- 2 7 -

"Rough day?" Dean asked me as he sat in the seat beside me at the cafeteria and I hum in response, my head still on the table while Jane munches on her lunch.

"I'm so tired. And hungry. And sleepy." I whine and hear Dean's chuckle.

"Aren't we all? Do you want me to get you something to eat?" He asks me and I hum once again in response, not feeling it in me to reply any further.

Thanks to someone clouding all my thoughts last night, I could barely get any sleep and all I could think of was rough hands on my soft skin, making me feel absolutely euphoric.

Drat.

Thankfully, Dean knows I love the French fries here so he brings me a big plate of them and I quickly devour them all within minutes.

"These are so good." I moan as I sip onto my glass of fresh apple juice, although it tastes a little bitter today.

I glanced at my watch once before sighing heavily and get up from my seat.

"I have art class, so I'll see you guys later, yeah?" I say and they nod as I make my way to the other side of my college, all the way to the art hall.

I slump over my work table, more tired than usual but now it seems like my whole body is being torn apart. I groan in annoyance and pull my checkered shirt close to myself as I feel a shiver in my body, even though it's nowhere near cold.

"Thea dear, are you alright?" My teacher, Mrs. Gibbons asks me concerned and I look at her through half lidded eyes and stifle a yawn.

How graceful and polite of me to yawn in my teacher's face.

"Y-yes, I'm just a little tired, I guess,

so my head's hurting." I reply and she looks to think for a moment before looking at me once again.

"Well, why don't you go home then? You're already ahead anyway so it wouldn't hurt to take a day off. Get some rest and I'll see you bright and early tomorrow." She says and I thank her as she leaves and then hoist myself up and drag my feverish body back to the cafeteria to get some water for my dry throat.

I honestly feel like collapsing right here.

I sit on a chair and put my head on the table and rub my temples, feeling my eyes getting droopy and my head bursting with pain and before I knew it, my eyes closed on their own.

"Heather? Heather baby wake up." I hear his deep and velvety voice, making me smile faintly and try to reach out for him but my body refuses to let me move.

"What the fuck happened to her?" I hear him shout and wrap his warm arms around my cold

body.

"Princess wake up. Fuck, you're burning." He says and I try to pry open my eyes and speak but nothing comes out.

"Roman?" I whisper and I feel his fingers stroke my cheek.

"Yes baby, I'm right here, let's get you out of here." He says and I feel myself being lifted up into the air and assume it's him picking me up.

Am I flying?

I think I'm delirious.

I bury my face in his chest and smell his intoxicating cologne.

"Roman?" I whisper as I feel him walking somewhere.

"Yes baby?"

"I feel so cold. Can you hold me tighter? It's really c-cold." I say and feel his arms go tighter around me and melt in his warm embrace.

"Better now?" He asks me but I don't reply to him and hear him curse and start to run.

"Fuck. Baby keep talking to me, please, keep your eyes open. Let me hear your sweet voice." He says as he opens his car door and I feel him place a hand on my forehead.

"Roman, please don't leave me. I'm scared." I say and feel him place a kiss on my forehead.

"I'm right here. I won't leave you." He reassures me and I feel oddly satisfied at his words.

"Shit." He whispers as he puts his blazer on top of me and I instantly wrap it around myself, finding comfort in its warmth as my eyes close on their own.

"Heather, baby can you hear me?" I feel his large hand cup my cheek and I try to open my eyes and look at a white ceiling which seems to be moving. My eyes look for a certain person and they fall on green ones looking at me with worry.

"That's right, keep your eyes open, you'll be fine, don't worry." He tells me as his hand clasps around mine but we are separated as quickly and I'm pushed away from him, forcing my eyes to stay open and watching him as I enter another room until my eyes close once again.

A steady beeping welcomes my ears when I next feel myself waking up, and try to open my eyes, only to look at another white ceiling.

Hospital? Probably.

"Roman?" I whisper, feeling my throat parched as I hear the shuffling of feet.

"Thea, thank god you're awake. You had us so worried sweetheart." My brothers face comes into view and I look at his worried eyes.

"Wait, I'll call a doctor." He quickly says and runs off, returning a few seconds later followed by a man with slightly greying hair in a white coat.

"Ms. Elias, good to see you're awake now, how are you feeling?" He asks me checking my vitals as Alex makes me drink water.

"Better, but my head's still hurting." I reply and he nods, writing something on his clipboard.

"That's expected, you were drugged quite heavily but the headache will subside in a while." He said and I nodded.

Alex walked out of the room with the doctor and after a few minutes, a very worried Ivan burst in.

"Oh thank god. I thought you died." He said and I rolled my eyes playfully.

"Wouldn't you like that?" I retorted and he chuckled, coming closer to me and taking my hand in his.

"How are you feeling now?" He asked me and I shrugged.

"My head hurts." I reply, making him nod as we sit in silence for a while until Alex comes in.

"Hey. I talked to the doctor and he says we can take you home tonight after they're sure you're okay." He says as he sits on the chair beside the bed.

"What happened, exactly?" I ask and both of them look at each other before Alex sighed deeply.

"You were... drugged... and poisoned." He said and I frowned.

Wait... doesn't that make it extremely deadly?

"Together?" I ask and he nods his head once.

"Did you eat anything of the sort or feel anything off at college today?" He asks me and I bite my lip, thinking about it.

"Not really, no." I reply and they both nod solemnly.

"Although..." I start remembering and both of their gazes snap to mine immediately.

"I drank fresh apple juice today at the cafeteria and it tasted... bitter." I said unsure and Alex frowned and looked at Ivan.

"Could that be-..." he started but Ivan cut him off.

"Yes." He replied curtly and I felt his eye twitch as he stood up abruptly and kissed my forehead.

"I'll be back in the evening to take you home. Take care." He said and walked out of the room in large strides, just like that.

What's up with him?

"I have to go figure this out too, but you rest, yeah?" He says softly.

"Okay... what about dad?" I ask him and he purses his lips.

"He doesn't know you're here yet. We'll tell him when we go home, okay?" He tells me and I nod.

"Alright." I reply quickly and he gives me a once over before placing a kiss on the top of my head and leaves, closing the door softly behind him.

I sigh deeply and lean back into my soft pillow, my eyes raking over the cosy and expensive hospital room knowing Alex must've arranged it and pull the covers over myself, drifting off to dreamless sleep.

When I feel a warm and familiar stroke on my cheek, and someone's palm cupping the side of my face, I instantly relax into their warmth and sigh in content.

"Baby?" He whispers and my eyes open slowly and I'm met directly by a beautiful emerald green, looking at me with concern.

So pretty.

"Roman?" I whisper and see a faint smile pulling onto his lips, making his face look so beautiful and so perfect.

"It's me." He whispers back and I smile, mirroring his as his thumb continues to stroke my cheek.

"How are you feeling?" He asks me after a while.

"Better, thank you." I reply and he nods, searching my face for any signs of discomfort or pain but he doesn't find any.

"Is anyone else here?" I ask him but he shakes his head.

"Only me, amore." (Love) he replies softly and I smile at him.

"Thanks for bringing me here. Did you tell Alex too?" I ask him and he nods once.

"I did." He replied as his free hand clasped mine.

"What did you take?" He asked me and I shrugged.

"The fresh apple juice at the cafeteria tasted bitter. I think there was something in that." I said and saw his jaw clench shut.

"Did you ever have it before?" He asked me and I shook my head.

"I have apple juice everyday but never the fresh one. I always get the packaged one but they didn't have it today." I told him and he looked to be lost in his thoughts for a few moments, staring at something behind me before his gaze snapped to mine.

"You'll be okay." He said and I nodded.

"I can go back home tonight." I informed him.

"I know."

"When did you come here?" I asked him after a while.

"A while ago." He replied curtly and I nodded thoughtfully.

Has he been here this whole time?

"Yes, I have actually." He said and my eyes widened.

Did I just say that out loud?

"You did." He said again chuckling and this time I pursed my lips before I spilled anymore thoughts, scanning his face and observing his features carefully.

Isn't he perfect?

"I am, aren't I?" He said cockily with a smug grin on his face.

"W-what?" I said shocked and he leaned forward towards me.

"I'm perfect aren't I?" He repeated my words and I felt myself blush furiously and duck my head low, when his finger came under my chin and he lifted my face up so I looked directly into his eyes.

"Am I perfect, princess?" He asked me huskily.

"Yes." I whispered and he chuckled lightly.

"You're perfect. And so beautiful." He whispered, his words lighting a spark inside me as butterflies swarmed my stomach and my heart did back flips.

This man is probably make my heart jump out of my chest.

"You're beautiful too." I blurted out and then blushed as his face came closer to mine and he smiled lightly, showcasing his dimples that made him look even more handsome.

Can he get any more beautiful?

"Thanks princess." He whispered, his eyes on my lips and mine on his. But when I looked back to his eyes I noticed they were already on me and I'd been caught staring at his lips.

Oops.

"Can you-... can you kiss me?" I whispered quietly, making him smirk faintly as he leaned forward even more, our lips now only a breath apart.

"Your wish is my command princess." He whispered huskily and placed his lips on mine, kissing me gently.

Our lips started to move together as one and I granted him access to my mouth as his tongue slipped in and both of us fought for dominance.

My hands went to hook around his neck while he pulled me closer by the back of my neck, him kissing me softly as if I'd break any moment.

When we pulled away, we just stared into each other's eyes, the ocean and forest regarding each other carefully as we both stepped in perilous waters.

"Thank you." I whispered lightly.

"For?" He asked me and I smiled, leaning forward and placing a lingering kiss on his lips before pulling away.

"The kiss. And bringing me here." I said and saw his lips twitch slightly.

He slowly got up and with a small kiss to my forehead, he gave me one last look before heading out, leaving me sighing and questioning every single thing that came out of my mouth today.

I really know how to embarrass myself.

Only after he left did I notice the red rose on the table beside the bed with a black and gold card attached to it. I quickly picked it up and turned the card over, my heart doing somersaults at the words written on it.

"Get well soon princess."

I sighed happily and smelled the red rose, a smile taking over my face as I laid back done in bed, closing my eyes to dream of emerald green eyes in an ocean blue.

Something tells me I'm in for a wild ride.