BOOK TWO OF THE SCARLETT CHRONICLES |
After being kidnapped as a young child, seventeen year old Scarlett Grey found her way home to her family. For months, she struggled to find a balance between the girl she'd left behind and the girl she had beco...
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A MURMURED VOICE pulled me gently from the black abyss.
My heavy lids put up a fight as I struggled to open them. But eventually my eyes fluttered open, only to be blinded by a bright, white light overhead.
I was lying on my back, my head rested on a rather uncomfortable pillow. It took me a second to really realize I wasn't lying on the snowy ground, but rather in stiff, scratchy bed.
I opened my mouth to call out to the person whose voice is heard, praying it wasn't just my mind playing tricks on me, but nothing more than a whimper of pain left my lips. My throat was dry, rubbing together like sandpaper as I tried to form words. Tears welled in my half-opened eyes as I continued to force my lips to move, until I managed to utter one, barely intelligible word.
"Daddy?"
The whispered voices stopped, and I immediately felt two warm, strong hands wrap around one of my own bandage covered hands.
"I'm right here, Scarlett," he said, his voice choked but strong. "I'm right here baby girl."
I closed my eyes again as silent tears slipped down my cheeks.
I hadn't known if I'd ever hear my father's voice again. But, now here he was, holding my hand tightly between his as if he never wanted to let go. A part of me didn't want him to either.
"Oh god, Scarlett. I love you, sweetheart," he sobbed quietly, one of his hands coming to gently stroke my hair. "I love you."
"I love you too," I said shakily.
It took a moment for my father to compose himself again. When I opened my eyes, he had taken a seat beside my hospital bed, his hand still firmly clasped around mine. He was watching me, with so many emotions in his pale eyes, his other hand covering his mouth as if he was still in shock.
I said the only thing I could think of to break our newfound silence. "I'm sorry, Dad."
My dad shook his head sharply, the hand over his mouth slapping loudly against his leg. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Scarlett. You did nothing wrong."
