Heavy, but a little something that's kicking around.

Rough edit, but it's been a long week and it's only Tuesday.

Ever heard the phrase, 'run like your life depends on'? I didn't give it much thought, thinking that it was just something people said. But right now…I understood it.

I wasn't sure what sensation resonated with me the most; the feeling of my bare feet hitting the dirt and twigs, the cold arm against my bare arms and legs, the feeling of the branches scratching at my face and body, or the sound of my heart hammering in my ears.

Was that what adrenaline felt like? To feel like you were going to explode?

The night was silent aside from my crashing through the trees. I knew that my feet were raw; the stones and sticks digging into my skin and leaving a trail of blood in their wake. But I didn't have the luxury of shoes. I barely had the luxury of the shirt on my back. I lifted my arm to protect my face from the low-hanging branches as I ran. But as I made it beyond the branch, my gasp of shock filled the night.

I was weightless for a moment as the ground disappeared beneath me, but it wasn't long before my body came crashing down. I covered my face with my arms as I tumbled down. It felt like forever before I hit solid ground again. I could barely catch my breath as I looked up at the night sky, it felt like I had been kicked in the chest.

But I had to get up. I had to keep moving.

I groaned as I rolled, pushing myself to my feet despite feeling like I was going to shatter into a million pieces. I felt disoriented and took a second to centre myself before I started off again, running ahead. It was so dark that I couldn't see much, but as I ran, I felt the difference under my feet. It wasn't dirt, but now it was gravel, and then asphalt.

I stopped for a moment to catch my breath when a sound I hadn't heard in a long time reached my ears. But even with the sound, the darkness was so suddenly illuminated, that I barely had time to react.

The headlights almost blinded me; all I could think of was lifting my arms up again. The tires of the car screeched against the road, and I felt the wind rush around me as the vehicle swerved. I let a breath of relief, before turning to look at the driver. I heard the door slam shut as they got out, and with the light of the headlights, I could see them.

I had never seen someone so tall before.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" he exclaimed, coming closer to me.

I heaved a few deep breaths before a cold sensation set over me.

"Help me," I whispered before collapsing.

I felt out of sorts as I sat on the bed. When I woke up, I was in the hospital. Someone had put a hospital gown on me, but I was alone when I woke up. I noticed that there was a brace on my left wrist, one of the big thick ones that had a Velcro strap. I ran my hand through my hair with the other hand and I was surprised to feel it untangled. I couldn't think of the last time I was able to wash my hair.

It made me feel uneasy to be alone; I hadn't been alone in a long time.

I jumped when there was a knock on the door it opened, and three people walked in. One was a woman in hospital scrubs, the second was a tall man with blonde hair in a suit, and the third was an even taller man with brown hair and eyes.

"Ms. Hathaway, the police would like to ask you a few questions if it's alright with you?" the woman asked.

"How do you know my name?" I whispered.

"You told me," the tallest man said, his voice clocked with the same accent as the man that I jumped in front of.

"I did?"

"You were barely conscious. But you told me your name was Rose Hathaway," he explained softly, "This is my partner, Ivan Zeklos. We're both detectives here in Harrisburg."

"Harrisburg?"

"Pennsylvania," the blonde man, Ivan, stated. I nodded and bit my lip. I was a long way from home. Almost across the country.

"Does my mom know?"

"We called her. She's on her way here," the tall man said.

I nodded. "You didn't say your name."

He smiled gently. "Dimitri Belikov. Jumping in front of my car was dangerous."

I shrugged. "I had to get away."

"We know," Ivan said gently. I looked at the woman and nodded softly. They both came further into the hospital room. Ivan gestured to the end of the bed while Dimitri stood at the end of it.

"Do you remember the night you were abducted?"

I thought for a moment. "Sort of. It's all hazy at the moment."

"Do you remember where you were running from?"

I shrugged. I felt like everything was so jumbled in my head.

"When will my mom be here?"

"Soon. Hopefully within the next day. She wasn't in the country when we contacted her," Ivan explained, "Do you feel ready to answer some questions?"

I shook my head softly. I still felt so overwhelmed.

"Can I go for a walk? I need to move a little bit," I whispered. Dimitri nodded and he grabbed the robe that was hanging on the door, and helped me into it as I stood up. He gestured to the slippers and carefully put them on my feet.

"I can get you a cane, but you're going to be unsteady. You hurt your legs pretty bad when you escaped," Ivan said. I looked down at my legs and nodded to myself. My legs were black and blue, and there was a tensor bandage wrapped around my ankle.

"I think I'm okay," I whispered, shuffling gently towards the door. Dimitri was right behind me, I could feel his hand hovering behind my back as I walked.

"Thanks for not hitting me. I guess it was pretty stupid to stand in the road."

"You were under substantial adrenaline. It's alright, I'm just glad I'm used to driving that road and seeing deer at night," he explained. I nodded and sighed.

"Where are you from?"

I blanched slightly when the words came out of my mouth. It was what my mother would say was rude. But thankfully, Dimitri laughed.

"I'm from Russia."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be so blunt."

"It's alright. I am used to bluntness," he explained, "How is your head? You hit it pretty hard when you collapsed on the road."

I shrugged.

"Everything kind of hurts and doesn't at the same time. Where is Janine flying in from?"

Dimitri cleared his throat as he opened the door for me. I knew that I wouldn't be able to leave the hospital floor, so I figured lapping it would be okay.

"Austria," he said.

"Nice. She always liked Vienna," I said absently. As we walked, I spotted someone further ahead and I picked up my pace. I recognized them. I felt relief seeing Eric and Rhea, but as I got closer to them, their faces showed anything but happiness.

"Where is Lissa?" Eric all but demanded. I wasn't surprised. Their daughter was missing too.

"She's…still there," I said after a moment. For a few minutes, I forgot my best friend was still with him.

"And you left her there?!" Rhea exclaimed, her blonde brows shooting up.

"I couldn't get her out too. She was in a different room. How did you know I was here?" I asked quietly.

"Your mother called us, saying that she got a call that you were found. But when we didn't get the same call, we wanted to know firsthand why!" Eric snapped, "How could you have left her there!"

I flinched back at their raised voices.

"Now, I think that we all may need to take a breather," Ivan said as he caught up to us, trying to intervene but Rhea started talking again.

"No! If our daughter had made better choices in her friends, she wouldn't be in this situation! But you! You have been nothing but a parasite in her life, causing nothing but trouble. It should have been here in the hospital, not you!" Rhea exclaimed, drawing the attention of everyone around us.

I took another step back, bumping into Dimitri behind me. He rested his hands gently on my shoulders.

"I think that's enough," Ivan said stepping in front of me while Dimitri carefully guided me away from the chaos. I felt like the world was spinning around me as Dimitri led me back to my room.

"Rose, breathe," Dimitri soothed, and it wasn't until he spoke that I realized that the noise I was hearing, was me. The sound of gasping, and the numb sensation in my face was because I was hyperventilating.

Dimitri directed me to sit down on the bed and poured a cup of water, holding it out to me. I took it and took a tentative sip.

"Emotions are high. I don't think they mean what they said," Dimitri sympathized but I shook my head a I sipped my water.

"They've pretended to like me growing up, but I knew they thought I was trouble. But most of the time, I got in trouble taking the fall for Lissa," I whispered, "She was terrified of disappointing her parents."

Dimitri nodded and took the cup from me when I finished. As I handed the cup back, I noticed that three of my fingers were tapped together with a splint.

"How bad did I hurt myself when I fell?" I asked, not noticing the pain I had, but it was more of a discomfort.

"It's hard to tell what was from the fall or from your captor, but you fractured two fingers, bruised a few ribs, and your ankle is pretty swollen. It looks like you twisted it. You're bruised pretty bad," Dimitri explained.

I nodded and swallowed. I felt completely overwhelmed and felt nothing at the same time. It was almost like my body was shutting down.

"I feel crazy."

"How so?" Dimitri asked.

"I feel so…overwhelmed and numb and confused."

"Stress can be strange. Considering everything you've been through, being overwhelmed is not uncommon.

I nodded and sighed quietly. Everything was going to be different now.