Her Heroes

Chapter Seventeen

My feet pounded the ground as I sprinted between my brothers. They all turned their heads to look at me but I was gone. 

I didn't know where I was going as I ran but eventually I came to the shrub barrier separating the river from the garden. Pulling open the gate I slid inside. 

My legs kept moving, a steady motion. My fingers tapped and scrapped at each other as I thought about what I had seen. 

Is Alexandre okay? How did he get shot? What were they doing that led to him being shot? The thoughts kept building and morphing into something more. It was getting out of hand. 

"I think I know where she might be..."  Valentin's voice broke me out of my trance and I began to panic. Footsteps crunched towards me and I back molded into the fence, hiding within the shadows. 

His form entered slowly and he moved away from the gate, leaving it open. My eyes darted from it to him, from him to it. He walked closer to the river and I took the chance and ran. 

This wouldn't be good when they caught me. I couldn't get caught if I wanted to live.

The air got knocked out of my lungs as I sprawled to the ground. Grass flooded my mouth and I spat hard before trying to move to no avail. Something heavy was holding me down and immediately my breaths became shorter and shorter. I screamed out and tried to pull myself away but the person was too strong. A large hand pushed my neck into the ground and I felt the prick of a needle. My eyes widened and I began to try and move out of his hands. The contents in the needle emptied and I panicked more. The drug began to work and slowly my eyes flitted shut. No, this couldn't be happening to me. I couldn't let him take advantage of me. I promised myself this wouldn't happen again.

***

The sun warmed my face and I jolted upright. Memories flooded me and I checked the bed. Nothing was there. I didn't know for sure though. My entire body was sore. Was it from my takedown or was it from something else? Would a new scar be marring my body? The ideas twisted and morphed. Each one was more dangerous than the last. I slid to the wall next to my bed and pulled my knees to my chest. I was hyperventilating and there was nothing I could do about it. This was it, this was how I died. My breathing continued its erratic pattern and my thoughts continued to build. 

A loud beeping came from somewhere above me and my waterfilled eyes snapped up. I frantically searched for the source and sighed heavily when I realized it was only my alarm. My breathing steadied as I took breaths with the sound of the beeping. In, out, repeat. Carefully I stood up and turned the alarm off. 

Today was a new day. My brothers didn't need to know about me spiraling out of control. Making my way to my closet I quickly pulled on my uniform for the day. I pulled the blue polo on quickly, pairing it with the white skirt and black tights. My mary janes were quickly buckled on and I left the room, heading for the kitchen.

***

I walked into the room and looked around. All of my brothers, plus Gabriel, were there; but, none of them even bothered to look up at me. Shaking my head, I took my seat. It was fine. I didn't want to feel obligated to communicate to them what happened - or didn't - happen last night. 

A hand reached in and set a steaming plate of crepes dusted in sugar in front of me. Looking back at Annette, I smiled gratefully before digging in. Her food was always top quality; and since moving in, my stomach had begun to fill out more. It wasn't a lot, I still couldn't eat a full plate of food, but it was more than before.

"Nadia." I looked up mid-bite and swallowed. The gooey Nutella and strawberries were a perfect mix in the light pastry. Hercule slid two boxes towards me and I cautiously took them. "You're starting school today, you need to have the best tech. It was also brought to my attention that the four of you forgot to get you a phone?" I nodded and he motioned towards the boxes.