Chapter 31 Chapter 31
ADRIANA'S POV
As I wake, the first thing I see is the ceiling above me. It's white and plain, but there's a crack running along the corner that I can't help but fixate on. My vision is still blurry, but as it clears, I realize that I'm in a hospital room.
The distant ringing of a monitor above my head is the first thing that I hear. It's a steady beep that's comforting and annoying at the same time. The smell of drugs fills the air, it's a mix of antiseptics and something else that I can't quite place. The room is dimly lit, but I can make out the shapes of machines and equipment that I don't recognize.
I try to move but my body feels heavy, and my head is pounding. I close my eyes, trying to focus on the sound of the monitor, and take a deep breath. When I open my eyes again, I see the window by the bed, it's misty outside, and the view is hazy. I can hardly see anything but the mist. It's a strange feeling, like I'm suspended in between reality and a dream. I don't know how long I've been here, and I don't know what happened. All I know is that I'm in a hospital room. I could feel myself slipping into that dark abyss again, I tried to pull myself back up but it seemed almost impossible. After what felt like hours, everything settled and I lost feeling again as things went back to being black.
The next time I woke up, my head was pounding with a headache and my body felt heavy, my limbs weak. I tried to open my eyes, but the bright lights above me made the pain even worse. I heard a voice calling my name, but it sounded distant and muffled, like it was coming from underwater.
I tried to move, my body didn't respond. I felt like I was trapped in my own mind, unable to escape the ringing in my ears and the throbbing in my head. I tried to speak, but my mouth felt dry and my throat was sore.
I closed my eyes and focused on the sound of the voice calling my name. It was a woman's voice, and it seemed to be getting closer. I heard a rustling beside me, and then a hand touched my arm.
"Adriana," the voice said, "Can you hear me? It's Dr. Scarlet. You're in the hospital. Please, I need you to calm down, you're going to be okay." The woman's voice was gentle, sure of what she was saying and I wanted to believe her, the pain I was feeling was so intense that it seemed almost impossible to think of anything but that. I felt like I was on the brink of slipping away, losing myself in the
darkness again.
"Adriana, stay with me," the voice said, "We're going to help you. You're going to be okay." I felt a tear roll down my cheek as I struggled to hold on to consciousness. I didn't know what had happened to me, my head was throbbing, almost like something was splitting my head open. I tried to take in a deep breath and focus on the sound of the doctor's voice.
"That's it," she said, "You're doing great. Just stay with me." I inhaled another deep breath and blinked my eyes open. I blinked a few times to let my eyes adapt to the brightness in the room. The pain was still there, though it was bearable now. I looked up at the
doctor's face and saw something I could best describe as concern in her eyes.
"I'm here," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
The doctor smiled and squeezed my hand. "Welcome back, Adriana," she said.
The doctor's expression is one of worry as she looks at me. The crease in her forehead and the way her eyebrows are furrowed said as much. She looks tired, exhausted even, like she hasn't slept in a while. Her eyes are a warm brown, and they watched me with scrutiny. The doctor is dressed in a white lab coat, with a stethoscope hanging around her neck. Her hair is pulled back in a tight bun, and she's wearing a pair of blue scrubs underneath her lab coat. She has a name tag on her coat, with her name and title.
"Don't move too much, your body will feel a little heavy for a few hours but that's normal." She spoke, her voice steady and reassuring. She explains to me what has happened, but I can hardly process the information. I'm still trying to understand the worried expression on her face, and the fact that I'm in a hospital. All I can do is nod and try to listen to her words.
"You were in a bit of an accident." I barely concealed my gasp. I tried to search through my haggard memories for proof of that but I
came up empty.
"How long have I been unconscious?" I asked, my voice sounded groggy from lack of use. I almost winced at the dryness in my throat. She must have noticed my discomfort because she poured me water from a pitcher I hadn't noticed beside the bed, she held the plastic up to my mouth and I took greedy gulps from the water. It soothed my parched throat.
"Sorry, I totally forgot to offer you some water." I nodded, mouthing it was okay.
"How long?" I asked again, remembering my question. "A few days. There is nothing to worry about, you just have a few scratches." She smiled, trying to ease my worry.
"You'll need to take it easy for the next few days, let your body recover, okay?" I tried o nod, my head barely left the pillow.
Many thoughts ran through my mind, like what exactly happened, what couldn't I remember? How long would it take before I started feeling like myself again?
The doctor, noticing my distress, takes my hand in hers. "You're going to be okay. You can speak to the nurses or anyone if you need anything and they'll help you." Her voice was comforting, I did what I hoped resembled a nod.
My heart raced, anxiety making me feel like I was falling. I didn't know how to explain it but it was weird. My mouth feels gummy and there is a bitter taste in my mouth, like the taste of blood. I try to swallow, but my throat is sore and it hurts.
I watch as the doctor takes her phone out from her pocket. She glances at the screen and then types something quickly before putting it back. I close my eyes, trying to clear my mind. But the bitter taste in my mouth is still there, and it's making me feel sick. I try to remember what happened to me, but all I can see is a blur of images.
The doctor takes off her mask, she is a bit elderly with soft features. The ends of her eyes creased with age and she had a few frown lines on her forehead. Her smile was welcoming and it helped me feel calm. I want to ask her how I got here, but my voice is barely a whisper. I try to speak, but my throat is too dry and it hurts.
After a while, the doctor takes out her phone and taps for a little before taking it to her ear. She spoke in low tunes, so low that I couldn't make out the words she was saying. Curiosity piques as I try to guess who she might be talking to.
I strain my ears, moving myself as much as I can, then I hear Xander's voice. My heart sinks when I hear the deep rumble of his voice. Goosebumps spread out across my arms. I was surprised by my reaction, I would have thought I would feel nothing but loathing for him after all he did. Almost like my brain was waiting for me to register that, my heart began to boil, my anger coming full force. The emotion felt foreign to me.
I am used to my brothers and father doing terrible things, hurting my emotions but I never felt the right to be angry. Xander though wasn't that, he didn't have a right to treat me the way he did. The others I could understand, they had something against me, Xander didn't. He was simply a terrible person. I realized I'd been dumb to think he wouldn't treat me as shit just because my father made a deal with him.
He was the cause of everything I was going through. I want to scream, to lash out, but my body is weak and I can't even move.
The doctor hangs up the phone and turns to me with a smile. "Good news," she says, "Alpha Xander is on his way to see you." I can feel e tears welling up in my eyes, my stomach turns the prospect seeing him.
I want to tell the doctor that I don't want to see him, but my voice fails me and I can only lay there with a bitter taste in my mouth and
anger in my heart.
Ten minutes later, the door to my hospital room opens, and Xander walks in with a Daciana by his side. They both have somber
expressions.
Xander is dressed in a black suit with a white shirt, and his hair is neatly styled. He looks like he's just come from work. I ignored the
bitter feeling! felt at him looking like he went on with his life. He seemed like he was doing just fine, just that on closer inspection, I saw the frown lines and the dark circles under his eyes.
Daciana, on the other hand, is dressed in a long white dress that flows around her feet. Her hair is styled in loose curls, and she's wearing a necklace with a large pendant.
As they approach my bedside, I can feel my heart racing with anger. I want o lash out at Xander, call him names for what he did to me and then ask to leave, but my voice is still weak, and I just lay there, staring at him in silence.
Daciana speaks first, her voice filled with remorse "Adriana, I'm sorry for what happened." Xander says nothing, his face was almost passive while she looks at me with a sad expression on her face.
As Xander reaches out to touch my arm, I feel my anger boil over. I begin to growl, deep and low, like an animal. Xander's hand freezes in mid-air as he looks at me in shock. He backs away from my bedside, his expression a mix of confusion and shock
The doctor, who has been standing nearby, steps forward and suggests that Xander leaves. "I think it's best if you come back later," she says, "Adriana needs some time to process what's happened."
Xander looks like he wants to argue, but he nods, and with one last look at me, he turns and leaves the room, Daciana trailing behind
him.
The doctor comes to my side and tries
reassure me. "I understand that you need rest, you've been through quite a lot this past week."
I zoned out of what she is saying, her voice nothing more than a lull in my ear.
The more she spoke, the more my resentment towards Xander grew stronger. I see him as heartless and manipulative, someone who would go to such extreme measures to control me. The fact that he locked me up and made sure I starved, just so he could have control over my life, something that I can't forgive him for.
I also feel a sense of betrayal, he was supposed to be someone I could rely on, but instead, he was the cause of all my suffering. The memories of my time locked up, the fear, the hunger and the isolation, all these memories come flooding back, I feel as though something is crawling up my arm. My throat closed up, the walls around me closing in. I tried to move my hand but it felt as though it was tied to a rock, tears spring to my eyelids and a muffled moan of pain escapes my lips. I couldn't breathe, the realization felt like a
slap to me.
What is happening to me?