Waking up to a nightmare - Chapter Thirty

I wake up looking around in a panic. I sit up in a bed that is not my own, in a room that I don't recognize. There is no one in the room with me, and I have no idea how I ended up here. I try to remember the last thing that happened before I woke up here. 

I stand up in a panic as I run the images through my fuzzy head. 

Chris! The dark stranger! The blackout!  Then the sound of a door opening pulls me from my thoughts. I turn to see.....................

"Hannah!" I shout. 

It's such a shock that I step back into the nightstand and stumble to the floor. She stops at the end of the bed. She looks at me with her red eyes, but says nothing. "Stay away from me," I scream. I look everywhere to find an escape route but there is none to be found. I doubt that I will be able to get around her fast enough to get out of the door. 

She takes a step in my direction making me jump to my feet. I feel like a trapped animal. All I can do is back up until the wall stops me. My heart is racing and the images of her sinking her teeth into Dimitri replay in my head. I find myself scared and angry at the same time. She stops several feet from me. 

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," she says as she crosses her arms.

"Like I could trust anything you say," I hiss. 

"I'm sorry," she says. She's just deepens my wound she has created. 

"You're sorry! You actually have the nerve to say you're sorry after you betrayed us. You got everyone killed. You lead them straight to us. It was all your fault." I shout at her. 

She pauses, "you have no idea what I went through. So don't judge me before you hear what I have to say," she says. "Really!" I scream. 

"No, you listen! Mom, Dad, Dimitri, my best friend, and our guards are all dead because of you.You got everyone killed, and now they are going to kill me!" I scream as I point my finger at her. 

She hangs her head down."Yes, it was selfish. They tortured me and Luke. They drank from us every day. I was on the verge of death when they offered me a deal, a deal that saved me and Luke from death," she says in a small voice. 

"Stop! I can't hear any more. You are dead! Look at you, walking around pretending that you are alive and still a nice person. The moment you took that deal and became a nightwalker, you died. Nightwalkers have destroyed my whole entire life and you are part of it. I don't want to hear any more of your excuses. So if you think for one minute I'm going to forgive you, you're wrong. I will never get the images of you taking the one person I loved away from me. You killed him right in front of me. Do you know all their faces and screams I reply every night in my nightmares? I have never been the same since," I cry out. 

"I know their deaths are on my hands. I feel the guilt every day. I didn't realize the consequences the day I made that deal. I thought I could escape death and find a way to escape. I wasn't able to get away from them. They used the information I gave them before we could escape and warn you of their plans. As for Dimitri, I did you a favor," she tells me. "Did me a favor, you have got to kidding me. Have you lost your mind?" I shout as I take a step in her direction. "I can't disclose any information right now, but you will see what I did was for you," she says. I can't help it, I bust out with gut-wrenching laughter as I look at her. Once I come to my senses I get mad. "If you keep this attitude up, they will kill you," she says to me. 

"I would welcome death at this point. Since it all began my life has been nothing but a nightmare. So, tell them to bring it on, I'm ready for death, unlike you who thought of no one but yourself," I say with clenched teeth. "Have it your way then," she says. She leaves me standing there. I watch her leave the room as I try not to just scream. 

I run to the door after Hannah left. I can only hope she left it unlocked. I turn the knob and find that it's locked. I start beating on the door, "Let me out!"

Dark Stranger - Twenty Nine

I'm upstairs when I hear a loud crash downstairs. I run down the steps as fast as I can.

I'm stunned by the sight I take in. A man dressed in black has Chris by the throat. Strong with no effort, the man throws Chris around like a rag doll. 

He picks him up again by the throat and slams him against the wall. Chris goes limp. 

Chris is out cold on the floor, slumped up against the wall. I want to run, but seeing how he just took down Chris, I know I don't stand a chance. I'm doomed to an awful fate, I fear this is the end. Chris!" I yell without thinking. The man turns in my direction. I back towards the stairs as he starts walking in my direction. The bottom stair causes me to stumble backward. I fall against the stairs with a hard thud. I look up and see he is only a few feet from me. I start to panic as I start to climb up the steps backward, never taking my eyes off him as he watches me. I can't see his face, but his stance tells me that he's toying with me. 

I take the chance to turn over to get to my feet, allowing me to run up the steps. I dart across the bedroom to the balcony door. I get out the door, then turn to shut the door. The man comes running at the door, slamming his foot into the frame. The wood makes a splitting sounds as the glass begins to break.

I hold the door with all that I have as he kicks it again. Panic starts to set in as I feel the doors begin to give. 

Oh, please no. "Leave me alone," I scream at him through the door. 

The door gives way, pushing me back against the railing of the deck. I step back with only a split second to act. Without a second thought, I leap off the deck and catch the edge of the railing as my body slams into the bottom of the deck. "You can run, I will catch you." the man says. His voice is deep and dark. It sends a chill through me. I grip the rail as my hand is only a few feet away from him. 

He reaches for my hand, making me panic.

I let go of the railing, falling onto the deck below. Raising up on my arms, I try to get my bearings. My head is a little light from the fall.

I get to my feet, jumping off the porch into a full run. I hear a loud thud right behind me. I look back to see him running right behind me. He must have jumped right off the deck. My heart is racing, as all my senses are on end. I don't think I'm going to outrun him. 

He's only a few feet away as I make it around the side of the house. 

He sweeps me off my feet as he slings me over his shoulder. I beat as hard as I can with my fists on his back. "Put me down! Who are you? What do you want with me?" I scream. 

He says nothing as I fight against him. I feel a sharp stick in my thigh. My arms and legs feel so heavy, as my head gets fuzzy. Everything is spinning as I feel him walking with me. I slump, letting all my limbs hang free as I'm now a prisoner of my own body. Moments later, everything goes black..............

Gone Wild - Chapter Twenty Seven

 The doctor finally releases me after a few days. My heart sinks every time I think of it. The doctors offered to let me hold the baby, but I refused. I didn't want to see the little life that was once my hope of moving on. I didn't even want to know if the baby was a girl or boy. I knew if I knew, it would only haunt me. Chris handled everything with the baby. 

I head to the bathroom to take a nice hot bath. I had been in the hospital for a week, and a hot bath was something that I missed. 

I sat in the bath until the water started to turn cold. After I dry off and get dressed, I look at myself in the mirror. I hate who is staring back at me. I can't stand my life anymore. I want to run away from all this pain that is ripping me apart from the inside out. 

I decide that I want a change in my life. I let down my new colored hair, put makeup on, and then chose a pretty purple dress. My body has gone back to normal. It's hard to believe I was pregnant only a few weeks ago. I take a look at myself in the mirror. I love my new look. I'm going to go out and experience the world for the first time. Knowing how Chris will protest, I know I will have to avoid him. 

I manage to sneak past Chris, who is asleep on the couch. I head down to the beach. It's just me with the ocean singing to me as the waves come crashing in. 

I pick up a few rocks, skip them across the water. I use to love to do this when I was younger. 

As I'm throwing rocks, I see a rainbow not too far off. It's breathtaking! 

The sun is slowly setting as I make my back up to the house. 

When I arrive, I see Chris standing on the porch with a terrible look on his face. "Where have you been? What have you done to yourself?" he shouts at me.

"It's none of your business. I can go and do as I like, I don't need you to protect me anymore. I don't care if they get me. Let them come! I'm not going to hide for the rest of my life," I shout back at him. His face falls into a frown. 

"You don't want me to protect you anymore? What's going on with you? You're worrying me," Chris says in a sad voice. "Well, don't!" I shout. "Emily, where are you going?" he shouts after me. "Don't follow me," I shout over my shoulder as I leave Chris with his mouth hanging open. 

 I look back after I get down to the beach. Chris is nowhere in sight. I let out a sigh of relief. I didn't want to fight with him. I walk down the beach until I come to one of the local hangouts. Pouring a glass, I drink it really fast. It tastes horrible, but by the second one, it's not that bad.

I have lost track of how many drinks I have had when I almost stumble down the steps. 

After I finish my drink in hand, I head to the dance floor and cut loose. 

Dancing has only made me more thirsty, so I get another drink. After finishing it off, the room starts to spin a bit. I think I have had way too much to drink. 

I try to walk back the way I came but stumble. I had no choice but to call a cab. 

 It seems like a long ride home, and I know I'm going to have to hear it from Chris. Ugg, what to tell him. I shrug the thought off. I can go and do as I please.

When I get home, I try to walk up the steps but only manage to stumble.

When I enter the house, I'm surprised that Chris is not waiting for me. I manage to get over to the couch before I fall. Chris stirs me from my sleep. I must have passed out on the couch. I sit up slowly as I try to get my bearings. I wasn't sure how long I had been asleep. 

When I finally focus, Chris is sitting there staring at me with a worried look on his face. "Where have you been?" he demands. "Don't treat me like a child," I say in a hateful tone. 

Chris goes to walk away when I grab ahold of his arm. "Don't be mad at me," I beg as I try to pull Chris to me. 

He gets up and pulls me to him. "Do you know how worried I was? I looked everywhere for you. I thought they found you," he chokes out. He releases me, finding his will to calm down. 

"I'm tired, I want a normal life," I cry out. Chris stares at me in silence. "So this is what you call a normal life? Look at you, Emily. You don't look or act like the girl I fell in love with. What happened to you?" he says with sadness in his voice.

I push Chris backward causing him to stumble onto the couch. In a bold move, I climb right on his lap, straddling him. His eyes are wide. "Emily!" he chokes out. 

I lean close to him, making him take in a deep breath. "What are you doing? Your not your usual self," he whispers. "I'm finally living," I reply. 

Running my hand down his neck, I feel him tense. He never breaks eye contact from me.

Pulling him close, I kiss his lips. "Emily, we can't," he says. "Yes we can, we can do whatever we want to. It's my life, and I'm choosing to make my own decisions," I tell him as I run my fingers through his hair. 

"What happened to taking things slow?" he asks. "I'm going to live each moment like it's my last, and right now, I want you," I tell him as I plant another kiss on his lips. He ponders it for only a moment. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer. 

Chris holds me tight."Emily, please. It's too soon, your only doing this because your upset." he says. "Chris, are you refusing me?" I ask, stunned. "Yes," he replies.