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I lie curled on my side, rocking myself gently. This is not real. It’s a nightmare.Wake up, Chiara.I peer up and see the woman from behind the window at the other house, and she’s standing with a guard. She extends her hand and smiles at me in reassurance, her intense blue eyes shining with sympathy.
“They took my friend.”
“I know. Come on. Let me check your injuries.”
She helps me up, and on shaky legs, I follow her inside the house.
“What happened?”
“Hayden underestimated the power of his enemies.” She sighs, and the guard holds his gun tightly, even though there’s nothing but the ghosts of the men who have died.
I am numb to my core.
“You look fine, except for a few scratches. Let’s go inside.”
The living room has turned into a makeshift hospital. There is blood everywhere on the floor, men grunting in pain. She pushes me down on a mattress, cleaning my wounds and I stare in the distance.
“They’re on their way.”
If they get Aurora back, that’s all that matters. Guilt overwhelms me, and I sob in my palms.
It’s my fault. All this is my fault.
“Take this. It’s a sedative.”
She offers me a pill, but I decline.
“Thank you for helping me. I’m Chiara.”
“Alessandra.”
She offers a small smile.
“We saw you, but we were told we couldn’t go inside.”
She huffs and rolls her eyes. She seems so desensitized about all this, while my insides still tremble.
Aurora’s gone. I don’t recall ever being this terrified, this scared to my bones.
“It will take time for you to forget what you saw.”
I get the impression she’s talking from experience.
“I have to watch over the other ones. Surprisingly, some survived the massacre.”
“Are you a doctor?”
“Used to be one.” Her eyes turn to an ocean of sadness while I sob in my hands.
I would trade places with Aurora in a heartbeat if I could.
“Your friend will be fine, too.”
I nod, not wanting to even allow the thought that she won’t to enter my mind.
Men lie scattered on the floor while Alessandra tends to them.
“Can I help you?”
