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Chapter 15
Ember
Smoke rose, and a horn blared somewhere around me, but I couldn’t make out anything else—except pain.
There were voices everywhere, people pushing and pulling at my body. Loud voices yelled things, and soft voices whispered in my ear. None of it made sense. The smoke clawed at my nose and throat, and I coughed, trying to get away from the acrid taste. Someone yanked my arms, and a scream ripped through my throat. Oh god, it hurt. Please stop, it hurts so much, please, please make it stop!
I thought my shoulders would be ripped from my sockets, and I was so hot. I was burning in hell. Suddenly like a cork exploding off a champagne bottle, I was yanked away from the heat. My body felt so heavy, and my head felt like a bowling ball that I could not support. I tried to open my eyes, but they burned. My feet bounced on the ground as someone dragged me. Stop! Please, stop! I didn’t know if the words came out of my mouth.
I finally stopped moving. A siren howled in the distance, and I vaguely wondered about it. Who was in trouble? Who needed help? Seconds after I stopped moving, everything vibrated around me as a huge explosion rocked the ground. A heavy body landed on me, and I heard metal clinking to the ground around us. What the hell was going on? I forced my burning eyes open, and my head rolled to the side.
In front of me was a car engulfed in flames. Oh, god, was someone in there? I swear it looked like someone was inside the back seat. A flash of green caught my eye, and I screamed as I realized the green had been a shirt, and the person who had been wearing the shirt was still in the car.
“Dean!” I screamed, but it came out as a croak. “Mom!” I yelled her name louder, “Mom!” I sobbed, “Mom! Dean!” They had both been in the car, they had been with me.
People rushed around me, and I sobbed uncontrollably until a sudden weightlessness began to wash over me, and I succumbed to darkness.
I sat straight up in bed and into Colt’s arms—the images so fucking tangible in my head that I could almost smell the smoke in my nostrils.
Colt held me for I don’t know how long, and the thought of being alone strangled me. Was it because of the emergency surgery that the memories had been brought back to life, or was it because Colt had seen the scar?
It didn’t matter. There was no way I could imagine sleeping alone. I practically mauled Colt to get him close enough so that I could rest my head on his chest and listen to his heart beat. I needed to hear life; I had already lost so much to death.
In the morning, I woke to find Colt still lying under me. When I lifted my head, I peered up at him to find him watching me. “How long have you been awake?”
“Not that long,” he said and brushed hair back from my face. “I hope you slept better with me here.”
I shifted away from him. “I did. I’m sorry about that. I bet you didn’t sleep well at all.”
“On the contrary, I actually slept great. It was nice having a hot body up against me all night, one that drooled all over my chest and snored on and off.”
“I do not snore!” I retorted, and he laughed.
“No, but you do talk in your sleep.” He gave me a sly grin.
“Yeah, and what did I say?”
“You told me how sexy you think I am.”
I glared at him, “I did not.”
He laughed again, “You’re right, you didn’t, but you do talk. It’s more of a mumble than actual words.”
“Sorry,” I felt embarrassed even if he couldn’t make out what I had said. I could only imagine what I had been dreaming about. The pain medicine seemed to bring on strange thoughts.
“You feel like talking about the nightmare you had last night?”
I shifted further away from him. “No.”
“You know, sometimes when you talk about something that scares you, it doesn’t seem all that scary once you let it out of your head.”
I eyed him critically. “Are you sure you’re not a shrink?”
“I swear,” he made a cross over his heart, “I’m not a head doctor. I only fix skin and muscle issues, not brain problems.”
“So you really are a boob and butt tucker?” I tried not to smile as I said it, but I lost that battle and found myself laughing softly at the look he gave me.
“When you are feeling better, I’ll take you to my office and you can see what I do.”
