crave | 16+

XXI

JOSIE

I WAKE UP TO a bunch of men staring down at me. Two I recognise, one I don't. I ready myself to get up the bed, but realise quite quickly that I can't. My eyes swarm the room, and I catch a grin that has no good intentions behind it, on my boyfriend's brother's lips. My breathing intensifies as I try to put two and two together.

It's all like a blur in my mind. What happened yesterday night, the call, Zakaria in my bed, me running away from the men chasing me, the man slapping me...Zakaria shooting a man between his eyes. I could feel my heartbeat quicken beneath my skin. Sweat decorated my forehead, as I frantically searched the room for any sign of anyone I know. Anyone that isn't Zakaria. I know I'm doomed, when both my heart and brain collectively decide I won't calm down until Elijah is in my peripheral vision, or in front of me.

"Good. You're awake. I was afraid I had to kill the doctor, sooner or later," Zakaria says, a shark-grin covering his lips. Did he find this amusing? My pulse only quickens, as I try to free myself from the hospital bed once again. Why couldn't I get up? Fuck sake. I look at the two other men, and as if this entire thing has been a puzzle, I see the pieces coming together. One of the men standing next to Zakaria is...

"Nice to see you again, Ms. Moore," he says.

Ares. Elijah's bodyguard. The man Elijah trusts with his life. I feel bile run up my throat, and attempt to swallow it down. Never in my life have I felt this small, this cornered, this ready to just lie down and give up, accept what is to come, and take it with a dark smile on my lips. I was tired of always having to be strong for the people around me. My mother? Maddox? Hell, even my father. My entire life I'd been the odd one out, wanting a life of my own, and when I'd finally gained that I was stranded here. Had I made a mistake, wanting to decide my own fate? Should I have listened to my father all those years ago?

His voice suddenly haunting me in my head, from the final night I saw him for good. If you leave now, I don't ever want to see your face. Do you hear me, girl? Exit that door, and by God himself it'll be the last time you enter it! Tears blurred my vision, as I slowly came back to reality. I should've never left. What did I think? That some country girl could live a fulfilled life in New York, nonetheless? That what? I was going to 'take it as it comes'? I was ridiculous for thinking I could do it, and I am ridiculous for letting my guard down.

I clear my throat when I feel the heavy hot tear trickle down my chin. Looking around, I muster up the courage to find my voice: "Where am I?" I question no one specifically, my hoarse voice bouncing back in the small room.

"You're safe."

I change my look toward the familiar voice, and feel a laugh getting stuck in my throat. I don't find any of this particular amusing, but it seems to be the only thing my brain can muster up. Perhaps it's a response to my foolishness. What had I thought would happen?

"Safe," I repeat, nodding my head. More tears stream down my cheeks, as I try to find a way to come to reason with everything that's happened in the last few hours. God knows how long I've been knocked out for. "Safe. With you, I suppose?" I ask, returning Zakaria's gaze.

"Of course," he says, with a tint of proudness. Of course... Tears of rage take over and I allow a sob to break out of my throat. Oddly enough, I don't care about the eyes on me, watching me as I cry my tired hearts out. Oh, and how it was tired.

I meet Zakaria's eyeline once again. "Did I seem like a damsel in distress to you?" My voice comes out way colder than I'd intended, but I didn't mind it at all. At this point, I quite literally had nothing to lose. My new position at work didn't matter at all, if it was the founder himself who'd decided to kidnap me for some peculiar reason.