Love in the Shadows (Book 2)

Chapter 17

"Un-break My Heart" - Toni Braxton

Peace.

It's so peaceful.

I don't remember the last time it was so–

*beep*

Where was I...

Right...peaceful

So quiet and–

*beep*

What the hell is that?

It's interrupting my–

*beep*

Oh god...fine, no more peace.

I can feel myself starting to come back, little by little my mind is drifting away from the peace of emptiness and coming closer to reality. I can hear that incessant beeping that pulled me out in the first place. I can feel the cushion of the bed underneath me. I can feel a warmth over one hand, and it's that sensation that finally pushes me to open my eyes. Dim lighting invades my eyes, causing me to squint as I adjust to it.

My head still feels heavy, and I slowly turn to the left, trying to fight the dizziness. I'm in a hospital room...right the mission, the poison, the pain. I look down at myself and see a typical hospital gown covering me, which means at some point I was changed into it. I look to the right and I see...

Steve, sitting at my bedside. His head is resting beside me, and over my hand, and I can't help but wonder if he's asleep.

I open my mouth, but hesitate to speak. The last time I did I struggled. And despite the fact that I know things are different considering I have no problem breathing, the memory of it still scares me.

"Steve?" I finally croak out, feeling a slight strain on my voice but ultimately I know it's good.

His head immediately snaps up, making it clear he wasn't sleeping, just resting. His eyes widen with shock, before I see complete relief pass through them.

"Mia." he sighs, clearly glad to see I'm awake.

"How long have I been out?" I ask, trying to look around to get an indication of a time of day. There isn't a window, so I can't tell, and my eyes are still too blurry to read the clock on the wall.

"Eight hours." he replies, looking like he suffered through every minute of it. And I know what that's like. I'm only glad it was only a few hours, and not the three weeks I suffered here with him.

I groan as I close my eyes, struggling to open them back up. "I'm still so tired." I say, knowing I could easily fall back asleep right now.

"They said that would be normal after what your body has been through." Steve explains, and I feel his fingers brush my skin before pulling away. "They expect you to be in and out of sleep for a while."

I open my eyes, turning back to face him as I feel the absence of his touch on me. He's pulled into himself, like he's afraid to take up any space. I can see he's holding back so many emotions and I can't help but note how different this reunion was to the one we had when he was in this bed instead of me.

I threw myself at him, crying as I kissed him over and over again, grateful that he was alive. And now...I can still see the gratitude in his eyes, but he doesn't come to me, in fact, he pulled away. I know why. After everything we've been through I can understand. Even though I told him I forgave him, I told him I loved him. Things still feel...off.

I look at him with a longing look, craving what we used to have. "Are you okay?" I ask him.

His brow furrows, clearly confused that I am asking him when I'm the one in the hospital bed. "Yeah..." he says with a slight chuckle. "I'm okay."