Southern Heat (Southern 6)

"I just need to know you’re okay,” he says, and I feel a prickle on my hands. "Anything?" he asks, and I force myself to squeeze his hand.

"You can’t run from me." I hear the evil voice as I run through the forest, branches hitting me in the face. My legs get heavier and heavier as I run. I look over my shoulder as he chases me. The branches sting as they scrape my legs.

His hands try to grab me, but I run out of his grasp. "When I get you," he hisses, “I’m going to make sure I finish the job."

I gasp, opening my eyes, looking around the room frantically to see where I am. My eyes land on the man who carried me out of the cabin. My chest heaves as I catch my breath. “Oh my God,” he says, his hand squeezing mine a little as I try to calm my heartbeat.

"You’re safe,” he says, his blue eyes darker than I saw them last time. The circles under his eyes look like he hasn’t slept in days. “You’re safe," he repeats. My heart still races, and I look around the room, checking to see who else is here with me.

I lick my lips, wanting to say something, but my throat is scratchy. “Don’t talk,” he says, getting up and rushing over to the door. I look around, wondering if I can go out by the window. I take in the whole room and make an escape plan. I try to move my legs, and this time, it moves up but immediately crashes back on the bed.

I close my eyes as my head starts to pound again, then force my eyes open again. “She’s up, I swear,” he says loudly. He comes back into the room with a smile on his face. “See?" He points at me. “I told you."

"Hi," the nurse says with a big smile, and I look at her. So many questions come to mind. But the main one has nothing to do with her or me.

“Head.” I start to croak out, licking my lips and then closing my eyes. I lift my hand that doesn’t have a cast on it to my head, touching the white bandage. The pounding makes me close my eyes to try to push it away. "Hurts." I try to wet my tongue.

"That’s good," the nurse says. She walks over to a table and brings me a Styrofoam white cup with a straw in it. “Take little sips,” she says, and I take a sip.

The burning down my throat makes me stop for one second. My eyes are on the man who stands at the foot of my bed, watching me like a hawk. I try to sit up, but the pain pushes me back like someone just kicked me in the stomach. "You are going to hurt yourself," the man says, and I hold up my hand as it shakes like a leaf on a tree in a windstorm.

I put my hand down and take another sip of water. The cool water makes my tongue feel less heavy. I look at the nurse, who just looks at me as I try to tell her with my eyes. "Do you know where you are?" she asks me, and I look at the man in front of me.

He is the most handsome man I’ve ever seen. He almost looks like one of those princes in fairy tales. “Who are you?"

Chapter 5

Quinn

"Who are you?" she asks in a voice that sounds like she has laryngitis. I look at her green eyes, and no matter how many times I pictured her eyes in my head, nothing compares to the sight when she opens them.

"I’m going to get the doctor," Shirley, the nurse, says. She turns and stops beside me. “You might want to be nice to her." I roll my eyes. “Nicer than you are to everyone else." I put my hands on my hips, but my eyes never leave hers.

For the past four days, I’ve sat in that fucking chair, making sure her chest moved. I would doze off and hear her calling my name and wake scared to death that she died while I was sleeping.

"Who are you?" she asks me again as she taps her finger nervously on the bed beside her.

"Who are you?" I ask her the question that I’ve waited over four days to ask her. The endless questions are killing me every single day I don’t have an answer.

I’m about to ask her again when Shirley comes back into the room. "Okay," she says a bit too loudly, and the girl in the bed jumps with fear. Shirley’s eyes go to her and then to me. “It’s okay. It’s just me." She holds up her hands. “I’ve paged the doctor."