Lucian’s POV
“You found her?”
“Yes, but if we want to be able to get to her before anything happens—”
“Let’s go now and bring the police to the location. We’re going to need them.” I hung up on my PI and rushed out to my car. I’m coming to get you Malea. Hang tight.
Malea’s POV
A kick in my side was what woke me out of my unconscious state. I looked around me and reached up to wipe my eyes only to find that they were bound together behind my back by zip ties. My charm bracelet is gone.
I was sitting on a wooden chair, my feet were tied to the chair with rope and around my mouth was a gag. Elaine sat the same way as I am except she’s still unconscious.
The pounding of feet resonated and then Ales, Myra and Winter walked inside. “I’ve decided how to do this.” Ales said, flipping a blade in her hand. I strained against the gag.
“I want to make you suffer. As much as you’ve made me suffer.” And suddenly she was in front of me. Her blade glinted as she made an incision in my leg through my jeans. I screamed into the gag but she still continued to drag the blade down my leg, causing blood the bubble up and color the jeans.
I swallowed and looked up at her with pleading eyes. She only went over to my arm and made a quick, harsh cut. I screamed. I’m going to die here.
Ales retracted her knife at the last moment. “Ben. Get in here and finish her off. Once she’s dead, take care of Elaine.” And then she took seats in the corner. Who’s Ben? Just as I asked myself the question, a burly man with red hair walked in. He had a large butcher knife in his hand and in the other was a bottle of water, the color was pale blue and resembled water.
I felt tears trickle down my cheeks as I stared at him come closer to me. I’m going to die. He knelt down in front of me and grinned sadistically.
“You either drink this, or I take a cut at you for everytime you say no.” He pulled the gag out of my mouth and I found myself breathing harder, my heart speeding up as I realized that I would die here.
“What’s in the bottle?” I asked.
“Poison. Drink it and you’ll slowly die from the insides out but refuse and you’ll easily die by my knife in a slow painful process.” He spun the knife around his finger. “What do you say?”
I glanced over at Elaine who was wide awake now, her eyes bulging with strain.
“Neither.” I spoke out through my tears. I cried out in pain as he took out a small knife and stuck it in my leg, the hilt protruding from my leg.
“Let’s try again. Drink it or I kill you myself.”
“No—please–” I was cut off by another knife embedding itself in my leg, a pain like none other lancing itself up my leg. My head began to feel dizzy.
“Drink it or I kill you myself.” He stated again. I was blubbering in tears and blood and I guess I was taking too long to answer because Ben stuck another knife in my leg, this time harder than before. I shouted, my screams ripping my throat raw and the sound enough to make me deaf.
I knew I couldn’t refuse. “I’ll drink it.” I slurred. Ben smiled sadistically and unscrewed the cap on the bottle. I’m going to die .
He cupped my face in his hands and pursed my lips so the water would have to go through.
I’m going to die.
And then he began pouring the liquid in my mouth. I could hear Elaine’s screams of protest. It smelt like bitter almonds. The poison tasted acrid and a burning sensation spread across my tongue. I hate how heavy my tongue felt.
I’m going to die.
I didn’t swallow it and I wasn’t planning on it until Ben punched my throat once, causing me to sputter and choke on the liquid. I couldn’t help the fact that I’d just swallowed poison. And then he continued to pour the poison down my throat and I didn’t fight it anymore. It was already inside me. Probably coursing through my veins now.
I’m going to die.
And once the bottle was finished, the pain began. It was like lighting yourself on fire from within, the flames licking your insides and turning it to naught.
I screamed out in agony.
I’m going to die.
My stomach twisted and my vision floated between darkness and the cabin. My throat closed up and I begin choking, unable to get air past my nose and to my lungs.
I’m going to die.
And then a loud siren sounded and feet pounded up the stairs. There were shouts, gunfire but all I knew was that I was dying and it was too late as I slipped into black.
It’s too late. I’m already dying.
Lucian’s POV
I rushed into the cabin with the police officers. My eyes immediately darted over to Malea who sat in a chair, blood seeping out from multiple cuts on her body. Fresh and old blood caked her head, matting her dark hair to her skin. I almost collapsed when I found my Malea dead with her head hanging down in resignation.
I rushed over to her as gunshots rang out. It was as if time were in slow motion, tears leaking down my face. My Malea. My love. The only person I’ve loved with all my heart and soul and mind.
I almost broke down as the police arrested Myra, my cousin, Ales, my ex-wife, Winter, my best friends wife and that man who had a knife in his hands. What happened to my Malea?
It was as if time slowed down as they freed Malea and Elaine. It was as if time slowed down as they rushed Malea to the hospital, with me in the ambulance with her.
I was too late.
They already hurt Malea and it was to an extent that I thought irrefutable.
***
Lucian’s POV
I sat in the waiting room with my head buzzing and my hands shaking uncontrollably. The door shut and I looked up to see Dr. Morris.
He shook my hand, a face mask still around his mouth. “How is she, Dr. Morris? Is she okay?” I asked frantically. After Malea was put in surgery, I just wanted to see her more than ever.
Dr. Morris flipped through his clipboard. “She’s very lucky we found her when we did. She’s alive and recovering. You can see her whenever you’re ready, but she’s sleeping and may not hear you. Be patient.”
Dr. Morris led me to Malea and when he opened the door, I sighed in relief. She was on the bed sleeping peacefully, the heart monitor beating at a steady rhythm. She’s fine. She’s okay.
Malea’s POV
I woke up suddenly. Sweat drenching my head and my body. I glanced down at myself. I was in a hospital bed. When was I in here?
The heart monitor sped up once I woke up but began to slow gradually. I sat up in the bed only to hiss in pain. My stomach hurt and the cuts all around my body were either stitched up or bandaged. I glanced over at the visiting chair in the corner. Lucian sat in it, his head hung in sleep. Lucian. I missed him so much. I felt a tear drop down my cheek and to the bed.
I’m alive. I’m alive and I don’t understand how.
“Malea?” Lucian called softly. I opened my mouth to speak but my tongue was too heavy and my throat too dry. Lucian was now by my side with a glass of water. He helped me sit up and I drank it down gratefully. He took my hand in his and pressed his lips to my forehead. “I finally have you back, Malea. I was so worried about losing you.” His voice cracked at ‘losing’.
I felt another tear. “Don’t worry. You won’t lose me.” I pulled away from his hug to look into his eyes. “What happened to Elaine? Where is she?” I asked, suddenly remembering that I wasn’t alone when I was captured.
Lucian pressed another kiss to my head, his eyes shut contently. “She’s being taken care of.”
I glanced around frantically. “M-Myra and A-Ales and Winter. Where are they? They’re going to take me again.” I suddenly felt exposed as if they would be back again and to kill me for good.
“Don’t worry, love. They’re gone and they’ll never hurt you again. I swear.” And I knew Lucian meant it. “I love you so much.”
***
When I woke up the next morning, Lucian still sat in the same chair, his head bent over his phone. The doors opened and a doctor walked in, a clipboard in his hands.
“Miss Malea Hayes you are lucky to be alive right now. The poison that was ingested by you was Hydrogen Cyanide in its liquidated form and if we didn’t find you at the time we did, you would’ve died.” He flipped through the clipboard papers. Lucian sucked in a harsh breath.
The doctor shook my hand, a smile on his face. He has salt and pepper hair and crows feet, making him look older. “I’m Dr. Morris.”
“Hi, Dr. Morris.” I smiled back at him. I could be dead right now and I’m not and I couldn’t be more grateful. “Am I going to be okay?”
“You’ll be fine. We were able to flush the poison out of your system and the Hydroxocobalamin injections that we give you everyday for a week or so should clear out the rest of the poison.” He turned to Lucian. “Are you the boyfriend?” Lucian nodded. “Good. I reccomend you stay with Malea as much as you can. She’s going to need help to recover. The knifes that were inserted in her leg tore some muscle fibers and it could take her a couple weeks before she fully regains her ability to walk well. Till then, she’ll be on crutches.”
A pair of crutches sized to my height leaned against the wall. “Thank you so much, Doctor.” Lucian shook Dr. Morris’s hand once more before he left.
The whole week I stayed in the hospital, Lucian was right by my side. He helped me with everything I needed help with and we talked endlessly. He never left my side except when he needed to use the restroom.
Everytime I would close my eyes, I would be back inside the cabin, the musty smell of rotting wood filling my nose. And I was being cut and hurt in each dream by the same person. Ales. My best friend. My ex best friend. And it wasn’t easy to wake up with a pounding heart and a heavy mindset, but slowly, the fear became less and less. Not competley gone, but it’s dissipating.
Now my hospital stay was over and I carefully got out of bed. I’d been doing physical therapy throughout the week and it became easier to walk. Lucian gathered my belongings and together we left the hospital and went to Lucian’s house.
Everywhere we went, photographers were chasing after us, trying to get pictures of me and Lucian. The only thing the news talked about was my abduction and my being found again. And everytime I hear the word ‘abduct’ by insides twist and I feel sick.
Slowly and gradually, I got accustomed to walking again and soon enough, I could walk without the crutches. Lucian would stand at one end of his long hallway and I would be at the other. I’d take off my crutches and slowly but surely walk to him and whether or not I made it to him in time, he would still pepper my face with kisses and tell me how great a job I was doing.
I’m fine now and after three weeks after the incident, I’m happier than I ever was. Lucian is a peice of my life that I would never trade for the world. And he loves me so much that he hardly slept in the following weeks after the incident. He tripled the security and even tried to hire a bodyguard for me.
“I don’t want one. I think that if I want to continue a normal life, having a bodyguard will be a constant reminder of what happened.” I laid a hand on his chest. He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed up my neck softly, tenderly like I would break if he kissed me any harder.
“Are you sure?” He murmured against my neck. All I’ve ever wanted was Lucian and now all I have is him.
“Yes. 110 percent sure.” And then he was kissing me and I never wanted it to stop. His love and affection never wavering and my love and affection focused on one person. Lucian.