Still Breathing [Jacob Black]

Chapter Seventeen

Felicity

"Felicity?" the soft voice said again, the door still opening slowly and silently. I was already unable to move, but my eyes were stuck open now. I was afraid to even blink.

A kind face moved into view, leaning over me. If at all possible, my eyes stretched open even wider in shock. Was this lady going to hurt me too now that Carlisle was gone?

"Hello, Felicity," the woman said, her voice gentle. I didn't let my guard down—Carlisle was calm, cool, collected, and even gentle too. It meant nothing. "I'm Esme. I am so sorry for what has been happening with you up here, but I'm going to help get you out, okay?" She paused, but didn't give me enough time to pull myself together and respond. Instead, she kept speaking, "We don't have much time, so I need you to listen to me. Hold still while I get you unattached from...all of this."

I didn't know if she was exactly telling the truth, but I wasn't in a position to be picky. Nor was I in a position to fight her. So I laid there, allowing Esme to undo the ties at my wrists and extract me from whatever Carlisle had me hooked up to. My only goal throughout this was to keep breathing. In and out. In, out.

Breathe.

Keep breathing.

In what seemed like a blink but I knew was a few minutes of careful maneuvering, Esme spoke again. "I'm going to lift you. We need to be silent."

Again, I said nothing. I wasn't sure I could have said anything even if I'd tried. I definitely couldn't walk, so it was good she planned on carrying me. I could try but I had a gut feeling I'd have fallen flat on my face. That wouldn't be helpful to the whole being silent objective.

Esme, a woman who was not exactly large, slid her arms underneath me and lifted me up as if I were a feather. Or a pillow. Or something else that doesn't weigh nearly as much as I actually did—how? I didn't ask aloud, though, and Esme wasn't exactly stopping to explain her strangely proficient strength to me.

No, she was moving, her steps fluid and graceful. She carried me to the door, pausing in the doorway before turning left out of the room. She paused again before taking us down some stairs. A lot of stairs, actually. Entering their house was a blur I couldn't remember very well, but it was hitting me that their house was huge. I'd never have been able to find my own way out if I'd managed to get myself free earlier. I began counting my lucky stars I was getting help now.

"What are you doing?" a male voice asked when we made it to the bottom of the stairs, and I shoved my figurative foot in my mental mouth because it had been way too early to begin counting myself lucky and now I'd jinxed us.

Esme froze but didn't sound worried when she replied, "You know what I'm doing. This isn't right."

Slowly, I turned my head to the side so I could see who was in our way. It was...a guy I was certain I knew but I couldn't remember his name. He'd been at the grocery store. He was one of the people who brought me here. A shiver of fear hit me.

He looked directly into my eyes. "You are right to be afraid. I am not your friend. You shouldn't be here."

"Jasper," Esme hissed.

He—Jasper—didn't even spare her a glance. His gaze was all for me. This did not exactly make me comfortable. "Remember, spending your time with those unlike you, those that are made to be predators to your kind, is unwise. Reassess your friends. Make yourself safe. Understood?"