We find ourselves outside in the courtyard of the Rugby Club. The sun is shining brightly, and the air carries the scent of freshly cut grass. The scent of Summer fills the air, bringing a smile to my face this morning. I've treated myself to a delectable steak burger accompanied by a side of crispy fries. I woke up feeling absolutely famished, unwilling to consume anything in case I had to spend hours hunched over a toilet before feeling even remotely normal. “I’m so hungry. I could eat a horse!” Sanz rubs his hands together, impatiently waiting for our food to arrive. “These ribs better be as good as you say, Carlos.” He stares at Carlos with his brow arched. “Calm down,” Carlos retorts, rolling his eyes. “I don't understand how you can be hungry. You cleared out my fridge this morning, and I only shopped two days ago.” He says, astonished. “I'm Samoan. It's what we do,” Sanz says casually. “I wish I could eat like you and look like that.” Carlos hisses, rolling his eyes heavenw
There’s a confident rap at the door, and I quickly rush to open it. “Did you…” the words get stuck in the back of my throat when my gaze collides with a pair of eyes that make me shudder.“Hello, pretty.” Mikal snarls viciously with a predatory glint in his eyes. “Shit!” I curse as I quickly try to slam the door in his face. But Mikal swiftly lodges his foot between the door and frame, violently jerking the slab of timber that separates us backward. I stumble and land on my ass with an audible thud penetrating my ear canals.Mikal confidently steps inside as if he belongs here, shaking his head. He clicks his tongue, shifting to lock the door behind him. “That wasn’t very nice.” He says in a childish tone, pouting at me.Gritting my teeth, “what do you want, Mikal?” I crane my head back and look up at him. “I have come here to send a message to some people who can't take a hint.” He crouches in front of me and slowly drinks me in with a crazy look in his eyes while he combs his fing
“Help!” I scream at the top of my lungs, hoping someone can hear me from the outside. “HEEELLP!!” I scream again. Mikal yanks me against his chest roughly and sneers in my ear. “HEEELLP!!” He says, mimicking me. “No one’s going to save you, princess!” He laughs and hits me across the face with his backhand.I'm thrown onto the bed, my cries of pain filling the room. My face throbs with a fiery sting, and I cautiously reach up to touch it. The swelling is becoming more pronounced, and once again, a sense of panic washes over me. Mikal gazes down at me with a mischievous grin, a hint of amusement dancing in his eyes, as he casually unfastens the buckle of his belt. His baggy jeans gather in a pile on the floor, as he stands at the edge of the bed, his lips moist as he caresses himself and gazes at me with a hunger that suggests I am his ultimate desire.Fuck! He’s seriously going to try to… I attempt to crawl further up towards the head of the bed, but Mikal suddenly reaches out and fo
The ringing sound in my ear becomes deafening, shutting everyone out.'Why won't it just stop? I can no longer hear Chrissy hysterically crying or Carlos giving out orders and the smell… That awful hospital smell is gone, too.Shit…Am I…? Am I, no! I can't be dead. This isn't how my life is supposed to end.“Vanessa, you’re okay.” A familiar voice calls out to me in the darkness. “You’re okay, lil sis.” She calls out again.“Celeste, is that you?” I cry.“Yes, sweetheart. It's me.”“Why… Why can’t I see you?” The panic is evident in my voice. “Your eyes are swollen shut, and you have swelling in your brain. But you are alive, Vanessa.”“I need you…” “I'm here. I will always be here when you need me. But you can’t stay here with me.” There’s sadness in her voice as it slightly trembles.“Just a little longer, let me stay a little longer, please?” I plead.“I'm sorry, Nessa. But you have to go back. The longer you stay here, the less chance you have returning to your body.” “I don’t
"If… I couldn’t save our child, Luca. How can you expect me to help save you?” I stare at him, feeling empty and confused. “We need to save each other, tesoro. But the only way for us to do that…” He looks me dead in the eye. “Is if we help pick each other up. When the time is right, we will be blessed with another baby. Our time will come, cara mia, you just have to wait and see.” He gently kisses the top of my head. He can try to sweet coat the truth. But I don’t want another baby. I just want my baby back! My perfect, innocent baby. His words cause my insides to seize up and my heart to ice over. “No… I want my baby back! How can you sit here and talk of another when I just lost my baby?” I sneer at him unbelievably.“Our baby. WE lost OUR baby. Si, I may not have carried our child. But I did help create it, and I did grow to love it, too.” He snaps at me with wide eyes.“No…” I struggle to get up from him, but he doesn’t let me go. Instead, he just crushes me closer to him. “It
“You got that right.” I wink at her. “How did you get here?” I ask with curiosity.“I had my driver drop me off. Uncle Luca said to tell you that he will be here as soon as he can. He is meeting with the detectives and his lawyer.” She looks at the door and then back at me.“Why is he meeting with the detectives? He wasn’t there.” I scowl, looking at everyone confused. “We have all been interviewed. But I assume Luca is trying to hold them off from coming to see you so soon.” Carlos says as he scratches the back of his head.Rosalia turns around at the sound of his voice. Carlos gazes at Rosalia and flashes her with one of his jaw-dropping smiles. Her head snaps back in my direction, and her cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink. I watch her as she tucks her loose hair behind her ear, and when I look back at Carlos, he remains staring at the back of her head. I casually flick my eyes between the two and realise the air has become thick with wonderment. Conrad clears his throat, interrup
Two hours later we are back at the house where I have joyfully popped a few pain killers, Conrad had set up our beds turning the living room into a bedroom. Conrad said it was better we all slept in one room so they both could keep an eye on me but I know he is trying to keep me from going back into the room where the assault took place. Such honey he is. Carlos tried his last hand at convincing me to change my mind and remain in my hospital bed. I lied to him and told him that I would be staying with Luca, so if anything happened. I would be in good hands. He still didn’t look pleased in the slightest when he handed me the Discharge forms to sign. He gave me a few words of advice and told Chrissy that if she felt that Luca wasn’t meeting her standards in taking super extra care of me to call him at any time, day or night. I forced his stubborn ass to hug me and thanked him for not letting me die the moment I handed the clipboard back to him. I told him I will call him and Sanz in d
I wake up to someone persistently knocking on the front door.I roll over and slowly ease myself into a sitting position on the bed being sure to keep the screams of agony suppressed. I run my hands through my tangled hair when Conrad walks in with a shadow close behind him.“Hey, Nessa.” He looks at me apologetically. “Detective Reeves is here to see you.” He steps aside and a middle-aged female steps forward.“Hi Vanessa, I’m detective Amanda Reeves.” She thrusts her hand forward and I shake it. “Look, I know this isn’t an appropriate time in the morning to do this.. but I would appreciate it if I could have your co-operation so we can get this case cleared.” She says as her eyes scan the room.Amanda Reeves looks to be in her mid-thirties, She looks a lot like Cameron Diaz with brown eyes but when the light hits them and look close enough there are bits of green and orange embedded deep within the iris. Her eyes are stunning. She has urban black hair with