Chapter Twelve
The Muse~
My eyes burn behind my eyelids, and there is a relentless buzzing somewhere inside my head. I hate how dry my throat feels right now. The ringing intensifies as I slowly blink open my eyes.
It takes me a few good moments before I can actually focus on my surroundings. I am lying on a hospital bed—at least this is what it seems like from the white ceiling above me. The last thing I remember is the headlights of a car. I think I fainted after that.
How come the car didn't run over me?
Just then ice prickles my scalp and chill slides down my spine. This is the feeling I get when my stalker watches me from afar. I force myself to breathe. I don't want to pass out from lack of oxygen inside my lungs again.
My eyes start to drift around the room, and I call out to every God I have heard of because I don't have the energy, stamina, resolve, or patience to deal with my stalker. But then again, the question is, how did he even get here? As much as my instincts told me, my stalker wasn't with me in the coffee shop at that time. Or was he?
Gosh, my head hurts.
But I let out a breath of relief as my eyes meet with a pair of worried brown ones. I am so relieved that I could cry. I thought that maybe I was in someone's hands that I would absolutely hate to be in.
"You are up." Kyler breathes as if he wasn't breathing for the last few hours and relief showers over his warm eyes. I want to get a better look at them without that glass hanging before them. Are they actually that cold when he is not looking at me? "You actually scared me."
He is standing a few feet away from the bed as if he is scared to get any closer. I wonder why. I chuckle as I start to sit up, but the ringing in my head intensifies with every movement I make. I bite my lip to hold back a groan and sit up. I look at the nightstand beside the bed, hoping that I will find something to drink.
"Here." He approaches my bed and hands me a bottle of water. He opens the cap for me so that I can drink easily.
I mouth him a thank you and chug the content down my throat. I then look up at him, "What happened?" I ask softly, keeping my voice as minimal as possible so that the action won't make my head hurt harder. There is a numb ache in my whole body.
"You fainted." He drags a stool across the room and takes a seat beside my bed. "Before the car could hit you. The driver hit the break in time. It seems like you fainted from overflowing emotions and stress. The doctor said that you didn't sleep well for the past few nights as well." He explains, his eyes searching my face for any possible injury. I don't remember the last time someone looked at me that worriedly.
"Ah, so I once again cooked myself with my stupidity," I conclude and place the bottle of water on the nightstand beside my bed. "So, you never said, how do you know Keith." I usually bring that up, because this is the one thing that occurred to me the moment I saw Kyler.
It is not like I actually care about that anymore. I don't want to think about Keith at all anymore. He is an asshole and I am more than willing to talk to Jesper about him if he tries to bother me again. Jesper is a bigger dickhead than Keith. But if one asshole helps me escape another then I am completely fine with it.
Kyler tenses a little and shifts in his seat, "Well… he is my younger brother."
My eyebrows meet the scar on my forehead, "What?! He is your what?!"
My reaction just makes him even more tense, "I am sorry… for his earlier behavior."
I can't believe it. Kyler is that asshole's brother?! This is almost laughable, "No, no, no, it is actually fine." I laugh softly and it makes my head give me another fit of buzzing. "I wasn't expecting that asshole to be your brother. You are really different from him."
Just then the door of the room swings open and Ana steps in with a pissed look on her face, "Woman, you haven't been in New York even for a damn week, and you—" She trails off as her eyes land on Kyler.
For an unfathomable reason, the air in the room thickens with unspoken tension. My gaze ping pongs between Kyler and Ana, wonder what happened all of a sudden.
"What is he doing here?" Ana doesn't take her sharp eyes off him.
"I brought her here." Kyler gets on his feet and returns Ana with a cold look. However, it is nowhere near what he gave Keith in the coffee shop. It felt like he just froze my whole heart and soul with that one glare. "What are you doing here?"
"I was called in by the hospital." Ana folds her arms over her chest and looks at me, "Before I pay you a proper visit, I'd like to talk with him—" She points at Kyler with her index finger, "—first. Hope you don't mind."
Before I can process or say anything, Ana exits the room and Kyler follows after her.
"What the fuck…?" I blurt out as I am left alone in the hospital room on my own.
I am still recovering from what happened earlier when the door of the room slides open once again. I hope to see Kyler and Ana reenter the room, but the entrance of two men in black splashes a basin of cold water over my head.
"Who are you?" My gaze sharpens immediately and I am on my guard.
"You are to come with us, Miss Volkov." One of the men replies, his voice grumpy and his build bulky, "Mr. River asked for you."
Jesper?!