Inside the shower, the water ran over Alex’s head and body all the way to the floor. The blood that had dried up on his body was being washed away, creating a red stream flowing down. His head was bent as he slammed his hands against the marble wall, cracking some of the expensive tiles.
He was quiet but his body was still burning; burning for revenge, for more blood. He couldn’t shake off that image from his head; that sight of Abigail, lying there on the ground, seemingly lifeless.
He slowly pulled his hands off the wall before he looked at them. They were still trembling.
…
When Alex opened the bathroom door, Zeke immediately gave him the clothes before he walked away. Alex closed the bathroom door again and after a while, Alex stepped out, now wearing a clean white shirt and a pair of loose trousers.
His expression was still dark and hard as steel but when he saw Zeke staring at Abi as he stood beside her, his face turned several shades darker.
His dark aura blazed so strongly that Zeke immediately noticed his deathly glare.
“I’m leaving. Call me if you need anything,” he simply said and just like that, Alex was left all alone with Abi.
The room was now enveloped in silence. Alex didn’t move from his spot for a long while before he slowly approached her.
He stared down at her sleeping face. She could see small wounds and patches on her forehead and even her hands. He stretched out his hand but he couldn’t make himself touch her. How could he touch this person with these dirty hands of his?
…
The light was blinding. Abigail’s brows creased as she slowly opened her eyes. It was so bright.
She spent a long while trying to adjust her eyes to the blinding brightness. Her body felt heavy, as if she had been chained tightly to the bed. She tried to move her hands and was surprised that she could move her arms freely; she wasn’t bound after all. But…
“Mmm…” she groaned as she stared at the ceiling. This wasn’t her room. Where was she?
Abi slowly rose and was shocked to see that she was attached to an IV drip. She looked around the room with wide eyes. She thought that she must be in a hospital looking at all the medical equipment in the room but the room looked very luxurious. Was this the presidential suite of the hospital? What was she doing here?
The memories from the night before started to play in her mind and she froze. That was right, yesterday… the strangers… the forest… the screams…
Abi suddenly hugged herself, rubbing the goosebumps that appeared on her skin as she shivered. Alex’s face immediately appeared in her head so she looked around again despite the fact that she didn’t see him the first time she looked around. Where was he?
All Abi could think of was him once his face appeared in her head. If she could just hold him right now, this trembling and fear in her body would immediately be soothed. She just knew it. All she needed right now was him.
Without thinking, Abi climbed out of the bed. She had to see him so that she wouldn’t be scared anymore.
But her feet just reached the floor when her eyes widened.
Alex was right there, lying on the floor. His left knee was bent and his eyes were covered with the back of his hand. He didn’t even have a blanket or a pillow. He almost looked like a drunk man who passed out on the floor last night.
“A- alex?” she called out softly. What was he doing down there when there was a perfectly fine bed next to her? Could it be that he slept there the entire night?
The man finally moved. He opened his eyes and when their eyes met, he was quick to look away. He sat up before he stood up and walked closer to her. His hair was messy but he still looked breathtaking although she noticed that his eyes looked seemingly empty.
Alex reached out his hand to touch her but he retracted it midway, surprising Abi. He clenched his fist before he put his hands inside his pockets, as if to hide them from her.
“Are you okay?” he asked. His voice was soft but Abi could feel something was off with him.
“Mm. I’m fine.” She nodded, her eyes never leaving his face. “You’re the one who saved me last night, right?” she asked a while later when Alex didn’t speak.
But Alex looked away and said, “no”.
Abi’s eyes slightly widened upon hearing his answer. She pressed her lips tight before she spoke.
“I heard your voice. And… I saw you,” she told him firmly and Alex’s gaze flew back to her face. He looked surprised for a moment but after a while, a cold, mocking smile slightly curved on his face.
“So, you saw it all then, huh?” he murmured. He laughed bitterly as his eyes grew dimmer.
Abi subconsciously reached out to touch him but to her surprise, Alex stepped backward away from her. Her hand was left hanging in mid air as she looked at him in shock.
“All of these things are happening to you because of me, Abigail,” he suddenly said roughly, angrily. “You should have run away from me before all these things happened to you…” he trailed off and Abi felt like something squeezed her heart.
She shook her head and uttered. “I already told you, I won’t run away.”
Alex averted his gaze again, slowly shaking his head.
For some reason she couldn’t figure out, she felt like Alex was being tormented. Why did she feel as if she wasn’t the one who needed him the most right now, but that he was the one who needed her more?
Reaching her hands out again, Abi looked intently at him. “Come here, Alex, let me hold you,” she told him. Her voice was as gentle as an angel’s. “Please… I want to hold you.”
“Abigail, you should be angry with me right now or terrified of me by now!” his voice became a little louder even though he was clearly suppressing himself. “This is the second time that you’ve been… why are you stil– Stay right there!”
Abi forced herself to stand up. Her knees still felt a little numb but she felt she had to. She ignored his order and continued to get up until he was forced to move closer to put her back on the bed.
“Damn it, Abigail, why are you so –”
Alex couldn’t continue his words again because Abi quickly wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. She didn’t say a word and just embraced him wordlessly.
When she pulled away, she looked up at his face as she searched for his hands. But Alex lifted them up away from her reach, not letting her touch them.
“Don’t touch them, Abigail,” he said.
“Why… are they trembling?” Abi asked as she saw them shaking.
“I don’t know. But I think they just need to be covered with more blood,” he replied, as he looked at Abi intently, probably waiting for her horrified reaction.
But to his surprise, Abi reached out and held them in her hands before she brought them closer to her face.
