Spark ( Book 3: Stronger Series )

8. Holly

"Jaden. Jaden, wake up."

I groaned and burrowed further into the pillow of the reading nook.

"Jaden, come on. Time to get up," said a happy female voice I didn't recognize.

"Fuck off," I grumbled, pulling the blanket tighter around my shoulders.

Whoever it was gasped. "Such language." And then she huffed. "Come on, Jaden. Up, up, up." She started clapping her hands together like that was somehow the magic code to get me to rise.

I begrudgingly turned around and glared at whoever the fuck was waking me up to find some petite young brunette with a way-too-happy round face and big white teeth. I rolled my eyes. My new physical therapist.

"Ugh. Holly, right?" I asked with an irritated tone.

"That's right," she said with a bright smile as if she were super proud of her name. Her lean, short figure was dressed in a sunflower yellow athletic tank top, light gray knee-length athletic leggings, running shoes, and her hair was up in a high ponytail with a matching yellow headband. She looked like a bee, buzzing around and annoying already.

"Okay, look, Holly," I said with a drawn-out yawn. "I don't know what they told you about me, but I don't need your help. They're just overreacting. I'm fine. So... you can probably just go now."

She gave me a very confused look, but then she smiled. I wasn't going to deter her from her mission.

"I was told you were going to difficult, but that's okay," she said with a smile. "I understand it can be hard to get back on the saddle, and it can be even harder to admit that you've fallen and can't get back up in the first place, but don't worry, because I promise I will get you back up there in no time!"

Okay, now, her voice was annoying me. It was high pitched and almost nasally.

"Yeah, I'm gonna pass on that," I said, giving her a disinterested look, and laid back against the pillow, closing my eyes.

"Oh, come on, Jaden," she said with that annoying cheery voice, but then she made the mistake of putting her hands on my shoulder. "It'll be fu—"

On pure instinct, I grabbed her narrow wrist and twisted it away from my shoulder, holding it in place as I stared her down in warning. She gasped in shock as she attempted to pull away.

"Look, Holly, I might be injured, but I can still hurt you. And I really don't want to do that. So please... just go."

I released her wrist and turned back around, my back to her as I pulled the blanket back up to my shoulders with every intention of going right back to sleep.

"Jaden, I really don't want to have to alert Mr. Davis about this," she said with regret.

"Get him." I shrugged, not giving a shit. "Good luck, though." If she could even get through to him.

I heard a slow, disappointed sigh before her light footsteps headed for the door, closing it behind her. Good. I could go back to sleep now. But it wasn't meant to be; about two minutes later, and being nearly asleep, I thought I heard the door to my suite get ripped off its hinges. I flinched instinctively at the noise only to then find rough hands grabbing me by my upper arms and lifting me up from my pillow.

"What the FUCK did I tell you yesterday at breakfast?!" Darren roared at me. I flinched but found my voice as I glared at him.

"I could ask you the same thing!" I shouted back, my voice cracked and dry from the early morning.

"Get up, get dressed, and get your ass moving. Now!"

"Or what, Darren?" I snickered.

He couldn't physically hurt me, not without sending me back weeks of recovery, and any further mental punishment would only drive me further into my depression. What the fuck did he think he had over me now? Maybe my family, but he already admitted who his real targets were.