EMLYN | 18+

Chapter Three

My body felt as if it were on fire. As if I was being engulfed by the same flames of fire that were supposed to bring me some kind of protection. The heat was unbearable.

I heard something in the distance, a murmur, but it was something nonetheless. Then I could feel the tingles in my spine, spreading to the tips of my fingers and the soles of my feet. I could feel.

Did that mean I wasn't dead? Was I in a hospital? Did he find me? My heart was aching and it made me hope that this was my body welcoming death. That would be better than even the thought of going back to that man. With the urge to find out where I was, I tried to open my eyes but it proved to be harder than I thought. My lids were heavy, seeming to weigh a ton and even the thought of opening my eyes brought me pain. But I had to know.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and groaned as I willed my eyes to open. It was too bright in the unknown room; I couldn't see a thing.

There were more murmurs and the room suddenly got significantly darker. I blinked. Once, twice, a couple more times as my blurry vision slowly started to clear.

The ceilings were high, smooth, and white. I forced myself to swallow again, the feeling raw against my throat, and my lips parted to let out a well-needed breath. I was laying on a bed, wrapped in a thick blanket, and the unbearable heat I was facing forced me to wiggle my hands out of the cocoon. There was a needle sticking into my left arm and I couldn't help but stare at it incredulously. Where the hell was I?

The room didn't look like a hospital, the furniture and curtains told me differently. I was in a house, I just didn't know whose. I brought my right hand ready to pull the needle and to prevent my body from getting whatever I was being pumped with.

"Don't. It's saline, to help you." My heartbeat picked up as I glanced over to the doorway where an unknown man stood. He was tall, almost reaching the top of the doorframe and the frame seemed high. He wore black slacks with a white button-down tucked inside, the sleeves messily rolled up. Rings were adorning his fingers that rested in the crook of his crossed arms. He had a fresh undercut with his hair on the top longer, falling over his forehead messily.

His hand moved to scratch lightly at the short stubble that covered his jaw and my eyes followed the movement as the veins seemed to pulse under his skin. My fingers started to tremble when he made his way into the room and sat on the bed next to my feet. I sat up and brought my back to the headboard trying to get farther away from him.

He started reaching towards me and I flinched, my eyes squeezing shut as I tried to escape his impending touch. Only it never came. When I peeked at him, he was only holding a glass of water with a straw placed in it. "Drink, it'll make you feel better. The doctor will be here shortly."

I looked down at his hands that were holding the cup and the straw before I looked back to meet his eyes. Who was this man?

His dark onyx eyes stared at me with curiosity as he waited for me to take the drink. Although I wanted it badly, I wasn't sure if I could trust what the strange man was offering. What did he want in return? It seemed in order to be cared for, I had to give something in return but I wasn't sure I had anything left to give.

He nodded slightly, pushing the straw closer to my lips and I hesitantly brought my lips to the straw closing my mouth around it. I didn't realize how thirsty I was until I took one gulp and one gulp turned into the whole glass.

He gave me a small quirk of his lips - satisfied. "Good. Now how are you feeling?" His question brought me back to the alleyway and I suddenly remembered my hand. I brought it to my face, confused when the slice from the glass was wrapped neatly in clean bandages. It brought me to look down at my clothes and I was no longer wearing the bloodied clothes, instead, I was wearing a loose tank top made of satin and matching shorts.