Page 78 of Captured

I hear the faint sound of the door opening, as if from far away, before a sharp prick to my neck turns everything black once more.

I open my eyes to find myself curled in a similar ball in the corner of the shower, still feeling the phantom sting of that needle.

They kept me sedated for three weeks. Three weeks of bliss, where I didn't have to face what had happened.

When I finally emerged from the haze of drugs, it was to find myself in a strange mansion, with an older lady in a nurse’s uniform, sitting near the huge bed that I was lying in.

Turns out it was my long lost uncle’s house in Wiltshire, and she was Teresa, the nurse he had hired in order to bring me ‘home.’ Ironic really, a nurse called Teresa.

I'd never met Adrian before. Mum had had a falling out with her parents, which she'd briefly mentioned one night years before. She hadn’t mentioned a brother, but then again, perhaps they’d never been close and she was always so cagey about her past. It doesn’t surprise me that some things were missed.

He was an extremely handsome man, with the darkest eyes that I'd ever seen. There was something...odd about him. He was too charming, too caring. Like he was trying too hard. But then, I suppose having finally found his sister, only to find her brutally...murdered, took its toll on him too.

It took a further three months before the flashbacks from that day lessened enough that I could function without ending up curled in a ball and rocking. The nightmares never stopped though.

Then one day, Adrian suggested that I might like to get away from it all. To have a fresh start in a new place. He told me that he went to school in Colorado, America. Hence the accent as he spent most of his childhood and early adulthood out there getting the best education money could buy. He told me all about Highgate Preparatory Academy, and how great it was. How much fun he had here, and what good lifelong friends he made.

I was reluctant at first, not wanting to leave England, the only country I'd ever known. But then I realised that this was no longer my home. My mum was...gone, and her best friend, practically sister, Lexi hadn't been in touch once. Neither had Ryan, Mum's long-term boyfriend, although she’d never committed fully to him, lord knows why.

I had no ties keeping me in England, nothing to stay for. So I came here, hoping to escape the tragedy of my past.

After I've picked myself up off the floor, then washed and rinsed, I wrap a towel around myself, wiping the steam off of the mirror to look at my reflection. I look like death warmed up.

I stare into my churning eyes, willing the answer to be in them. It's not, and I'm left feeling just as lost, just as heartbroken as before.

Sighing, I turn and open the door. Looking up, I see Kai sitting stiffly on my bed.

My heart stutters in my chest as my gaze devours him. I can see the sadness draped over him like a shroud, and tears spring to my eyes when I know that it's because of me.

“You don't need to say anything, Lilly,” Kai says, his voice melancholy, yet there's a thread of hopefulness in it too. “Just, please, don't give up on us. Give us a chance.”

His honey eyes beg mine, yet I have no idea what to say, so I just nod.

His features flood with relief, and he practically sags on my bed. He gets up, walking over to me, and reaches out, brushing my hair away from my face with a soft touch of his long fingers that sends shivers skating across my skin.

“We need you so badly, Lilly,” he whispers, leaning in and kissing my forehead so tenderly that fresh tears spring to my eyes, before turning around and leaving the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

* * *

I get dressed in my favourite sailor blue Lucy & Yak corduroy dungarees, called overalls in the U.S. apparently. I've paired them with a red and white striped t-shirt, an oversized red knitted jumper, or sweater I should say, and my blue and red plaid Irregular Choice heeled boots. I hoped that the outfit would make me feel better, giving me some strength to face the day. Instead, I’m left feeling unbearably empty.

I go downstairs to find my bags being loaded into the car by Loki himself. The others are nowhere in sight.

Deep breaths, Lilly. Deep fucking breaths.

He looks up as I come out of the house, and the despair in his beautiful emerald eyes utterly destroys me. My already bleeding heart cracks even more, my breath hitching and stuttering in my chest.

“Loki…” I gasp, but I have no idea what I'm going to say next.

His eyes shutter, becoming hard and cutting, and a painful lump forms in my throat.

“Are you ready to leave?” he asks, jaw clenched and voice cold, missing all its usual warmth and colour, until it's become dull and lifeless.

I bob my head, afraid that I'll break down if I speak a single word. He looks away, walking around to the driver’s door, opening it and getting in, leaving me to sort myself out.

Taking another deep inhale, I walk down the stone steps, but don't get far before I hear a girlish shout behind me.

“Lilly, wait!” Heather calls out. I turn around to see both girls running towards me, hair flying behind them.

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