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Chapter 1
Abreath of air!
A breath of air as if I had just surfaced from the depths of the ocean. The first breath of life after having been plunged into total darkness. Light was finding its way between my eyelids, slowly forcing them to open and acknowledge the reality.
I was alive.
‘Bea?’ The faded letters floated somewhere in the background as a blur, mixing with the mystifying clouds in my mind.
I didn’t need to see the face or hear the voice to know who it was. That scent. The mesmerizing scent that invaded all of my senses, setting alive the memories of his lips, passionately moving against mine.
‘Cole,’ I breathed out, without realizing at first that speaking could come with such an effort. Something was wrong— completely wrong. My body was responding to every single one of my moves with pain, as if something was punishing me even for lifting one finger.
The room slowly began to appear before my eyes. A place I’d never been to before, although I knew exactly where I was— a hospital. The blue and white walls along with the beeping sound of the machines gave it away even before I could rotate my head and take a better look — not that I could actually move my head.
I was in pain— severe pain, echoing through every inch of my flesh so loudly that I couldn’t even tell what exactly was hurting. And if that wasn’t enough reason for me to worry, Cole’s warm hand gently caressing my cheek was sending me into full panic mode. He was neverthatkind. So, either he had some sick fantasies with me on a hospital bed, or I was dying.
‘Hold on, Bea, I’m going to get the doctor.’ He rushed to try and calm me whilst storming out of the room.
My eyes kept closing as if hit by the strongest fatigue. I was making extraordinary efforts to try and keep them open, over and over again, until I noticed the door cracked open, and Cole returned with the doctor.
I tried to speak, but this time just a long sigh managed to come out. I was losing all powers, and the image that flashed before my eyes as my head fell to the side was pushing all the panic buttons within me. Needles and tubes were going in and out of my veins while my hand looked as if it was part of a corpse.
I was as white as the bedsheet I lay on. It was like I was waiting for death, and that’s exactly why I couldn’t be there any longer. I couldn’t remain bound to that hospital bed.
I tried getting up. ‘I don’t want to be in a hospital.’ That’s all I could say, and all I could remember since the next second, everything turned black, and I drifted back into the darkness that had surrounded me.
I don’t really know when I woke up, but the same cologne was floating in the room. Cole was there with me, and his warm hand was resting on the side of my face again. I tried opening my eyes. Thankfully, the task seemed a little easier this time around, but it still took me a few minutes to come to my senses. I wasn’t at the hospital anymore. That I was certain of, as the dark Victorian wallpaper and new gothic furniture were leading me to believe I was in Ferris’s mansion.
‘Take it easy.’ Cole was trying to stop me from moving too much— not that I was able to move in the first place. Everything seemed to still be hurting, just not as bad as last time, which made me wonder how long I had slept.
‘Water,’ I mumbled the word that my mind was begging me to speak. My throat felt like razor blades glided within it, breaking every inch of flesh along the way.
‘Nurse,’ Cole hurried to call out for medical assistance, creating a déjà vu sensation in my mind. Last time, I didn’t get to take a good look at him, but the image of the man sitting right next to me was far from similar to the one of the Cole I used to know. Dark circles had appeared under his eyes while his usually styled-to-perfection raven hair was much more similar to the messy bed hair he used to get in the morning.
‘You look like shit.’ I may not have been able to speak much, but I needed to say that.
‘Are you sweet-talking me, Mouse?’ He ran a hand through his hair, arranging a few loose strands, trying to fix his image. ‘You should look in a mirror. You’re not doing that great yourself,’ his tone was amused rather than upset that I had offended his good looks.
I couldn’t say the same about Ferris, who stormed into the room. ‘Watch your fucking mouth, Cole.’
I found it strange for Ferris to roar at Cole; that unless... unless there was something seriously wrong with me, and my countenance would look exactly how I felt— shipwrecked.
I didn’t get to butt into theirdiscussionbecause the nurse entered the room.
‘She wants water,’ Cole immediately instructed her, keeping his position next to my bed.
I wanted much more than water. I wanted to know what happened to me since my mind was momentarily refusing to take me back to when my anguish began.
At least I got my first request fulfilled. ‘Just a few tiny sips.’ The nurse brought a straw to my mouth.
‘I’ll hold that.’ Cole was playing the perfect gentleman. Taking the bottle out of her hands, he made sure I was properly hydrated.
My throat seemed to be doing a little better. At least well enough so I could speak. ‘What happened? I can’t remember.’
No response. Just a ‘Shushh’ from Ferris, who moved his eyes in the nurse’s direction. She couldn’t hear the answer to that question, and that was blurring things even more for me.
Brax... The glass windows— no that wasn’t it.
