Chapter Eighteen

Abriana

In a drugged haze, I looked into Matías’ chocolate brown eyes.

“Matías? Is that you?” I whispered.

“I’m here, Abriana. I’m here,” he said in a comforting voice.

I pulled the thin blanket up to my chin. “They don’t believe me.”

Matías’ brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“There was someone else,” I said. “She killed Easton and she tried to kill me.”

He reached under the blanket and found my hand. Weaving his fingers with mine, he gave my hand a small squeeze. “I believe you, Abriana.”

“Really?” I asked in disbelief.

“Of course,” he responded.

A weak smile crossed my face. “Thank you.”

He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it gently. “You don’t have to thank me, Bri. I’ll always be here for you. No matter what.”

Goosebumps snaked up my arms and down my neck. Mmmmm… I inhaled his intoxicating scent. Memories of our first kiss floated through my clouded mind. We were sitting on his parent’s front porch. The moon peaked out from behind a wispy cloud and a light breeze cut through the humid air. Matías reached forward and brushed a fallen lock of hair off of my face. I remembered inhaling sharply as his fingertips met my skin. Abriana, you’re so beautiful, he murmured before cupping my chin and brushing his lips against mine. My first kiss… It couldn’t have been anymore perfect.    

“Abriana,” said Matías, interrupting my trip down memory lane.

“Yes?” I replied.

His velvet brown eyes stared intently into mine. “I know this isn’t the right time or anything…” he trailed off. Taking a deep breath, he continued, “But I just want you to know that I will always love you and I want to be here for you. Not just that, I want to protect you and keep you safe from anything bad ever happening again.”

Everything felt warm and fuzzy. “I’d like that, Matías.”

“Really?” he asked in a hopeful voice.

“Yes.”  

Matías leaned over and pulled me in for an embrace. Stroking my hair, he whispered into my ear, “I love-”

Before he could finish, someone entered the room and gasped.

“Are you two getting back together?” fumed Alexa.

Matías pulled away and gave me a confused look.

“Lex, it isn’t-”

With her hands on her hips, she snarled, “It isn’t what it looks like?”

Walking through the door with a white bag from the pharmacy, my mother frowned. “Whoa, what’s going on here?”

Sticking out her lower lip, Alexa pouted, “Abriana is already jumping back into a relationship with Matías. She hasn’t even left the hospital yet. I don’t think the psychologist would approve of this!”

“What?” asked my mother in a concerned voice.  

I tried to make sense of everything going on around me. The drug haze had started to lift, but still left me feeling a strange mixture of relaxed and overly alert.

Clearing my throat, I looked at my sister. “Alexa, you’re overreacting and Mom, you have nothing to worry about.”

Before anyone could say anything else, a woman wearing a navy skirt and a cream sweater walked into the room.

“I’m Dr. Gillian,” she announced. “Is it alright if I spend some time alone with Abriana?”

“Sure,” muttered Alexa.

“Honey, are you sure you can handle this?” asked my mom.

I gave an encouraging nod.

Matías released my hand. “I’ll be here when you’re done.”

After the door shut, Dr. Gillian gave me an understanding smile. “Sounds like a lot is going on. Mind if I sit down?”

“That’s fine,” I said.

I watched as she carefully lowered her body into the worn chair across the room. Her blonde hair had been swept up into a perfect bun. Everything about her looked neat and orderly.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Out of it,” I admitted. “This medicine is really messing with my head.”

Dr. Gillian nodded. “That’s understandable.”

“Other then that…” I trailed off.

“Other then that what?” she asked.

I inhaled deeply and exhaled. “Well, the police just found me after being kidnapped for who knows how long and the man responsible for it is apparently dying. So, I might never get any answers. Then, there’s the other person that no one seems to believe ever even existed. But she did! I swear she did!”

My heart started to race in my chest. I tried to take a deep breath, but failed.

“I believe you,” said Dr. Gillian.

My eyes narrowed in on her. “What?”

Resting her chin on her hand, she repeated herself, “I believe you.”

My anxiety melted away like snow on a warm day.

I shifted my body nervously. “Really? Or is this just some type of trick.”

“Why do you think I don’t believe you?” she asked.

Shrugging my shoulders, I said, “Because no one else does.”

***

After Dr. Gillian left, I collapsed into the hospital bed and closed my eyes. I thought about her recommendations. I’d like you to come in two to three times a week for the next month. We should be able to start cutting down after that, but we have a lot of work to do first.

I shivered as I recalled asking her if she ever thought I would feel normal again. Will you ever be the same girl you were before this event? No. But, that doesn’t mean that you can’t create a new normal, one that is just as fulfilling and comforting as the old normal.

Sick of lying down, I swung my legs over the bed and stretched my arms above my head. Time for a shower!

A smile crossed my face as my eyes landed on a plastic shower caddy. My mom must have brought this for me. Next to the caddy, were two outfits, both folded up and stacked neatly.

After turning on the shower, I slipped out of the hospital gown and stepped into the piping hot water. As it cascaded down my back, I pulled out a loofa and my vanilla body wash.

Covering my body in the fragrant bubbles, I closed my eyes and pretended that Easton Pierce had never been born.

***

“Abriana? Are you okay in there?” asked my mother, cracking the bathroom door open.

“Yes, Mom,” I replied. “I’m almost done.”

Standing with my eyes closed, I tried to let the hot water wash away my pain and fear. Failing miserably at both, I finally turned off the tap and wrapped a towel around my body and one in my hair.

Looking at the two outfits, I opted for the sweatpants and t-shirt.

Emerging from the bathroom, I found my mother sitting in the same chair as Dr. Gillian. She believes me, Mom. Why don’t you?

Shaking my head, I pulled the towel off of my head and squeezed the water out of my hair. “Thanks for bringing my shower stuff,” I said.

“I thought it might make you feel better,” said my mother. She reached into her purse. “I thought this might help too,” she said handing me a cell phone.

Giving her a confused look, she explained, “We got you a new phone.”

“Thank you,” I said cradling it in my hands. It seems like I haven’t used one of these in forever!

“I do need to warn you though,” said my mom. “You have a lot of voicemails and texts. I don’t want it to overwhelm you.”

I nodded.

“Also,” she said, “someone made a Facebook page for you and your story is all over the news.”

I swallowed hard. “The news?”

She nodded. “There are reporters waiting outside of the hospital. They’ve been there since you first arrived.”

I turned on the phone and watched as the screen lit up. Wow, she wasn’t joking, I thought as I scrolled through text messages sent by friends, classmates, and some from numbers I didn’t even recognize.

Tapping on the screen, I opened up a webpage and typed in, “Abriana Vega.” A moment later, the page filled with links to reports of my kidnapping, a page offering a $10,000 dollar reward for my safe return, and one titled, “Easton Pierce: Online Dating Gone Terribly Wrong.” Isn’t that the understatement of the year!

Suddenly feeling overwhelmed, I set the phone down and looked at my mother. “Would you mind if I had a few moments to myself?”

Her brow furrowed. “Sweetheart, I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to be by yourself right now?”

“I’m fine. I just need a few moment to myself,” I reassured her.

“Okay,” she said with a worried look on her face. “I’m going to go get a cup of coffee from the cafeteria. If you need anything, just call me.”

“I will. Thanks, Mom.”

She kissed me on top of the head. “Te amo.”

“Love you too,” I replied.

Once she left, I reached over and picked up the remote to the small television hanging from the ceiling in the corner of the room. I clicked the On button and waited. Suddenly, my jaw dropped. One of my senior portraits filled the screen.

“Welcome to the six o’clock news. If you haven’t already heard, Abriana Vega has been found,” said a man with wavy black hair and bright white teeth.

“It’s truly wonderful,” said a woman wearing a red dress with a fitted black sweater.

“It certainly is,” said the man. “We have reports that she is still in the hospital, but doing well.”

The woman nodded. “Remember, if you would like to send Abriana an encouraging message, please stop by the Facebook page her sister made for her. It is called, “Bring Abriana Home!”

The man looked into the camera. “What a loving sister.”

“Yes. She must be so thrilled her sister is back,” said the woman.

The woman put her hand to her ear. “Okay, it seems as though we have breaking news from the hospital. Let’s cut to Don for an update.”

A man stood in front of the hospital holding a microphone and an umbrella. “Thanks, Lauren.” He motioned over his shoulder. “Don Reyes here, reporting from St. Theresa’s Hospital. We have just exclusively learned that Easton Pierce had a life threatening even earlier today. Witnesses report doctors and nurses entering his room with a crash cart. Although we haven’t received an official statement from his doctors, reports are filtering in that he has in fact recovered from today’s event, and that he is responsive.”

“Responsive?” asked Lauren, the anchorwoman.

“Yes,” said Don. “You’re hearing it first here on WLVS, reports are coming in that Easton Pierce is awake and reportedly talking to detectives as we speak.”

A muted scream escaped from my lips. Anger, empathy, and a sliver of happiness bounced around inside my body. Easton is alive. He didn’t die. Now he can tell them that there was someone else!

“Any word if he has confessed?” asked the man with the black hair.

“No word of any confessions,” said Don. “But we’ll be here waiting for further updates. Until then, back to you at the studio.”

I pressed the Mute button and rubbed my eyes. I couldn’t believe it… Easton Pierce is alive.

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