Chapter 62 Fragments of Pain and Confusion
POV Scarlett:
I feel so much pain! I can’t open my eyes without a piercing agony ripping through my head. Confused flashes invade my thoughts—moments I don’t know whether they are memories of something I lived or just my mind playing tricks on me. I see Asher in many of these flashes; in one of them he’s crying because of me. That makes no sense at all. I love Asher, I would never make him suffer under any circumstances. My mind must be creating situations that never happened.
Four men whose faces I can’t see are in many of these flashes—they’re making me laugh, I’m teasing them, they’re taking care of me. But when I try to focus on their faces, my head hurts too much. The pounding is killing me; I don’t know how much longer I can endure it.
“Scarlett, please, forgive me.”
I hear a distant voice, but I don’t recognize it. “I couldn’t lie to you—not about her.”
Her? Her who? Who’s talking?
“Mr. Blackwell, if you don’t leave, I’ll have to call security. What you did was sheer, boundless irresponsibility.”
“Then call them. I won’t leave without knowing she’s alright!”
What is happening?
“Nurse, call security.”
Confusion! Everything around me becomes complete chaos—shouting and raised voices filling the air in seconds. The pain in my head becomes unbearable. I scream, in the vain hope of making every sound around me stop. I need it to stop—I can’t take it anymore. I scream until the air leaves my lungs, but then a sting in my arm forces my screams to fade, forces all the turmoil inside me to calm. I exhale in relief as the flashes consuming me slow down until only silence remains… silence and peace.
...
I feel my lips wet—very wet, as if someone is kissing me while I sleep. It makes me remember the time Asher woke me up like that; the mere memory makes me want to smile. He wouldn’t be waking me up like that again… would he? I don’t remember sleeping with him last night. Oh, I know—Asher has that habit of sneaking into whichever brother’s room I’m sleeping in. It’s one of the many things I love about him: Asher always finds a way to be close to me.
“As… Ash…”
Why can’t I say Asher’s name?
“You woke up—thank God. I couldn’t bear it if you went back to sleeping for so long.”
I don’t know this voice. Where am I? “Five days like this, and I nearly died of fear of losing you.”
I open my eyes. I’m confused. I find myself staring into a pair of blue eyes. The smile he gives me makes no sense whatsoever. I don’t know him—why is he acting as if I should? His lips press against mine again, leaving me irritated. Who does this asshole think he is, kissing someone he doesn’t even know?
“Pa… Pa… Par…”
What the hell? Why can’t I speak properly? My tongue feels twisted.
“Scarlett?”
The strange asshole pulls away, his brow furrowed as he looks at me like I’m some rare creature.
Whoever this man is, I already hate him.
“Why are you looking at me like you don’t know me? The doctor said you spent the whole night trying to say my name—that’s why I came… I… Fuck, do you know who I am or not?”
What an insufferable man.
“You’re looking at me like you want to curse me out… Oh, fuck—are you doing that in your head?”
Okay, he may be an asshole, but at least he’s smart.
“Let me guess—you’re calling me an asshole?”
I smile—an enormous smile of satisfaction.
“Perfect. This is perfect.”
The stranger moves away from me, and I try to follow him with my eyes, but it’s difficult since he won’t stay still for even a minute. I roll my eyes at the show he’s putting on for no reason and decide to get up. I have better things to do than stay lying down being kissed by some clueless, idiot stranger.
My body trembles the moment I try to move my legs. I frown, trying to lift myself—and fail. Why won’t my body obey me? Did this son of a bitch use date-rape drugs on me? That would explain everything—why I can’t speak, why I can’t move.
“Fi… Fil… Ba… Bab…”
God, I can’t even insult him.
The idiot’s eyes lock on me, and he starts laughing, shaking his head like I just told the best joke of the century. I glare at him, letting him see all the irritation that looking at his stupid face causes me.
“You don’t even try to say Damian, but ‘son of a bitch’ and ‘asshole’—that you give your best shot, don’t you?”
How dare he laugh at me after drugging me? Just wait until this shit leaves my system—I’ll jump at his throat, asshole.
“I want to know if you’re okay. Liam feels really guilty; we don’t need to talk about what he told you. The doctor even advised us to let it go—we can’t force you…”
What the fuck is this guy talking about? I watch his mouth move, but I don’t bother paying attention. Why does he keep mentioning a doctor?
For the first time since opening my eyes, I look around—and my eyes widen when I see the unmistakable white walls of a hospital room.
What the fuck happened?
“Don’t worry; once you’re home, we’ll help you with everything…”
The man won’t shut up long enough for me to try to understand what’s going on.
“We prepared the house to make everything comfortable for you…”
“Shut… shu… shut… u—”
Fuck it! With all the strength inside me, I raise my hand and flip him off.
“Mou… mouth, as… ass… asshole.”
I did it! He finally shut up. But why is he staring at me wide-eyed?
Oh, shit—he’s coming at me.
Before I can even open my mouth to try to curse him again, his mouth is on mine, his tongue pushing into mine without any gentleness.
What the hell.
He smells good, and something in his kiss is… No! What am I doing? I have boyfriends—why am I letting this stranger kiss me?
With no mercy, I bite his tongue—not as hard as I want to, but enough to push him away. His eyes burn like two open flames as he stares at me, surprised and… irritated? He looks angry.
“What the fuck, Scarlett!”
He sticks out his tongue, trying uselessly to look at it while simultaneously murdering me with his glare.
“Petulant little brat!”
What the hell is happening here?
Who does this asshole think he is to talk to me like that?
I need to figure out what’s going on—why I’m in a hospital—and then I need to find my boyfriends so they can help me beat the hell out of this bastard who had the audacity to kiss me like…
Damn it, he kissed me like I belonged to him, like the two of us…
No! Something is very wrong here, and I’m going to find out what it is.