55. VANYA

There was no annoying beeping filling my ears. No machines attached to every possible inch of my body. Everything was silent which made me feel like I was alone, but I knew I wasn’t, because I could feel the comforting weight of another hand on mine.

I wasn’t dead.

I wasn’t alone.

But I was in pain.

The constant throbbing of my shoulder and the feeling of fire ants crawling all over my body was pulling me from my sleep.

I didn’t want to wake up, because in my dreams, everything was okay. In my dreams, Obsidian was smiling at me, and Ezra had accepted the fact that Obsidian and Devrim loved each other.  

In my dreams, everything was perfect.

But dreams only lasted so long before reality started creeping in and everything crumbled and the real world showed its ugly face.

A soft sigh reached my ears, followed by the sound of a chair creaking. The weight on my hand disappeared, making emptiness fill me.

I had fucked up and now I was all alone.

“I know you’re awake, sugarplum.”

I hesitated, but slowly opened my eyes, expecting the bright light of the hospital room to greet me, but the room was dim. I blinked and then turned my head to look at Ezra sitting in the chair next to the bed.

“Hi,” I croaked.

He chuckled. “Hello.”

I swallowed. He looked so different from the man I had gotten used to being around. His hair was messy and his skin was pale. The lights of humour had died down in his eyes.

“Do you want some water?”

I licked my lips, surprised to find them smooth and not chapped. “P-please.”

Ezra stood and turned slightly. When he turned back again, he was holding a small white cup. He hesitated and then moved closer.

“I don’t have any straws, so I’m going to lift you up a little.”

“Okay.”

He blinked at me. “It’s going to hurt a bit.”

When I only continued to stare at him, Ezra sighed and gently slipped his hand under my neck. I bit my lip as pain shot through me the moment he started to lift my upper body.

“Wait, I’ll move your pillows up a bit.”

When he was done, he lowered me back against them and then pressed the rim of the cup against my lips. I took three sips before he moved the cup away and placed it back down from wherever he had picked it up from.

“The doctor said that you need to take things slow. It’s been a few weeks since your body—”

“How many weeks?” I interrupted.

His eyes darted around the room. “Almost six weeks.”

“I’m in the hospital?”

“No.” He took a seat on the edge of the bed and carefully took hold of my hand. “You were because you had surgery, but we moved you to the main house as soon as we could.”

“O-Obsidian? Where’s he?”

Ezra’s eyes darkened. “I don’t know.”

“Devrim?”

“He’s taking care of—” he stopped, eyes snapping up to mine and then darting away. “He’s busy.”

“With?” I questioned.

“I’ll go tell the doctor that you’re awake.”

He stood and hurried over to the door. Tears filled my eyes. They hated me. I knew it was going to ruin our relationship if they found out about the cameras and audio devices my father wanted me to plant.

Ezra was gone before I could find my voice to call him back.

No doctor showed up and Ezra didn’t return.

I stared at the ceiling as I tried to fill in the blanks.

If they hated me, why am I at the main house and not in the hospital? What was Ezra going to say before he stopped? What is Devrim doing? Where is Obsidian?

My eyes snapped over to the door when it opened. A gasp fell from my lips when Betsy entered the room with Ezra right behind her. Betsy gave him one glance over her shoulder before she rushed to the bed.

I didn’t care about the pain it caused to move. I sat up and threw my arms around her the moment she was close enough. A sob fell from my lips as soon as her arms wrapped around me.

“I’ll give you some privacy,” Ezra muttered before he left again.

After I managed to calm down and stop crying, and two more sips of water, I started questioning Betsy. She was hesitant to answer, but in the end, she told me everything.

How the man knocked her out and how she found herself inside the boot of a car. Betsy explained how he locked her up in the garden shed at the hall that was used for the ball, and how one of the pride members found her there hours later.

“I was so worried about you,” I whispered.

She gave my hand a squeeze and smiled at me. “When they told me that you were missing…” She trailed off and shook her head. “I’m happy that they found you and that you’re okay. I’m talking to a therapist to deal with it, you know? I’ll give her number to you. Once they release you, you should call her and make an appointment.”

“I’m okay, Betsy.”

“Are you, really? You were almost killed. Have you seen the news yet? It’s hell out there with your father in jail and—”

“My father’s in jail?” I interrupted her.

She nodded. “He was the one behind everything. Your father paid that man to kill those girls and make it look like the hybrids had done it. Of course, he tried to warn the man off from harming you, or so he says. I knew it was going to happen.” She shook her head. “When it came out that your mother was having an affair with one of them, he acted like nothing was wrong. He denied everything, and weeks later, your mother died and he got married again. I tell you, dear, there’s something seriously wrong with that man.”

Everything else she said fell on deaf ears. Her words about my father and mother kept repeating over and over in my head. My mother had an affair with a hybrid.

Was she having an affair with someone I know? 

“Betsy,” I interrupted her with a forced smile. “I’m tired.”

“Of course, dear.” She stood and tugged the sheets around my body. “You remind me of your mother. She was so happy with that hybrid of hers. I know that she’s looking down at you now and smiling because she knows that you’re happy with your men like she was.”

“T-thank you.”

It wasn’t long after she left that Ezra entered the room again. He didn’t move any closer nor did he utter a word. All he did was silently watch me.

It took me a few minutes to find my voice. “Is it true that my father was behind all of this?”

“Yes.”

“Is it true about my mother?”

Ezra frowned. “Do you want me to get the doctor to give you something for the pain?”

I stared at him silently for a few seconds. It was clear that he wasn’t planning on answering my questions about my mother, so I asked him something else. “You know about the cameras and stuff my father wanted me to plant?”

“Yes.” Ezra paused. “But I know that you didn’t do it. I know that you were never thinking of planting them.”

“Do you hate me?” My voice cracked.

Ezra was next to me in seconds, gently pulling me against his chest and pressing a kiss to my cheek. “Never. I would never hate you.”

“And t-the others?”

“Never, sugarplum.” He pulled back and gave me a small smile. “But I can’t help but think that you don’t want to be here with us. A part of me understands your need for wanting to leave, but the other part doesn’t want to let you go.”

“Ezra—”

“We can’t leave the island, Vanya. It’s too dangerous for us to go anywhere else. We can’t show you the world or take you on any human trips or dates.” He reached up and cupped my cheek. “I—”

His words were cut off when the door opened and Obsidian stormed inside the room. He froze as our eyes locked.  

“What the hell are you doing here?” Ezra hissed.

“Vanya,” Obsidian rasped as he took a step forward. “Sweets.”