Adrienne
*Trigger warning*
Stunning amber-green eyes, full of confusion and fear, stare back at me. She quickly looks over my shoulders at those surrounding us and back at me.
"It's okay baby. We're just making sure you are okay," I say and grab her hand, slightly squeezing it, "Are you okay?" I ask.
She continues to look over and past me. Her hand begins to shake, followed by her arm. Soon enough I notice her entire body shaking. I motion for everyone to step back and they do so, ever so slightly.
"Ever, would you like to rest in the lab?" Preston quietly asks.
I didn't notice him approaching us.
Her shaking increases and she squeezes my hand tighter.
"Let's try to have you stand, okay," Preston says, "I think we should check you out."
She looks at me as if she needs to get permission from me. I smile at her, so thrilled she is back, and nod my head in agreement.
She slightly nods. She attempts to sit up but falls back to the floor and closes her eyes.
"Ever, it's okay," I say as I put my hand on her cheek.
Her hand enclosed in mine goes limp followed by her arm.
"Ever, Ever," I call while shaking her cheek, "Ever!"
"Ever," I hear Ava call and she kneels on the floor next to her, directly across from me.
She shakes her shoulder and we watch as Ever's unconscious body moves.
I tap her cheek, "Ever, wake up baby," I say in a panic.
"Ari, we should get her to the lab," Preston says, "I'll carry her," he says as he moves to lift her.
"No," I respond and shove him.
Being touched by men isn't in her best interest at the moment.
I quickly gather her in my arms and stand with her. Everyone's faces look full of concern, especially him.
While he stands and stares, he looks completely on edge and full of worry. He looks, no he definitely wants to approach us. He glances at me in my eyes and I know he sees nothing but the changes in their color as I'm growing angrier with each second I waste looking at him,
I'm going to kill him, but now isn't the time for that. Ever is my only priority right now.
"Come," Preston says as he places his hand on my shoulders, "let's get her to the lab."
I turn away from Liam and nod in agreement. Suddenly Michael appears directly in front of me.
"Let me help," he says, "You know I can get you guys there quickly. I won't touch her," he says.
I simply nod and he motions for Preston and Harrison to come closer.
*****
As I stare out of the glass window toward the medical station, I notice Harrison busy working away while speaking to someone while Preston works behind me with an unconscious Ever. Soon enough the sound of the machine beeping fills the room
Turning toward, Ever she looks peacefully sleeping.
I'm hoping this isn't a glimpse and she is actually here to stay. I don't think I can deal with any more glimpses of her, I need her.
I turn back toward the medical station and lean my forehead against the glass.
It was too much, she may have been overwhelmed with practically everyone crowding her; I should have immediately taken her away. I should have protected her. Protected her, who am I kidding? I didn't protect her when Liam hurt her nor did I see the truth. She was literally crying out for help and here I was thinking that she was torn between losing Nicholas and missing Liam; maybe she was but him hurting her was too much for her to deal with and as a result, she let Jinx Spade out. Jinx Spade, someone who tried to warn me on multiple occasions, yet she didn't outright tell me. Would I believe her if she had done so? Of course not, I'm so foolish.
As I close my eyes, warm tears fall and travel down my cheeks.
Knocks on the glass cause me to look up and I see Harrison on the giving side of the knock looking at me.
"It's going to be okay," he mouths.
He walks around the glass and into the room. As he steps into the room I notice a small vial of blue medicine and immediately recognize it as the medication made from Cordexia's powers. I think.
"Medication for her heart," he says when he spots me looking at the vial, "I supposed Jinx Spade never needed this," he says holding it up.
He hands it to Preston.
"I know it would be silly of me to ask how you are doing right now," he says, "Please tell me if you are calm because I need to tell you something and I don't want you to get upset."
He approaches me and takes my hands in his hands.
"Count to ten with me, please; breathe as you go."
"Why?"
"Please, Ari. Don't fight me on this. She needs you to be calm right now."
"I'm calm," I say and roll my eyes.
"Humor me, okay. One, repeat it and deep breathe."
In my peripheral, I notice Preston administering the medication in Ever's IV.
"Ari, repeat it," Harrison demands.
"One," I say as I close my eyes and try to deep breathe.
"Two," he says.
"Two."
"Three."
"Three," I repeat with irritation slightly laced in my tone.
"Four, breathe."
"Four."
"Five, relax."
"Five, I am."
"Six."
"Six."
"Seven."
"Seven."
"Eight."
"Eight."
"Nine."
"Nine," I repeat, staring to feel more relaxed.
"Ten, breathe."
"Ten, I'm breathing."
"Okay, are you relaxed?"
"Yes."
"Ari–"
"I'm fine. What is it?"
"Everyone is here in the hallway, including Liam. He wants to know how she is doing. We can't deny him that. He also wants to come in and see her," he says and squeezes my wrist.
I try to move my arms away from him but he pulls me into an embrace. My efforts to pull away from him seem futile but I continue to try nevertheless.
"Let go of me!"
"Shhhh, do you want to wake her up? He just wants to stand in the doorway; he knows he's not welcome here right now. Ari, we can let him have a peek or he'll find some other way which will end up in a fight between the two of you and absolutely no one is looking forward to breaking that up."
"He. Cannot. Come Near. Her." I breathe out.
"Fine. I'll tell him but–"
"He freaking assaulted her," I say under my breath as I lean my head back as if that will stop the tears that are threatened to fall.
I bounce up and down slightly from frustration. How could I have not known? Why wasn't I there to protect her? Ugh, what kind of wife am I? She needed me and I was pushing her toward the very thing that harmed her. Ugh.
"Ari," Harrison says, "calm down."
My arms act as if they have a mind of their own and I pull away from him to start punching at the air.
"Ari, that's not going to solve anything. Maybe it will help you calm down momentarily."
"Shut-up. Awwl! Darn it! I should have freaking known."
"Hey, I should have known too," Preston says as he turns in our direction, "no one knew."
"You're different. I live with her. I should have known," I say as my hands give up their attack on the air.
"Ari," Harrison says with compassion, "You can't blame yourself."
"No, if it were you would you blame yourself?" I ask directing my question at both of them.
"Yes," Preston says immediately.
"Sadly, yes," Harrison says, "I blame myself daily on how some things turned out and how my wife isn't fully happy because of me."
I immediately think of Chloe.
"Harrison," I say with just as much compassion he used toward me, "you can't blame yourself for that."
"And neither should you, though I understand you," he responds.
"Both of you stop it. You're not the guilty party. Just be present for your wives," Preston says.
"She'll never look at me the same," I quietly say.
"How about you let her decide that Ari before jumping to conclusions," Preston says.
"Yeah," Harrison chimes in, "let her rest and talk with her afterward."
I look at my beautiful wife as she rests like she doesn't have a care in the world. She looks very peaceful.
"What happened to her?" I ask.
"She went over a year without taking her medicine. When she came back, I guess it hit her. I'm actually surprised it had not hit her sooner," Preston says, "considering Lovely doesn't allow medicine during training."
"Maybe. It could be where Jinx comes in. She didn't need it, therefore Lovely kept her around," Harrison says.
"She kept Jinx around for more than that," I say getting angry just thinking about how Lovely used Ever's disability to her advantage.
Uggh, Lovely.
"I honestly don't want to think or talk about Lovely. What can I do to her her get better," I say as I approach her bed.
"For now, just let her rest. We'd like to keep her here for a few days," Harrison says.
"Okay, but I don't want Liam in here. At all."
"Ari, she's his wife. We can't technically stop him from seeing her," Preston says.
"I can," I say sternly.
Harrison throws his arms in the air, "Ari we cannot have you two fighting in here."
"Fine. Can we move her somewhere private?"
"We won't have all the equipment we need. Ari, just try to get along with him for her sake," Preston says, "or at least talk to him; you haven't heard his side of the story, what if Lovely made him do it or some stupid stuff like that? You should talk to him."
I haven't thought about getting his side. I just took his word at face value. What if this is all because e of some elaborate plan by Lovely? Shame on me.
"Fine, I'll talk to him. Can we borrow one of the meeting rooms?"
"Sure you guys can use room three. I'll tell him to meet you there," Harrison says.
"No, I meet him after he's inside."
"Okay."
*****
It's been a while since I've been in one of the meeting rooms, I vividly recall the evening we met after learning Ever's heart is the Athelstan diamond. Conversation went on all around me but all my heart and mind only forced on her safety and longevity.
Now I walk this hallway full of dread, not looking forward to this conversation but hoping this is all a terrible misunderstanding.
"Door open," I say to meeting room number three.
As the doors move back to the off-white bland yet comfortable space, I feel a cool breeze mixed with a pleasant smell. Liam, I'd recognize his cologne from miles away. As soon as he sees me he stands and my heart skips a beat, aching for him and being nervous. Regardless, I quickly avert my eyes away from him. I'd rather look away than look at him with disgust.
"Sweetheart, please look at me," he pleads.
"Were you forced?" I ask while trying to mask the anger evident in my voice.
"What?" he asks.
"Were you freaking force Liam? Did someone make you do it?!" I yell and look at him.
He holds his head down, "Adrienne can we please sit and talk without yelling?" he sincerely asks.
I turn completely away from him, close my eyes, and place my head against the wall. An image of the night sky with bright stars flashes before my eyes, quickly followed by space- the galaxy. I quickly jerk away from it and open my eyes, suddenly feeling a slight headache coming on. I place both my hands against the wall.
"Adrienne, are you okay?" he gently asks and places a hand on my shoulder.
Tingles pierce my skin, just like when Ever touches me. It can't be, I'm surely delusional.
I shove his hands off my shoulder, "don't touch me! Get away from me!"
I turn and face him, fuming, and he steps back.
"Do you want to sit down?" he asks.
"No, I don't want to sit down," I say and firmly press my fingers into his chest, "I want you to tell me when it happened, why it happened, and who was behind it."
"Okay, I'll tell you everything but I think maybe you should rest first, I'll get Preston to reserve a room for you."
"No, I'm not resting so that you can sneak off and see Ever–"
"That's not my intention–"
"You tell me everything now!"
"Adrienne, your eyes are flashing between deep purple and blue. I'm worried about you."
"Were you worried about hurt when you hurt her?"
"I instantly regretted it," he says.
I think I'm going to be sick. I quickly take a seat at the long marble conference table, place my elbows on it, and place my face in the palm of my hands. I close my eyes.
"What happened," I say into the palms of my hands.
"Adrienne–"
"No, you tell me right now," I say interrupting him.
Although I'm not looking at him I can shift him moving toward the meeting room door and leaning on the way next to it.
"Okay; please tell me when you want me to stop," he says and takes a deep breath, "It happened Fall 14, 2052, when we were meeting at Good Eats in the Food Atrium for a meal," he says.
Fall 14, 2052, that was so long ago, I remember that day. I suddenly feel like I could puke any moment now.
"She was late joining us and I went to go get her. I scanned myself into her unit and noticed her sitting on the front room floor looking at a pile of old fashion papers with tears in her eyes. I asked her what was wrong and she jumped up and placed the papers behind her back with a frightened look on her face. I asked her what was wrong and she said nothing but refused to let me look at the papers. She stumbled and accidentally dropped them. I picked them up before she could and saw a love note from Nicholas," he says.
I quickly turn toward him and for the first time see the hurt in his expression and more importantly in his eyes.
"The letter started with My dearest Ever, I'll never forget it. The words sting like a thorn in my heart. As I continued to read love words seemed to jump off the page further pushing that thorn deep into my heart and anger consumed me. At that moment I thought that she was a spy, like Drew, and was actually his wife instead of his cousin. I asked her about the letters and she denied ever seeing them or being with him," he says, "I thought she was lying to me. I was hurt."
He stops and looks straight ahead of him. He takes a few breaths, leans his head against the wall, and closes his eyes.
"Go on," I demand.
"Adrienne," he says as tears begin to run down his cheeks, "You have a right to know but I don't think I have the strength to finish right now."
"No. You don't get to do that. You can finish this. Tell me what happened," I say and turn away from him the moment, I feel slight compassion for him.
"She continued denying that she was with him and the more she did so the angrier I got. I started to see red and advanced on her without thinking. Her voice cracked and faded out as she backed up. She did not move fast enough; I grabbed her, pushed her down on the floor, and pinned her hands above her head. She kicked me on the legs with her left foot but I ignored it. I lifted her sundress, pulled myself out of my pants, pulled her panties to the side, jammed myself into her as hard as I could, and had my way with her. She quietly cried out but she did not scream for help. She arched back and kicked more and tried to free her hands. She moved her head from side to side. She fought against me. I moved in and out of her and tried to go deeper and deeper. Eventually, she stopped fighting me and became a lifeless creature beneath me. When I thought she had enough I stopped, got off of her, put myself back in my pants, and spat on her face. I stood to the floor and looked down at her," he say and begins crying.
My legs begin rapidly bouncing and tears start flowing from my eyes.
"I told her to get out. She forced herself up with tears in her eyes but she wasn't moving fast enough. I was so upset at the traitor who stood before me that I pushed her back down on the floor and electrocuted her. Then lifted her up and shook her while telling her to get out again. That's when you came in thinking we got into a fight," he says.
I did indeed think that; I didn't help her and am therefore just as guilty. I feel sick.
"I'm sorry," he whispers, "If I could take it back I would. Please tell me what I can do to make sure we're okay."
Images of space swirl and my mind increases how I feel; it feels like motion sickness. I stand and a headache hits me, I immediately lean over and throw up.
"Adrienne," Liam calls out and runs toward me.
He pulls me into his arms and lifts me up as if I'm a child.
"Let me go," I say as I fight against him but grow weaker by the moment.
"No sweetheart, let me help you," he gently says in my ear.
When I can no longer fight him, I go limp in his arms and feel his lips touch my cheeks; as soon as they do tingles erupt throughout my body.