Rejected Mate's Redemption (Freda and James) novel Chapter 147

Chapter 147
FREDA WHITLOCK
The first thing my brain recognized was the beep beep sound from somewhere close to me. My consciousness came back to me faster than it had the last time I had woken up from unconsciousness… Drug-induced unconsciousness. I groaned and tried to roll over on my side because my back was sore. I was met with pain in my shoulders and I immediately took the weight off them.
groaned again and opened my eyes. My vision swam and then fell into focus. I was staring at a white, simple plaster ceiling. From the scent invading my nasal senses, I knew I was in hospital. I turned my head to see Francisco folded up next to me, fast asleep. There were dry tearlines on his face and it broke my heart like nothing else had.
Tears filled my own eyes and I turned on my right shoulder, despite the pain in it. I placed my arm on his torso, holding him close, and slept off in that position from the sheer exhaustion I was feeling. I did not want to make sense of anything. Just the fact that Francisco was safe beside me was enough.
*** ***
Lopened my eyes again for what seemed to be a few minutes to
twilight, and Francisco was not beside me. My heart dropped and I was thrown into panic. I looked around the room and no one was there. There were just empty take-out packs in a corner of the room, but not the person or people that ate them.
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Fighting against the disorientation and pain I was feeling, I climbed out of the bed.
“Francisco?” I called, my voice frail and completely fried from all my screaming earlier in the day. I took a step towards the door and my knees gave out underneath me. I crashed to the ground the needles in both of my hands were pulled out, causing stinging aches to shoot up both of my arms. I whimpered and placed my palms over my ears as the IV poles fell. One crashed right beside me and the other fell across the bed.
I took in a shaky breath and looked in the direction of the door as soon as I heard it being pushed open.
Lyra rushed in, followed by Francisco, Kaiden, and then a man I could barely recognize. I had seen him somewhere before. I just could not place the memory.
“Freda!” Lyra exclaimed, kneeling beside me. She grasped my face in her hands and I was ashamed of the tears that started to fall from my eyes. “Are you okay?” She asked, examining me carefully for any wounds.
Francisco hurried to my side and wrapped his hands around me. I attempted wrapping my hands around him but Lyra grasped them. “Sh–I mean crap, your hands are bleeding,” she said, looking towards the door. I noticed Kaiden and the man staring at us on the floor, and my face flushed with even more embarrassment.
“I get the Doctor,” Kaiden said, leaving with the man and
shutting the door behind him. Lyra waited for the door to shut before looking into my eyes. Her eyes were glazed over with tears, and I rapidly blinked back mine. We couldn’t both be crying in front of a child who had suffered a lot.
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“Are you okay? How are you feeling?” She asked, her voice raspy. I grabbed her hand and kissed it aggressively. I loved her. Moved her so damn much. Herself and Francisco were my world, my stability. What on earth would I do without them?
“A little dizzy,” I said with a small shrug and we both broke into tearful laughter. I looked down at Francisco who was clinging to me like a koala. I wanted to hold him to me as tight as he was holding me to himself but I did not want to stain him with my blood. “Hey little man,” I said, raising his head so I could see his face.
He was crying. Oh, my heart. My poor baby.
“Hey hey,” I said softly, leaning forward and pressing my forehead to his. “You’re brave. You’re fine, I’m fine. Aunt Lyra is fine. We are all fine. You don’t have to cry anymore,” I whispered, wiping my tears as soon as they fell from my eyes. “I love you. I love you so much. You are my world,” I said, kissing his forehead almost aggressively.
Lyra pulled us both in for a group hug as he nodded and I could not have been more happy in that moment.
The door was pushed open but we didn’t break our hug. To a lot of people, this might not have been a lot, but to us it was. It was a lot for my son and my best friend. I had almost lost them to my sister. The thought of losing them was horrible. It was worse when it was at the hands of my sister.
“I hate to break this up, but we have to get you checked,” I heard Kaiden say and I slowly pulled away from the hug and gave him a small smile.
I had to thank him. I really needed to thank him because he was
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the reason we were safe. I was not entirely sure what had happened after he came into the meeting room. My
consciousness was slipping from me, and everything bad had been happening in waves.
But I knew he had defended me. He had helped me. If I liked him before, I loved him now.