Building Bridges

Chapter Seventeen

Do you know the feeling of floating in empty space and being dragged by gravity so you got no control over your body, but then you break into another space, and it's not empty but full of water and still you got no control over your body? The first one is called falling, while the last one is called drowning...

And do you know how it feels like to be drowning? It's equal to dying because you get grasped and released by death continuously until you get confused, are you going to die or survive? If the last hit is release you are to live, and if it's a grasp...you are a goner.

I felt all of the previously mentioned situations, but, I don't know if I am alive or dead.

One moment I am awake and feels everything rushing around me, from voices to shadows to sounds, and it suddenly fades away, it was as if I was in a continuous dream.

Please make it a dream and not a nightmare.

The first time I woke up, I was surrounded by water and couldn't breath.

The second time I woke up, it was to a heavy weight on my chest and someone's lips on mine giving me air to breath.

The third time I woke up in shock and confused, and a I felt a lot of hands on my body keeping me down.

And there was a lot of strings attached to my body, I tried to release myself, but I blacked out.

I don't know how much time passed exactly since the last time I woke up, but I fell like this time I am going to wake up for real.

I heard the beeping of the heart monitor, and felt the soft breeze on my skin, and I smelt some fresh roses, the ones that Sam grew on her greenhouse, the ones that Eva loves so much.

And talking about Eva, I heard her soft humming from my right side, and her hand on mine, her thumb drawing imaginary circles on the back of my hand.

Peaceful, that's how I can describe the moment until I remembered where I am, and what happened.

The heart monitor started beeping like crazy and I couldn't understand what was happening, and I panicked more when I felt Eva's hand slipping from mine.

I opened my eyes in desperation to find her, and I was assaulted by the light.

I heard doors banging, footsteps rushing near me, and then, hands on my body keeping me down.

I went to call Eva's name, but choked on something that was going down my throat, and it became painful to talk or to breath, and I started choking on it releasing gagging sounds as I almost vomited.

Suddenly, I started to feel relaxed as the thing got removed from my mouth and someone was giving me instructions to breath.

Not moments later, I calmed down and my body felt well, and I looked around the room and in front of me to find out that Matt was the one helping me, and the guys were here too looking panicked, Rick, Jack and Damien.

On the other hand, Eva was looking at me strangely, then she seemed to snap out of it and smiled widely taking a step forward, but the room's door banged open and Isaac came in running and looking like crazy, he rushed in and once he spotted me, he run and threw his body to my side and hugged me almost gently, I heard him sniffing, but then, it turned to sobs.

I heard the others laugh st him, and next came Eva, she went my other side and hugged me so gently, putting her head by the crook of my neck and secretly nipping the skin there making me laugh, but I ended up choking and coughing due to my dry throat.

Vivian came too, and a respectable beautiful old lady that I didn't recognize.

-"Adam" she whispered gently with a warm smile showing the wrinkles at the corner of her eyes and lips.

-"Dylan, this is your grandmother, Alexander's mother" Vivian said suddenly and my eyes widened.

-"I am glad you are safe and alive, I lost hope fifteen years ago when you went with Alex to the bridge and never returned" she said with a tear slipping her left eye.

-"You are welcome to live with me, after all, you are the last heir to the Adamus family, and everything is yours, you can have the life you wished for, you can even build the bridge like your father was planning to do, or just make it disappear with the history so that the two cities can restart freshly and forget the bad blood" she said standing straight with her chin up and hands joined in the front like a majestic queen.

-"Thanks" I said and coughed as I felt my throat scratched and dry.

I looked around the room again, and my heart squeezed.

-"Where's Solomon and Steve?" I asked and they all looked at anything but me.

The silence was cold and suffocating.

-"I heard gunshots before I got jumped" I said and they all kept silent.

-"Did they at least made it?" I said and I saw Isaac flinch.

Suddenly, Sam entered the room with a freshly new bouquet of white roses, and what made me surprised were her black dress and her pale face, her eyes also were swollen and pinkish like she cried.

Once she spotted everyone, her eyebrows rose, but when she spotted me looking at her, the bouquet fell from her hands and roses sprawled on the floor, her eyes went wide and a smile broke on her face as more tears went down her face, then suddenly, tiny footsteps were rushed into the room, two adorable toddlers came in sight, and once the saw the roses, they stopped to gather them sloppily.

-"Kids! Listen to mama, don't run away like that" a deep voice that I recognize very well said from the door, and we all turned to look at Solomon as he bent down to gather the toddlers in his strong arms, and he seemed to be fine.

-"Once they learned how to walk they could stop running around, kids are so..." he didn't finish his sentence because he lifted his eyes and they met mine, and his eyes widened in surprise.

-"Thanks God! Finally!" He said as mom walked in.

She seemed in a better state, and more healthy and beautiful, once she spotted me, she started crying and run to me to hug me carefully while sobbing and muttering words of thanks to God.

-"How much time have I been out? Because I don't remember the toddlers were able to walk the last time I saw them!" I said in surprise.

-"Actually, you have been out for three months" a voice said from the door.

I returned towards the voice to find him at the door as he pushed away from it to walk towards me with his dimples showing with a smile.

-"Adam" he greeted.

-"Steve!"