Reckless Passion

Chapter 38

— Chapter 38 —

Song Themes For This Chapter: If I Die Young – The Band Perry; Something Great – One Direction

— Rose —

I rub my eyes as I sit up in my bed.  I don’t really feel well rested but I also don’t feel like sleeping anymore.  I swing my legs to the side of the bed and plant my feet on the floor.  I walk towards the door, turning the knob, and lazily swaying side to side as I walk down the stairs.

I enter the kitchen and to my surprise, it’s empty.  I pull a plastic cup out of the pantry and hold it under the tap as I fill it with a bit of water.  I take a small sip of the water and set it down on the counter just as someone grabs me by the arm and spins me around.

My eyes widen and I feel like I’ve lost all capability to breathe.

“R-R-Rick!”  I gasp.  “But you’re dead!”

He chuckles.  “If I was dead I wouldn’t be here, would I?”

I turn to make a run for it but Rick is quick to grab me firmly by the arms and hold me in place.  He harshly shoves me back against the counter, trapping me between that and his body.  His legs are on either side of mine as he reaches a hand up to cover my mouth while his free hand pulls up the hem of my nightie.

I try to flail my hands and kick and thrash; I try to scream and cry out as loud as I can.  The more I realize I’m trapped, the more panicked I become and the more I try to flail about and get free.

I scream into Rick’s hand, mentally pleading for someone to come and see Rick here and get him away from me.

And suddenly, I’m waking up in my bed screaming and gripping my comforter.

It was a dream, I thought while reaching a hand up to hold the side of my head as my breathing starts to slow.  It takes me a second to remember why I have a bandage there.

I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and plant my feet on the floor.  I wince and grit my teeth as burning pain shoots up between my legs.  I wait for it to subside a little and slowly walk towards the door, twisting the knob and slowly making my way down the stairs towards the kitchen.

“If she wasn’t involved with that boy, this wouldn’t have happened!”  My father’s stern voice can be heard in the kitchen.

I stop on the fourth last step and lean up against the wall to keep myself steady as I listen.

“I noticed something when I was helping her into her nightgown last night.”  My mother says.

I was thankful to hear their voices, assuring me that they were here considering the nightmare I’d just woken up from; despite the fact that they were clearing talking about me.

“What?”  My father barks.

“A tattoo.”  My mother’s tone is cautious and I can just picture her carefully eyeing him out of the corners of her eyes.

“A TATTOO?!”  My father roars.  I grit my teeth at the volume of his tone.

“Eavesdropping?”

I whip around at the sound of a new voice and I see Noah is standing a few stairs up from me, smirking.

My cheeks flush slightly and I quickly lift a finger to my lips, gesturing for him to be quiet.  He purses his lips, smiling and nods his head, gesturing towards the stairs.

I nod and he turns to start walking up the stairs.  I lift my leg to start for the next step, wincing as the pain shoots up between my legs again.  Noah turns, seeing me wince and walks back down to me, quickly picking me up in his arms and carrying me up the stairs and to my room.