*Chapter 21
609 Words
Chapter 21
“Jase?“ I breathed hoarsely.
Where was he?
I needed him.
I felt him.
I didn’t know why I needed him.
I wanted to call his name again, but the words wouldn’t come. I tried again and again to find words, light, but I was still so drowsy and my mind was muddled, foggy. My eyes felt heavy and it seemed as though I could only find the strength to hold them open for moments at a time.
It felt almost as if I were bobbing in and out of water, trying to remain above the surface, but continually being pulled under, again and again. It probably would have been torturous if I were lucid enough to fully realize what was happening.
“Elliana,” a voice whispered.
My eyes cracked open as I came to the surface again, feeling strong and calloused hands wrapping around my small, limp fingers.
“Ellie, it’s me, baby.”
I tightened my eyelids as I tried to find coherency, and then strained to widen them in an attempt to keep them open. I blinked a few times as I willed the world to refocus, before finally finding home in a swirly sea of green and golden brown hues.
“Jase,” I said again, just as hoarsely as the first time, while trying to remain awake and focused on the concerned face hovering above me.
“Shhh, it’s ok Ellie, I’m here.”
“What happened?” I asked.
I gave only moments for an answer before I started to panic as I began to realize that I had so little control over my movements, my thoughts, which meant I was unbelievably vulnerable in the state I was in. Darkness clouded my mind and an intrusive voice entered quietly, but firmly. One that said not to trust these people. One that said I was in danger.
I wrenched my hand away with all the strength I could muster, and the agony that Jase felt at my actions slammed into my chest, completely raw and unfiltered, leaving me gasping as though I’d actually be crushed beneath its weight.
I gasped and coughed violently, my body forcing me to sit up in the bed I was lying in.
Anguish was quickly replaced with worry as Jase stood and leaned over me, trying to support my now sitting position as concern lined his eyes and heart.
“Stop!” I managed to choke out in between shaky coughs as my body racked with something I feared to be far more worrisome than a cold. “Don’t… touch me!”
Jase flinched and jerked his hands back, breaking contact for a moment before gently, hesitantly, stroking my back again.
“Elliana…” he breathed painfully, and I just couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t bear to FEEL him anymore.
There was a war being waged within my mind, body, and soul, and I didn’t know which way was up or down. If water or air was life. If breathing or drowning was freedom.
A new wave of weakness washed over me as the coughing finally abated, and I slumped against his arms and chest, unable to move even if I’d wanted to.
“Shhh, baby, everything is going to be ok…” Jase sweetly soothed as he gently stroked my back and hair.
So quiet that I could barely hear the sound of my own voice, I managed to get out the four words I needed to say… that I had to say. “Don’t… call… me… baby,” I uttered, barely audible, before collapsing entirely and being pulled into darkness once again.
- Writer
