The doors to the elevator opened onto the garage level where I had parked my car next to Kean’s Mercedes hours earlier.
As I jogged towards it, I went for the Hyundai key on the keychain only to discover I had screwed up. There wasn’t a key in my hand, only a fob. In my haste, I had grabbed the wrong thing. I had grabbed Kean’s keyless fob to his Mercedes instead of my own set of car keys.
My chest started tightening again at the thought of having to go back to get my keys. After what went down there was no way in hell I was going to be able to walk back into his apartment. Not now, not ever.
Looking down at the fob, I walked over to Kean’s car and hit the button on the remote unlocking it. Climbing behind the wheel, I shut the door just as Kean, Thad and Monique came barreling out of the elevator.
“Ciaran, wait!” Kean shouted, spotting me getting into his car.
I hit the locks on the door just as Kean stepped up to the driver’s side.
“Please, let me explain,” he said, pulling on the door handle.
“Kean.” A woman’s muffled voice came from somewhere behind him. “What’s going on? I thought we were going to eat dinner.”
A door handle snapped loudly from the passenger side, which caused me to jump. Thad was peering at me through the tinted window. “Ciaran, sweetheart, unlock the door.”
Watching them through the closed windows, my body went into a full panic attack. I couldn’t breathe. I kept trying to suck in air but my lungs wouldn’t expand. I clutched at the top buttons of my blouse and popped off several.
“You are stronger than this, Ciaran.” The voice echoed through my head.
Scrubbing at face with my hands, I focused on the steering wheel.
The way Kean had backed the car into the parking space had the vehicle facing out towards the rest of the parking garage. My eyes fell lower on the dashboard to where the button for the ignition was located.
I only hesitated enough to pull the seat belt over my shoulder and fasten it before hitting the ignition button. The car purred to life.
Kean and Thad began to pound on the windows while they yelled at me to unlock the doors. Tuning them out, I threw the car into drive and stepped on the gas. The Mercedes seemed happy with my heavy foot. It peeled out of the garage and jumped onto the main road in front of Kean’s apartment building.
My vision blurred as tears fell in a torrent of rain. Blinking fast, I fought them as I put distance between me and the man who had completely shattered my heart.
It didn’t seem like I had driven long when bright headlights appeared behind me. Through the reflection in the rearview mirror they seemed like they were right on the tail end of the car. Knowing it had to be either Kean or Thad or both, I pressed down harder on the gas. I wasn’t about to pull over. Kean could call the fucking police if he wanted his stupid car back.
I was surprised when the distance between the headlights and the vehicle I was driving didn’t grow but appeared closer than before. I tapped the breaks once to try and get them to stop riding my ass. From behind the Mercedes the engine reeved and the vehicle lurched forward ramming into the back of the one I was driving.
I screamed and held tight to the wheel.
There was no way Thad or Kean was in the vehicle behind me.
I glanced again at the rearview mirror. Due to the bright headlights, the only thing I could make out was the silhouette of a lone person in the driver’s seat.
My brain kicked into survival mode. They always tell you to find somewhere safe, like a police station or a fire department if you are driving and in danger. I stepped down harder on the gas pedal, picking up speed as I tried to recall what buildings were in the area.
The noise of the engine of the car behind me got louder again and then that vehicle slammed into the back of the Mercedes, forcing me to lose control of the steering.
The last thing I heard was a blood-curdling scream right before my world went pitch dark.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ciaran
Content.
Subdued.
At peace.
Weightless peace.
I existed in the darkness.
It was still and silent. Tranquil.
I was submerged, completely surrounded, but I wasn’t scared. It was calming as it engulfed my entire body. Until I heard my name.
It was faint at first. And sounded distant. As if I was on the edge of a dream, caught in between the realms of conscious life and black nothingness. Yet, I heard it almost as if it was hovering above me.
Ciaran.
It sounded odd. Each time it was called. It sounded different.
It was sad, just a sobbing murmur.
It was soft. I wasn’t always sure if it was actually speaking to me.
It was apologetic. Then it would grow silent for a short time, pausing, as if whoever it belonged to was thinking.
But more often than not, it begged as it called my name.
Ciaran. Over and over again.
It sounded afraid and tried to reason with me on occasion, which I didn’t like it at all. Who wanted to be reasoned with while floating in tranquility? Who wanted to be bothered when in a state of total peace?
But the voice was loud, determined and strong.
I absorbed its strength. I reached out and latched on to every distinct pitch. I held tight as it whispered promises that made me want to give up my comfortable cocoon.
And then it would disappear.
So, I waited in the serene darkness for it to return.
And when it did, it was filled with stubbornness as it continued to plead with each syllable of my name. It rocked me, disrupting my sphere and started to sound louder than before.
The weightless darkness began to fade as pain and light slowly crept in. The light spread throughout my body like a mist and sent out a violent ache from somewhere underneath my skin. Clawing from inside it became more pronounced while colors bloomed behind my eyes. I couldn’t resist it any longer.
Angry, I tried to tell it to leave me alone. I gagged and coughed instead.
“Doctor, she’s awake!” I heard yelled as I heaved, sending pain firing throughout my shell.
“Ciaran, don’t try to speak.”
Hands touched my face, my head, my hand.
“Ciaran, baby, breathe through your nose and open your eyes. Please, baby, I need you to open your eyes.”
The begging. It was back. I blinked my eyes open to find it.
Bright lights swirled over head as my stomach pitched at the extreme amount of pain that was burning through me.
Worried emerald eyes came into focus right above mine.
It was him. I knew him. The organ pounding in my chest knew him.
“Oh, thank God, she is awake,” a high-pitched voice cried.
The emerald eyes suddenly pulled away from my line of sight and Melany’s tear-streaked face replaced them. “Oh, Ciaran, you’re awake.”
I wanted Kean back.
Wincing, I tried to sit up to find where he went but the physical pain wouldn’t allow it. It knocked a loud groan out of me.
“No, no, Ciaran. You have to lie still. The doctor is coming,” Melany said pushing on my shoulder.
Confusion filled my head as I tried to make sense of my situation.
“What happened?” I croaked, my eyes flitting over the room.
There were others standing around my bed. I quickly scanned the group for what I wanted. For who I wanted.
Melany, Brenda and Thad were all gathered close. But it wasn’t until I found the verdant jewels I was searching for that I eased back against my pillow.
A man wearing a white lab coat rushed into the room accompanied by a nurse. Leaning over where I was lying, he shined a light in my eyes.
“Doctor, she doesn’t remember,” I heard Melany whisper.
“It’s usually temporary.” The deep voice came from the jewels, it’s familiarity making me shiver.
I met his sad eyes and the memory of a small boy huddled on some steps emerged. Flashes of images were instantly brought to life and cycled through my brain.
Kean cooking dinner.
Arguing.
Monique showing up.
My heart breaking.
Kean’s face as I started the car.
A car ramming my vehicle from behind.
The darkness.
“Kean,” I rasped. My throat ached worse than my head.