Chapter 18 Blood In The Silence
Elena didn't know when she finally fell asleep.
One moment she was staring at her ceiling, tears drying on her face, Annie's messages still glowing on her phone screen. The next, she was somewhere else entirely.
The sun was warm on her face, the campus green with late spring, and her parents were there.
"Dr. Elena Davis," her father said, his voice thick with emotion as he pulled her into a hug. "Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"
"Dad, I'm not a doctor yet." Elena groaned. "I still have residency..."
"Details." Her mother laughed, joining the hug. "You made it through medical school, baby. That's worth celebrating."
Elena felt her chest swell with happiness so pure it hurt.
"Let's get dinner," her father said, slinging an arm around both of them. "Somewhere fancy. My brilliant daughter deserves it."
They were walking down the street, when the first shot rang out. The sound cracked through the air like thunder.
Her father's hand tightened on her shoulder. "Get down!"
But Elena couldn't move. Couldn't process what was happening fast enough. More gunfire erupted. The street exploded into chaos, people screaming, running, diving for cover.
Her father shoved her down hard, his body covering hers as bullets tore through the air above them.
"Stay down!" he shouted.
Another shot, closer this time. Her father's body jerked.
Elena tried to look up, tried to see what was happening, but her father's weight held her down. Then he went limp.
"Dad?" Elena's voice came out small, terrified. "Dad, get up. Dad!"
He didn't move.
Her mother was pulling at him, rolling him off Elena, and that's when she saw it.
So much blood. It spread across the pavement beneath him, dark and wet.
"No, no, no..." Her mother's hands pressed against the wound, trying to stop the bleeding.
A stray bullet caught her mother in the shoulder, spinning her around.
She fell across her father's body.
"Mom!" Elena scrambled forward, her hands shaking as she tried to apply pressure to the wound.
"Elena." Her mother's voice was weak, fading. "Baby, run. You need to..."
"I'm not leaving you!" Elena sobbed, pressing harder against the wound. "Mom, stay with me. Please stay with me!"
"I love you," her mother whispered, her hand reaching up to touch Elena's face one last time. "So proud... of you..."
Her hand fell. Her eyes went empty.
And Elena was alone, kneeling in her parents' blood while sirens wailed in the distance.
The blood spread wider, the sirens got louder, and Elena was stuck there, frozen, watching her parents die over and over and over...
Elena woke up screaming.
Her throat was raw, her chest heaving as she thrashed against her blankets. She couldn't breathe. Her parents' blood was still on her hands, she could feel it, sticky and warm and...
"Elena!"
Her bedroom door slammed open.
Pierce burst through, moving fast despite his injury. His eyes scanned the room frantically, looking for threats, his hand reaching for a weapon he didn't have.
When he saw she was alone, his expression shifted from combat-ready to confused.
"What.." He took in her state. "Elena, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"
She couldn't answer. Couldn't speak through the sobs tearing out of her chest.
She couldn't breathe. Why couldn't she breathe?
Her vision was going dark at the edges, her lungs burning.
"Hey, hey." Pierce was suddenly there, kneeling beside her bed. "You're having a panic attack. You need to breathe."
"I can't..." The words came out strangled.
"Yes, you can. Look at me." His voice was firm but not harsh. "Elena, look at me."
She forced her eyes to focus on his face.
"Breathe with me," Pierce said, his voice steady and calm. "In through your nose. That's it."
He demonstrated, exaggerating the movement so she could follow.
Elena tried and failed and tried again.
"Good." Pierce said gently. "Now out through your mouth. Slower. You're doing good."
Her chest was so tight it hurt, but she followed his breathing. In. Out. In. Out.
Gradually, painfully, the panic started to reduce.
Her vision cleared. Her lungs started working again. The room stopped spinning.
Elena collapsed back against her pillows, completely drained. Her whole body was shaking, covered in cold sweat, her throat raw from screaming.
Pierce stayed where he was, watching her carefully. "Better?"
She nodded weakly, not trusting her voice yet.
"You want some water?"
Another nod.
Pierce stood slowly and disappeared from the room. Elena heard him moving in the kitchen, the sound of a glass being filled.
He came back with water and sat on the very edge of her bed, keeping distance between them. He held out the glass.
Elena's hands shook so badly when she reached for it that water sloshed over the rim.
"Here." Pierce steadied the glass, guiding it to her lips.
She took a small sip, then another, feeling the cool water soothe her burning throat.
When she'd had enough, Pierce set the glass on her nightstand and sat back.
They didn't speak for a long moment. Elena focused on breathing, that the nightmare was over.
"You want to tell me what that was about?" Pierce asked finally, his voice gentle.
Elena closed her eyes, feeling fresh tears leak out. "It was a nightmare."
"About?"
She didn't answer. Pierce was quiet for a moment. "Your parents."
Elena's eyes opened. "How did you..."
"You were calling for them." His expression was unreadable. "Before you started screaming. Begging them to stay with you."
The words hit like a physical blow. Elena pressed her hands to her face, trying to hold back the sobs that threatened to break free again.
"It was graduation day," she heard herself say, the words spilling out before she could stop them. "Medical school. They were so proud. We were going to celebrate."
Pierce didn't move. Didn't speak. Just listened.
"There was a shootout," Elena continued, her voice hollow. "Gang violence. Two crews, I don't know who. We were just... we were just there. Wrong place, wrong time."
Her hands were shaking again. She could still feel her father's weight on top of her, still hear her mother screaming.
"My dad pushed me down. Covered me with his body." The words came faster now, desperate to get them out. "He got shot. Multiple times. I couldn't..I tried to help him but there was so much blood and..."
She broke off, gasping.
Pierce's hand moved slightly, like he wanted to reach for her but stopped himself.
"My mom tried to help too," Elena whispered. "She got hit. It was a stray bullet. She died right there, reaching for me, telling me she loved me."
The silence that followed was crushing.
Elena finally looked at Pierce, his jaw was clenched so tight she could see the muscle jumping, his hands fisted at his sides.
"The police came after," Elena said, her voice bitter. "They asked questions, took statements, promised to find who did it."
"But they didn't," Pierce said quietly.
"No. The investigation went nowhere. No arrests. No justice. Just two more casualties in Chicago's gang wars." She wiped at her face. "I became a doctor because of them. Because I couldn't save them. Couldn't do anything but watch them die."
Pierce's expression shifted to something she couldn't quite read.
"And then you showed up," Elena said, her voice breaking. "Bleeding in my car. And I saved you. Saved a criminal. Someone exactly like the people who killed them."
Pierce flinched like she'd slapped him.
"I hate it," Elena whispered. "I hate that I saved you. I hate that every time I look at you, I see the violence that took them from me. I hate that you're here, in my home, sleeping on my couch, eating my food, when people like you are the reason they're dead."
"Elena.."
"I know it's not fair," she continued, the words tumbling out. "I know you're not the one who pulled the trigger. But you're part of that world. The world that killed them. And I can't, I don't know how to reconcile that."
Pierce was very still, his face carefully blank except for his eyes. Those ice-blue eyes that held so much pain it made her chest ache.
"I understand," he said finally, his voice rough.
"Do you?"
"More than you know."
Something in his tone made her pause. Made her really look at him. There was something there. Something he wasn't saying.
"Pierce..." Her voice was strained.
"You should try to sleep," he said, standing abruptly. "It's late."
"I can't." Her voice was rough. "Every time I close my eyes, I see them."
"I know." His voice was soft. "But you need to try."
He moved toward the door, and Elena felt a sudden panic at the thought of being alone again.
"Wait," she said before she could stop herself.
Pierce turned back.
"Can you..." She stopped, hating how small her voice sounded. "Can you just... stay? Just for a few minutes. I don't want to be alone right now."
For a moment, she thought he'd refuse. Instead, he nodded and moved back to the chair in the corner of her room.
"Thank you," Elena whispered.
Pierce didn't respond. Just settled into the chair, his presence a silent comfort in the darkness.
Elena lay back down, pulling the covers up to her chin. She could see his silhouette in the dim light, could hear his steady breathing.
It shouldn't have helped. This dangerous man, this criminal, this living reminder of everything she'd lost.
But somehow, it did.