used the time he was at work to search his house for the key his Aunt had had in her possession and that must surely be in his. But she couldn’t find anything in his home. And he wouldn’t tell her where his trailer was, he didn’t want her involved in side of his life. He thought it was too dangerous for her, little did he know she wasn’t the one that needed protecting.
Sean was growing increasingly impatient with her lack of progress. Not more than a week into her experiment he had summoned her to the precinct. She had told him not to show up at her place anymore, it would be hard to explain to Nick if he saw Sean at her place. She had only deigned to show up to tell him exactly how far gone with her the Grimm was.
“Have you made any progress at all?” Sean asked, not trying to hide the scepticism in his voice.
“Yes, the Grimm is quite taken with me. He’s been my shadow, wherever I am, he isn’t far behind. He has already attested that he will do anything for me.” If she sounded smug, she had a right to be.
Sean didn’t look at her, sorting through papers on his desk as if she was of little consequence to him.
“But have you made any practical progress? Nick is a cop, convincing him to help the helpless is hardly an accomplishment. Has he told you anything, have you seen his trailer yet?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact. I’d share, but after the way you doubted me, I’m not feeling particularly inclined to share with the class.”
Sean looked up, his eyes narrowed. “You’re lying. My mother is a powerful hexenbeist, she taught me how tell when someone is lying to me. Don’t try to play me Adalind that is a game you will not win.”
“Fine.” Her voice was venomous, “I need more time. He’s gotten it into his head that he needs to protect me. He isn’t willing to involve me in anything that might put me in harm’s way, and apparently that includes all things Grimm. It is only a matter of time until I have exactly what I want.”
“Are you even looking? Or have you become trapped in your own web and fallen for Nick?”
“No, of course not. Don’t be ridiculous.” Her denial came a beat too late, and Sean was too smart to have missed the hesitation.
“I’m done with this. I shouldn’t have let you do this at all. I’m ending it.”
“And how do you expect to do that?” Without knowing what she gave Nick to make him fall for her, there was only one way to break the spell. And even Sean wouldn’t go that far.
“That is none of your concern. You tried it your way and failed, as I predicted. Leave it to me.”
Adalind all but rolled her eyes at that. It didn’t matter what Sean thought, her plan wasn’t working out as she wanted, she would get what she wanted, and it would only take time. Adalind left Sean to whatever Machiavellian plot he was no doubt cooking up. She tried to catch a glimpse of Nick on her way out, but as she suspected he was nowhere to be seen. She had figured Sean wouldn’t have called her in unless Nick was safely off making the world a safer place.
She found that increasingly she thought about Nick, she dreamed about him at night. The only time she felt right was when they were together. She would get what she wanted in time, she just wasn’t positive that what that was anymore.
************************************
She paced the length of her apartment, thinking about what Sean had said. She didn’t want to admit that he had gotten to her. But she knew he was clever enough and vindictive enough that he was someone she didn’t want as an enemy. She had been skirting the line by outright going against him. But as long as she got results he would come around in the end. Her continued failure meant Sean had no reason to tolerate her anymore. She wondered what he was going to do, how he planned on “ending” her involvement with the Grimm. It hadn’t escaped her that he intended to end her. Or the Grimm. She wasn’t sure which bothered her more.
When she heard the key turn and saw Nick in the doorway she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
“Nick, welcome home. I was getting worried about you.” She tried kept her voice calmer than she felt; she didn’t want him to see how scared she had been. “I saw Sean today, and I think he’s going to come after us. He can’t stand seeing us together, and I’m worried what he might do.”
Nick locked the door behind him and put down his keys, taking his gun out of the holster and setting it down as well, before he finally looked at her.
“He called me in to his office today. He told me things about you, about you’re past. I think he was trying to scare me.”
She wanted to tell him it was all lies, but it was likely true. She doubted there were any lies Sean could come up with would be worse than the truth. “What he said…”
“I don’t care if it is true or not. I know you, Adalind. I know the real you. I don’t care what you’ve done or who were you before. That doesn’t matter anymore.”
She froze, that was not what she had been expecting. It looked like her Grimm was full of surprises. “You don’t care? Nick, there’s something you should know.”
“You don’t have to be defined by your past. Rosalee was a drug addict, and Monroe, well to be honest I don’t want the details of what Monroe used to do. But they aren’t those people anymore. They don’t have be held back by their past. And the fact that Sean thought I would hate you because of what you might have done before only goes to show that he doesn’t know you like I do.”
It was such a beautiful sentiment; she wished that she could believe him. Perhaps he believed it, but she knew better. People only cared for her to the degree that she was useful, and she returned the favour. She didn’t believe anyone could care for her without wanting something in return, but perhaps she could pretend; if only for a little longer.
He put his hand in hers and pulled her in against him, kissing her. She felt herself relaxing into him, when she was close to him, it felt like nothing else mattered, only they existed.
There was sharp copper taste of blood on his tongue and she pulled away too late. She stumbled back, already feeling something happening. She touched her lip and her hand came away red, it was his blood. Had this all been a long con for him, had he done all of this just to get close to her, to do this to her?
She felt his hands on her, steadying her, and she tried to pull away, but he held her fast.
“Adalind, I’m sorry. I know you don’t understand, but it’s going to be okay. I talked to Rosalee, she said Sean did something to you. He gave you something, and my blood was the only way to cure you. It’s going to be okay.”
She fell into him all the strength leaving her. It felt like she was being ripped apart from the inside out. “I’ll do anything to protect you,” Nick’s voice sounded like it was coming from a great distance. “I love you.” It was the last thing she heard before the darkness took her.
Chapter Six
She took a desperate breath as she came too. The warmth of Nick’s grasp was gone, and she was lying alone on the cold floor. She felt different, as if she had died and come back incomplete. Her hexenbeist was dead. She was human now. “Nick…” She didn’t know if she was calling him or accusing him now. She was alive, but she felt empty where her hexenbeist had been ripped out of her. She pulled herself into a sitting position and looked up to see the Grimm standing over him.
“I can’t believe I was so blind.” There was no warmth in his voice. “You did this me, you tricked me and lied to me, and drugged me. I guess Rosalee was right, my blood was the only way to break the spell. I can’t believe I thought I was saving you, that you needed to be saved at all.”
He looked at her like she was a monster, and maybe she was. She didn’t try to stop him when he turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him.
She pulled herself up, and reached for her phone. Right now all she wanted was to hear a familiar voice, talk to someone who didn’t hate her. She dialled the number and her call was picked up almost immediately.
“Mother. Something happened.”
“Adalind, what happened?”
She explained everything, what she had done, what Sean had wanted, what Nick had done. Once she stopped talking there was a long silence on the other end.
“How could you let this happen to you? How were you careless enough not to anticipate this possibility?”
“I think… I think I was starting to fall for him. I never thought he would do anything like this. I guess I wasn’t thinking.”
“I thought I taught you better than that. Love is a weakness. Fortunately, it is not a weakness that we both share.” And with that the line went dead, leaving Adalind alone.
The next few days passed in a sort of haze for her. Nick told her that he had told Rosalee and Monroe that they were together and unsurprisingly, they weren’t too keen on them being together. Nick couldn’t seem to understand why. In his mind they were perfect together, and he didn’t know why his friends weren’t being more supportive. It was a good thing; he needed to be cut off from them. If anyone could find a way to break the spell she had cast on him, it would be Rosalee. Her and Nick were always together. He went with her whenever he was free, and called her when he was at work. He had initially suggested not going at all so he could stay with her and protect her. But she had insisted, ostensibly because what he did was important, and the precinct needed him. But the reality was if he started skipping work, people would notice. And it would do no one any good if people started getting suspicious over what was going on between them.
She used the time he was at work to search his house for the key his Aunt had had in her possession and that must surely be in his. But she couldn’t find anything in his home. And he wouldn’t tell her where his trailer was, he didn’t want her involved in side of his life. He thought it was too dangerous for her, little did he know she wasn’t the one that needed protecting.
Sean was growing increasingly impatient with her lack of progress. Not more than a week into her experiment he had summoned her to the precinct. She had told him not to show up at her place anymore, it would be hard to explain to Nick if he saw Sean at her place. She had only deigned to show up to tell him exactly how far gone with her the Grimm was.
“Have you made any progress at all?” Sean asked, not trying to hide the scepticism in his voice.
“Yes, the Grimm is quite taken with me. He’s been my shadow, wherever I am, he isn’t far behind. He has already attested that he will do anything for me.” If she sounded smug, she had a right to be.
Sean didn’t look at her, sorting through papers on his desk as if she was of little consequence to him.
“But have you made any practical progress? Nick is a cop, convincing him to help the helpless is hardly an accomplishment. Has he told you anything, have you seen his trailer yet?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact. I’d share, but after the way you doubted me, I’m not feeling particularly inclined to share with the class.”
Sean looked up, his eyes narrowed. “You’re lying. My mother is a powerful hexenbeist, she taught me how tell when someone is lying to me. Don’t try to play me Adalind that is a game you will not win.”
“Fine.” Her voice was venomous, “I need more time. He’s gotten it into his head that he needs to protect me. He isn’t willing to involve me in anything that might put me in harm’s way, and apparently that includes all things Grimm. It is only a matter of time until I have exactly what I want.”
“Are you even looking? Or have you become trapped in your own web and fallen for Nick?”
“No, of course not. Don’t be ridiculous.” Her denial came a beat too late, and Sean was too smart to have missed the hesitation.
“I’m done with this. I shouldn’t have let you do this at all. I’m ending it.”
“And how do you expect to do that?” Without knowing what she gave Nick to make him fall for her, there was only one way to break the spell. And even Sean wouldn’t go that far.
“That is none of your concern. You tried it your way and failed, as I predicted. Leave it to me.”
Adalind all but rolled her eyes at that. It didn’t matter what Sean thought, her plan wasn’t working out as she wanted, she would get what she wanted, and it would only take time. Adalind left Sean to whatever Machiavellian plot he was no doubt cooking up. She tried to catch a glimpse of Nick on her way out, but as she suspected he was nowhere to be seen. She had figured Sean wouldn’t have called her in unless Nick was safely off making the world a safer place.
She found that increasingly she thought about Nick, she dreamed about him at night. The only time she felt right was when they were together. She would get what she wanted in time, she just wasn’t positive that what that was anymore.
************************************
She paced the length of her apartment, thinking about what Sean had said. She didn’t want to admit that he had gotten to her. But she knew he was clever enough and vindictive enough that he was someone she didn’t want as an enemy. She had been skirting the line by outright going against him. But as long as she got results he would come around in the end. Her continued failure meant Sean had no reason to tolerate her anymore. She wondered what he was going to do, how he planned on “ending” her involvement with the Grimm. It hadn’t escaped her that he intended to end her. Or the Grimm. She wasn’t sure which bothered her more.
When she heard the key turn and saw Nick in the doorway she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
“Nick, welcome home. I was getting worried about you.” She tried kept her voice calmer than she felt; she didn’t want him to see how scared she had been. “I saw Sean today, and I think he’s going to come after us. He can’t stand seeing us together, and I’m worried what he might do.”
Nick locked the door behind him and put down his keys, taking his gun out of the holster and setting it down as well, before he finally looked at her.
“He called me in to his office today. He told me things about you, about you’re past. I think he was trying to scare me.”
She wanted to tell him it was all lies, but it was likely true. She doubted there were any lies Sean could come up with would be worse than the truth. “What he said…”
“I don’t care if it is true or not. I know you, Adalind. I know the real you. I don’t care what you’ve done or who were you before. That doesn’t matter anymore.”
She froze, that was not what she had been expecting. It looked like her Grimm was full of surprises. “You don’t care? Nick, there’s something you should know.”
“You don’t have to be defined by your past. Rosalee was a drug addict, and Monroe, well to be honest I don’t want the details of what Monroe used to do. But they aren’t those people anymore. They don’t have be held back by their past. And the fact that Sean thought I would hate you because of what you might have done before only goes to show that he doesn’t know you like I do.”
It was such a beautiful sentiment; she wished that she could believe him. Perhaps he believed it, but she knew better. People only cared for her to the degree that she was useful, and she returned the favour. She didn’t believe anyone could care for her without wanting something in return, but perhaps she could pretend; if only for a little longer.
He put his hand in hers and pulled her in against him, kissing her. She felt herself relaxing into him, when she was close to him, it felt like nothing else mattered, only they existed.
There was sharp copper taste of blood on his tongue and she pulled away too late. She stumbled back, already feeling something happening. She touched her lip and her hand came away red, it was his blood. Had this all been a long con for him, had he done all of this just to get close to her, to do this to her?
She felt his hands on her, steadying her, and she tried to pull away, but he held her fast.
“Adalind, I’m sorry. I know you don’t understand, but it’s going to be okay. I talked to Rosalee, she said Sean did something to you. He gave you something, and my blood was the only way to cure you. It’s going to be okay.”
She fell into him all the strength leaving her. It felt like she was being ripped apart from the inside out. “I’ll do anything to protect you,” Nick’s voice sounded like it was coming from a great distance. “I love you.” It was the last thing she heard before the darkness took her.
Chapter Six
She took a desperate breath as she came too. The warmth of Nick’s grasp was gone, and she was lying alone on the cold floor. She felt different, as if she had died and come back incomplete. Her hexenbeist was dead. She was human now. “Nick…” She didn’t know if she was calling him or accusing him now. She was alive, but she felt empty where her hexenbeist had been ripped out of her. She pulled herself into a sitting position and looked up to see the Grimm standing over him.
“I can’t believe I was so blind.” There was no warmth in his voice. “You did this me, you tricked me and lied to me, and drugged me. I guess Rosalee was right, my blood was the only way to break the spell. I can’t believe I thought I was saving you, that you needed to be saved at all.”
He looked at her like she was a monster, and maybe she was. She didn’t try to stop him when he turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him.
She pulled herself up, and reached for her phone. Right now all she wanted was to hear a familiar voice, talk to someone who didn’t hate her. She dialled the number and her call was picked up almost immediately.
“Mother. Something happened.”
“Adalind, what happened?”
She explained everything, what she had done, what Sean had wanted, what Nick had done. Once she stopped talking there was a long silence on the other end.
“How could you let this happen to you? How were you careless enough not to anticipate this possibility?”
“I think… I think I was starting to fall for him. I never thought he would do anything like this. I guess I wasn’t thinking.”
“I thought I taught you better than that. Love is a weakness. Fortunately, it is not a weakness that we both share.” And with that the line went dead, leaving Adalind alone.