R I S E N

Chapter 4

I couldn't see anything. I couldn't move or speak, but I could feel the hand that grasped mine. I could hear the male voice that spoke to me. It was a familiar one. It was calming. It was my sanctuary.

His voice came out raspy like he had been crying, "they're saying that you might not wake up." He lets out a humorless laugh, anger gripping the edges, "even Dad's giving up hope. It's ridiculous."

He was silent for a moment, "I know you probably can't hear me." I can hear you. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you Liz." He says in a stern voice.

I wish I could say something back, open my eyes and look at him. Hold him. Show him that I'm still here. I'm still alive and I've listened to almost every conversation he had with me.

"I swear to you that if that nurse kills you tonight, I'll kill her." I know he would. He would do anything for us.

I could feel myself come back to consciousness like a kid waking up for school in the morning but pretending to sleep.

I lay there with my eyes still closed, trying to remember my dream but this time I could only make out pieces like the voice that spoke to me. Maybe I'll just lay here awhile longer. I'm not quite ready to get up.

A hand gently comes down on my head and strokes my hair, "I've always thought you looked beautiful when you sleep."

I spring upwards and crawl away from the intruder, straining my eyes and trying to remember if I locked the door. I didn't need to see who it was to know who was laying next to me. I recognized that accent from anywhere. I just wanted to be able to see him.

I backed myself up into the couch and a few prolonged seconds later my eyes adjusted to the dark. I could make his figure out and see him sitting up propping his elbows up underneath him.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I exclaim.

"Well love, your door was unlocked." He calmly admits.

"That wasn't an invitation." I snap.

"I think I liked you better when you were asleep."

At this point I couldn't be bothered to question him anymore. I just get up and march straight towards the door but nearly trip over the blanket in the process. I tear the door open.

"Where are you going?" He asks.

"Away, and you better be gone when I get back!"

I exit the room and pass Roma in my heated march down the hallway. I hear her ask me if I'm okay but I don't stop to talk. I'm not exactly sure where I'm headed but when I stop in front of room 8 I realize I'm going to Austin for refuge.

Both Chase and Austin were intimidating. They both made me feel uncomfortable. They both made me falter under their gaze but every time I looked at Chase I got this nagging feeling in my gut to keep my distance. I didn't get good vibes off him. With Austin I felt safe, secure. It was a feeling that felt familiar to me. For some reason I just felt like I needed to be near Austin, that there was a reason. Like I was trying to figure something out and Austin would have the answer to it.

Chase wasn't the one who came into the building with blood all over him, but it wasn't the blood that bothered me. Austin wasn't the one sneaking into my room at night and watching me sleep, calling me Elizabeth when I didn't even know who I was. For all I knew these dreams were just some coincidence and Chase was just some creep trying to play some twisted joke on me.

Austin answers the door wearing only sweats that hang low on his hips exposing his v-line. His hair was disheveled from sleep which I was hoping he finally got. For the past few days I've noticed he hasn't left his room much and he hasn't been sleeping. I didn't speak to him since that day he told me to follow him and we talked in his room for a bit.