Chapter Sixty-Three | Nothingness
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M A D D I E
A chest-heaving gasp rises from my throat as I hungrily search for air, clinging to the fabric that laces through my fingers as my body rises from the surface it lied on. The lingering remnants of my dream flicker across my mind's eye, replaying like a broken record —torturing my soul by its horrendous images of razor-like teeth and blood splatter: indescribable sensations followed me to the realm of life, jittering my limbs.
Sweat coats my forehead and collarbone, the cool atmosphere felt upon my skin. With fluttering lids, I slowly gained consciousness and intake my surroundings.
My eyes flicker about the room drinking in its details, while despite poor lighting, the objects that crowd the vicinity were exposed to my naked eye. I become aware of the steel-railed single bed my body lied on top of, thin white sheets encasing the mattress and pooling in a heap at my feet, my eyes then trail to the far side of the room where a wooden chair; chipped at the arms and legs, propped against the wall beside a dresser— a short white lamp lying on its surface, creating a dull glow in the area— which was parallel to a roughed textured door that led to another room.
A dull white paint blankets the four walls that created this confinement, another wooden door, centering the room and aligning with the bed.
I prepare my body to move, the small aches and pains briefly reminding me just how vivid the dream was to me. Swinging both legs around to the side of the bed, to sit upright, I'm halted from any other movements by the sound of metal clacking against metal. Following where the sound aired from, I was greeted with the sight of my right wrist secured by shackles that connect to the wall, the length of the chain creating the noise.
I stare incredulously at them, testing their strength to make sure I wasn't seeing things. Using my free hand, I tug on them once more with all my strength only creating more noise— the structure that they were connected to, creaking with protest at my assault.
Letting go of the retched object, they clinked against the bed frame one last time, silence cocooning me soon after. I search my mind for the events that led me up until this point, coming up with a blank slate of nothingness, a small ache pressuring at my temples, the obvious creation of a headache.
My gaze skirts around the room again, logic taking the reins of my mind as apprehension settle in my bones with the conjuring thoughts to know where I am; I catch movement from my peripheral, lace curtains that hung above a small, squared window flowed with the wind— the object to my attention.
From the parted sill, a breeze caused its arrangement, the scenery just beyond the planes drawing me further where a forest lied before my eyes. The trees stood tall and thin, the vast of the woods bringing to conscious that there could be thousands littered along the land, with no end.
The night sky illuminated an eerie glow to the treetops, their bare bases and fully blossomed leaves playing along with the atmosphere. Even in the unfamiliar landscape, I knew that I was still nowhere near where I wanted to be.
'I'm still in this forsaken dimension,' I thought solemnly, clicking my tongue.
Not long after the thought skips across my mind, my solitude was interrupted as a jiggle from the door's knob brings my attention to its framework, looking straight ahead as it probes open, a silhouette of a man's outline fills the space of the threshold.
My awaiting gaze clashes with dark, twinkling eyes, the strike of familiarity hitting me like a freight train. And with those eyes, a stir of emotion boils over as I glare hotly at the man before me.
"Adrian," my voice nothing but a growl, an animalistic noise.
The lamp's dull glow reveals half of his body, his fangs glinting with mischief, his frame swallowing the threshold as he steps into view. "You beckon for my presence?"
His voice lures a part of my brain to the forefront as if his presence calls to something that lay awake inside me; waiting for his call. My body reacts to the single notion that he was standing in the same room as me, rising in temperature, and flushing my body with the desire to lay my hands upon his skin. I couldn't help the wondering of my eyes as they greedily drink his rugged appearance: as if he awakened from sleep himself. His scent travels the extra mile of space set between us, coiling around my body like a viper, taunting my nostrils with the woodsy, masculine aroma of his.
What felt like an eternity, the shuffling of feet brutally yanks me from the throes of carnal desire that dared to entrap my mind in its claws. Casually, Adrian saunters further into the room and makes his way towards the dresser —consciously taking notice of the tray he held in his hands— as he placed it down with a soft thud.
I take the short time frame to recollect myself, any form of desire that laced my cells dissolving into the air, and I search the deepest parts of my body for any form of anger or hatred.
A spark ignited from the pits of my heart, thoughts, and images fueling its birth, finally engulfing the organ completely. Taking another deep breath, I put my thoughts on the situation at hand and glare at him with newfound anger.
With a harsh tug, the clank of metal resonates loudly in the room, "What the fuck is this?" I curse, looking from him and to the chain that bound me to the bed.
"That," he cuts his gaze to said chains for a short second before turning his attention back to me, "is for your own protection. And mine." He says smoothly.
"Take it off."
"No," he rebuts almost tauntingly, his arms overlapping each other.
He settles his body into the wooden chair, the weight of his being causing it to crack and strain; its weak structure calling out for relief. His dark eyes glint as the shadows that embed themselves in the corners of the room reveal their nature, crawling over his shoulders and creating a home within his own darkness.
"I don't know," his voice wanders off, continuing to watch me from his position across the room, his face stitched with ghastly humor. "seeing you chained kind of turns me on," he pipes boldly.
Raising my lip in disinterest, I size him, "I will cut you."
Adrian only chuckles at the possible outcome.
The stinging pressure at my temples increases, bringing my consciousness to the dryness that inhabits my throat; I swallow to get rid of the itchy feeling, only to further worsen it. Absentmindedly, I bring my free hand to rub at my throat as if to rub away the sensation. My eyes flicker to Adrian, the mischief that correlated within them long gone.
Those irises regard me with a depth of desire to undress every thought that dares cross my mind and to peel away any boundary that stands between him and his discovery of me. Looking away, I speak what's been probing at my mind.
"Where am I?"
A minute passes by, then two before he speaks. "We're in a cabin located in the woods behind the Vaughn castle."
"What am I doing here?" I ask again.
The feeling of those two soul-sucking holes never left the surface of my skin, the essence of flames licking at my flesh with every flicker of the gaze he sent my way, grounding me in my spot.
"Do you remember anything in particular?" he counters, questioning me instead.
At his rebuttal, I frown, turning to face him. Meeting his gaze, I wander to my thoughts, digging for any clues, coming up blank each time. The headache slowly began to worsen along with the parched feeling in my throat.
"No," I finally say, my hand finding the column of my throat once more. "What happened to me?"
As if the question itself was an awaiting bullet in a barrel waiting to be shot in the midst of skittish gazelles; the hunter picking its prey— Adrian rises from the chair in one fluid motion, swinging around to grab the tray of food and strides in my direction with large steps.
"Eat," he commands as he shoves the tray in my direction.
The smell of the food caused an instant rumble in return from my stomach. Almost immediately after he placed the food within my reach, he had his back toward me, heading for the door that stood ajar from his earlier entrance: realizing he was leaving, I jump to my feet, the bareness of them connecting with the wooden planks of the room.
"Hey! Wait!"
I follow after him, abruptly jarred to a stop by the chain, it digs harshly into my skin; biting it raw and sore as I tried to pull it past its limit. Adrian showed no signs of stopping, his large steps bringing him closer to the exit. Anxiety crawls up my neck and folds over the front of my body, pins-and-needles overrides my nerves as I reach out.
"Please."
My plea stops him in his tracks as he grasps the lining of the door; a moment's breath from stepping out. Inhaling deeply, I try to calm myself, his reaction throwing me in a flurry of mingled thoughts and questions, an unsettling feeling lodging itself in my throat. I drop my hand at my side, gathering my fabric of clothing in my hand, twisting it with worry.
"What happened to me?" I ask him again.
Silence.
The unsettling feel grows the longer I stare at the back of his head, a nagging sensation probing at a place within my brain; his shoulders curve inward as if the answer was causing him pain.
"Adrian. . ."
Without a noise, he faces me, the look in his eyes striking any remaining air in my lungs. The look of pure desperation has built a home within those dark, seamless eyes, his features etched with agony.
"I had to," he finally utters, his words soft and below a whisper, as if to admit it to himself. "There was no other choice."
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[ unedited ]
MERRY CHRISTMAS 🎄🎁‼️
Even though it's Christmas eve, it currently being 12 in the morning for me, I'm saying it early 😊
I know many of you weren't expecting Maddie's point of you, I'm quite happy that I was able to pull out two updates for this book, do y'all believe now when I say I'm back fr? 😭
As for Maddie's pov, there is one more chapter that will have her pov before the rest is just Delano and Kaitlyn, the last part will be the end of Adrian and Maddie 😥 I didn't intend for her pov to be a whole chapter but I got carried away 😆😆 anyway!
I hoped you all enjoyed this double updated week ❤️ and please excuse any mistakes
p.s- this takes place after she tries to attack Kaitlyn after fighting the night terrors