After She Left

EIGHTEEN

"You ask someone about love and they tell you about heartbreak."

"God, she's burning up again," I heard my mom's voice as a cold towel was placed on my forehead, "should we call the doctors again?"

"Sweetie, we've gone through this at least 50 times the past 3 hours," my dad replied, "it's only natural for her to not be up and running 2 days after having brain surgery."

Someone was wiping my arms with the towels, yet I could not understand why it stung so bad.

As I slowly opened my eyes, I noticed both of my parents in what I assumed to be my hospital room.

"Mom.." I barely had the strength to say anything.

She smiled at me, reaching over for a glass of water and then placing it to my lips: "your throat must be dry after all the sleeping."

I had drunk enough but she didn't stop pouring and I started coughing uncontrollably.

She removed the glass, patting my head: "it'll be alright, sweetie."

But it wasn't because I was still choking, as I placed my hand to my mouth, I couldn't help but freak out when I noticed it wasn't water that I was coughing up, it was blood.

I looked at my parents frantically just to find them smiling at me with the saddest eyes, my mom still wiping my arms with the cold towel that stung like hell.

As I kept coughing, looking frantically at my parents for help, I finally understood why my arms stung. They were split open in one too many ways, blood escaping them.

"It'll be alright, sweetie," my mom repeated as my sight became blurry, "it'll be alright."

I woke up to the darkroom, to the chains still holding my limbs to the bed. It still smelt like mold and blood. The latter being my own scent.

I could feel the panic attack coming to take over me, but I had to force it back down as I breathed heavily.

This was what he wanted. He wanted to break me. But as I counted to 10 silently, taking in each breath slower than the one before I decided I couldn't let him.

If there was one thing I had left in this situation, it was the ability to control myself. I would be strong enough to survive to see Eden come for me, to see her again. Because she was going to, she wouldn't give up on me just like I wouldn't give up on myself.

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Eden's POV

"Where the hell is my daughter?" in walked no one else than Ruby's father, "it's been more than 3 days and yet you still have no information?!"

Blake nodded his head: "I understand what you're saying, Mr. Gold, but it isn't like we've been sitting here doing nothing."

"Then what have you been doing if I may ask?" he asked him in a low voice, it was quite obvious any living thing would be terrified of the guy, but my brother didn't break once under the eye contact, "she could be dead in some dumpster, she could be tortured both physically and mentally each second you have spent in this hospital room doing nothing to save her."

The thought of this made me physically flinch. I knew it was the truth, yet I was helpless.

"Honey, that's enough," Mrs. Gold walked in, taking her husband's hand in hers and whispering something in his ear to which he responded in a nod, exiting the room.

She then turned around, looking me straight in the eyes: "I won't give you sympathy, even though I am her mother, I am still your boss. Now I will not ask what the hell happened on that day, but what I know is she would be here if you hadn't forgotten about what your job is. And that, if I may remind you both, is to protect my daughter, not the friends that are supposed to protect her. He knew what he was getting himself into and so did all of you."

I nodded: "I agree."

"Great. I give you 2 hours to gather information, otherwise, our arrangement is over."

Before she left the room, I added: "I would do it again."

She turned around: "I think I misheard you."

Blake was about to step in, but I shook my head, signaling him to stay put: "your daughter loves this guy just as much as me if not more, he is her family. If I hadn't done what I did - me, Ruby, Blake and Luke would be dead on the spot, meaning the situation would be far worse."

I got up: "so I would do it again. And I don't care how many hours you give us or how you threaten me or my family, I will find her because I love her."

"Okay," she nodded, "just know that when you do find her, she might not be as in love with you as you are right now. All because of your decisions."

Mrs. Gold exited the room and Luke immediately got up from the bed: "drama time is over, let's get my baby back."

Blake chuckled: "you sure as hell are good at pretending to be sleeping."

"Learned from the best," Luke winked at him.

"Is everything prepared?" I asked them, "the bikes, guns, micro-"

Luke put an arm around my shoulder: "stop stressing kiddo, Ruby will be just fine when we find her."

I gave him a nod, not even being able to smile in this situation. Luke had woken up yesterday, but we had immediately decided not to let anyone else know, considering more people could have been included in the kidnapping.

Yes, Luke still had the gun wound, but he had been through much worse, so he was ready to go and get the ass of the person who had put us in this place originally. Apart from the time I and Blake had spent on trying to track my girl down before Luke woke up, we also managed to get some more info with the help of Luke and Lilly, who had woken up soon after Luke.

"Are you sure we're prepared?" I asked again, just to make sure. Losing another member of the Quietus was out of the question.

Blake sighed: "even if it doesn't go the best possible way, we'll at least gain more information that could help us out in the long run."

Luke slapped Blake's butt, giving me a wink: "stop thinking about what if's, we just need to go out there and get her."

Blake went to the window, securing the ropes: "all set, time to go."

I nodded, getting 3 bags from underneath the hospital bed and dropping them out of the 8th-floor window: "Blake, go first, we'll see you in the car."

He didn't waste a second, getting himself out of the window and taking himself down to the ground.

"You better be there in 3 otherwise I am coming to get you," I told Luke who couldn't go down the rope because of the stitches, meaning he had to go through the Gold's security which was the worst possible scenario. Even if that was the case, I and Blake were convinced it was actually to kiss Lilly goodbye.

"Ruby sure played a number on you considering how soft you've gotten," he chuckled, "go, I'll see you down there."

I handed him a gun: "just in case things don't go to plan."

"I am not killing these guards," he put it back in my hands, "they're not the ones deserving a bullet in their heads."

I shook my head in disagreement, but knowing there wasn't a way to change his mind, I got out of the window, climbing my way down the 8th-floor wall.

As soon as I landed on the ground, I got in the bright red car, hopping in the passenger seat.

"Great choice of color," I winced, knowing it stood out.

"Hello to you too, grumpy ass," Hanna smiled, "I figured no one would really expect us to show up to the grand entrance with the flashiest car out there."

Blake nodded in agreement: "she does have a point."

I glared at him, so he added: "kind of."

Deciding to keep quiet seemed like the best thing to do right now, so I checked my watch, seeing Luke only had a minute left to get out of here.

And when there were only 10 seconds left, he marched out of the entrance, smiling brightly.

"Nice to see you again, beautiful," he said as he got in the car.

Hanna winked at him as I groaned: "let's drop the theatrics and get going."

Without a second spent waiting, Hanna stepped on the gas, the engine of the car roaring loudly as we sped down the streets.

"Let's try not to get caught on overstepping the speed limit, please?" I asked, "we don't exactly have time to deal with cops right now."

"The law or safety of Ruby," she raised her eyebrow as she pressed the pedal lower and the speed increased, "I'll let you take a wild guess of which I care more about."

I rolled my eyes, knowing it was pointless to argue, especially being aware I wouldn't win.

"We're nearly there," she said after about 20 minutes, stopping the car in the forest, "time for you to get out."

"You sure you can do it?" I asked her once I got out of the car.

She smiled back at me: "if there's one of us that can, then it is me."

And with that, she left me in the dust as she sped down the rocky road leading into the building in which Ruby was kept.

"She really dislikes you," Luke added as we got going, "but she's hella hot."

"I love you, Luke," I responded, "but shut the hell up."

He chuckled as did Blake.

After a couple of minutes of walking, we reached a point in the forest where we could see the house, so we put the bags down, taking out their contents which were mostly guns, loading them on ourselves.

I handed both Luke and Blake an earpiece which would make sure we were able to communicate.

"Everyone ready?" I asked as I looked into my watch, counting the seconds in my head.

3

"Let's go kill some people," Luke responded.

2

"Preach," Blake added.

1

As we heard a loud explosion from the entrance of the house, I added: "Time to go."