Page 11 of Shattered Love

I didn’t know how long they ran. I didn’t know if we made it out of town. The last thing I remembered was Rainer glaring down at me, so familiar and yet so different, ordering me to not close my eyes. And then everything went dark.

My head was clear when I woke. The dizziness that had tormented the hours prior had finally vanished. Something soft held my body, my head sinking into what felt like a pillow. I knew I couldn’t still be in Rainer’s embrace, his chest was much too firm, although that was the last thing I remembered.

Blinking my eyes open, the sun forced them shut. Directly overhead, the light was too bright. Groaning against the sudden pain in my head, I cursed the hope that I was starting to feel better.

“Oh my god, you’re awake,” a soft gasp sounded from beside me.

The voice was too feminine to be Rainer or Aiden, but I also recognized it. My stiff muscles relaxed and I tried blinking my eyes open once more. Red hair and a freckled face filled my view.

“Mina?” I croaked, my throat scratchy and suddenly extremely parched. “Where are we?”

I struggled to sit up, my body malnourished, and Mina gripped my elbow, helping me to a sitting position. Once my eyes adjusted to the light, I took in the space around us. The sun hadn’t been too bright, in fact, I had no way of knowing if it was even out. Instead, the light that had stunned me was a small chandelier hanging from a wood-beamed ceiling.

And the comfort beneath my body was a couch, a soft quilt thrown over my legs, and a small pillow beneath my head. This had to be the cottage. There was no other explanation. But we had been still two days out. Which meant I had been unconscious much longer than I thought.

“How long have I been asleep?” I whispered, glancing around for any sign of the others.

It seemed strange to leave Mina by herself, but from what I could see, no one else was around. The living room we sat in was quaint, only the couch I laid on and an arm chair taking up the space. An old television, probably from the nineties, sat atop a small wooden table.

The only other area I could see was an even smaller kitchen. The gas stove Elizabeth had mentioned took up most of the space, a refrigerator, three cabinets, and a two-person table taking up the rest. A set of stairs laid next to the front door, a sliding door on the opposite side of the living room that I assumed led outside. However, flowered curtains blocked my view.

Finally, looking back at Mina, she chewed her bottom lip, concern in her gaze. “Mina, how long have I been asleep?” I asked again, needing to know the answer. How much had I missed? Was everyone else okay?

My brain scrambled, trying to piece together what happened while I had been out, but Mina wasn’t giving me any answers. Eventually, she sighed, standing up from the floor where she had sat.

Resting a comforting hand on my shoulder, she smiled sadly. “I’ll go grab Aiden. He’ll have more answers for you than I can give.”

Without waiting for a response, she moved toward the sliding door, pushing the curtains aside and stepping outside. As the door opened, I heard a chorus of whispering voices, but they vanished with the click of the door.

Closing my eyes, I laid back down, trying to figure out the last thing I remembered. There had been three guards. Rainer had killed them. We had ran. After that, everything became fuzzy. I had brief memories of hushed arguments over my head, a phantom of Rainer’s warm hands holding onto me. But other than that, everything was a mystery.

The door slid open once more and my eyes popped open, expecting to see Aiden, but instead Murphy’s body dashed across the space between us in two strides. His large hands cupped my face, his touch warm.

“You’re alive,” he whispered, his forehead resting against mine.

Pressing my hands against his, my eyes fluttered closed, breathing him in. These were the moments Aiden had spoken about. Even if we only had months left, I’d take as many seconds with these people as I could.

“I’m alive,” I assured Murphy as much as I was assuring myself.

Death had come for me too many times, but each time I faced its darkness, I awoke with a new determination to survive. This wasn’t the end for me, not yet.

“Let me check her vitals,” Aiden spoke from beside us. I hadn’t even heard his footsteps, too encompassed by Murphy’s presence.

Murphy nodded against my head, his lips pressing softly against mine, before he backed away. Aiden’s familiar face overtook the empty space and I saw the fear and relief in his eyes. Whatever had happened, he hadn’t been certain I was going to make it.

I could see him fighting with his brotherly instincts versus everything he had learned during medical school for taking care of a patient. The brother in him won out and before he checked any vitals or asked any questions, I was in his arms.

The hug made me feel like a little girl again, when I needed my brother to ease away my fears and pains. The thought brought tears to my eyes, knowing there was nothing he could do or say to get rid of the fear that followed me now.

Releasing his hold, he backed away slightly, wetness pricking his eyes. Swallowing roughly, the flip switched between brother and doctor. With pressed lips, he grabbed my wrist, taking my pulse.

Once he was satisfied I was no longer on death’s door, he nodded to himself, and then began asking questions. “How does your head feel? Any dizziness? Can you stand up?”

“My head feels better. I haven’t tried to stand up yet.” Pushing against the cushions beneath me, I staggered to my feet.

A rush of nausea coursed through me, causing me to wobble. Murphy immediately reached for me, but Aiden batted his hands away. He needed to see if I could stand on my own.

Once the nausea passed, I regained my balance, standing on my own. My legs trembled from my weight, my hands shook, and my head pounded. My entire body was weak, most likely caused by the lack of nutrition for however long I had been out. Which brought me back to my questions, the ones I still didn’t have answers to.

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