Kristal Anderson
Everyone makes mistakes.
Even God, or whoever was responsible for deciding the faith of humans in the afterlife.
Or maybe hell wasn't nearly as red as I thought it would be because a strong bright light filled my vision disorienting me when I opened my eyes again after being surrounded by darkness for so long.
I had to shut my eyes to welcome the darkness once again, taking comfort in its embrace before I decided to try again. This time, I pulled my eyelids apart much slower, allowing the bright light to simmer in gradually.
It took a few blinks for my vision to finally clear and allow me to glimpse into my surroundings, my senses slowly coming back to me, making me whole again. The white ceiling came into view first then the surrounding white walls, then the slow beeping that sounded so distant at first felt closer and closer.
When I tried to move my neck in hopes of getting a new angle of my surroundings, something that would give me any hint of where I was or how I had gotten here. Everything in my mind felt hazy like a dark cloud was looming over my thoughts and memories. My neck stayed stagnant in its position and my first thought was that I'd lost control over my body. Before the panic could set in, the rational part of my brain finally decided to wake up from its deep nap making me realise that a brace restrained my neck.
I could barely feel the rest of my body; for all I knew, I was a floating head. So, to test that theory, I found myself manually telling my brain to move my left hand. The movement felt faint at first, but soon, I could feel myself slowly squeezing my hand into a fist. Squeezing my right hand was a different story; something restrained me from squeezing it into a fist.
My first thought was that I'd broken my hand as well until I felt said restraint squeeze my hand back. Some shuffling followed before a tall frame loomed over me, with the light shining behind him it took my eyes a second or two to adjust and for his sleepy face to come into view.
Aiden. He was here. He was right here with me.
He looked down at me, a smile of relief plastered on his pretty face, his eyes grew glossy with tears that he swallowed back before he finally spoke, "You're awake" That's when I felt another squeeze to my right hand, it was him. He was holding my hand, waiting for me to wake up.
My body coordination was coming back to me but slowly, way too slow for my liking because all I wanted to do at that moment was throw my arms around that beautiful man and never, ever let him go. My lips parted and after some visible struggle I finally uttered my first word, "Aiden"
He visibly relaxed like he wasn't expecting me to recognise him as if I would forget that pretty face of his. He lifted my hand into his soft gentle grip and brought it up to his lips, placing soft kisses on the back of my hand, "It's me, baby. Fuck, you scared the shit out of me, I-I thought I was gonna lose you"
My blinks were still slow, my body clearly not fully functioning how it was supposed to but I managed to curl my lips up into a weak smile, "I'm here" The words formed a lot easier now.
He let out a short chuckle leaning in to rest a soft peck on my lips, "You're here," He said, his lips still brushing mine before he pulled back standing up straight again, "when..." He paused, squeezing my hand, "When I saw you lying there on that floor, unconscious my whole fucking world collapsed"
And just like that, time stood still those words triggered all the events that led me here, the memories flooded my senses all at once. How I got here, it all came rushing back.
Aunt Jenna.
Robert Vasilakis.
My father's letters.
The stairs.
The fire that surrounded my body.
Aunt Jenna, my aunt Jenna, my guardian angel betrayed me.
The monitor's beeping grew louder around me, echoing through the walls of the room, alarming Aiden. It took me a second to realise that the change in my breathing pattern caused it; now staggered and fast. A pattern I was familiar with, one that usually marked the beginning of a panic attack. "Hey hey it's okay, you're okay baby," His soothing voice met my ears again, his hands reaching to cup my face.
A panicked look clouded his expression as his eyes frantically moved struggling to decide if they should focus on my face or the monitor that beeped progressively faster, "S-she's going to kill me, Aiden"
Time seemed to slow for him, his eyes focused solely on my face as he took in my words, "What?"
My lack of mobility only added to my hysteria, for all I knew she could have been in the room at that moment. Out of my limited line of sight, just waiting to strike again.
With that thought in mind, I gripped Aiden's arm to support myself as I used up all my strength to get out of bed despite the sharp pain that shot through me. My attempt came with little success as he was quick to bring me back down into a laying position, "Hey you're gonna hurt yourself, it's okay-"
"No it's not okay, y-you don't understand. I have to leave right now," The panic state had taken over the rational part of my brain and I found myself still fighting to get myself out of bed. He made sure to be as gentle as possible while he held me down which wasn't exactly hard in my weakened state.
"Kris look at me, nothing's gonna happen to you. I'm here, I won't let anything happen to you do you hear me?"
Just when I thought his reassuring words were starting to get to me, the door opened abruptly, hurried footsteps following sending a new wave of panic through me. It was her, it had to be. "Aunt Jenna is not who I thought she was!" I barely finished my sentence before Aiden was pulled from my side. "Aiden no!" He was quickly replaced by a nurse and before I knew it I was surrounded by nurses who did their best to hold me down.
"Wait no, let me talk to her," I could only hear his voice now but it seemed whoever pulled him away wouldn't relent.
"I'm sorry sir but I'm gonna have to ask you to leave sir," Said the first voice.
"We're gonna have to sedate her" Came the second.
Being surrounded and held down by unfamiliar faces was doing little to help my panic, for all I knew one of these nurses could have been working with her to finish what the fire couldn't. "Aiden you can't let her get close!" I screamed hoping that he was still in the room. Too much was going on around me, too many hands holding me down, too many voices telling me to calm down when they couldn't even begin to imagine the urgency of the situation. "She's gonna kill me if you do! Aiden please!" My vision grew fuzzy just seconds later, my lips felt like opposite ends of a magnet destined to stay shut. But I refused to let the darkness take hold of me, "You have to promise me, Aiden!"
My limps gave in first, completely surrendering to the darkness. My vision went next, my speech was the last to go but not before I got out one last word, though I couldn't be too sure that the word actually left my lips, I was too far gone by then. "Please,"
~ ~ ~
When my eyes reopened, I was welcomed by brightness, but this was a different type of brightnessâmore natural and less harsh on the eyes. The light was coming from the window instead of the harsh light above me.
"Kris!" A voice said startling me enough to make my half-awake body sit up in horror, it took me a few moments to realise that it came from Thea but by then she was already on my side to try and hold me down in base it was another panic attack. "Hey, hey, hey Kris it's me"
I visibly relaxed against her and shut my eyes for a second trying to regain control over myself, I couldn't allow myself to spiral once again. "Thea" I finally said after opening my eyes, now in my much calmer state Thea helped me sit up more comfortably.
"Yes it's me, Aiden told me what you said before you were sedated... was it true? Aunt Jenna did this to you?"
From the mere sound of her name, a lump formed in my throat. I nodded, scanning the room for him. He probably thought I was insane after my little stunt earlier. "Where is he?"
"Don't worry, he just went to get us some coffee," She replied, a soft smile lacing her expression as she took my hand in hers, "He hasn't left your side since he rescued you from that burning house"
"Rescued me?"
"Like a true knight in shining armour," A bright smile lifted her face, she looked like a proud mother, "He walked into that burning house with only one thing on his mind; saving you. He refused to wait for the firefighters to arrive and I'm glad he didn't because those flames would have swallowed you whole by the time they got there. Gosh, Kris that man loves you," She ended her statement with a giggle that I returned.
"Stop it," He saved me, my Aiden saved me. The universe had taken away my guardian angel, or who I thought was my guardian angel, but it didn't leave me unguarded. It had sent me a new and improved one. One that wasn't keeping an earth-shattering secret from me.
"No, Kris I'm serious,"
A soft smile rested on my lips, I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, "I know because I love him too. . . more than he knows it,"
Thea couldn't contain her squeal but she quickly recovered and covered her mouth remembering where we were, "My best friend's in love, like, officially in love with a capital L!" Her hands muffled the words.
Even under these unfortunate circumstances she still managed to get a chuckle out of me, "Stop it, don't make me regret telling you,"
She rolled her eyes lowering her hands, "No but seriously, you two are meant to be, you deserve to feel every bit of happiness coming your way,"
Happiness.
That concept seemed more foreign now than it did most days. After finding out what I did, it was hard to conceptualise happiness in my lifetime.
Just when I thought things were finally looking up for me; I had stumbled upon a man, a good man who made me feel alive again, one who made me feel like life was worth living without the need to fear for ghosts of the past. Just when I thought that with a little time and patience, Aunt Jenna would see that too and I would finally get my happily ever after. The universe threw something in my way to once again prove that happiness wasn't meant for me.
Thea sensed the shift in my mood and reached in to slowly graze her hand over mine, "Talk to me,"
"She lied to me," The waterworks began and I let them flow, staining my cheeks in their wetness, "All these years she lied to me, to all of us. My father never did it, h-he was innocent and he spent over a decade in prison for a crime he didn't commit a-and I spent over a decade hating him for it,"
"So she knew all along that he was innocent but she just played along? But why?"
"To protect her actual killer,"
She scoffed shaking her head in disbelief, "Listen to me, we're not gonna let this slide okay? No matter how much we have to spend we are going to find the motherfucker who did that to your mother and we are going to put him behind bars where he belongs,"
I couldn't help but let out a humourless chuckle at the irony of the situation. The universe worked in funny ways; the father of the man I love had murdered my mother and framed my father for it. Talk about a twisted romance.
"There's no need for that, I already know who it is. Robert Vasilakis, Aiden's father, he's the man who murdered my mother sixteen years ago,"
She stood frozen like a stone, her eyes wide and her lips slightly parted but no words escaped. A few moments passed where the only indicator that she was still with me were her blinks and I let her take her time. I still could hardly believe it myself, even after saying it out loud. "I- what do you mean? I don't understand, what does Robert Vasilakis have to do with any of this?"
"Everything, he killed her and framed my father with the help of Aunt Jenna. How my mother knew him is still a mystery to me, one I'm not so sure I want to solve anymore"
She stared and stared, clearly struggling to comprehend this information. Aunt Jenna meant a lot to both of us. We spent years of our lives with her, years filled with moments that shaped us. "I justâthis is just insane. I mean, whatâhow are you gonna tell Aiden?"
"Tell me what?"
Hello my loves, long time no see. I know I've been gone for a while. I don't even know if anyone still cares for this book anymore lol wouldnt blame ya. But I'm gonna try to be more consistent this year I promise, this is the year that I finish this book!
Anywho, if you're still reading thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! See ya in the next one <3
Love, J