Amelia

Chapter Sixteen

A/N: Wow, its been a hot minute since I've updated this story, but I was so busy with school and getting a new job and moving that it seemed like any spare minute I had to write, I ended up trying to catch a few extra minutes of sleep. But anyway, who cares about personal life problems, right? On to the story!

Chapter Sixteen

There it was. That incessant beeping was back again. It fell over me like a familiar song, washing away all other sounds and at the same time fading into the background itself.

I wanted to throw a shoe at it.

The smell of antiseptic permeated my nose, confirming my suspicions that I was once again in the hospital. The heart monitor was annoyingly close to the head of my bed, and its short blips were echoing around my head, mirroring the throbbing of my skull. With my eyes still closed, I went to reach out and shove the stupid thing away from me.

My hand stopped. Actually, it never moved.

Something was restraining my arms. A thick, heavy band was wrapped around both of my arms and my torso, inducing panic in me. I could hear the subsequent acceleration of the heart monitor's sound, indicating the rising anxiety I felt. My eyes shot open, prepared to witness the same scene that had greeted me the last time I'd awoke in this situation. Instead, an entirely different vision met my eyes.

Fin.

Fin was there, his head buried in the sheets by my waist, his heavy arm thrown across my stomach, holding me close. He was fast asleep, his breathing deep and even. I felt a warm glow spread inside my chest as I sat there, watching him as he slept, unaware of my observation. Suddenly, I felt the smile freeze on my face, the blood turning to ice in my veins. Seeing his face brought it all back to me, and I felt my breath hitch, burning my lungs as it stuck in my chest.

I can't believe Alexander would...that he could possibly...I could have died.

I looked at Fin, his face marred by worry even as he slept. I almost died.

But I didn't. I wasn't. Instead, I was free, outside of the house and away from Alexander. There was no way I could go back after what had happened, and I knew there was no way Fin or the hospital staff would let me. No doubt Fin had told them the reason for my current state.

I was free.

I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, feeling as if I was breathing for the first time. It was as though I'd been tossed off a ship, flailing about in the ocean, just barely keeping my head above the water. I hadn't noticed I was drowning until I was back on solid ground. And now I could finally breathe. The weight was off of my chest, and it felt like light was spilling from my pores.

At the edges of this newfound happiness, though, was a tinge of fear and sadness. I had made it out, sure, but in doing so I had abandoned a life I'd never thought I'd leave. Then there were, of course, the people I had abandoned as well. Alexander would be easy to relinquish; he'd hurt me enough that I never wanted to see him again, and he'd only been in my life a few years. My parents, however, were another story. I thought of my mother, and her response to Alexander's mistreatment of me. I recalled my father's absence, his nonexistence in my life. Still, a small part of me, the part that would forever remain a child, yearned for their affection and acceptance. This newfound freedom, though exciting, was uncharted territory for me, and I'd be going through it alone.

Well, almost alone. I looked over at Fin, affection tugging at my heartstrings.

His eyes, those angelic blues, were already focused on me. Sometime during my musing, he had awoken, but left me to my thoughts. His smile was as kind and gentle as his eyes and there was no probing in his gaze. He didn't ask any questions; he didn't have to, anyway. He knew what had been going through my mind, my heart. I tangled our fingers together, and my heart squeezed in time with his fingers.