Chapter 35
Kiara stood by the entrance of the grand Italian villa with her eyes scanning the rolling hills in the distance. The deep green against the blue skies made everything feel surreal as she swept her eyes over to Posey.
"Ready?" Posey smiled, but her eyes didn't light up.
"Yes," Kiara nodded.
With a deep breath, Kiara took a step into the large home and heard the door close behind her. The salty breeze of the sea on the other side of the home ran through the halls, blowing all the curtains and playing all the wind chimes. Tobias waited for Posey and Kiara at the bottom of the staircase, eyeing the empty wall where a family portrait used to hang.
Following Piper's advice, Tobias and Posey had all the photos in the house removed. They did not want to overload Kiara with pictures of herself that held no memories. She already had too many questions for them and each one was a knife to their heart.
"Tobias," Posey touched her husband's arm as they stopped beside him.
Tobias nodded. He took in a long deep breath and looked over at Kiara.
"Your room is upstairs," he said, forwarding his elbow to her. "Shall we?"
Kiara hesitated. Her nervous gaze flickered from Posey to Tobias before a small timid smile crossed her lips too fast. She took a step forward and looped her arm through. Tobias patted her hand on his arm. He could feel her hand apart, barely holding his arm as she began to follow him up.
"You'll meet the staff in a bit," he informed her as they climbed the stairs. "We're all here. Whatever you need, just ask me or your mom."
Kiara nodded once more, "Okay..."
From the corner of his eyes, Tobias watched Kiara look around. They came to the second floor and turned the corner towards her room.
"Are you alright?" Tobias asked, worried she might be overwhelmed.
"Yes," Kiara nodded. "I just...."
Tobias waited, "Yes?"
"There was someone else too, right?"
"Who?"
"The guy," Kiara looked over her shoulder. "Black hair....tall."
"Killian."
"Yes," Kiara nodded. "Is he staying here too?"
"Yes," Tobias nodded.
Kiara wanted to ask Tobias where Killian was but she felt too uncomfortable. She didn't know these people. All she wanted was to be shown to her room so she could lay down and process everything the doctor had told her. Her heart was beating too fast.
"This is it," Tobias sighed as they came to stop in front of a closed door.
"Thank you," Kiara quickly pulled her hand away from Tobias.
"Do you need anything?"
Kiara shook her head.
"Alright," Tobias turned the door knob and pushed the door open. "Why don't you rest up, look around. I'll see you at dinner."
"Thank you," Kiara said once more as she stepped into the room.
The god lingered outside for a few seconds as Kiara slowly closed the door. She heard his steps move away before she turned to look at the room. A large bed sat across from where she stood pressed against the door. Two french doors opened up on either side of the bed into an open balcony that wrapped around the room. A spacious bathroom was tucked into the corner in the left with an walk in closet that seemed to be stuffed.
Kiara didn't know what to do as she stood by the door for the longest time. Her eyes moved over every surface of the room multiple times as she tried to remember what it must have been like to be in this room. The doctors had said things would feel familiar, but Kiara felt nothing. She tried her best to imagine herself walking in and jumping onto the bed or waking up in the morning and standing on the balcony. But it was all an empty hole.
After several long minutes, Kiara found herself sitting on the floor. She had no idea when she had ended up there. With extreme slowness, Kiara rose to her feet and pushed her hair out of her face. She walked over to the balcony and inhaled to fill her lungs with the fresh sea air of the countryside. The warm sun danced over her face and she tilted her head up to soak up the heat.
Gripping the railing with her hands, Kiara stood on the balcony. The air pushed past her hair, making it sticky from the salty sea water it carried. She liked the way the sun felt against her skin. It was gentle and tender, kissing her cheeks without burning her. But in between the breeze and the sunlight, Kiara began to feel something else on her face. She lifted her lashes and turned towards the set of eyes that watched her from below.
Standing below the balcony in the open lawn of the house, Kiara's eyes found Killian's eyes glued on her. She thought she saw a flash of confusion dance over his face before it slipped and his features returned to that poker face Kiara could not seem to understand. The corner of her lips curved up ever so slightly into a small smile as their gaze locked.
Somewhere from inside the house, Posey walked out into the lawn and walked over to where Killian stood. She reached up and touched the edge of his face before following his gaze up to where Kiara stood on the balcony watching them. She watched the woman turn back to Killian and say something. He nodded his head and stood a step back before allowing himself one last look at Kiara and walking back into the house.
Suddenly, before Kiara could watch Posey walk back into the house, there was a knock at the door. Kiara jumped slightly before turning around to find a young girl with brownish blonde hair walking into the room with a fresh set of towels.
"Hello," the girl smiled. "My name is Debbie."
"Hi," Kiara turned away from the balcony and walked back into the room.
"I brought fresh towels," Debbie said, holding up the folded load. "Do you need anything else?"
"No, thank you," Kiara shook her head. "Wait...actually....how do I get down to the lawn?"
"Down the stairwell and then to the left," Debbie smiled.
Just then, Kiara spotted Killian walking past her door. She watched him over Debbie's shoulder as he paused just for a fraction of a second to look towards her before continuing on in his direction.
"Will that be all?" Debbie looked over her shoulder to see what Kiara was looking at.
"Is he always like that?" Kiara turned to the girl. "Always that quiet?"
"I..." Debbie shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I just started working here last week."
"Oh," Kiara frowned. "So you too don't know these people..."
"No," Debbie shook her head. "I don't think any of the staff do."
"What do you mean?"
Debbie hesitated slightly, "All the staff were changed....everyone who worked here before were asked to leave."
"Why?"
"I'm not sure," Debbie confessed.
Suddenly, a strange feeling began to grow in the pit of Kiara's stomach. Who were these people the doctor had sent her home with....
_____________________________
Like every day for the past two weeks, Hayden sat by Nora's bed patiently waiting for her to open her eyes and say something ridiculous that would make the pressure in his chest vanish. The small speaker by her bedside had switched from thundering rain to ocean waves. Hayden had to admit he preferred that over the maddening rain sound any day.
With nothing to do but wait for Nora to wake up, Hayden began to understand why the girl hated the silence so much. It was mind numbing and terrifying. If Hayden stared at Nora's still face for too long, breathing would become too difficult. His lungs would stop functioning and his mind would start thinking up horrifying images of her in a casket surrounded by white flowers. Every time he found himself thinking he wouldn't survive another second of her laying still as a statue, Hayden would reach out and take her hand. Her warm satin skin reminded him she was still there, just being her stubborn self and messing with his mind.
As Hayden sat holding Nora's hand up to his lips and watching her face, the door to her room slowly began to open. At first Hayden had assumed it was one of the nurses or doctors checking in. But when he heard someone clear their throat, Hayden looked up and frowned.
"Who are you?" he asked the tall skinny guy holding a bouquet of daisies.
"Hi," the guy said awkwardly, his eyes flickering to Nora and then back to Hayden. "I'm Dev. Dev Chawla."
"Okay?" Hayden grew impatient as the guy's eyes flickered to Nora once more.
"I work with Nora," Dev said.
"And?" Hayden's eyes narrowed.
"Well, I..." Dev shrugged, hovering by the door. "I came to see how she was doing."
"Not good," Hayden said. "Thank you for dropping by. I'll let her know. Please show yourself out."
"What?" Dev asked in confusion.
"The door is behind you," Hayden said, turning away.
"Where should I leave the flowers?"
"Flowers have pollen," Hayden snapped. "Nora is allergic to pollen."
"No she's not," Dev snorted.
"Excuse me?" Hayden's eyes narrowed once more as he turned to look at the bothersome guy still standing in the room.
"Nora isn't allergic to flowers," Dev said. "She lowers flowers."
Hayden's eyes grew a few shades darker, "And you know how?"
"We used to..." Dev shook his head. "We buy flowers together all the time on our way home."
"On your way home?" Hayden felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
Who the fuck was this guy, he thought. What home? What flowers? Was Nora living with him? But that made no sense. If that was the case then why didn't this idiot come to see her sooner? Unless he was a horrible person who did not care for Nora like she deserved to be cared for.
"Yeah," Dev nodded. "We drove to work together."
"Why?" Hayden asked. "Nora has a car."
"Driving one car is better for the environment," Dev pointed out. "Since we live in the same building we take turns driving to work."
The bitterness in Hayden's chest began to burn like hot coal, "Aren't you so nice."
Dev shifted his weight and moved the flowers around. He adjusted the glasses on his face and looked over at Nora's pale face.
"What are the doctors saying?" He asked.
"About?" Hayden placed Nora's hand in between his.
"About Nora," Dev was baffled by the guy's demeanor.
"She's fine," Hayden said. "She just needs to rest up and then her mind will be ready to wake up. But she can't do that with you standing around trying to have a talk show."
"Hey man, what's your problem?" Dev snapped. "I'm just trying to visit a friend in the hospital."
"Not much to do here," Hayden gave a short harsh laugh. "You see her? She's asleep. Now, please leave."
"Hayden," Ares' voice suddenly spoke up from the doorway.
Dev jumped and whirled around as the god walked in and stared at the half jinn sitting beside the sleeping girl with disapproving eyes.
"Stop being such an ass," Ares warned before turning to Dev. "Drop off the flowers with the nurses. They'll place them for you."
"Th-thank you," Dev looked away, flustered and overwhelmed by the god.
"Thank you," Ares placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and guided him towards the door.
As Dev stepped out, Ares closed the door and turned to look at Hayden. He wanted to howl with laughter when his eyes fell on the look of pure fury on Hayden's face.
"Relax, kid," he said. "You're turning green."
"And why are you here?"
"Damn," Ares chuckled, holding up his hands. "Slow down, tiger. I mean no harm."
Hayden looked away and focused all his attention on Nora.
"When was the last time you stepped foot outside of this room?" Ares asked.
"This morning," Hayden said.
"Going home to shower and change clothes doesn't count," Ares rolled his eyes. "Hayden, buddy. You're going to go crazy sitting here."
"What am I supposed to do?" Hayden asked.
"How about eating? Or sleeping? Visiting your family, talking to people, seeing daylight."
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine," Ares frowned. "Your dad is growing restless. He's worried and rightfully so."
"Why is he worried?" Hayden looked up. "I'm not the one in a coma."
"But you are the one that healed a vestal from the brink of death," Ares sighed. "Hayden, that kind of healing takes a lot out of a person. You won't even talk to Clare!"
"I'm fine," Hayden said. "Can everyone just stop making everything about me for once? Nora is the one in a coma. She was the one who was thrown off the third floor of the palace, not me."
"We are your family," Ares' eyes hardened. "For us it will always be about you."
"Ares..." Hayden's jaw tensed. "Please leave."
"Kid....you're spiraling."
"I'm fine."
"This isn't healthy," Ares said. "What are you doing? What would Nora think of all this?"
"I'm keeping her safe."
"From who?" Ares looked around. "And what are you planning on doing after she wakes up? You can't be all up in her business once she's up."
"I'll worry about that when we get there."
"This isn't a good look, Hayden." Ares said with disapproval.
The god's words fell on deaf ears. Hayden did not care what anyone had to say. He wasn't leaving Nora's side until she woke up.
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