Page 104 of Claim Me

The next flashes were less present. I saw the red fade of my eyelids as the rag covered my mouth, freezing the image of Norris in my mind. His mouth was covered in blood and he was trying to tell me something.

“Blue.”

That didn’t make any sense. A terrible thought occurred to me and I stumbled to my feet. I had no idea where I was. The room was dimly lit and there was one door. I went to it and yanked, thrown back when it opened easily.

A new word processed: corridor.

I kept my arms around my belly, protecting myself from the chill and shielding my body. Lights flickered overhead. I looked for windows and I found doors.

These ones were locked and as I reached for one I saw red.

My wedding band. I still had that.

When I reached the last door on the left, a strange sensation swam through me. The door opened to me and I swallowed back a sob when warmth rushed over my body.

There was a bed and clothes. I rushed to them and began to dress, scanning my surroundings as I did. The clothes were too small for me, but I didn’t care.

There was a chest of drawers and in them more of the same clothes. I opened each one, my panic ratcheting with each discovery of the same.

There were a handful of books on a shelf: a Bible and the torn up remains of a novel. I picked up the black cover with trembling fingers, thinking of the word blue.

Blue. The Range Rover had been blue. Not black.

Not ours.

Norris had seen and they had…

The cover fell from my hands fluttering down in a swirl of black and red and white. I nearly choked. Falling to my knees, I vomited on the floor.

Sitting back, I swiped at my mouth, feeling my stomach turn again and the baby begin to kick.

And then the door opened to the face of a familiar stranger.

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