MainNovelChapter 20 ~ A touch that hurts
Chapter 20 A touch that hurts
Athena
Pain.
It's the first thing | feel, a deep, searing ache that spreads through my entire body like wildfire. My limbs feel like
dead weight,
my head is pounding, and my throat is raw as if | had
swallowed shards of glass. My lashes flutter open, and the bright, lights of
the hospital sting my vision. The beeping of a monitor echoes in my ears.
Am | dead?
Moving my neck tellsthe answer because the pain | feel is excruciating.
| inhale slowly, but even that hurts.
"Athena?"
The voice
is soft, but also sounding panicked. I'm pretty sure my family doesn't give a shit aboutso that can't be them.
Hell, they wouldn't cross the road just to check on how I'm doing.
So who is it?
My brain is mushy and there is an annoying ring in my ears as |
turn my head slightly-every movement like dragging through
molasses-and my gaze lands on Giana.
Her usually composed face is streaked with worry, her wrinkled hands trembling as they reach for me, smoothing
my hair away from my damp forehead.
"Oh, my darling girl," she whispers, her voice a gentle whisper "You scared us."
>>
Us.
I blink sluggishly, my eyes shifting past Giana, only to meet
Ariana's soft eyes watchingwith tears in her eyes.
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Was she crying?
For me?
This woman is always so poised, it's so strange seeing her shaken with an expression filled with concern towards
me.
Something snaps insideand tears prick my eyes.
It feels like | have a family that loves me
but then guilt hitslike a punch in the gut.
| deceived them. Will they forgivewhen they find out what Alex and | are keeping from them? They've been
nothing but kind
and yet I've been nothing but a liar and selfish.
They will probably hateand ruin my life while at it.
If there is one thing | know, is that The Kings
don't forgive and never forget. I've seen firsthand how it turns out when you deceive
them. Just the thought of what they will do to me, makeswish the
bright light had just taken me.
"We were so scared," Giana Mumurs, squeezing my
hand snappingout of my own death sentence. "You took a terrible fall,
sweetheart. What happened?"
Fall.
My memories crash intolike a tidal wave.
The stairs.
The pain.
Did someone pushOr did | slip?
| swallow, wincing at the dryness of my throat. My lips part, but my
voice barely rises above a whisper. “I... | fell?"
Giana nods quickly, helpingtake a few sips of water. The cool liquid soothes my
throat, but it does nothing for the storm
raging inside me.
Then, | feel it.
A presence.
shift in the air, heavy and suffocating. My pulse stutters, my breath catching as my gaze drifts past them.
And there he is.
Alex.
He stands in the corner of the room, his tall frstiff, his hands
clenched into fists. His jaw is tight, his expression unreadable. But it's his eyes that make
my chest tighten. Because for the first tin forever, | see something in them- something raw.
Worry?
Pain?.
Or maybe I'm just desperate to believe it.
Maybe | fell too hard and I'm now imagining stupid shit.
Alex doesn't care about me. He probably had
a party when he heard | was in the hospital.
My lips twitch into a bitter smile, my voice hoarse as | murmur,
"Didn't think I'd see you again."
you?"
and Ariana as if reminding himself that they're here. That he
has to play the role of
une concerned husband...
The fragile hope that had ignited for a split second flickers and dies, leaving nothing but an empty, aching
void in its place.
| shift my gaze to the ceiling, forcing back the sting of tears.
Because
no matter how much my body hurts, the pain in my heart is so much worse. So | shut my eyes and give in. The
darkness swallowswhole and this time, | really hope | won't wake up with the spain. Well, hope can be a
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Because my heart is still as shattered as it was when | first woke up.
"Athena, can you hear me?" A voice callsbut it sounds so far away.
| push my heavy eyes open and I'm met with a bright light. Again?
Is that a touch? | try to blink, but a hand is holding my eyelids open.
"Pupils responsive," a man's voice says.
The doctor.
My head feels foggy, but the sudden realization slams intolike a freight train.
My exam.
"I have to go," | croak, my voice hoarse as | try to sit up. Pain flares
through my ribs, and | bite back a groan.
"Athena, stop," Alex's voice
reaches my ears and | turn to where he's standing, his hand moving to my arm, firm but oddly gentle.
I'd ask why he's still here but | know the answer to that.
The touch is a jolt-
not from pain but something deeper, something raw and unspoken.
| flinch, ripping my arm from his grasp
like he burned me. "Don't touch me," | snap, my voice trembling, not from fear... but from him.
The doctor's brow furrows. "Does it hurt?"
Yes.
But not in the way you think.
Alex's jaw tightens, his hand
slowly retreating to his side, his expression unreadable again.
"I have an exam," | whisper, my voice breaking. "I need to go."
There's a beat of silence.
Then, in a voice so soft, so unlike him, Alex says,
"Athena... you've been out for three days."
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