Video: Wild World by Cassandra Jenkins
Hey guys! I'm pleased to announce that this is a brand new chapter for Breaking Eden. Give it a read and let me know down below in the comments what you honestly think. Good or bad, I'll take it if it'll help improve my story.
As always, please point out any mistakes you may find while reading. Fresh eyes see everything I miss. And don't forget to vote, comment, and share to help get Breaking Eden to #1! :0)
Chapter fifteen update coming soon...
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14 - Declan Saves The Day
Declan never saw Eden's attempt to escape coming. Never in a million years did he think she'd be stupid enough to climb out onto the roof without even knowing where it led to or how high of a fall would take place.
When Eden struck out, throwing her elbow back into Ben's face, it played out in slow motion. He watched Ben grab his nose and fall back on his ass. Heard him screaming, "She broke my nose!" as bright red blood seeped between his fingers.
There was a flash of pale skin in his peripheral vision. When he looked up, Eden had bolted towards the bathroom door.
He was already up and moving, running after her. Had made it just in time for her to slam to the door on his arm.
He howled in pain, right along with Ben, who was sobbing on his side and crying out for help. Declan barely managed to pull his arm free before Eden slammed it shut and locked it, barring him from entering.
His patience wore thin. Fury burned ignited within him, searing his veins.
How dare she defy me! That bitch will suffer dearly for what she's done. I'll make sure of it. His filled with such thoughts of vengeance as his fists hammered against the door. The wood rattled in the frame, threating to give at any moment.
In his fit of rage, Declan swore to have every cock in the house turn Eden inside out for his viewing pleasure, and he meant every word.
Then he heard it, the crashing and shattering of objects from within. Eden was going ballistic, destroying everything in her path. Like a child having a tantrum, she cursed him out, called him a freak then something hard smashed against the other side of the door right where his head would have been.
A lengthy pause filled with complete silence save for his pounding heart and ragged breathing.
The mirror, or so he guessed, shattered. Eden screamed at him. The sound of her rage only fueled his own. She had no right to be angry. She had disobeyed him, had assaulted Ben's face.
His fists rained down harder than ever, pummeling the wood with rapid blows. And with each strike came the satisfied feeling of a weakening lock, a splintering door jam. He was so close to snuffing out her fight.
He slammed his shoulder against the door, not once but twice and on the third ramming his weight shattered the frame. He staggered forward into the destroyed bathroom.
Pieces of broken mirror lay in his path. The jagged shards threw back a twisted version of himself. There was a trail of smeared blood leading toward the other end of the room.
Eden had cut herself badly, judging by the amount of blood at his feet.
He spotted her at the broken window. She pulled the rest of her body from the bathroom and hoisted herself out onto the angled roof.
His fury died. It morphed into worry at the growing streaks of blood at the window.
He charged for the window, cutting the soles of his feet in the process and never slowed his pace. Not until his hand clasped around Eden's arm, stopping her from going any further. In his mind, he was saving her.
He squeezed Eden's injured arm, knowing full well the amount of pain this would bring her. But he wasn't paying attention to that, he was concerned with the amount of blood dripping from the gash on her hand.
A part of him wanted to punish her, to let her fall and suffer the consequence of her bad decisions. It would be a hard lesson learned, but she would learn it. But the other part of him wished her no harm. He wanted to pull her back in the bathroom, patch her up then punish her some other way. Maybe an act of humiliation would have sufficed instead of physical harm.
He had made his own rash decisions tonight, and he wasn't the least bit proud of this outcome. Deviating from his usual routine, Declan had lashed out in anger, which was something he rarely did with first offenses. His punishments were thoroughly thought out beforehand, planed down to the exact minute it would start and it's ending. But Eden's lack of respect drove him mad, and now they were all suffering for it.
Eden screamed at him to let her go but he wouldn't, no he couldn't, for if he did she would fall. She fought hard to pull her arm out of his grasp, and eventually, it worked. The blood soaking her arm made her skin slippery, weakening his grip.
And just like that Eden was pinwheeling her arms, falling to her back and tumbling ass overhead.
Within seconds she disappeared over the edge of the roof and landed, with a hallow splash into the pool below.
He could only hope she didn't hit the edge or land into the shallow end.
Declan ran from of the bathroom, nearly tumbling over a dazed-looking Ben who had crawled to the mouth of the doorway.
Blood flowed over Ben's lips, dripping down his chin and spotted his chest. "She broke my nose." He groaned.
"Get up!" Declan dragged Ben to his feet and sprinted from the room. Ben was at his heels, still clutching his nose and half groaning and crying as he struggled to keep up.
Matilda came rushing down the hall, knotting a robe tightly around her waist. She was in a state of panic; her grey peppered hair a long frizzy mess. Her eyes wild with bewilderment. "What on Earth is going on?"
"Call Dr. Morrison!" Declan shouted. "Tell him we have an emergency."
Declan didn't stick around. He sprinted off down the maze of hallways until he reached the central stairway and bounded down them in record time.
"Oh, sweet baby Jesus, what have you done?" Matilda cried out at the top of the staircase, eyeing Ben's bloody face. "Did Eden do this to you?"
"Call him. Now!" Declan barked.
He fled from the house, flew down the stone steps and sprinted towards the far corner of the mansion. Rounding the turn, he ran straight for the pool, right toward the spot where Eden would have fallen.
In the light of the full moon, Declan spotted her pale form floating face down in the disturbed water. He dove beneath the surface, gliding through the darkness towards her. When he resurfaced, it was next to her limp body. Flipping Eden onto her back, he checked for any sign of life.
Nothing.
He dragged her towards the side of the pool and lifted her to solid ground before dragging himself from the water.
Placing the heal of his hand between her chest and his other hand over that, Declan began the first round of CPR with thirty chest compressions. He tilted back her head, parted her mouth, and gave her two solid breaths before moving back to compressions.
Come on. Declan's focus never left Eden parted lips. Breath!
Completing round after round of breaths and compression brought about no change in her. Eden remained still beneath him.
He bent down, ready to give her another breath only to have her cough up a lung full of water right into his face.
He rolled Eden to her side, allowing her to expel the last of the water from her lungs then held her as she coughed, shuddered, and gasped for air as she struggled to regain her composure. At no time did she fight him and at no time did he let her go.
Declan lifted her up, cradling her to his chest. "Eden, can you hear me?"
She didn't respond, but the furrow in her brow was the only sign he needed to see.
"You're going to be okay." He gathered Eden in his arms and hauled her up. "Everything is going to be just fine." He carried her back up the stone steps and into the house.
"The doctor is on his way." Matilda clutched the cordless phone in both of her small hands and gasped at the sight of Eden lying naked in Declan's arms.
She cupped Eden's cheek, tears filling her grey-blue eyes at how cold her skin was. When she looked back up at Declan, her eyes narrowed. "What have you done to this poor girl?"
"She thought she could fly. What do you think happened!" Declan hissed while rushing down the hallway towards the medical ward beneath the house.
Matilda followed close behind, not missing a step. "I warned you not to be too harsh with her! It looks to me you've done the exact opposite. Have you no control?"
"Now is not the time, Tilly." Declan pushed open a door and continued down a second long hallway, "Ben's nose was broken. Will you care for him while I tend to one?" He shifted Eden in his arms, and she groaned. Relief flooded through him at the feel of her soft breath against his neck.
Matilda's lips pressed into a firm line of disapproval. She lifted her chin, clearly livid with him and offered a curt nod. "Very well then." Her tone remained sharp. "I'll let Dr. Morrison know to come here first to see Eden. I'll go tend to Ben."
Without waiting for a response, Matilda turned on her heel and fled back the way she came.
Declan laid Eden gently on the table where she remained silent and still.
"What am I going to do with you?" He brushed some hair out of Eden's face, noticing some of his was stained pink with blood. "You must have a death wish for you to pull a stunt like that."
Declan stood, retrieved a bottle from the cabinet the sink and a fresh syringe from the top drawer. He only took his eyes off of Eden long enough to fill a mild dose of sedative. Her pain for the night was over.
Eden stirred, a groan escaped her lips as she tried to cough. Her eyelids briefly fluttered open. "Why did you save me?"
Declan pushed the needle into Eden's arm, plunging the sedative into her body to help ease her discomfort. "Because you are no good to me dead."
He sat next to her, holding a towel against her bloody hand and waited for the doctor to arrive.
Words: 1,820
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