Viva

Part 1.7

Unedited

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Part 1.7

The instant that my eyelids cracked open, all I could see was a blaring white light. "Why does Heaven have to be this bright?" I asked in a croaky voice due to the fact I had major cottonmouth. Smacking my lips a few times, I found that it did not help the dryness in my mouth.

With squinted eyes, I blinked rapidly in hopes of adjusting to the light, knowing that was one thing I could do.

"What makes you think you'd go to Heaven, Kid?" An angelic voice questioned from close by.

As I turned my head to the left, the intense luminescence faded and I realized that it was just an overhead fluorescent light that had been blinding me. "What's going on?" I inquired right before my eyes locked onto a pair of dark brown eyes.

For a prolonged second, my whole world seemed to come to a complete halt. I could even swear my heart had stopped beating in that moment. "Braxton?" His name came off as a question because I did not understand why in the world he was standing next to me. "Why are you in Heaven? Did you die too?" Suddenly, my eyes welled up with tears, as an overwhelming sadness filled me. "No, you can't be dead too!" When I attempted to sit up, the entire room felt as if it was spinning.

"Whoa," said Braxton, getting off the couch he was sitting on, a few feet from me. It took him barely two strides to reach me. His long, muscular arms reached out to grab me, but he hesitated. Dropping his hands to his side, Braxton gave me a pointed look. "Lay down. You have to take it easy for a while. Right now, you have an insane amount of painkillers in your system."

As if his words and dark eyes had placed me under a spell, I did as Braxton had told me and laid back down. After a second, I was glad that I had listened to Braxton because the room slowly began to go still again. "Painkillers?" I quizzed, immediately recognizing the loopy feeling they cause me to have.

"You were attacked," Braxton answered in a calm tone of voice.

I had no idea if it was the painkillers or the way Braxton spoke, but I did not feel at all worried by the information he had given me. Every thought and instinct I had told me that I should be worried about what he told me, and not as relaxed and tranquil as I was. However, I could not help it. 

The more Braxton spoke, though, the more I realized it was him; when that dawned on me, I did not concern myself with what I should have been feeling. I was grateful to finally find a mate, one that could calm me down like so. Just knowing that Braxton was mine, made me shiver.

"Are you even listening to me?" Braxton harshly asked with narrowed eyes.

Jumping out of my thoughts and back to reality, I blinked a few extra times. "I'm sorry," an embarrassing blush found my face because I had wandered off in thought, ignoring my mate who was speaking to me. "Can you repeat what you said?"

Braxton pushed up the sleeves of his plain black shirt, stopping at his elbows; revealing his tan arms. His face was blank, void of any emotion. "You've had two different surgeries on your leg. Long story short, you're gonna live."

The corners of my lips twitched up, "And, the noble mate stays by my side."

The deep sound of Braxton's laugh filled the air for a brief moment, but it was enough to mesmerize me. "I love your laugh," I admitted without shame.

Braxton composed himself to the point that his expression appeared impassive, again. His dark brown eyes remained unwavering to me, though; to the point where I wanted to squirm a little, but I held it in. "I'm here because I'm Sheriff of Cedar Falls and you were attacked. I need a statement."