Page 36 of The Awakening
“Right, mate, you’re doing so well. Much improvement from last week,” Smith informs me, extending his hand to help me exit the machine, but I don’t take it. “You should be back to feeling like yourself in no time. Till then keep up with the stretches at home and no lifting on your own unless you’re with me.” Giving me a stern glare, he claps my shoulder before leaving me. I turn to face Sloan. She’s so absorbed with her book she doesn’t even see me approaching her. Her delicate lips pulled into a small smile as her cheeks start turning a light shade of pink. She’s reading a sex scene, of this, I am sure.
“Want to recreate that scene you’re reading about? Looks to me like it could be a good one.” Slamming the book closed, she lifts her face, her eyes meeting mine. Busted.
“Wh-what are you talking about?” She fumbles through her words. Her cheeks are quickly turning a beautiful shade of pink as I raise an eyebrow at her, awaiting her response.
“Fine, you caught me. Is that what you wanted to hear?” She giggles, standing from her chair and wrapping her arms around my torso, her hair falling down her back as the scent of wild berry and vanilla fills my nostrils. I inhale her scent; I could never get enough of this woman. Her scent, her touch, her presence—I want it all. I never want to let her go or leave her side again. Those six months were by far the longest days and nights of my life. Every day I was away from her, my chest cracked and splintered deeper and deeper.
Looking up from where her head rests on my chest, she smiles up at me.
“What’s got you smiling so big?” she asks me, her head tilting slightly to the side. I brush the loose strands of her hair out of her face before answering.
“I’m here, with you. Nothing could be better than this.” Bright blue eyes begin to water as her smile widens across her face at me. I hug her a moment longer, not wanting to let her go before she lifts off my chest, wrapping her delicate fingers through mine.
“Come on, Romeo, the guys texted me an hour ago saying dinner was just about ready.” Pulling my arm, she leads me from the physical therapy room and down the many halls of the headquarters. Just as we’re rounding the corner, she comes to an abrupt halt, causing me to crash into her back. We both practically fall to the floor when faint voices filter through the hall. It’s Arno. I’d recognize that man’s deep raspy voice even in the afterlife. Sloan is frozen in front of me, her ears perked up and eavesdropping on whomever he’s speaking to. I listen in as well, wondering what’s got my girl so curious.
“She’s alive, mate. I know she is. I won’t stop until she’s safe. There’s an auction tonight at the Fortress and I’m feeling optimistic about this one,” Arno says to whoever he’s speaking to.
“Listen, mate, I want to find her as much as you do—” The second voice is cut off by Arno, his voice rising as his frustration gets the best of him.
“No, you don’t want to find her as much as I do! No one here will ever understand the desperation I feel about finding her. The only other person that has felt the way I’m feeling now is Sloan. The difference between her and I is that she found her happily ever after. I haven’t.” I look down at Sloan’s back, her shoulders rising and falling with deep breaths.
“Actually, we have to do something before we leave today. Come with me.” Sloan whirls around, whispering to me as she drags me down the opposite hallway. We’re practically running, her hand squeezing mine as she directs me around corner after corner. It isn’t until we get to the door she’s hunting for that I finally ask, “What are we doing?”
“We’re finding Arno’s happily ever after.”
After Colson and I finished at headquarters, we finally pulled into our driveway. Pressing the garage door button, we wait for the hatch to open fully before he pulls his Audi R8 into his designated bay. He then presses the garage button once again, closing it behind us. We enter the house together, and the smell of garlic fills my nose as I inhale a deep breath, smiling at the delicious scent. We make our way into the kitchen to find Everett and Dean standing around the island laughing and conversing together.
“Fuck yes, you ordered Rocco’s!” Colson claps his hands together, racing over to grab a plate and begins piling a mound of spaghetti onto his plate. Since Colson’s return, he’s slowly begun packing on the much-needed pounds he lost for those six months. Looking at him inhaling the spaghetti, I’d say he’s just about back to his normal weight.
Standing at the entrance to the kitchen, I smile to myself. Everett, Dean, and Colson all here, all breathing, and all mine again. My heart has never felt so full in its life. Dean’s eyes catch mine, his expression mirroring mine as he loads up a plate and makes his way over to me.
“I know, baby girl. It still doesn’t seem real that he’s back. We’re whole again.” He grabs my hand with his free one and leads me to the island, where he pulls out a chair for me. I take my seat as he places the plate down in front of me and pushes my chair in closer.
The four of us eat together as a family, reconnected. Colson’s sitting beside me on my right while Everett is standing opposite of us enjoying his own plate and a full glass of red wine. Dean is sitting on the countertop as he usually does, eating four large pieces of parmesan chicken. The man can eat. Then there’s me; the girl who was kidnapped, saved, kidnapped again, saved again, kidnapped and tortured, saved, manipulated, heart ripped from her chest, heart reconstructed and put back together. A true horror story turned happily ever after. My life is a revolving door of traumatic events that somehow turned out to be okay in the end.
Looking back on that day, walking home from the café, there is truly nothing I could have done differently to avoid any of this, and seeing at my guys now, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I was saved from my previous life in a crazy way. Redirected from one awful path to another that, although it has equally terrifying and traumatic experiences up ahead, it also has love. Love being the human emotion I’d never felt in my entire life, not until three mysterious men swooped in and changed the course of my life forever. I’m a different person now, evolving from a timid, frightened girl who constantly glancing over her shoulder at the idea her parents could show up at any moment, to a woman who is stronger, independent, and able to forge her own future without the fears of others taking from her again.
“What do you say, love, you in?” My head snaps up, and I see all three of my guys are now staring at me.
“In for what?” I ask, giving away that I was zoning out and not paying attention to their conversation. Colson lets out a laugh, stuffing in another large bite of spaghetti.
“Are you in for a little midnight swim with us?” I light up, my heart racing with excitement. Since Colson was taken, I hadn’t swum in the pool. The pain of him being gone was too much for me to bear, but now that he’s home, my heart longs for a good swim. Then it dawns on me.
“Colson, is it true you can’t swim?” Everett practically spits out the sip of wine he was taking as Dean lets out the deepest belly laugh I’ve ever heard him do. The look Colson gives the guys is telling—it’s true, he can’t swim. My cheeks pull into a grin as he fumbles over his words.
“What the hell, guys?! Listen, baby, I can swim. I promise.” He bellows.
“Are you sure about that?” Dean says between laughs.
“Listen, you fucker, I can swim. I’m just not what you would call a strong swimmer.”
“Baby girl, that means he can’t fucking swim.” Dean looks at me, his eyes watering from laughing so hard. Colson’s hazel eyes find mine, his brows furrowed in a playful expression as he jumps from his seat and positions himself in front of me. Before I can escape his grasp, he hoists me over his shoulder, smacking my ass, and turns to the sliding glass doors.
“I’ll show you assholes I can swim,” Colson says, grabbing the door and sliding it open. Looking up, I see Everett and Dean are quickly removing their shirts and then their pants, leaving them in nothing but their boxers. They follow after us, racing ahead of one another to reach the door first. Just then I’m weightless, the world tilting on its axis before I’m swallowed by the gravitational pull of the pool’s surface.
Silence. Silence fills my ears as the water surrounds every inch of me, the feeling of being in perfect harmony exploding in my chest. Water has a way of making you feel small—nothing more than a speck of matter floating in its hold. It’s addicting and mesmerizing all at once. The perfect drug that I’ve been missing. What I’ve been craving but too scared to feel the pain of the memories created within its hold. Until now.
Opening my eyes, he’s right there—Colson’s beautiful face floating in front of mine. The smile on his face is unexplainable. He’s never looked so pure and happy as he does at this moment. Six months of torture can truly put into perspective that the little moments are what life is all about. Being with those who love, adore, and cherish your presence. I grab his face in my hands, pulling him to mine, and kiss his lips as if it’s my last supper. Millions of tiny bubbles form around us, clouding my vision. Everett’s and Dean’s bodies come into view, both of them having jumped in beside us, making us break away from our kiss.