For Her Honor

Chapter 29

It took me a long time to crack my eyes open as it always did but this time I didn't want to open my eyes. I didn't want to face reality, I didn't want to face a world where Marco didn't exist. Especially since it was my fault that he was gone in the first place.

    But as much as I wanted to remain in my isolated world of deep sleep, I knew I couldn't hide from my actions forever. So when I was satisfied with the amount of time that I just laid there with my eyes closed, I finally summed up the strength and courage to let my eyelids flutter open although I couldn't see anything past the bright light boring into my corneas.

    I gently lifted my hands to my eyes to wipe the sleep away. Slowly, my sight came back to me and I found that I wasn't laying in the basement as I had presumed I probably would be. Instead, I was laying in the infirmary. It was hard to miss the pure white walls and the crisp cotton sheets. My clothes had been replaced with a hospital gown and my hair had once again been thrown up into a bun to hide the grime that had no doubt built on each strand growing from my scalp.   

    There was a soft moan near my feet and I took in my surroundings for the first time. There was a couch against the far wall where I saw Luke and Toni sleeping. Next to them on yet another couch were my parents, my father and my real mother, not the one that tried to kill me. They were sleeping as was Arnold who had taken residence on the lazy-boy lounge chair off in the corner.

    And sitting in a chair that had been pulled oddly close to my bed, was the Marco look alike. He had his head resting on the bed next to my hip as he slept.

    My heart sank, and suddenly I became very aware of a rapid beeping noise wailing from my other side. My eyes landed on a machine that was recording my heartbeat through a device that was clutched around my finger. I ripped the device away from my finger and let it fall onto the floor with a light clack.

    When I turned back, I found that the Marco look alike wasn't sleeping anymore. Instead he was sitting up and staring at me in shock and wonder. There were deep purple bags under his eyes and he looked pale beyond comparison. My heart ached for this man, he looked like he hadn't slept or eaten in days. And up close he looked so similar to the man that I had lost, but I knew it couldn't be him.   

    Miracles didn't just happen.

    "You're awake." The man said quietly, smiling at me genuinely.

    I gave him a small smile back, "Yes. How long have I been out?"

    The Marco look alike let out a somewhat shaky breath as he replied quietly as not to wake up the rest of the room, "About four days. The doctors said you were starving and dehydrated and just overall exhausted. They didn't know when you'd wake up but they assured after a good rest you'd be just fine, thank God."

    I nodded, twiddling my thumbs in my lap as he spoke, "And my mother? What happened to her?"

    "Well Arnold took her into custody and she's been locked away in the deepest, darkest room the organization has to offer. She'll be given a proper trial but the evidence is piling against her. I doubt she'll get anything less than life behind bars." The Marco look alike explained, still smiling at me as if he physically couldn't stop.

    "And what about Brett? Was he captured as well?" I wondered, keeping my eyes casted down. I was too afraid to meet his gaze because I knew I wouldn't see those beautiful dark eyes that I loved so much.

    "He is actually assisting in the investigation. We offered him a deal, a reduced sentence if he t4estifed against your biological mother. Still, that only brings his sentence down to seventy-five years, so he'll be away for a long time as well." The man informed quickly, as if he wanted to move on.