Taken

Chapter 14 (Part 4)

* * *

A sharp knock had my eyes snapping open. I must have dozed off-

My gasp of fright had my eyes widening as water rushed down my throat. I tried to jerk upright, managing to pull my head out of the water with a choked cough, but only for a moment. I barely got a chance to drag a breath in before my abrupt movements had my body slipped on the smooth and wet inside of the tub, dragging my head under again. My tired and protesting arms reached for the edges of the tub to pull my stiff body up again, but a cramp shot its way down my leg, prompting me to let go with one hand to clutch at the pain that had my mouth opening in a scream that only had more water rushing down my throat. I tried to lift my head, using the one hand that still gripped the edge, but it didn't take much effort for my wet fingers to slip on the smooth wood to drop back and undo any progress I had been making.

As my lungs burned and I began to feel lightheaded, hands slipped under my arms, gripping them and pulling me out.

Chocked coughs escaped my lips with violent jerks the moment my head was free of the now lukewarm water. The hands gripping my biceps didn't ease though, not until my naked body had been hauled out of the tub. That's when one of the hands moved to band an arm under my breasts and pull my back against a hard body as my feet landed on the floor.

"Greysi!" Silas's worried voice spoke in my ear.

Water dripped to the floor and soaked into his clothes as he steadied me against him. I wanted to reassure him that I was alright, but coughs continued to hack out of me, making it impossible to do so while proving the opposite. I wasn't alright.

But it could have been worse.

He shifted me to the side, running a soothing hand up and down my back with the occasional bought of light slaps to help me expel the water I could feel lodged in my throat. Warmth bloomed in the wake of his touch on my skin which had begun to chill in the cool air of the room that wasn't quite warm enough for me to be comfortable standing naked. Which I wasn't regardless with Silas's presence. I curled my shoulders, hugging myself as I attempted to hide my body the best I could. The rapidly cooling water clinging to my skin only made me colder, causing my body to shake. Or maybe that was the adrenaline from almost drowning.

"How do you manage to nearly drown while bathing?" Silas asked, his worry now laced with anger as he aired the question I had been asking myself in my head. "All you had to do was sit up!"

I wheezed in a breath. "Easier," cough, "said," cough, "than," cough, cough, "done."

His hand on my back slowed along with my coughs. Just as I was getting a grip on things, I felt Silas's fingers lower to trace over my side that I had fallen into broken glass on. I tensed as he inspected the injuries that were mostly healed, but when his fingers continued up my back and brushed over one of the circular scars that marred my skin near my shoulder, I jerked away as though another lit cigarette like the one that had caused the permanent reminder was being pressed to my skin.

"Hey!" He shouted in surprise as my abrupt movement had me slipping from his hold that wasn't prepared for it.

Keeping an arm banded over my breasts, the other moved from where it was poorly concealing my crotch to slap against the wet floor as I landed on my knees, falling back onto my ankles. A cry slipped free as it added to the pain that was already overwhelming my body.

With the way I landed, my eyes had a direct line of sight to my inner thighs. The chafed skin that had appeared to only be angry and red at first glance also consisted of burst and flattened blisters. Under them, along my inner thighs down to my knees, and continuing behind my legs out of sight were faint splotches of bruises that were deepening in color.