Chapter Twenty-Seven
Summer
Something in the distance beckons me closer. In a dark vast space I feel myself being pulled along, before being pushed and tugged.
Where am I?
I see nothing but darkness, a black veil I’m unable to shake. It consumes me, but with no ending. I can’t move, I’m unable to make a sound, but I can hear something, can’t I? The faint noise continues, but each time I try to move closer towards it, my body refuses.
“Is she moving?”
I definitely heard that. My fingertips flex. I try to force out a noise, a word, shit…anything at this point.
“Yeah, I saw it,”
another confirms.
I feel the tension building through my entire being, a burst of power fizzes through me, my body gearing up to move.
“GAH!”
Light floods my sight, followed by pain, confusion and nausea. My head spins and I feel my body quickly sag against something soft behind me.
“Shit! Grab the doctor.”
Eva quickly approaches, holding a cup of water in her hands. She moves it to my lips. I feel the skin crack as I take a sip and soon the light headedness resumes and my weak body shakes. My eyes shying away from the bright lights, my heavy lids closing already.
I don’t know how much time has passed before my eyes open again, this time it’s dark out. I look towards the window, as my head rolls along the pillow, my eyes lazily observe the view.
“I wondered when you’d wake up.”
The familiar voice floods my ears.
“I wondered the same thing,”
I reply quietly. When the bed dips beneath me, I slowly pull myself up. Squeezing my eyes shut as the pain in my side shoots through me. Gritting my teeth, I eventually wipe away the sweat forming at my brow. “What’s the damage?”
I turn to Bhodi, offering a weak smile.
“Stab to the gut, fucking hell, Summer. Are you collecting battle scars?”
He smirks.
“Sure as hell feels like it.”
I lean back into the headboard. “Luca’s still alive, isn’t he?” I sigh.
“For now.”
Bhodi reaches for my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“He didn’t even know about me.”
I shake my head, feeling the tears begin to flood my eyes, the moments flashing through my mind. “He was going to r…r…rape me…If I hadn’t told him. My stupid fucking mother kept that from him too. I guess no one is fucking safe from her manipulation.”
“Neither was Harry.”
My neck immediately snaps towards Bhodi, my jaw falls open and I just shake my head in disbelief. When my head falls back against the headboard, everything begins to fall into place. The way she sided with him, him with her, their passing glances, that anger Harry eventually had towards Eric and how Eric felt trapped. My gaze follows along the ceiling before I let out a huff, levity falling over me temporarily.
“Harry must have taken off with some money, Luca was adamant he’d come for me. I guess Harry and Mom played him.”
Even when the words leave my mouth, there’s no shock and Bhodi doesn’t appear to be fazed either.
I hold onto his hand for a moment, looking into his eyes. I savour the small moment of quiet we have between us. I run my thumb over his knuckles and we both remain silent, sitting in the dark room. After a second he joins me on the bed. Bhodi lies back and I rest my head onto his shoulder, snuggling into him close whilst he kisses my hand.
“What happens now?”
I quietly ask, locked in the familiar safe embrace.
“We can get you out of here, when you’re well enough…”
“No.”
I cut Bhodi off, gently rising from the bed and slowly turning to him, my eyes pleading with his. “What happens to us? We can’t live like this, can we?”
“What do you mean?”
“Someone wanting us dead,”
I say sharply. “Constantly living in fear, scared that anyone who looks at us the wrong way is going to try and hurt one of us, hell even kill us without a second thought.”
“It’s not that easy, Summer.”
“But it is, Bhodi, it is that easy. How can you expect us to be together when we’re living like this? We don’t even have a fucking home! Mine’s a charred carcass and yours is a fucking crime scene!”
I push away from him, rising on shaky legs.
My hand immediately holds onto my right side, the stitches stretching and pulling against my skin.
“Summer, be careful. You..”
“I don’t need to do shit, Bhodi,”
I snap, a sob managing to escape my throat. “This is so fucked up. Luca thinks I know about his money, he thinks Harry is going to come back for me. All that means is that someone will be watching, and at any moment it’ll all fall to shit again. No one should live like that!”
A tear slides down my cheek whilst the sweat begins to form at the nape of my neck. “What the hell are we doing? We know nothing about each other.”
I begin to stagger, and the room starts to spin.
“Shit, Summer!”
I feel his strong arms, holding me up. But it’s the last thing I remember as my vision continues to tumble.
A brief darkness falls over my vision, but when my eyes open again, the scene before me is different. I feel a cool flannel against my skin, I pull away slightly and force my eyes open.
“Welcome back.”
Eva’s cheery smile greets me as she sits back in her chair.
“What happened?” I croak.
Pam comes over, placing a pillow around my back whilst I pull myself up slightly. Passing me a cup of water, I watch my hand tremble as I bring the cup to my lips, spilling it down my front whilst taking large gulps.
“Nothing to worry about, minor infection.”
She points towards the IV in my arm.
“How?”
“It doesn’t matter, the doctor isn’t worried, He said after twenty-four hours on this, you should be fine, it’s minor.”
Pam offers me a sympathetic smile, passing me more water.
“And Bhodi?”
I ask quietly, glancing around the stark hospital room.
“He stepped out.”
Pam smiles at me forcefully, her eyes telling me she doesn’t have a clue.
“You don’t know where he is, do you?”
Both her and Eva shrink in their seats, awkwardly looking towards each other. I just scoff and shake my head. Unable to form the words, I slump lower into the bed, pulling the duvet tight around me. Both girls quickly get up and head for the door, gently closing it behind them. I watch out the window, tears soak into my pillow and my body begins to shake with either fear or exhaustion. I sob quietly, unable to keep in the emotions that have plagued me for weeks. Everything seems to come out at once and I soon pull my knees to my chest, forcing my face into my pillow to muffle my cries.
I don’t know what hurts more, my body or that Bhodi isn’t here when I need him. No one knows where he is and I’m scared that’ll be my life forever, if he carries on the way he is. I know they protect people, but who protects them? What if one day it all goes wrong and they’re killed? I don’t want to think of my life without him but it’s a nasty truth I have to face.
Squeezing my stinging eyes closed, my sobs eventually subside, and I hold my cocoon tight around me. Each time the doctor or nurse comes into the room, I pretend to be asleep. I listen intently to their retreating footsteps and listen to the door closing behind them, but I feel myself spiralling, my own internal fears screaming at me, unable to navigate myself out of this madness.