Fire Wall (Book 1: The Fall)

10 | A Sweet Stalker

Light reaches across my face, pressing gently on my closed eyes. I nestle my head further into my pillow to flee from morning's gentle touch. Exhaustion hits my body so hard it feels like a truck ran me over in forward and reverse. I moan through my pillow.

"Ugggh."

I hit an upholstered headboard with my hands and feel its cushiony surface. It has a button pattern stretching across it that my fingers dip in and out of. Its length is well beyond my wingspan. This bed is huge. It feels like a cloud underneath me but the fact that it's a stranger's and not mine makes it uncomfortable.

I likely won't be returning home anytime soon but that's not my biggest concern. I'm worried about my mother. I put her life and mine in danger, all for a stupid coding project. Just thinking about it makes my heart twist painfully. She could be in the hands of Phantom right now. The first thing I should do is check my telescreen. Maybe she called or messaged me.

I push myself up on my elbows and force my eyes open in search of my backpack. Piercing light floods the left side of my vision, hammering my head and temporarily blinding me. RAM, it's bright. What time is it? My bio clock reads the time in my peripheral vision. The blue font displays 10 am and beside it the hours of sleep I got, 5 hours and 32 minutes. Not enough to feel well rested but this isn't a weekend lounge fest. I need to get up, I need to make a plan, starting with finding my mother, then tracking the BUB massacre case to find Phantom.

I rip the covers off me and my eyes adjust instantly thanks to my biotech software, Thrive. My father got paid well as a Watchman, so I can see how we could afford the diamond package when he was around. As for my mother, I don't know how she rolled in funds to keep us on the package if she wasn't working for the government. Perhaps she had some kind of shady side hustle as a hacker I wasn't aware of. Either that or she simply worked a normal job on the side of her involvement in Firewall. She is capable of anything she puts her mind to, there's no doubt about that.

Sky reports my vitals for the morning below my clock. Everything looks normal, which is crazy considering I was in a car crash yesterday. The medicine L gave me couldn't have been enough by itself. I know I have a good health package that quickens my body's recovery but I've never been in any situation to see it in action. I wonder how much I can take before really getting knocked out.

I look around the room to find the source of light coming from the glass door on my life. The black curtains are drawn back, allowing the sun to flood the room with piercing light. The bonsai plant across from me soaks up the light on a slick, black table. Its cluster of leaves reflects the golden rays. Black and white marble swirl on the wall behind it, spreading across the whole wall. The marble stops at the right corner of the room, where black panels branch off from it. A white leather chair pops against the dark background. Beside it hangs a massive mirror with impressive, white quartz framing.

I raise my eyebrows seeing my reflection. Half of my hair is in a ponytail while the rest is either wrapped around my neck in a twisted scarf or stuffed in the back of my bomber jacket. Good thing I didn't walk out like this for L to see.

His face flashes before me and I pull the covers close to me. He was alluring and eccentric. I've never seen anyone that looks like him. The white hair and cyan eyes was beautiful and could stop anyone in their tracks. He was an incredible fighter, too. That was the closest I've ever been to rape but he saved me. I've never been more terrified and helpless in my life. The gun in my mouth, the hands on my body-I was overwhelmed with fear. It felt as though I was trapped in a dark cloud and unable to see or feel anything else.

But when I saw L beating the crap out of him, light broke through. I've never been so relieved to see someone I barely knew before. I still don't understand the joy I felt in that moment seeing him. I slowly sink into my pillow and the soft fabric absorbs my tears.