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the beautiful cover above, displaying Vanessa, was made by Treasure_incave . thank you so much! ♥
THIRTY-THREE
eclipse
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The wind was howling so loud it hurt my ears. If not for the unearthly hour, I could have easily met an accident. The highway was deserted. I wasn't technically rash driving, as I had been doing frequently for the past few weeks. In fact, I didn't even cross the speed limits but the point was --- an unstable mind would never let the forelimbs coordinate perfectly with the steering wheel. And as my Audi screeches in front of the Adelaide Gen, the multi storeyed building glowing eerily in the dark, I felt a familiar pang in my chest.
This was the second time I was standing in the corridor that lead to the ICU. But Iris wasn't in there. She was in a cubicle to the left, still under treatment.
My eyes dart across the hall, almost everyone was present. Stefan leaning against the wall with his arms folded, Jae-Hwa and Audrey seated in the steel arm chairs and Mrs. Eastwood standing by the cubicle door looking like she's close to a nervous breakdown.
I couldn't see Ian.
Audrey spots me first, getting up on her feet and managing a ghost smile that disappears with the blink of my eye.
"How's Iris?" I ask, my voice hoarse.
"The doctor said its trauma. First, she heard about her father being in the hospital in Paris and then... well, you know what I mean." She shakes her head, looking distressed.
"Then why is she still inside? What are they doing?"
"Vanessa, she is sleeping. Calm down. They'll call us when she's awake."
"And where the hell is Ian Eastwood?" I hiss, blinking back tears.
"That's the reason I called you here. When Jae and I reached an hour ago, Ian was about to burn the entire world down. I had never seen him that furious." She explains.
I looked over Audrey's shoulder to see Jae-Hwa talking to Mrs. Eastwood, probably trying to comfort her. She has always been good at that job.
"We don't know where he went, his mother tried to stop him but he said he has some things to get straight..." Stefan shrugs, raking fingers through his dark, curly hair.
"I have one person to confront right now. Thought I would face him later but, given the situation --- I guess its now or never." I gulp and turn on my heels, the storm raging inside me.
"Vanessa wait, I'll come with you. Where are you even going?" Stefan calls out and I raise my hand in denial.
"It's fine Cahill. You should stay here with the rest."
