Deadly Obsessions

Chapter 9: Heaven

Chapter 9: Heaven

When I woke up, I didn't open my eyes straight away. I thought I was dead. But I didn't know what to expect.
If there was such a thing as heaven, what would it be like? Would there be God? Angels? Everything I've ever wanted? But that couldn't be true. Because the only thing I wanted now was my hero. He was my last memory of my life. He, whoever he was, had saved me.
Or at least tried, I thought.
When he kissed me, it was like nothing I'd ever felt before. It was so different to when I kissed Nathan.
Ugh. Just thinking his name made my stomach turn.
When I finally had the courage to open my eyes, a blinding white light forced them to close again. I started to raise a hand to shield my eyes, but something tugged at my arm.
Looking down, I realised there was a needle in my hand. I gasped and, once my eyes adjusted to the bright light, looked around me. I took in my surroundings with utter shock as I found I was in a hospital.
I wasn't dead, and this wasn't heaven. But it was certainly close.
There, sitting next to my bed grasping my hand, was Jayden.
"Audrey!" he cried when he realised that I'd gained consciousness.
My heart lurched and my breathing quickened, only to stop altogether when I realised that it hurt to breathe - a lot. I groaned. Jayden looked anxious.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"My throat," I tried to say. It barely came out in a whisper. Jayden brushed a strand of hair out of my face.
"Shhh. Don't worry," he reassured me, stroking my cheek. "You're okay now."
I frowned. "What happened? How am I still alive? Didn't Nathan --? I though he --? I thought I was --." I started to panic again. Jayden squeezed my hand.
"Don't worry," he repeated. "Don't wear yourself out. They thought you weren't going to survive. You had to have an operation on your throat. He cut pretty deep, but I got there just in time. If I hadn't pulled the trigger when I did - if the knife had gone any further, you - you -"
His voice cracked. He put his head down, gathered all his strength so he wouldn't cry, and then stared at me with a determined look in his eyes.
"You're alive. You're safe. That's all that matters." He leaned towards me and kissed me softly. This kiss was just as good as the first one. As soon as our lips touched I did feel safe. I was safe with Jayden. He'd saved my life. And I knew that now he was all that mattered to me. He smiled at me. I smiled too, and closed my eyes. I wanted this to last forever.
Suddenly, a few things that Jayden had said caught my attention. My eyes snapped open and I sat up quickly - too quickly. My head was swimming and I felt dizzy. I coughed and a searing pain shot through my neck. Jayden jumped up out of his seat, alarmed. He gently pushed me back down onto the pillow.
"What happened? What's wrong?" he cried. But I couldn't answer. My throat still burned and I couldn't speak or breathe.
Jayden squeezed my hand again. He hadn't let go since I woke up. "Calm down. Calm down," he soothed. It was hard not to be calm with Jayden by my side, reassuring me. The pain slowly faded, and I closed my eyes as I concentrated on breathing again.
I frowned at Jayden. "Did you - did you shoot Nathan?"
A growl escaped Jayden's throat when I said the name. "Yes. He had a knife to your throat. I wasn't about to let him live."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He was gone. He couldn't hurt anymore of my friends. He couldn't hurt me. At least not anymore than he already had. I shuddered when I realised how close I'd come to death. The light had been right there, pulling me in. the only thing that had kept me alive was Jayden - his kiss.
As I thought about it, more things started to confuse me. "How did you know where I was?" I asked, puzzled.
Jayden frowned. "Bianca. As soon as she told me you were moving in with Nathan, I raced over there. She wasn't joking when she said he was crazy."
"I know," I muttered. "She told me everything. She was going to help me. We were going to find some way to get rid of Nathan." Jayden looked appalled when I said that. "But then Kate showed up at the apartment."
Jayden looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry. When I got there it was too late. She was... gone."
I nodded. "I know. But she was in on it too - the murders. Kate helped Nathan kill everybody." I let out a choked sob as I thought of my best friend and boyfriend, working together, killing my friends.
I never thought it would be them. Nathan was so sweet and caring. But underneath the beautiful blond hair and blue eyes he was a murderer. And Kate had been one of my best friends in primary school, and all through high school too. She seemed too care so much. I thought she actually wanted to keep me safe from Nathan. But she was going to kill me herself.
A tear rolled down my cheek. Jayden wiped it away with the back of his hand. I looked up at him with wide eyes.
"Why did you do that? Why did you bother to try and save me? He could've killed you too." I squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn't bear the thought of my beautiful hero dying.
He reached over and took my right hand, so he was now holding both my hands.
"Audrey," he began. "I love you. I always have, and I always will. Yes, there was a chance Nathan could've killed me. But he would've killed you if I hadn't taken that chance. And if you had died, I would not have been able to live with myself knowing I could've saved you."
More tears spilled down my face. I couldn't stop them. I pulled Jayden closer to me and wrapped my arms around him.
"I love you, too," I whispered in his ear.

The End