"Shhh... take it like the good girl you are."
"I'm a good girl?" I whispered.
He gazed up at me, eyes glowing in amusement. "Do you want me to prove it to you?"
My eyes glistened with his reflection.
"I can prove it to you," he answered, "but I'll...
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Riley
"Thank you, Paris..." a voice echoed from the hall. "Thank you so much. Oh, God...."
I stared at the ceiling of my bedroom drowsily while I listened to the conversation.
"It's okay, Mrs. Princes," Paris said. "Please, don't cry. The doctor said she's going to be okay."
"Why her?" Violet cried. "Why are they doing this to her? I don't get it! I hated watching her hurt all these years... but now this? They tried to kill her! I shouldn't have left the room! I shouldn't have left her alone!"
"It's going to be okay, Mrs. Princes," Paris said, clearly trying to calm Violet down.
"They took my baby!" Violet said, almost screaming now. "While I was in the house!"
I listened to mom rant, too tired to yell out so I wasn't alone in my bedroom anymore.
But a sudden shadow hovered over me, and my breath caught as my eyes widened.
I couldn't see it clearly, but he had dark skin and bright gold eyes.
Did the killer sneak in my room again?
No, no! I couldn't run! I was too tired...
"Paris!" his deep voice called, making my heart stop for a moment. "She's awake!"
He stepped away as the door opened, and Paris came walking in, mom behind him.
Paris sat on the bed, my breaths quickening when his hand inched toward me.
He drew back at this. "Hey," he uttered, leaning a little over so he could see my face, "I saved you, remember? Don't panic."
My eyes darkened when I recalled the memory of me drowning in the ocean.
He was right... he did save me...
But why? And who knocked me out and took me to the water...?
"Riley," Violet said, sitting on the bed beside me, as well, "how are you feeling?"
"Everything hurts..." I said, voice raspy.
"Yeah," Paris responded, "your muscles, huh? Drowning will do that to you."
I gazed at him and back at mom. "What's going on?"
Violet looked at Paris and back at me. "We have to put you in protective custody, Sweetheart."
I tried shifting to my side, but my muscles burned, so I stopped. "Did the police come?"
Violet hesitated. "Not exactly...."
"What does that mean?" I questioned.
"Let's not talk about this right now," Paris stated. "You're going to lose your voice. So just take a break from talking for now, okay?"
