Page 120 of Pretend
The sound of sirens can be heard in the distance, and my phone keeps going off, but I’m too distracted trying to wake up Alessia to notice or respond. She will wake up, and when she wakes up, I can think straight again. Right now, I’m seeing red, and all I want to do is hunt Gabe down until he’s dead. Because whoever this Smiley person is won’t stop. Gabe thought he could kill me and take Alessia with him, and now that he’s still alive, he will always be a constant threat until he’s arrested and these human traffickers are taken down.
But they just fucked over the wrong man because Graves is powerful. He’ll find the ones responsible for the human trafficking rings and burn them all to the ground. I have no doubts.
I can feel myself growing cold, and I’m sitting there with Alessia in my arms, and all I see is my mother. I’m quiet, and I feel myself growing sleepy. The paper towel is soaked again, and it voluntarily falls out of my wound and onto the floor. Blood begins to fall out like a waterfall from me. I watch it run down my body. I’m going to pass out. I’m losing a lot of blood, just like that day in Iraq after I was stabbed in the back.
Everything makes sense now. Gabe used to be in the Navy and had access to a lot of things. He was the one who texted her at the shooting range, trying to pin it on me. The one who started the rumors of me being behind everything. He was the one who helped install the security system in Ari’s home. The blood keeps falling out of my side.
Fuck. Did I get it all wrong? Did this motherfucker hit a major organ?
This scene is all too familiar, and I know what will happen if I don’t get to a hospital within the next few minutes. I’m going to die, but at least I get to do it with my little valentine in my arms.
I look down at Alessia. The blood that ran down her forehead is clotted and dried. She looks so heavenly and peaceful, even though our situation is anything but easy. I kiss her sleepy lips as my heart rate slows down, the adrenaline that once filled my body is draining, and the aftermath of Gabe’s gunshot wound reminds me of bloodcurdling pain in my side.
I press my lips softer to hers as a tear falls down my cheek.
“I love you, Alessia. I’ve never cared or loved anything like I do, you. I’m not sorry for falling hard, but I am sorry for breaking your boundaries. Isn’t that what love is, though, Valentine? Is it love if you’re not driven to the point of madness? Is it love if you’re not willing to die for it?” I whisper, my voice fading with low blood pressure. I caress her cheeks, my knuckle brushing her cheek, and I no longer have control of my body. My hands fall to my side as Alessia rests her head on my lap. The sound of sirens grows louder, and I’m grateful they’ll be able to care of her when I can’t.
It’s dark, quiet, and lonely. A memory of my mother playing the piano in our living room, teaching me how to play one of her favorite tunes, comes back, and I fall into the darkness.
Alessia doesn’t answer me. She’s still unconscious, and black shadows corner my vision. I just needed her to know one last time how much I love her…even if I didn’t do it in the right way. My arms fall to the side, and I tilt my head back as I whisper one last sentence with a small smile on my face.
“If our game of pretending had this same outcome, I would do it again, little valentine,” I smirk as I close my eyes for the last time.
48
ALESSIA
The first personI see when I wake up is my mother. She’s asleep on the couch, with messy blonde hair and a blanket that’s up to her chin. Her head is tilted in a position where it looks uncomfortable, and I’m tempted to get up and move her, but I realize it’s not that easy of a task. I try to move, but my muscles feel like jello.
How long have I been asleep?
I groan, blinking hard and steadily. I turn my head as the sirens from an ambulance attract my attention. Red and blue lights flicker fast in the corner of the room. It’s late at night. I can tell by the window. The curtains are over it like a shield, but the blinds are open. The faint city lights in the distance are like small orbs. I need my contacts, I can’t see well.
My beeping monitor beats regularly, and I’m trying to remember what got me here in the first place. I lay my head back as I try to focus on what led me here.I stare at the turned-off ceiling hospital lights. Nurses and doctors run back and forth in front of me. I turn to my left, and a thick soreness strikes back.
Damn.
Then, it triggers everything.
Daegan took me to his house forcefully. He fucked me into another oblivion. Finding that room full of my things. He wasn’t kidding when he said he was obsessed with me. And then Gabe shot him and held me hostage as he tried to kidnap me.
I heard everything he told me as he held me, but I couldn’t blink or open my eyes. I couldn’t respond when I only wanted to hold him back, even though I was confused.
Was it a dream? Was this all a horrible nightmare? Is he okay? Is he…dead?
I swallow; my throat is dry, and I want to get up. I need answers. And I need them right now.
The door to the room slides open, and a petite nurse walks in. She has long black hair, a beautiful heart-shaped face, and a smile that makes you feel like everything is okay.
I look at her name tag.
Ari Rider
“Ms. Valentin, how are you feeling?” She chirps with sympathy. After holding my hand for a few seconds, she goes straight to the laptop in the corner to plug in notes. The IV fluids bag is empty beside it. I have a port into my vein on my wrist, but I’m not attached to it.
“I—I’m okay. I think. Why am I here? Where’s Daegan?” I ask as I groan. I sit up higher on the bed and look at her desperately for answers.
She looks at me with worry and presses on the keyboard.
