The Bodyguard ✔

Chapter Eighteen

"Giselle! Calm down!" I hear while I cry through my long hair, covering my soken face.

"Giselle, it's me!" Frank?

He lets go of my wrists to disentangle my hair from my face. His warm hands let me realize how cold my own skin is. I'm covered with melted snow, sweat and tears, while I'm not able to feel my feet, because of the cold.

"Frank" I whisper with a broken voice.

Still sitting on the ground, he picks me up to embrace me. ''Don't worry, you're okay. Everything is alright."

For a second, I feel safe, buried in his strong arms. The icy wind can't touch my skin and the snow melts before it can get to me.

Then I suddenly remember why I fled to the woods in the first place. "Frank, they're here! You have to help me, they're here to take me again. The van..."

But he interrupts me before I start crying again. "Giselle, there is no one here. You have to calm down."

Why isn't he listening to me?  "No, Frank, you have to believe me, I saw them!"

I beg with tears in my hurting eyes.

He looks to consider my explanation at first, but then he grabs something from his pockets. Before I know what exactly, a bright light glares my sight like a thousand suns. I cover my eyes in a reflex and hear Frank curse silently. I can see nothing except for white.

But in my temporary blindness, I see human-shaped figures dance. No, they're not dancing, they're fighting each other.

I breath out warm clouds of air in the cold.

One has decently hit the other and aims his attention at me. He looks down at my immobile body, lying on the ground, and covers my sight with a black fabric.

I breath in.

Frank tries to put me on my feet, but I can't feel them. I would've fallen back to the frozen ground if he didn't catch me in time. My skin and muscles feel numb because of the cold and I can't think clearly. My sight slowly returns, but everywhere I look, I see dark shadows fighting each other. What is going on? The absence of adrenaline takes its toll and my body starts becoming weak. I shiver from the despicable temperature.

Barely I notice Frank lifting me up, until I feel the earth disappear under my feet and the heat from his chest against my shoulder. Maybe he said something, but I didn't hear him clearly enough.

I lose consciousness as he carries me in his arms through white and wind.

***

"Giselle?" What a handsome voice he has...

"Giselle, do you hear me?" Please, just let me sleep...

"GISELLE!" Reality hits me in the face.

I wake up and growl out of pain. I fire up from the couch, but get immediately pushed back. "Stay down."

I breath heavily and my skull feels cracked up by pain. Every part of my body hurts. What happened? Two tears escape my eyes when I bite my teeth. It hurts so bad. I don't know what to do.

Frank has put a chair next to the couch I'm lying on. He takes a seat and places his hand on my arm. "How do you feel?"

I try to speak, but my voice sounds so hoarse, no sound comes out. I cough and try again. "It hurts." I say little.

Frank looks tired with bags under his eyes, although he still appears to be focused. "I know."

It's dark outside, but I have no idea how late it is. Frank helps me drink some water.

"How long was I out?"

He answers stoically. "Around seventeen hours. It's six in the evening now."

Jeez. I've must've been out all night and day. I start to remember last night. How I fled from shadows to the freezing woods. I could've frozen to death. How could I do that to myself?

"Frank," my voice breaks down, "what happened to me?"