Blood Stained Collar BOOK 2 of The Collar Series #Wattys2017 ( BDSM )

CHAPTER 38

Staring into her black coffee as the steam swirled up into her face, she tried to understand what took hold of her last night. She had never been so forward, or domineering for that matter when it came to sex. But then she had only ever been with Cirrus and he was the one who took the lead.

She kept knocking the one thought she did not want to acknowledge to the back of her mind. But it niggled her to think she was anything like her father. To think she might be following in his footsteps scared her. When she'd found out what her father was, she hated him. He'd ruined everything for her and she would never forgive him. It was because of her father's relationship with Cirrus, that she left him.

Melanie shoved her coffee cup aside and stood up and stared at her shadow on the ground. "If you could turn the clock back, would you?" She asked her shadow. "No matter where I go, what I do or who I'm with you have an annoying way of creeping into my thoughts Cirrus Ballinger." She kicked out at her shadow. "Dammit Cirrus, its's time to let go now. Get out of my head. I need to, no, I want to move on without you."

It was her pager that brought her back to the moment and after checking it she ran across the courtyard and back to the ER. When Melanie ran inside, the staff were rushing around preparing beds. From the amount of beds being prepped she knew it must be a major accident with multiple casualties. She suited up with gloves and apron and waited for the first casualty to arrive.

The site that met her eyes drained the colour from her face. Everything around her seemed to move in soundless slow motion. Even though he was covered in blood with fragments of glass peppered over his skin and an oxygen mask over his face, she knew it was him, but she didn't want to believe it. Where, how, why, were questions racing through her mind until the doctor beside her barked out orders. The slow soundless picture she had been staring at changed and she found herself following the gurney into the cubicle. As the paramedics reported on his injuries her eyes were locked onto his face. No, she wasn't mistaken. It was him. Cirrus Ballinger lay bleeding and possibly dying in front of her.

The voices around her blurred into a howl that stabbed her temples and made her head feel like it was splitting open. She felt herself being pushed back into a corner and someone was asking her if she was alright. A pain so intense hit her in the chest and the room weaved drunkenly around her. She knew she was breathing too fast and would pass out if she didn't stop, but she was struggling to get enough air into her lungs, then everything went black.

Beautiful air was filling her lungs. She could breathe. Cautiously she opened her eyes. Praying what she remembered was just a bad dream. She was alone in a cubicle with an oxygen mask on and she heard gurneys being rolled in and voices giving instructions. The casualties were still arriving. She needed to get up and help. She was not here to be a patient. Pulling the mask off she sat up slowly. Yes, she was fine, a little light headed but not enough to keep her lying down and unable to work. As her feet touched the floor she realized she had no shoes on. She found her shoes under the bed and slipped them on. When she pulled back the curtain to her cubicle she had to step back to allow a gurney being wheeled past, by paramedics. Still more casualties were coming in. How many more and what on earth had happened?

With so much activity no one took any notice of her going into Cirrus's cubicle. She stood at the bottom of his bed staring at his motionless body. Apart from the bleeding wounds his skin was pale as if someone had dusted him with powder. Her gut instinct was to run away and call in sick till he was released from hospital. Why now? Why had he turned up now, just when she had decided to move on with her life? She was about to turn around and walk away when she heard him cough and saw blood spatter against his oxygen mask. She was the closest and her nurse's instinct took over. As she lifted his mask his coughing worsened and blood sprayed up against her arm holding the mask.

She wiped his mouth. "You're going to be okay."

He opened his eyes when she spoke. He stared at her in silence before trying to speak. "Melanie."

"Shhh, don't try talk. Just lie still. I'll get the doctor."

A hoarse croak came from his throat. "No, don't go."

"Cirrus, I have to get the doctor. I'll be back I promise." She hurried away to get the doctor.

When she returned with the doctor Cirrus had coughed up a lot more blood and was rushed off for a CT scan. As the porters wheeled him out, his eyes caught Melanie's. "Mel, need to talk." His voice was barely a whisper but she heard him clearly.

She nodded. "I'll be here."

The doctor looked at her. "Do you know him?"

"Yes."

"Were you expecting him?"

"No." The doctor frowned, before turning to follow Cirrus.

Melanie soon found out that the passenger plane had crash landed at the airport and still no explanation for the crash. It was not yet known how many had died in the crash or on the way to hospital.

She struggled to shake off thoughts of Cirrus as she busied herself helping with the other casualties. She did not see Cirrus again that day and worked through the night till the morning shift came on to take over.

As she walked slowly back to her apartment the dawn painted the sky in shades of pink. She stopped for a moment to take in the view before entering her building and couldn't help remembering, watching the dawn breaking in Cirrus's arms. All through her shower and having breakfast, flashes of moments they had shared together played like a movie trailer in her mind. There was a throbbing pain inside her and she couldn't tell if it was a headache or heartache.

She was tired but couldn't sleep and sat on her balcony watching the dawn sky turning into a summer's day. She saw Reece walking across the courtyard from the hospital. His shift was done and he'd be tired when he walked in. He'd want to cuddle her till he fell asleep, but she didn't want to cuddle, not today anyway. Her head was in a tangled mess of thoughts and feelings she thought she had buried and closed the door on. Why did life throw her such curve balls? Why couldn't her life just sail along smoothly?

When she heard Reece's key turn in the door, she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep on her sun lounger.