Page 67 of Jackson

Fingers brushed through my hair again, giving me a sense of hope as they traced along my temple. A soft kiss placed there.

Didn’t I deserve happiness, too?

Yes, is what the void answered back, the voice sounding suspiciously familiar.Of course you do.

Coming back into my body was nothing like the movies. It was not a slow and gradual awakening that felt peaceful or finite. It was a hard slam of my consciousness being forced back into my body that left me gasping for breath and practically rocketing off of the bed that I was lying on.

There were things strapped to my arms and on my chest, wires that got tangled when I tried to lift up my arms and shield my eyes from the blinding light above me. Tears clouded my eyes, keeping me from seeing straight.

“Ayen,don’t.” A firm hand gripped my wrist, pinning it back by my head.

Panic flooded into my system. I was being restrained just like the void had done to me.

Claustrophobia was closing in on me?—

“Baby, stop.” He grabbed my other arm. “Just breathe, you’re okay.”

My body twisted in the bed sheets, battling against the body hovering over me and trying to grab at my other arm that I flailed around wildly. Something was covering my face, tight and uncomfortable, that sent me into a blind fight or flight. Themachine next to me was blaring loudly, some kind of code going off that was making me dizzy to listen to.

I want—I want...

“Shhh.” Warm lips brushed along my forehead, strong fingers lacing with mine. “I’m right here. You’re okay...”

My body heaved a heavy sob with the familiar feeling of safety suddenly surrounding me.

“I know, sweetheart.” More kisses along my temple. “You’ve got to keep everything on, though. You breathed in a lot of smoke. They need to monitor your oxygen levels.”

Smoke?

Memories slammed into me.

The fire.

Barker falling down the incline.

Me radioing for help.

Jackson rescuing me?—

Jax.

“That’s it,” he murmured. “Just relax for me. You’re okay. I’m right here.”

The machine next to me gradually stopped screeching, settling down to a slow and steady beeping that reminded me of my dreams. I let my body relax back into the bed, suddenly feeling how tired I really was from fighting both in and out of my head.

How did I even get here?

The last thing I remembered was Jackson throwing the rope down to me and being pulled up over the overhang. My lungs still burned a bit from the memory of choking on all of that smoke. Overwhelming darkness had hit me so suddenly that I could barely piece together what happened after that.

Jackson slowly lightened up on his hold on me, his fingers coming up to brush under my eyes where tears had collected, wiping my skin clean of them. Having him here with me made it easier to be at ease again—I didn’t have to worry about being claimed by that awful darkness again.

Not when I knew Jackson would be here to pull me back out of it.

When my eyes finally focused on him again, he smiled lightly at me. The bags under his eyes were prominent, as was the shadow of his facial hair coming in. He looked tired, like he hadn’t slept in days.

How long had we been here for?

My arm was heavy when I lifted it, like it weighed a hundred pounds more than I remember it being before all of this. There was one of those heart rate monitor clips attached on my pointer finger, the wire falling down somewhere off my bed to the right of my hip. An IV line stuck out from the hollow of my elbow, prickling me slightly when I tried to bend my arm up to grab at Jackson.

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