◈A D R I A N◈

Ah, such bliss.

It was almost blinding as I laid on a fluffy cushion of misty clouds. The gentle rays of golden sun shone through the playful clouds and illuminated the whole sky in its glory hue. Smiling, I stretched the kinks out of my limbs only to find them secured as if they were bound by invisible shackles yet they didn't feel restrictive.

Not at all.

On the contrary, I felt safe and weightless; my body's a kite tied to the wrist of a nameless man.

He strolled down the meadow with a leisure pace, the wind gently rocked my body like a baby's cradle. Curiosity reared its head and I craned my neck to find out who was the man but the fog settled between us, his face playing hide-and-seek with me.

No matter how hard I blew or flapped my hands at the stubborn mist, they refused to budge and remained between us. Irritation slowly wormed its way and so I began to pull at the string, slowly eliminating the distance.

The fog cleared a little but the man's face was still obscured from my sight. My hands gained speed as I pulled faster with my body levitating behind me, unable to find ground.

Soon, there were only a couple of feet left before I could see him. As my fingers began to curl around the string, a maniacal laugh filled the air and the once blissful atmosphere turned rocky and stormy.

I looked up to see thunderclouds rolling in and blocked all light. Gentle breeze morphed to a violent typhoon, causing my body to flap helplessly like a surrendered white flag.

Hey!

I screamed at the man but he couldn't hear me. He carried on with his leisure walk on the meadow unperturbed by the erratic weather above him.

Hey, mister!

I yelled again but my voice still couldn't reach his ears as the laughter grew almost thunderous. Goosebumps rippled down my arms soon after the wind picked up its speed, bullets of raindrops shot at me painfully.

I couldn't keep my eyes open from the persistent rain washing over my face no matter how I angled my head away. The howling wind coupled with the chilling laughter cooked up a symphony of death, deafeningly loud and eerie.

Are you scared of me?

I could almost hear the silky voice breathing down my neck. My eyes shot open at the voice and I turned my head to look for the owner. Damon's grinning face was right in front of me as he floated like a black shadow. He looked down at the string clutched in my palms and followed the trail to the nameless man below.

My lifeline.

With a charming smile, he flicked open a razor and waved playfully at me.

Fly, Addie boy!

He taunted and with a flick of his wrist, the string was cut clean and the wind carried me far and above.

"Noooooo!"

My body jerked and spasmed,  involuntarily agitated my wounds. I was instantly awake and moaned at the sharp pain near my chest, a lone tear sneakily slid down my cheeks.

Groaning, I slowly peeled my heavy eyelids open and sealed shut immediately at the blinding light. I tried again, slowly this time with my right arm shielding the light source.

Blinking away my tears, I was slowly becoming aware of my surroundings. The faint beeping sound and the occasional whiff of antiseptic confirmed my suspicion.

I was in the hospital.

"Bad dreams?" a muffled voice asked.

My eyes found a familiar figure leaning by the windows munching on a sugary doughnut. I grunted and swallowed dryly, my throat drier than the desert and was craving some water.

"Water," I croaked out a gritty whisper.

Logan straightened from the wall and walked closer to my bed. I blinked rapidly to adjust my eyes and focused on his face. His bloodshot eyes looked weary and tired, his chiseled jaw adorned with scruffy beard making him looked like he was homeless.

"You looked like shit," I whispered hoarsely before I realised what just came out of my mouth. I blamed it on my medicine-intoxicated brain.

His eyes crinkled and the room was suddenly lively with the sound of his laughter. That deep laughter that sounded slightly like a horse's was oddly comforting.

"You're no better than me," he huffed before popping the last bite into his mouth. He licked his fingers clean and wiped them on his faded jeans. Judging from his clothes, he must have come from his workshop since the smell of diesel and oil clung to him like a personal cologne.

He poured himself a glass of water to wash down the sticky remnants down his throat. I looked on enviously and repeated my request again, "I want water."

He rolled his eyes and grudgingly poured a second glass of water. Putting the glass down on the table, he then helped me up as I struggled to sit up with a sprained wrist and a broken rib.

"Thanks," I muttered before gulping down the cooling liquid. Once my thirst was satiated, my hunger started its demonstration by rumbling like a hungry lion.

Feeling embarrassed, I sneaked a peek at Logan to see him hiding an amused smile behind his hand. He reached for the doughnut box at the foot of the bed and placed it on my lap like an offering.

"Bon appétit," he offered generously.

Without wasting another second, I dove right in and stuffed the delicious doughnut into my mouth. The icing melted once it hit my tongue and I moaned at the instant energy booster.

However, that satisfying moment was shortlived when a matronly woman pushed through the door and shrieked.

"Adrian Davies, what are you eating?!" she gasped and hurried over to my side and pulled off the half eaten doughnut from my mouth. I whined pitifully and tried to grab it back but missed it by a hair's breadth. I could only watch helplessly as she dropped the doughnut into the waste bin.

"I've told you many times that you're not allowed to bring junk food into the ward, Mr. Hawke," she chastised while pulling out a piece of tissue and wiped at my sticky mouth like a five-year-old child.

Ironically, I turned my head away and sulked like a child.

The elderly nurse was adamant with her lecturing as she continued nagging Logan, "As an adult, you should know better than to let a recuperating patient wolfing down on sugar like that especially when he just had a huge operation!" she threw Logan a stern glare and began to fuss around me.

"And you, Adrian. You shouldn't be up now. Be a dear and lie down for me, would you?" she laid the pillow flat and gently pushed me down to lie on my back. I glanced at Logan for help but he just gave a helpless shrug.

"If you're hungry, I can bring some porridge for you later. With the doctor's approval, of course," she pursed her lips with disapproval at Logan and noted down my vitals on a small blue notepad.

"Your vitals looked beautiful. Just try not to move too much. Now, if you ever need to pee-," she whispered dramatically, "-you can always holler for me or ask this gentleman here to help you," she gestured at Logan.

Logan pursed his lips at that and I flushed a deep red. Never in hell would I ever have him to support me and whistle to get the water works!

The woman chuckled at my red cheeks and pinched them lovingly. I frowned at the embarrassing gesture but couldn't help feeling a little warmth starting inside me.

"I need to return to the station now. I'll check on you in a bit," she added and turned to leave the room. Before she closes the door, she looked up past her glasses like a eagle and warned Logan, "I'll be watching you, Mr. Hawke."

The door closed with a thud, leaving us silent in the room once again accompanied by the ever-present beeping machine.

"Lovely lady, huh?" Logan commented wryly.

"Overwhelming might be a better description," I replied.

He nodded his head while laughing lightly, seemingly agreeing with my point of view. Pulling the chair near the bed, he slumped on it like a deflated balloon and his expression turned sullen.

"Care to tell me why the fuck you're beaten bloody every time I see you?" he asked, his piercing gaze held me arrested.

I squirmed uncomfortably under his stare and tried to give another lame lie but he cut me off by holding his hand up before I could utter a word.

"Don't give me this bullshit saying it's just some hormonal brawl between boys. I can see you're in deeper shit than some teens going through rebellious phase. Now, spill," he ordered sternly.

I gulped nervously and started to clench on the sheets, the fabric slowly getting wet by my sweaty palm. Squeezing my eyes shut, I inhaled deeply as if gathering all the courage I could muster.

Logan waited patiently for my confession. I refused to look at him in the eyes because I knew I wouldn't be able to stand the look of disgust once he knew my dirty secrets.

To hell with this! He hates me all the same whether he knows my secret or not, I reasoned in my head.

Letting out a shuddering breath, I laid bare with my unforgivable sins.

✈

Author's note

Logan to the rescue! Sigh, I missed writing them together. Do you miss reading about them too?

If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider to click on the little star at the bottom. Cheers!

{Song: Used To You by Foreign Air}