Stephen (Tainted Love #1)

Part 2|Chapter 5|STEPHEN

STEPHEN

It's dark around me. I try to move.

That’s me.

My breath.

My beating heart.

My head is heavy.

I feel something soft underneath my head.

My eyes open slowly, adjusting the view around me. I try to clear the haze,try to remember what happened. Where am I?

I try to look around. I look down on my body. I am in the hospital.

I try to get up but some parts of my body aches and some parts still feel numb, like the spaces between my ribs, my left hand and I close my eyes again, suddenly, and I don’t know why...

I was shot.

My eyes fly open, my skin breaking into a sudden, cold sweat.

No way. I was shot.

I was shot.

Gun shots were everywhere that night.

***

I was hardly breathing. I was beyond pretending I was not terrified. This was probably the first time in a long time when I felt this petrified. Shit just got real, super fast, and I had no idea what was about to happen. I knew we needed to hide, I couldn't fight anyone with Alessa beside me. She's scared too. I saw that in her eyes. She thought she might die tonight after all. But she didn't know that I wasn't going to let anything happen to her. We needed to get the hell out of here before things got worse, but I didn't know why, I couldn't convince my legs to work.

It felt like slow motion. Somehow I felt the bullet as it moved fast and strong, right at my upper thigh,slicing through my skin.

More gunshots and suddenly I couldn't breathe.

Alessa was not beside me now. Miraz's men tried to take her away from me and now my eyes are desperately trying to search her. I couldn't focus on that pain on my thigh. I needed Alessa safe beside me.

Another bullet hit my arm, and this time,it hurts like motherfucker. I fell down on the ground. My Energy was weak and weakening by the minute,I thought that's because of the blood I was losing. I was frustrated, so frustrated by how quickly I’d been overtaken, by how easily I let Alessa's life be in danger.

Suddenly flesh and bone breaking in the dark night, in the middle of I didn't know where. Hushed, muffled voices,loud shouts, more people joined this blood war.

They were my men. My people. I saw Lorenzo.

How did they know I was in trouble?

Lorenzo was trying to tell me to get few men with me in this small town for my security. But I tried to deny his proposal all the time. I just wanted to live a normal life here, with my Alessa. I wanted to live in her world. I wanted to see everything through her eyes. I didn't think Miraz would follow me here. Fuck his betrayal. He's going to die. In my hands.

My eyes sealed shut, my lips parted in quiet terror. I haven’t been haunted like this in so long.

***

How could I let this happen? How could I let Alessa get hurt. I almost lost her. Again. And again. I keep hurting her. I keep putting her life upside down. That's not what I planned to do. I planned to fix everything between us. I fucked up. Again. And again.

I try to get up. I must make sure she's alive and fine. I must make sure she gets whatever she wants. This time, I won't be the one making rules.

I must make sure I rip Miraz's heart apart from his fucking body.