Involuntary Victim - Book 3 in Jessie's Story

Chapter 11: Remembering

I slowly woke up. My body became aware of what was around me slowly. First thing I became aware of was I was warm and comfortable. I didn't wake up in a full panic like I usually do. It was slow and gradual.

The next thing I was aware of was a steady thump, right under my ear. There was a steady rise and fall. The smell from last night that made my brain pause was even stronger. Like I had nestled down in it and stayed. I took a slow breath in, take a deep breath of the smell, as I nestled my face into the fabric.

It was only then, as my body woke up more, that I became aware of something with weight around my back. I became aware slowly, that something warm and soft yet callased was gently brushing my skin. I felt my hair slowly move away from my face.

The sleepy comfortablness slipped away and I felt everything tense up, my heartrate picked up, and I held my breath.

"Shhh. Baby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

The voice. My brain was spinning I knew his voice, but it was different. It wasn't...glitchy. His voice was soft and gentle, rough deep and full of sleep. I didn't know what to do. I was scared to move. I didn't know if this was real or a dream or something else. I whimpered.

"Jess, you're safe. You're in your own room with the Right Arm. Bucky and Jorge are outside. Nana Ann will be back shortly. You slept all night. No dreams, no nightmares, you hardly moved."

Even with my eyes still closed, I knew something was different. There was no malicious undertone.

"Is....is this real...?" I whispered. Scared to hear the actual answer.

"Yes. My Dutchess, it's real." Minho whispered. I felt him shift under me. "I've wanted nothing more then to just hold you. It killed me knowing you were alone at the hands of a crazy crank."

I furrowed my eyebrows, despite them being clamped shut. A crank...?

"You...you were a crank. And...you said I need to pay for everything I did. You almost killed me over and over, making me pay for my sins. Real? Or not real?"

"Not real." He said firmly. I flinched. I felt his hand shift and I tensed, waiting for the pain. I felt his hand on my cheek. I flinched again and whimpered. He stopped. His fingers gently caressed my skin.

"Look at me, please."

I was terrified, but I knew if I didn't he would start screaming or stab me with something. So I shifted my head and my eyes finally fluttered open. I came face to face with his dark brown ones. They didn't look like the ones I remembered. These ones were sleepy and soft. To my bewilderment he smiled.

"I missed your blue eyes." He whispered. His breath daned over my face.

"They're grey."  My voice trembled when I spoke.

"No their blue." Minho shook his head, he had a small lopsided smile, "Dark grey with navy blue flecks."

The Minho I had come to know over the months wouldn't have known that..he never looked at me like this Minho. This Minho, in front of me, how did he know such details about what my eyes looked like. Sure he was only a few inches from my face... But the look in his eyes made my heart want to slow down from its wild anxiety but also want to speed up for an entirely different reason. His smile grew bigger.

"Jess...I wasn't wrong, the blood brought out the dark blue."

It was like a dream. I kind of remembered this. My forehead creased, I wasn't sure, but my mouth started talking before I stopped.

"...I'll...I'll be sure...to face paint in it..." I whisper.

He smirked and I watched as his eyes lit up and sparkled. My mouth kept talking. It was like trying to remember a dream, or a deja vu. We had this same conversation so long ago.