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Chapter Ten

This time I did not awaken in a beautiful, bright room. Instead my eyes slowly forced themselves open to reveal a dim room, no bigger than my closet at home. There were no windows, the only source of light being a small lamp on the table next to me.

The mattress beneath me was hard and thin, causing my back to ache. I began to wonder how many times I could black out and wake up somewhere new when a voice rang out across the room.

"Hey, you're awake!"

I screamed and pushed myself upright so quickly that I fell out over the side of the bed. I hit the hardwood floor with a thud and searing pain tore through my right arm. Someone shot up from a chair in the corner, which I had not noticed before, and ran toward me.

"Hey, hey calm down. I'm sorry I scared you but everything's okay now."

I kept my eyes locked on the boy before me, who I could now vaguely recognise. A blur of shattered glass, ear splitting noise and the boy with violet eyes flashed across my memory.

"Alex?"

He nodded, a small smile creeping onto his face.

"Here let me check your arm," he said gently.

I instinctively jerked myself away, letting out an involuntary cry when the intense pain leapt through me again. The smile vanished from his face.

"You know, it would be a lot easier if you could just trust me for a second."

"Last time I 'trusted' you, you promised you weren't trying to kill me, then you threw me out a window," I remarked in a hoarse voice, which sounded little like my own.

Alex looked at me curiously for a moment then burst out laughing. I didn't get the joke. He continued to laugh until he noticed that I was glaring at him.

He struggled to compose himself but once he did he looked at me seriously and said, "can I please just take a look at your arm?"

I sighed and allowed him to shuffle closer, wincing as he carefully probed along the length between my shoulder and elbow. After several long moments of gritting my teeth in pain, Alex turned and called over his shoulder to someone beyond the closed door.

"Sara, get in here! She's busted a couple of stitches!"

A short Brunette girl burst through the door muttering to herself and fiddling with a small box which she couldn't seem to open.

"Alex, what the hell is she doing on the floor?"

Her voice was firm but strangely affectionate. Something about it was off. Sara looked several years older than myself and by that age Brunettes have usually lost all emotion behind their actions.

There was too much passion and life in her eyes. It was like her appearance was just a mask. Her neatly braided hair and soft, unthreatening features screamed doctor, but she just seemed to care too much. I couldn't figure out how to feel about her.

"It's not my fault!" Alex protested loudly. "She practically threw herself off the bed!"

"Only because you -" the dryness of my throat sent me into a coughing fit before I could finish defending myself.

"Why'd you have to get her all worked up? Oh forget it, just help me get her back onto the bed so I can fix her."

At Sara's command Alex carefully slipped his arms beneath my back and legs, lifting me slowly back onto the stiff mattress. Sara made her way around to my right side, almost knocking Alex over in the process but she didn't seem to notice.

If she did, she didn't appear to care, even after he shot her a dirty look. She inspected my arm just as Alex had and let out a long breath.

"Okay honey, this is going to hurt, probably a lot. Alex, give her your hand to squeeze."

"But -"

The word had hardly left his lips before she shot him a look that could have frozen the sun. Sara had the biggest emotional range I'd ever seen in a Brunette. Alex rolled his eyes and snatched my left hand up in his. It was warm, despite the damp chill that hung in the air.

Sara plucked a sharp needle from the small box she had carried in and began fumbling with a ball of thread, attempting to guide it through the needle's eye. I gulped and shut my eyes. The prospect of blacking out didn't seem so bad anymore.

"Okay, just stay still and keep breathing," Sara whispered reassuringly as I felt the tip of the needle press into my flesh.

I let out a small yelp and Alex snorted.

"You're such a girl," he sniggered.

The needle dug deeper into my arm and I pressed my fingers into Alex's palm.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" he cried.

"Look who's the girl now," I said through gritted teeth, trying to take my mind off of the agony caused by the needle.

He mumbled something in response but I couldn't hear it. I was too focussed on fighting the urge to scream.

"Alex, be quiet, I'm trying to focus. Tying off stitches isn't easy you know!"

I pretended not to hear that last part, preferring to let myself believe that Sara knew what she was doing.

"There, I think I got it. You can let go now Alex."

"Thank you! I think you'll need to stitch up my hand next. She practically tore it to shreds!" he exclaimed, yanking his hand from my still tight grasp.

I reluctantly opened my eyes to see his hand waving in front of my face.

"Oh come on, I didn't even draw blood," I croaked, sending myself into another coughing fit.

"Calm down," Sara ordered. "You don't want to rip those stitches again do you?"

I shook my head and lay back on my pillow.

"Alex, get her a glass of water."

"What? Why can't you get it?"

"I have to find Flora, now go."

He grumbled while exiting the room and rounding a corner until he was out of my sight.

"Now, you need to get some rest. I'll check up on you in a few hours."

Sara gave me a sympathetic smile before she left too, closing the door behind her and leaving me alone in the dark room, silence hanging in the air.

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A/N

I am so sorry this chapter took so long to publish! I was bogged down in schoolwork then hit by a severe case of writer's block. Fortunately everything has cleared up now and hopefully I can get back to updating on a regular basis again.

A massive thank you to all of you who have stuck with me through this. I really appreciate your continuous support and positive comments. They were a major part of my inspiration coming back to me (as well as finishing all my exams :P) so THANK YOU!

I hope the wait was worth it for this chapter, I know the last one ended in a bit of a cliffhanger. If you liked it please don't forget to vote and/or comment to let me know what you thought. :)