TWENTY-ONE

BELLA.

A groan escaped my lips. My head throbbed with a dull ache, a wave of nausea washing over me, forcing my eyes to crack open.

I was met with a flood of bright white light, completely flooding my visual sensors and disorienting me. I blinked multiple times until the fuzzy shapes came into focus.

I took a deep breath, the scent of sterile disinfectants and medications filling my nose. The beeping sound that seemed to come from somewhere at the back of my head drew closer till it became very audible and appeared to be right next to me.

The memories slowly began to spill in like a flicker of light- the dark cell, the toilet, Anna’s voice, and finally the fall. As if invoked by my memories, the dull pain in my head intensified, drawing another groan from me.

“Easy there,” a warm hand gently clasped my shoulder, “you’re fine now.”

I turned my eyes in the direction of the voice and was met with warm brown eyes, a soft smile, and the most aristocratic-looking nose I’ve se