Rage.
Please Rage.
Come back.
That melodic sweet voice had my heart stuttering.
I kept wanting to listen to it...
But it wouldn't talk anymore.
Please talk....
I begged.
But no one heard me.
My eyes open to the face of this angelic woman I am proud to call my wife.
She looked.....troubled, in her sleep.
Her eyebrows scrunched up and hints of dried off tears on her beautiful face.
The beauty mark on her chin shined like a diamond under the dim light.
My lips, open and I drag my hand towards my chest where her soft palm laid against my heart.
Softly I take her hand in mine, while my other hand wrapped around her middle.
"Don't" I hear a gruff voice say.
I turn my face to find Martin sitting in a chair with his face, pale. His mouth open in shock.
"Don't move her hand. She will wake up." He said to me after recovering from whatever it is that got him so shocked.
Its not the first time I have been shot at.
I frowned but let it go. Instead I smiled down at my girl, as she slept.
"We have to lie to her. Instead of antibiotics. We give her pain killers for her shoulder as she would refuse to take drugs for pain. They knock her out within minutes. But...everytime we try to move her hand. Almost...everytime. She wakes up. She needs to feel you breathing to sleep peacefully." Martin says, from beside me. I wanted to ask why did she need pain killers but my throat hurt too bad.
I clear my throat and winced at the pain in my chest.
Thats when I felt something poking in my nose.
Lifting my hand up, I examine the foreign thing stuck to my nose.
"Wha--" I said gruffly.
"Wait. Let me take it out for you." Martin says, smiling.
He stands up and moves towards me.
He takes out the oxygen thing from around my nose and lifts it up over my ears and then over my head.
"I don't think you will need it anymore now that you are awake. The hole in your lung, is almost healed." Martin says.
I frowned yet again.
I couldn't really access my situation right now.
The soreness in my chest made it difficult for me to move.
"Wha-What the fuck happened?" I croaked with my throat feeling sore and scratchy as if somebody used nails to scratch it off from inside me.
"Here." Martin lifts my head up and bring a glass water with a straw on it.
I suck on the small straw and let the clear liquid, cool down my sore throat.
I greedily gulped it down and asked for more. And Martin happily helped me for more.
When I finished with drinking atleast four glasses of water, my head hit the soft pillows, and my mouth opens for a relived sigh.
Closing my eyes, I touched my chest, where it ached.
I groaned when I felt the bandages and the puckered skin.
There were two bullets fired where is the other one!
"You were shot, Zenon." Martin tells me.
"I remember. But there was another bullet fired. Where did it hit me? I can only feel soreness in my chest." I asked touching that puckered part again.
"It didn't hit you. Scarlett took it for you...." he trails.
I look at him aghast.
Turning my head I look down at Scar and examined her body with my wavering hands
"Her shoulder. She took a hit on her shoulder." He tells me.
I gently lay my palm on her shoulder and felt the bandages under her blue hospital gown.
Pulling it down, I saw the small bandage that was taped to her smooth skin.
"She...took a bullet for me?" I ask in shock.
"Yes. She did..." Martin answers.
"How-How long was I out this time?" I asked as I gently covered her shoulder again.
"Almost two weeks, Zenon." Martin answers from where he sat.
Thats got to be a new record.
"You-You almost died this time,Ze--" I cut him off.
"Worth it." I said loud and clear.
"What about Timothy?" I ask.
"He is fine. Just a concussion. He's been a mess with both of you out of it." He chuckles.
A silence takes over in the grey room.
For a moment none of us talk.
It was like a ticking time bomb...
"Tell me everything, Martin. Leave nothing out. Every single wound, scar, bruise, on her body. Tell me everything. Tell me how much I need to make those fuckers pay." I whispered, not letting my eyes wander anywhere but on her face.
"She...."
"She what?" I gritted.
"Let me get her file." He says and rushes out the room.
I leave a soft kiss on her forehead and basked in her presence.
I was so scared. So fucking scared.
But she is here now. She is safe.
And there is hell to pay for everything that she had been put through.
Martin rushes back in, locking the door behind him.
Taking a seat in his usual chair, he opens the file and examines it.
Dragging the chair closer to the bed, he sits back down after putting a bunch of photographs on my chest.
With my left I examined them one by one.
Bruises.
Cuts.
Blood.
More blood.
Teeth.
Five of them.
"They....molested her again. There were bruises and skin scraped where...where...."
He didn't need to finish what he said.
The photographs said it all.
They touched her where only I AM allowed to.
Bruising and scraping it...
They just signed off their own death warrant.
"Five of her teeth were knocked out, from what we have gathered, she was punched or kicked, resulting in torn lips and an almost broken jaw. I got dental experts to replace those. They found those broken teeth in her stomach lining. She had apparently swallowed them when she went unconscious. And she must have dislocated her shoulder when you had pushed her off when Roger shot at you. It was put back in place..."
With every word, my blood boiled to a temperature that was borderline dangerous.
But I kept myself calm.
All in due time.
I had everything planned.
"Anything else?" I ask him, handing back the photographs.
"They are in the tunnels right now. I extracted all the information that we needed."
So he goes on about everything that he has found out from beating those fuckers into pulp.
Apparently they are missing toes and fingers.
It sort of calmed me down until I can finally get my hands on them.
But the fact that Scarlett's still in danger, had me tipped.
She is not going to like the overprotective man that i will be until I have found out who exactly is the man/woman behind this ZRD.
"I told her." Martin tells me.
"About?" I asked.
"About you knowing about her past all this time..." He trails off.
I sigh in response.
I was going to tell her anyway once I have had them under my feet.
"What was her reaction?" I ask him.
"Shattered. She wouldn't stop crying. Good thing, she was made to take the painkillers. Otherwise she would have not slept all night. And you both need your rest in the coming days." Martin says with an intense glare.
"I will rest like a goddamn koala once the fuckers are dead, Martin. Get the plane ready. We are visiting Italy by tomorrow night." I Hissed.
"Zenon, she has been through alot...boy. You can't put more stress on her or yourself. She has been crying her eyes out, fearing for your life. Why must you be so impatient....."
"I don't care. We have all the time in the world for this shit. Get the plane ready." I said through gritted teeth.
"Very well." He said in a tight tone.
"I should go and inform the men and the pilot for the departure. I suggest you rest until then. I will send, Timothy in sometime. He will be ecstatic to know you have woken up. Not to mention. The community is driving me nuts with the daily questions about your wellbeing." With that he left through the door.
"Don't forget the dress." I called out after him.
Sighing in relief, I smiled down at my girl.
Honestly, is there anything this girl hasn't made me do since the day I fell in love with her?
She will get her white dress wedding soon...
***
I was smothered by a hug from Timothy as soon as I opened my eyes.
Chuckling I patted his shoulder.
"Nice to see you back, brother." He said in a whisper.
"Nice to see you well and good too, brother." I whispered.
He lets go of me and looks down with watery eyes.
This is family.
I frown when I don't feel Scarlett's warmth by my side.
"Where is she?" I asked getting up abruptly.
Wrong idea.
Hissing in pain, I hold on to my chest for dear life.
Fuck!!!!
That HURT.
"Calm down, you idiot. She has just gone back to the manor to take care of few things for when you return home." He makes me lay on my back again as I heave.
"You should have seen her face when I told her you woke up last night." He says smiling cheekily.
"I bet." I chuckled. Feeling the pain ease off my chest.
"Well she used her fists first to beat me to a pulp for going behind her back and telling you everything but it was so...worth it. She was so happy." He laughs along with me.
The laughter dies down when Tim looks down at his adjoined hands.
"Thank you..." He whispers.
"For saving my life...for saving....her" he says in a strained voice.
I take hold of his shoulder and whispered...
"Don't be. We are family. This is what we do."
He looks up at me and smiles.
But it dies off too as an intense look takes place on his face.
"Martin told me.....about how you want to take us all to Italy..." he trails off.
"Yes. We are leaving today itself." I confirmed.
"You do know, she won't go there willingly. She loathes that place" He says, looking away bitterly.
"I know. I have it all planned." I said smiling assuringly.
I had it all planned.....
"Cmon...help me up. I need to see my girl."
***
Scarlett.
"I will take care of him. I promise." I whispered laying the white roses on the graves of Rage's family.
Our family....
Letting our a wavered breath I get up on my feet.
You must be so proud of him now...
Getting off the grass, I make my way back to manor.
The loud voices coming from the pavement had me frowning in worry.
Why are all these men gathered outside my house? Where is Martin?
"Whats wrong?" I ask one of them.
"Ma'am.... where were you? We have been looking everywhere for you. Sir, has gone berserk. Martin and Timothy are looking for you all over the community." One of them answers, on the verge of a panic attack.
Gosh these men worry so much...
I smiled widely when the realisation hit me.
He is back home...
My Rage is back homee...
I run inside the manor with happy tears rolling off my face.
Making my way up the stairs, I run towards our bedroom, where I know he will be.
"Rage" I shouted happily opening the door to our room.
The breath is knocked out of me, when Rage pins me to the wall with hands wrapped around my neck, viscously.
"Where the fuck were you, Scar?" He hissed in my face with anger evident in his eyes.
My mouth opens and closes in disbelief.
I WAS BARELY GONE FOR HALF AN HOUR.
"I-I was at the hills, Rage. I wanted to lay down some roses on our family's grave" I choked out gripping his wrists.
The darkness within his eyes falter, seeing the sincerity in my own eyes.
He lets out a wavered sigh and grabbed me into his arms.
"Fuck!! I was so...scared" He whispered, breathing in deeply.
I wrap my arms around him and breathed in his homely scent that I have missed so much.
Closing my eyes I let all my worries go as I leave kisses on his neck.
He pulls me away from my shoulder and looks down at me with the same intense dark gaze.
"Why would you do that? Why did you take the bullet for me? Do you have any fucking idea what I would have done if I had lost you? Haa? Can you imagine what would have happened to me? I can not fucking lose you Scar. Why would you fucking do that? It is MY job to protect you. And you put yourself in harm's way, after all the things I did to keep YOU safe?----" He yelled in my face but I cut him off before he could continue, his hands on my face, tightening in a grip.
"Because I am in love with you, Rage." I yelled back.
His eyes go big and his mouth opens in shock.
"I. Am. in. Love. With. You. Rage.... I fell for you..." I choke out, with my tears flowing freely.
His dark eyes glazed in unshed tears.
"You-you don't know what I had been going through these past few days. Every. Every second. Every minute. I-I hated myself for doing all this to you, Rage. You-You too-took a bullet for my brother. You kept your promise to me. You saved him. He is alive because of you. And all I could think ever since I woke up was how much I regretted fighting against you. All you wanted was to love me. All you wanted was to protect me. And-And I was fighting you. Every day. Every time someone would tell me that I might-that I-I might loose you, forever, it had my.....heart twisting in pain. I-I resented myself. Because I though I would never be able to tell you that I love you. I love you, Rage. I am not scared anymore." Sniffing, and choking on my tears, I curled my fingers into his tshirt, pulling him closer to me, while he stood in shock, holding back his own set of tears.
"I am not scared anymore, Rage. You made me this. You made me fearless. Today. I am everything I am because of you Rage. All this time I was fighting you because I was running from the same thing that you are. Not knowing that you will be the one thing that will save me from me. That everything you are....is everything that I will ever need, Rage. I won't fight you again anymore. I always wished I could. Wished I could be this girl. Wished I could be someone or something that is proud to be yours. Wished that I could be deserving of you. And today I am. I am what you need, Rage. And you are what I will ever need. Today, I am Scarlett Rage Díaz. And I will die Scarlett. Rage. Díaz. Because I love you. And I won't let you think otherwise till my last breath. I love you, Rage." I finished with a sob and grabbed his face and kissed him on the lips, needing his closeness, needing his warmth all over me.
"Make me yours, Rage." I whispered looking up at him. His eyes close and he finally sheds those unwanted tears
"I need...to be yours." I whispered and sniffled.
He opens his eyes with a dark gleam within them.
The dark demeanour taunting me proudly.
Taunting me that he has finally made me bend.
Taunting me that he has finally made me love him.
There was that man again.
The one who terrifies this country.
The one who makes the whole country bows down for him.
The one who only bows down for his girl.
The one who is only terrified to loose his girl.
Me.
Scarlett Rage Díaz.
He grabs my face roughly and smothers my lips with his.
"I am so sorry..." he whispers before everything blacks out for me.
Yet again.
My life is a FUCKING series of blacking out.
***