What Happened?
The lighting was far too white and bright. That's how she knew she was in a hospital.
Everything was a blur. In her morphine-fueled haze, she barely recognized a reoccurring pattern of behavior of ending up where she didn't intend to be and not being sure how she got there.
She would have laughed but her lungs felt too heavy. Everything felt heavy.
Her eyes were barely opened slits, the typical warm golden-brown hue now dulled to a soft mocha. The natural curls of her golden shoulder-length hair were unbound and wild around her face which was more blue and purple than its natural olive complexion. The IV line attached to her right hand was accompanied by the end of a handcuff attached to the railing of the bed. An oxygen mask aided her labored breathing and the heart rate monitor next to her bed recorded the regular beats of her heart that indicated her living status.
She still felt dead.
"She's been in and out of consciousness," she barely heard a nervous feminine voice on the other side of the door. "Her doctors have done everything they can to induce more brain function without compromising pain management. Her injuries were very extensive…,"
There was a pause that she supposed was to be the reply. But it never came and shortly, the door opened. A very flustered brunette nurse entered first, staring at the floor as she held the door open.
A few seconds later, a tall, imposing figure that she could recognize through the strongest of drugs walked in. His dark, weighty presence instantly drained the brightness from the room and she felt the familiar stirrings of deep dread. Her heart rate remained remarkably steady for which she was grateful.
He was a broad man with short, dark hair under a Marine emblem cap. He wore a double-breasted crimson suit with a floral-designed shirt left unbuttoned under it, indicating he was there on official business.
He spoke, his voice deep and grave per usual. "Leave us."
The nurse swallowed. With an apologetic glance in the blonde's direction, she quickly left the room.
The room was eerily silent as he allowed his aura to settle. He walked over to the end of her bed and flipped through her chart slowly.
He spoke for the second time. "Tell me what happened."
It was almost casual; as casual as someone of his age and steeliness could manage. It sent a chill down her spine.
She stared obstinately at the wall, hoping he would see the state she was in and decide whatever he intended to do wasn't worth going through with at the moment.
No such luck.
He observed her for all ten seconds with an unreadable expression before walking over to the IV controller, his black dress shoes clacking against the floor.
He's really going to kill me, she thought as she followed his movement with his eyes. He's finally going to do it.
No.
His large, gloved fingers nimbly worked the machine's small buttons and a minute later, the heaviness of her body slowly began to lift. The haziness of her mind dissipated.
The pain hit her like a ton of bricks and she seized immediately which only caused more agony. Her head pounded in every hemisphere. Her entire face ached. The vertebrae in her broken neck, kept protected by a neck brace, shook painfully with the new pressure she accidentally put on it. Her broken right shoulder throbbed. Already in a fragile state, her ribs felt like they were on the verge of shattering. Her abdominal muscles spasmed with tautness. The deep cuts under her bandaged body stung.
She should have known he wouldn't give her some blissful, pain-free way out. Of course he would make sure she suffered first.
He had no reaction to her reaction. He simply walked back over to the end of her bedside and stared at her coolly.
"What happened?" he asked again.
She stared at him defiantly as she tried to calm her body. She wanted him to know that no matter how much pain he caused her, he couldn't intimidate her anymore. She wouldn't take it any longer.
Through clenched teeth, she spoke for the first time in four days.
"Fuck. You."
He blinked.
His eyes narrowed, the wrinkles around his eyes crinkling with middle-age and long-held resentment. He met her stare with a dark intensity. The dark brown of his eyes burned unnaturally red-orange. His hands began to smoke as they reached out and grasped her much smaller feet.
A painful, unnatural heat began to burn throughout her entire body and she instantly began to sweat. Her accelerated heart rate became quickly erratic, the beeps on the monitor now on in a frenzy while her lungs couldn't seem to pump enough air. She was being cooked from the inside out.
He spoke once more, his voice oozing nothing but malice.
"I will only ask one more time. What happened?"
Hello to all, old and new, to the revised version of my fanfic, The Marine's Daughter.
I know I promised the first couple of chapters at the end of last year but life was hitting me hard and I have honestly felt very uninspired to write on top of being busy and distracted. Life is a better now though and I think I've crafted an even better version of the story after taking the pressure off myself. Thank you to my old fans for holding out and waiting patiently and welcome to new venturers.
Please enjoy
Cottonball428
a/n: I have uploaded this chapter to original story because I wanted my patient, amazing alerts squad to get the notification when I was ready to update again. I will be moving the story to a new page when I upload chapter 2 where I would love some reviews, but feel free to leave some here. I would love to get some feedback on how you guys like the very new direction I've taken.