Chapter 43
Avidya
Beep. Beep. Beep.
With every beat of my heart, my body thumped in pain. Yet at the same time, I felt as though . . . well, nothing. Pain and nothing all together. It was a weird feeling.
Was I alive?
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Flashes of lights, broken glass and a gun kept flashing right in front of my closed eyes.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
I think I was alive. It was hard to tell. My thoughts were all over the place as I kept reliving the car crash. A car crash that I think was purposely set up.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Was that beeping speeding up?
Please, God!
My breath began to come quicker, almost so fast that I couldn’t keep up with my thoughts, emotions and breathing all at once. It was too much.
~oOo~
“I’m sorry, sir. You can’t be in here,” spoke a quiet, timid but yet affirmative voice.
“I’m not leaving.” It was Jonas. I’d know his voice anywhere. “I don’t trust those officers out there.”
“Fine,” spoke the woman again, giving in way too easily.
There was a pause as I assume the woman moved around the room, checking things. There was the constantly beeping to my right, along with what sounded like a drip.
“How is she?” Jonas asked out, his voice quiet. I heard him shift in his seat.
“She’ll heal up just fine,” the woman answered. “Banged up, as you can tell. She’ll need a bit of physical therapy after she’s healed. I’ve seen worse.”
“When will she wake up?” Jonas asked.
“When she’s ready to,” was her reply. “She was a bit worked up when my shift started, and the doctor gave her a dose of something to calm her.”
“Thanks,” Jonas said, not saying anything else.
It got quiet again in the room. The only sounds were the beeping noise and Jonas’ breathing. My own was much calmer now. Things made a bit more sense, somewhat. I had no idea for sure where I was at or where Zachariah was. But with Jonas here, I gathered I was as safe as I could be.
What had happened exactly? There was something I was missing. There was a car crash, but there was more to it. Much more.
A slight pressure on my hand made my mind go back to Jonas. I briefly wondered why he was here and not Zachariah. Was Zachariah busy with working? Was he okay?
“Hey,” Jonas said, squeezing my hand slightly. I wanted to squeeze back, but my hand didn’t agree. It stayed there limp as my mind willed it to move. “You’ll be okay, Vidie.”
He paused but didn’t let go of me. It sounded like he was about to cry. Why would he cry?
“You’re in a hospital,” he finally went on after a few minutes. “You and Zach were in a car crash. A bad one. The guy that ran into you on purpose passed away, and it’s probably a good thing that he did. Carlos is looking into the footage that was nearby the crash site to figure out who tried to finish you both off. He had the chance to do so, but you are both alive. Barely.”
He paused again. I could picture him rubbing a hand down his face as he tried to get his words together.
I remembered the masked man with the gun. He could have killed us both. Why didn’t he? Who was he?
“We’ll figure it out later,” Jonas mumbled out. “Julia won’t leave Zach’s side, and I can’t blame her one bit. He’s worse than you are. Zach . . . . he’s in an induced coma. A piece of glass went into his skull and they had to remove it. Plus, he has a bullet wound in his arm. I’m not sure when he’ll wake up. Doctor thinks it won’t be until sometime next week. He’s prone to infection now because of it.”
He stopped talking once more, lost in thought.
How bad was I then?
Concentrating on my body, everything felt like pins and needles. There was a throbbing in my left thigh. My right arm ached with a dull thud and felt like it couldn’t be moved. My head pounded with each heartbeat and my throat was as dry as a dessert.
“Go take a break,” spoke another male’s voice. “I’ll sit with her.”
“I got it, Kent,” Jonas said, not moving from his spot. “I’m not leaving her side.”
“You need rest, Carter,” Kent stated.
“I’m not leaving. I made a promise to Zach to watch over her when he couldn’t,” Jonas stated, his voice going quiet.
“You’ve been here for three days,” Kent sighed out as he walked farther into the room.
“I’m not leaving,” Jonas barked out. “Someone was paid to kill her. They didn’t, which means someone else will be coming after her to finish the job. I can’t let that happen.”
“Alright,” Kent said. I heard him take a seat on the other side of the room. “I’ll be staying too. Julia finally went home to rest a bit. Melio is staying with him. Not like he’ll be going anywhere.”
“How’s he doing?” Jonas asked out. I wanted to ask that myself, but my body wouldn’t work with me. I felt like cussing it out.
“Same. Doctor Jayne plans to take him off the sedative that is being used to keep him in a coma. No idea when he’ll wake up, but it’s a start,” Kent answered. “I’m surprised her brother has stormed down the place yet.”
“He doesn’t know,” Jonas whispered out. “I don’t want Cody following him.”
“That fucker is in hiding somewhere,” Kent said harshly. “He won’t be seen anywhere near this town. If so, he has a high price for his head. I’ll give Travis a call later. He should be here, too.”
Jonas simply grunted at him before all went quiet again.
~oOo~
The next time I became aware of my surroundings, it seemed to be darker than the last time. Time held no meaning to me.
There was a hand still holding my own and what felt like someone laying their head on the bed beside me. The beeping was still there, loud and annoying. I didn’t seem to be in as much pain now, thank God.
The thought of where my God could possibly be popped into my head. I was alive, so God was still here with me. But was I really safe?
God, I hope so.
I tried to shift my body, and pain instantly shot out from every nerve ending possible. I grunted out, not able to help myself. The person that was here with me now instantly sat up, saying my name in the process.
“Hurts,” I cried out, clenching my eyes shut tight. My voice was weak. It was a wonder whoever was here heard me.
“I know,” he soothed in a raspy, sleepy voice. “Don’t move too much, Vidie. Not right now.”
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. The pain was too much. Everything was too much.