𝐑𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧 ✓

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲

RopeBurn

"Often I am upset that
I cannot fall in love
but I guess
This avoids the stress
of falling out of it"

Chapter Twenty

Coma

Elvira
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     Steady beats awoke me from my comatose state. My eyes struggled to adjust to the harsh light. My mouth was completely dry, and my tongue felt as though it was sandpaper.

For a moment I didn't notice that the room wasn't my own. Not the grey one or the one back at my apartment. This room looked like a small studio apartment in itself. It's dark brown walls kept the light level to a minimum, which was nice considering the light had been burning my eyes since I opened them.

"You're awake?" The voice caused me to flinch. Other than the heart monitor there weren't any sounds coming from the room.

     A groan escaped my cracked lips. "Are my eyes open?" I desperately needed water. The moment I tried to push myself to sit up two large hands pushed me back down into a laying position. The pain I endured was enough for me not to dare to move again.

     "Yes, your eyes are open." This time I recognized the voice to be Marcos. Though it was odd. Unlike his typical angry tone his voice now held worry.

     "Then I'm awake." I croaked. A straw was placed against my lips, and I gratefully sipped the water.

     "Must you always be a pain in the ass Elvira?" The worry in his voice still stayed. Yet I could hear how tired he was as well. "How are you feeling? You've been out for a week, Aurora said you could be moved yesterday when you showed signs of progress."

     "For starters? I feel as though I have been shot." The last thing I remembered was his face. The blood staining my hands and the adrenaline was the only thing dulling my pain.

The way Marco held my face as he spoke to me. Part of me felt that he properly cared. While the other part felt as though he felt guilty for dragging me into his battle.

     I tilted my head so that I was facing him. With what little I could make out he looked like shit. The stubble he always seemed to have grew out into a beard. There were never bags under his eyes before, but now they were dark and hollowed out."I can have Aurora bring in more pain medications if you'd like that?"

     "No." I couldn't entirely trust that he wouldn't just drug me back to sleep. Nor could I trust myself while I was high on medication. It took everything not to say what I was thinking on a daily basis. Having my brain jumbled could get me killed.

     Silence invaded the room. The only sounds made was the heart monitor, which stayed at a steady beat. What he was thinking invaded my mind. All I could think about was what happened at the restaurant. "Can I get you anything?"

     "Where am I?" Did he think I forgot about the underwear? The degrading act of me being a moaning mess in front of all of those people.

    Maybe he didn't remember how he threatened on multiple occasions to kill my family. He was mentally ill, that was for certain.

     "My room. I had you moved so that I could keep my eyes on you." His hands moved into his pockets. Marco leaned against the air and puffed out his chest. Unlike most of his other postures this wasn't one I had seen before. "You haven't been here long. You were in the hospital until you were cleared."

     I had been in the hospital

     I could have been free if I would have just woken up sooner. Could have. Most likely not, though. It was unlikely that Marco would have left me long enough to tell anyone I had been kidnapped. "I want to go to my room." Much like before when I tried to sit up from my current position I was pushed back down onto the bed. Only this time Marco wasn't gentle. In fact he was quite rough.

     "No." His index finger brushed the sweat soaked hair from my face and tucked a strand behind my ear. "You need rest, Elvira. This is the best bed in the house to do so. It has a heated mattress that will keep your body warm. Not to mention we'd have to move your monitors, and it would just be better to keep you here."

     Marco then pulled the silk comforter up just past my shoulder so that I was covered before taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "What happened?" Everything was so blurry.

     "We were leaving the restaurant. You shoved pasta into my face." Oh I remembered that. "I was so angry that I didn't really think to have the perimeter checked. When we exited the building you were shot. It wasn't a kill shot, luckily. Though it was just an inch from your heart."

     Wasn't a kill shot ?

It was a mere warning. One to show me and Marco just how much control they had over my life. Seeing I hadn't crossed anyone but Marco since being in Italy I can assume this was a warning for him rather than myself.

    Much like before the room fell silent. Reminding us both that we really didn't have much to say to each other. "Why won't you just let me go home?" My eyes scaled his body until I met his.

     "I love you, Elvira." There was no hesitation in his statement. He sounded like he truly believed himself. But how could someone fall in love so quickly? "I mean it." Marco laid his hand on top of mine and squeezed. Due to it being the arm closest to my wound I couldn't move my hand in time to avoid him, and it hurt much too intensely to try and pull away.

     "If you truly loved me Marco you wouldn't keep me here. You'd let me go home." For a minute you could see the debate in his eyes. He was really thinking over my release. Then his expression clouded over with anger.

    My life in the field never dulled. Often times I was placed in precarious situations that could lead to my demise. This wasn't the first time I had been shot either. However it was the first time it had been anywhere near as serious as this wound was.

     "You are never.." His grip on my hand tightened. "leaving me.. do you understand that Elvira?" The grip became even tighter as he spoke earning a wince from me.

     "You're hurting me Marco." It took only a second for him to release his grasp onto my hand, the pain quickly subsiding once he did.

No longer holding my hand, Marco stood from his spot on the bed. "Get some sleep. I'll be in my office, call my name if you need me for any reason." Not a second was spared before he left the room.

For awhile I fought the sleep that tugged at my eyes in hopes to stay awake and think about my predicament. I needed to think of a new plan for escape after the previous events ruined the one I had set into motion beforehand.

Even if by some miracle I managed to gain Marcos trust how could I possibly get him to take me outside of the house after I was injured? In his mind I was an object that he cared for. He was mentally unstable, and after letting me go once before and it ending terribly I can't see him allowing me to leave the house for years.

    I was never leaving again.

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Song - this is home / cavetown