Nurses hurried by my side, blurring my peripheral vision with their perfectly white clothes. I rotated from time to time to observe some figure, only to make sure that he was an ordinary person in his work, and sighed deeply with relief. The panic was still there, waiting patiently for the next time I would give in to fear. And with it, there was a grainy sensation in my lungs. As if each space compressed by shortness of breath was filled with small styrofoam spheres.Aside from a tendency to some allergy that made me cough with each movement in the upper part of the body "behavior that attracted all the attention of the paramedic who held me by the waist as if he feared to let me fall "I did not believe that it had any harmful trace about what happened.My eyes still seemed fragile to intensive light, and this caused me slow blinks and small lapses that made me lose track of time. In an instant, panting and again cold by the simple idea of being kept in a hospital room for the second
" Someone tried to kill me..." I murmured, drying my tears in a precarious way."I know," he said. "It's my fault.I shook my head, shaking to be placed on the floor. Zachary obviously didn't bother, and kept holding me against his chest, raised several centimeters from the ground."Don't give me this story," I retated, stubbornly.A certain embarrassment prevented me from saying that I feared both for my safety and yours, and that I had really suspected your connection with what happened. I remembered with accuracy every word uttered by the unknown man before his body was devoured by the flames.Zachary sighed and put me on the floor, looking so exhausted that I almost asked them to answer him in my place. He took my hand and took me to the first set of chairs, sat down and pulled me into his lap. The intimacy was again on the agenda, and I took advantage of it to drown any malaise with the flood of the senses that its mere physical contact had evoked in me, still in a slight stage o
I wondered how I would feel working day and night in a place that took my whole family to the ruins. I estimated how I would feel if I lost all the people I considered important overnight. My chest tightened bitterly as I thought of Kendall given his own luck because of me. That made me really sick.However, I didn't have to say anything. Recognizing the connection between me and Zachary, I was also aware of the harmony with which our thoughts flowed. The way he so easily raised my chin and caught his gaze on mine, refreshing the weight of my conscience with the brightness in his beautiful eyes, I gave myself all the certainty of this fact."Don't be saddened by my story," he asked, lightly caressing my jaw. "Each person must learn how to face their own demons.I denied it with my head."How can you endure this without letting anyone know?He bowed his lips in a slow smile."I had enough time not to embitter the lives of others with my own sorrows, Camila.It hit me hard. I wouldn't e
"I have an indiscreet question," said Kendall, packing his arm covered in ointment in a compressive mesh. "Have you taken his pistol yet?" Already."Really? All the pistols? Which one was bigger?I heard a dish tink under something sharp followed by a giggle and a dry grunt sounding from the kitchen, and finally stopped looking at the cushions I was arranging as an excuse to stay in the main room.Kendall looked at me with her big brown eyes, in that moment full of malice and shiny like an onyx stone. I looked away, on the edge of the kitchen counter, and caught Tristan choking with trapped laughter, looking at us without the slightest discretion. My father was on his back, his shoulders slightly shrunk, tense. Between the two was Zachary, using a salad plate to support the vegetables he had prepared.Arriving home late at night, enjoying Zachary's company until the last moment, had not gone unnoticed by the attentive and vigilant looks of Tristan and my father. Both served as guard d
That cloud that always hovered over us at times like that, had become dense and heavy. My breathing failed for a mere second, as he crossed one ankle over the other, leaning against the wooden cabinet. I didn't even have the courage to demonstrate the sinful thoughts that ran through my mind only by their always so calculated movements, and even holding his gaze on mine was a penance.He wore a white shirt with loose buttons on his chest, revealing the beginning of the wings tattoo. The tissue was heavy and did not allow me to see that mass of toned and stiff muscles in his belly, but I knew they were there, and, taken by a sudden desire, I longed to feel the taste of his skin on my tongue."Is it a family too strange for you? "I asked softly.Zachary pushed away the strand of hair that fell on his face and smiled languidly.“ Families are strange."It's still true," I grumbled, smiling without a real reason.Zachary remained with an open smile, looking at me so intensely that lowerin
After dinner, I entered my room feeling that I was about to suffer a slaughter. My hands were wet with sweat, no matter how much I tried to keep sweating under control by rubbing my palms against the thin shorts. The nervousness could almost exhale around me like a golden of my own, and I felt the slight hum on my knees at every silent step.Zachary was thrown on my bed, playing with my dream filter as a cat plays with the light of a laser. He didn't notice me arriving, I mean, he pretended not to notice me, stretching his trunk a little more to the head of the bed. The fabric of the shirt rose dangerously and the strong muscles seemed to call me close. I didn't expect another way, I would ly kneel next to you, kneeling on the heavy and dark quilt.Zachary diverted his attention from my accessory and reached out to me. I thought you were going to pull me for a kiss, I even moistened my lips, waiting. However, he lowered his hand in the last second and pulled the necklace around my nec
I choked on my own breath, seeking a connection between my recited belief and the question asked."I don't understand the reason for the question."Just answer," he said, holding both hands between us. "Dud you never fell in love, Camila?"Never" I murmured, rubbing the heat away from my cheeks. Zachary observed the movement, attentive." Why not?"Because no one has ever made me feel anything but the obscenity of pleasure. "I scratched my cheeks harder and the burning sensation increased. I couldn't understand why it always started when Zachary was around. It was horrible. Worse than an allergy, but the itching remained only on my face.He studied my face for too long for my restlessness, and held my hand when I tried to rub my cheeks again. My freckles seemed to catch fire.“Do you feel uncomfortable? "He asked with his voice loaded with kindness.I stumbled on words in a hurry to explain myself."It's just that... It's strange to have a man in my room. Not that you're the first to
Zachary took my lips with his, kissing me with fury, although he kept his hands next to my body. Free from any invisible tie that his gaze cast on me, I stretched out my hands and spread my fingers in his hair. He didn't pull my hands to frustrate me and snatch me as he always did. He didn't complain when I pulled my legs and took them to his hips, packing it on me so that I wouldn't change my mind and leave me alone. Instead, he kissed me so deeply and in love that it caused me vertigo.Things got more serious from then on. He left my mouth and traced a winding path through my throat and lap. His fingers finally went into action and tangled inside my blouse, gushing heat into my throbbing skin. He lowered his head and caught a nipple with his teeth. The warm and fresh breath passed through my shirt and bra, shaking all my nerves. Tremors circulated in an infinite vortex inside me, dragging my consciousness all over the path of pleasure that was built in me.I was scared and amazed to
A few years later“Every night, while I was just a girl, my grandmother used to sit next to me in bed reciting for me the same story of the princess of the seas that I'm about to tell...”"Oh, no, mom," grumbled the little girl with red and thick hair, with the blanket partially covering her small body at that moment. "I don't want to hear stories of princesses again. And Ariel's story isn't even that cool."Laughing, his twin brother agreed:"It's true, Mom. The stories are repeated every night. In addition, it is practically impossible for a girl to give up her legs for a boy," he yawned and supported a hand below his chin, as if his argument did not leave gaps for refutation. "Tell me more about how you and Dad met."I couldn't help but smile. My story with Zachary had been full of ups and downs, tragedies and happiness, but he had also given me an invaluable gift. The love of two children who were not in our plans, but became the axis of our worlds.At that time, we had been togeth
In the summer, a television program decided to sponsor meetings between strangers, offering vacancies for women to apply in search of finding the love of their lives.The registrations took place through the site, anonymously and safely, until, if your file was interesting enough to draw attention, the production of the program would get in touch and make a dinner on its own. Generally, in closed places and with the entire technical team on the backs of couples, where mostly they passed from men and women between the ages of twenty and thirty.No one persuaded me to try the chance to find true love in a reality show. Not even Kendall, whose obsession with finding me a boyfriend was already going beyond the limits. She said that being stuck at home, just writing and crying, would not help me find the love that I said so much existed in my stories. But she ignored it when I said I wrote so I wouldn't have to look for someone for real. My friend didn't understand that literary disappoint
One year later"Do you mean that now you write real novels? "As asked one of the men in the circle of girls.I nodded, pushing my hair away to my shoulders." Some people like to live love, I prefer to write about it.His face changed from curiosity to admiration in a snap of fingers. I had trained that answer in front of the mirror several times before that one. First because my family didn't seem to understand what my profession required of me, and then because it was the easiest answer to give in an interview. Short, thick, and at the same time what they would like to hear. My agent would be proud."A toast to success! "Said the blonde next to me, raising the full cup."Do not mix alcohol with medicines," advised the man next to him, pulling the cup to his own lips.The blonde stretched out to take the cup back, but the man leaned back and ran away from his reach. When she got tired, she sat on the chair and blew the strands of hair that fell on her face. A single reddish strand sho
Kendall had plotted that date. I had no doubt."Severe," he hesitated.Containing the nervousness in my body, I asked:“How are your sisters?" Well," he replied, swallowing dry. "Doniya is still in rehabilitation, but Waliyha and Safaa are happy to return home. My cousins are fine, safe.My eyes easily wrinkled by the wide smile I threw at him.“I’m happy for you, Zee.He returned the smile, a little awkward. She looked around, into the empty room, at Kendall sneaking in with a box in hand, and watched as she helped me look for any object of sentimental value in the mess of shards and shards of glass."Are you definitely moving to your father's house? "His voice faltered a little.I shook my head, looking away."No, I'll be back to France next week.If a needle fell to the ground, we would all listen, so obscenely quiet that the environment became."Dd't you... make peace with your family? "He asked in a soft, soft tone.I shrugged."Eeven if I still hated them, I wouldn't have much
The doorman greeted me as soon as I passed the family concierge and let Kendall drag my chair. I had never thrown more than one look at the ramp passage that went up to the floors, always running through the steps of the main staircase, but now, it was that path I needed to take.I entered my destroyed apartment turning the wheels of the chair with my own hands, because despite smiling, Kendall was pale and sweaty for taking me through the steep path. I didn't like to think that she felt she had an obligation to help me, and she did her best not to have to ask. But life is very different from the pink world when you lose the ability to be free, and depending on others is the only way to live.We don't even need a key to open the door, it was propped up, torn from its hinges. A police containment strip surrounded the room and fixed itself on the corners of the walls, at that moment filled by the cardboard boxes with things stored. The windows no longer had glass, the pots formed a dang
Six months laterI was told that if it weren't for a miserable brain activity, I would have died the first time my heart stopped beating.Six months earlier, after twenty-eight hours of kidnapping, I was admitted to the emergency room with clinical death, and the doctors brought me back. Part of me was already dead, while the other fought for another breath of life. I didn't see the light, nor any relatives who died a long time ago. I just died. More than once.The shots that hit my body charged their price. The one in my chest lodged between two of my ribs attached to the sternum, but did not hit my heart. On the other hand, the one in my spine had the same impact as a hammering in my bones; dragging and compressing tissues and vertebrae into a cone effect.It was scary to regain consciousness with a complete medical team about me, and, even worse, outside finding out the diagnosis. My legs were heavy, asleep and uncomfortable, when I was told it was a spinal cord injury at T12 level.
The news didn't talk about anything else. The mistake was to believe that it was a terrorist attack. Mocking the news, Kendall stroked his burnt arm, feeling a sudden itching in him. There was proof that the intentions of that massacre involved more than political and religious interests.No one could ever say that she was not the kind of person who put his hand on the fire for a friend. She put her whole arm for Mila! And if he would throw himself completely into a fire for Tristan. Thinking about it brought him hilarious pleasure, and ended up having to fight against the hysterical laughter that floated in his throat. I was already more than crazy just for all that damn wait.He didn't realize he fell asleep until he heard someone calling her softly. He swore to have heard Tristan's voice, but when he raised his head from the hard and rough seats on which he leaned, he realized that another man stood on the door frame of the open.Stefan Turner seemed more dejected than usual. The h
Have you ever had the feeling of not being useful to the world?Did you ever feel that no matter how good your intentions to people were, nothing seemed like enough? Did you feel that you could disappear, even in front of a crowd, and no one would worry about finding you? Have you ever thought how wonderful it would be to live the world that exists only inside your head? That reality only served to overshadow the brightness of your dreams?Because Kendall Reedy would have an affirmative answer to all these questions.I couldn't complain about the friends I had, but if I were to take into account all the years I had taken to meet those people who received her as a family, I would die regretting the terrible family life I had.She was the youngest daughter among many brothers. The only one who cared about the vices and consequences acquired by the parents, both detached from the behaviors acceptable to society. I paid to keep them alive, away from debts with trafficking or loans with ma
I heard the sirens, the well-known friction of wheels moving over the floor, lights flashing red and blue. However, I wanted to be able to say that I didn't need care. That I didn't feel the pain anymore. But she returned, this time, straight into my heart, when the stretcher passed me and supported a large body carried by two police officers who wore black helmets. Zachary was raised, unconscious and bathed in blood, practically faint.I couldn't see where all that blood came from, especially because my attention was called to the police officers who were returning from the open door, pulling the injured mobsters in tight handcuffs. Among those who wore dark vests and helmets with the acronyms of the FBI, I recognized the robust figure of Dennis, Zachary's co-worker.The policeman pulled with unnecessary brutality a person smaller than him, covered by black robes and with an arrogant air in his footsteps. When the person raised his head and found me being immobilized by the team of f