The Secret (Book 1 of the Secret Series)

Chapter 28.

I moaned and opened my eyes. I coughed a few times and gasped. Max sat up some and looked down at me. He touched my cheek and I closed my eyes again. He sighed and ran his thumb under my eyes.

"You don't look so good." he said. I didn't feel so good. "You look too pail and feel too warm." I was freezing though. He ran his thumb over my chin and kissed my forehead. "You need to go back to sleep, get some rest." I didn't want to sleep. I didn't want to dream. My dreams didn't make sense to me, and I was a little scared of them. I didn't know if these dreams were of my past, or if they were just random things. I needed to talk to Samuel and Kyle about them.

"I need paper." I whispered. "Do you think that they have any here?" I opened my eyes.

"I think they may have a few sheets." he smiled. I smiled back. "But you aren't supposed to sit up, you need to lay down and you can't draw if you lay down."

"I can lean." I said and he sighed. I knew that he thought that that was a bad idea, but I wouldn't be able to sleep anytime soon, if I didn't draw. "Besides, you know me. There won't be any sleep for both of us, if I don't draw what I've seen. It'll drive me crazy if I don't." he smiled again, and then slowly got up.

"I'll be back in a minute then." he said and left the room. I closed my eyes and breathed shakily as I tried to push myself up a little. It hurt so bad, that I ended up laying there, gasping and waiting for Max to get back.

The door opened slowly, and then closed.

"That was quick." I said quietly and opened my eyes. I gasped when I found someone I didn't know. His dark eyes looked at me and I didn't know what to do, because I was scared. He was dressed in all black, and was walking toward me. "S-stay away from me." I said, but he came over to me anyway, and put a hand over my mouth. I grabbed his hand, but something stopped me from screaming when I got it off of my face.

I wasn't sure if it was from the way he held my hand, his fingers laced with mine, and so soft, or the way that he stared into my eyes with his dark ones, but it made me stop and actually look at him.

"J-Jordan?" I breathed and he smiled a little. He touched my cheek with his free hand and breathed a small laugh. "What?"

"I thought I'd never see you again." he said and looked over my face. There was a longing in his eyes that I had only ever seen in one man, and he had just left the room. "I thought I lost you." I breathed shakily as he sat on the bed beside me. "I don't have much time Baby, but I wanted to see you before you checked out. I wanted to make sure it was you and that you were okay."

"How did you find me?" I asked. "What happened... I don't remember... what happened after the day I met you. I'm scared Jordan."

"Shh." he said and stroked my hair. "I wish that I could explain everything, but I don't have time, just be careful, okay. Just... when you get out of here... hide somewhere safe. Don't let them find you, because it won't be good if they do. If I can find you, then they aren't far behind." I had heard that one before. That only scared me more.

"Jordan." I whispered. "W-what happened after I met you?"

"We became friends... actually more than that," he sighed. "Then my dad was killed a few months later, by a man looking for information, and he took me away with him. He found you and killed your parents and took you." tears filled my eyes. "Mrs. Kelly, a woman that they all trusted, took you away and gave you to an orphanage. Then she ran away and was never heard from again. I was raised by the man that killed my dad, and have been searching for you ever since."

"You never got out?" I whispered. He shook his head. "I'm... I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about me." he said and wiped away my tears. "I was glad when she got you out of there. What they were doing to you... it was horrible and scary. I wanted to get you out of there myself, but what could a seven year old do? We were little kids and yeah, we were smart, but they had us in unfamiliar surroundings-"