Forbidden Knots (Shadow Duet #1)

28. TWENTY EIGHT

TWENTY EIGHT

Storm

M y eyes opened, and my hands traced the empty sheets next to me, and my whole world crumbled all over again. I stood up instantly, and a small mirror on the wooden wall reflected my bruised neck, numb to the touch.

"How could I have been so fucking stupid?" I sobbed, collecting my clothes and pulling them on.

Tears streamed down my cheeks, and all the emotions from the past month collected in a surge of agony, and I let out a loud scream.

"Fuck you!" I shouted.

The sun was shining so strongly that my eyes saw black spots as I stumbled forward on the boat. I jumped into the shallow sea and dragged myself toward the shore.

My whole world had depended on him, my dreams hinging on the belief that he would be the one to save me, but he was gone, just like everyone else in my life.

Once again, I was left all alone.

I slowly walked home, my feet betraying me, and people watched my every move. They gossiped as if they had seen a ghost, their laughs filling the town.

I finally reached home and, as I got inside, I slowly walked up the stairs. When I opened the door to the living room, there was my mom with a man. He was in a black suit, holding a notebook close to his chest, thick glasses perched on the tip of his nose.

"Mom," I cried out, running into her arms.

"Mom," my voice broke, tears streaming down my cheeks as I saw her face.

Her palms reached my cheeks, and then she wrapped her arms around me, pulling me close and squeezing me tight.

"What happened?" she whispered, seeing the trail on my neck. "Who did this to you?"

I just shook my head, tears falling so fast I couldn't control my sobs, my chest heaving as I struggled to breathe.

The man next to us, his lips a thin line, watched and wrote in his notebook. I knew something was wrong. This wasn’t the end.

"Mom, who is he?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.

"This is Dr. Bloom," she said. "He wants to have a few words with you. Grandma called, and she was very concerned about you," she explained, her palms gently gliding down my hair. "I didn't know the situation was this bad."

"No, Mom, you can't trust her," I said, my voice shaking dramatically, as she parted my hands from her body.

Dr. Bloom shook his head, and two men in white scrubs entered the room.

"No," I shouted.

"No," I screamed.

I knew what this was.

They were taking me to the last place I needed to be. They held my arms, their strong hands keeping me in place as my feet kicked at the ground. My head turned left and right as I screamed again, "NO!"

"This is for the best, Thalia. You will be in a safe place," he said.

Then, a needle pricked my neck, and instantly my body went numb. They dragged me outside, my feet hitting each step, and I felt nothing. At the front door, two more men waited with a bed, and they placed my numb body on it and tied me up. Then they slid me into the car and inserted another needle into my hand.

My eyes slowly began to shut down, and so did the life inside me. The world faded to black, leaving me with the cold, hard truth that I was utterly alone in my pain.

The hospital light blinked in front of me, and nurses bustled around as I slowly blinked my eyes.

"Where am I?" I asked, my voice weak and scratchy.

" Santa Maria Asylum ," one of them answered, seating me in a wheelchair.

She placed her hands on my jaw, opened it slowly, and inserted a red and white pill onto my tongue.

"Swallow it," she commanded, closing my jaw.

I couldn't tell if I swallowed it or not; my body was still numb, unresponsive. My head hung on my shoulders, and I felt detached from reality, questioning if any of this was real.

She placed her hands on the back of the wheelchair, rolling it through the hallway. Distant rumbles and grasping hands reached out from tiny windows set into the green doors.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to escape so badly, but I couldn't move, I couldn't even speak.

As she rolled me along, she hummed a song about a little bird. In the hallway mirrors, I saw myself—dark circles under my eyes, my skin pale as a ghost.

I didn't exist anymore. I wasn't myself anymore.

I wasn't Thalia, I wasn't Storm.

When she laid me in bed, she cuffed my wrists and ankles to the bedframe, still humming that damn song that now echoed deep in my brain. I closed my eyes, hoping some demon from this place would visit me so I wouldn't be alone. But as soon as the door closed, there was nothing. Not even a sound. Just that damn song about the little bird she sang all along.

Tears streamed down my temples, and I started to hum softly:

"Little bird, little bird, where you fly?

Little bird, little bird, who you are?

Will you stay, will you stay, or are you afraid?

Little bird, little bird, who did you pray?

Stay with me, stay with me, you will be safe, you will be sound.

I will cut your wings, I won't let you fly.

But little bird, little bird, you will know who you are."

When I closed my eyes, my mind was a storm of curses directed at Tristan. I cursed everything sacred to him, blaming him for the agony I was enduring. Yet, deep down, beneath all the anger and despair, I prayed he would save me from this hell.

My hope in him was all I had left to cling to.