Plain Sight

chapter sixty-one

Tom

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I should've known.

I should've fucking known, from the way her eyes weren't fluttering open when I called her name the first time.

From the way she didn't inhale deeply when I tried to wake her up gently, so she wouldn't be startled.

From the way her chest wasn't rising and falling in its regular pattern.

I should've known.

I never knew a heart rate could increase so rapidly in just a matter of seconds—until this happened.

Until I felt what losing Juliette was like, again.

The moment flashed before my eyes again, from the time I barely knew her when she was kidnapped and I went feral to find her.

Or the time that she got in a car accident that put her in a coma for days, because of me.

Those were the result of me. Both accidents were my fault, she was kidnapped for information on me, she was in that accident because I so selfishly left her there because I thought I was protecting her.

How could I have been so blind?

So no, I'm not going to anything happen to her again because of me. I'll be dead before that happens.

"JULIETTE—" My hands firmly grasped around both of her shoulders, violently shaking her awake.

Her chest did this weird jolt or something— like she was trying to gasp for air, but she was being choked.

I kept shaking her, calling her name until she finally gasped out for air, clawing and weakly pulling me.

"Breathe, baby just breathe. I'm right here," I said to her, trying to help her get some sense of reality.

Her eyes ripped open from horror, prying and pulling. Her breaths were shaky and uneven, her chest practically heaving. It was like she was choking on air, or even like she was having trouble breathing.

She was still curled up on the bed as I shook her.

I didn't need another sign when she started coughing the way she did when we were desperately trying to find a way out of her fathers burning safe house—when I was a hostage and she saved me.

I picked her up effortlessly, cradling her against my chest and holding on tight as I ran down the stairs towards the front door with her in my arms struggling for breath.

"It's okay, Juliette—I'm gonna get you help," I said in a desperate attempt to soothe her in any way. "I promise."

I placed her in the passenger seat before quickly running to the driver's side and starting the car.

I kept my eyes dodging from the road back to her, making sure she wasn't dead in my passenger seat.

What is going on?

What could have even happened? I was with her all day, there was nobody or nothing that could have happened.

The drive to the nearest hospital was thankfully only 7 minutes away, Juliette managed to stay somewhat awake the whole time. Though, she was coughing and gasping for air, clawing at her chest.

The entire time, all I could think about was the fact of what could've happened if I hadn't went upstairs to wake her up.

What could have happened then?