Chapter 10

Ophelia

    I opened my eyes, it was sunrise. I was standing in a beautiful field of lavender. I looked down and saw that I was wearing a long white dress. There were no bruises, I felt no pain, and the blood that once covered my body was gone. I closed my eyes and dropped my arms to my side and walked through the field allowing my fingers to gently graze the flowers. I opened my eyes and saw that there was a woman standing in front of me. She was wearing a long white gown as well. Her back was facing me, and I had no idea who she was until she turned around to face me. 

"Mom," I cried out, as I ran over to her and wrapped my arms around her. 

"My beautiful baby girl." She said, wrapping her arms around me. Her warm embrace made me feel so much peace. I never wanted to let go. I missed my mom so much. I could not believe that she was here with me.

"Mom...Is this? Am I dead?"

Mom chuckled a little and cupped her hands around my face, "No baby, you are not dead." 

"So, I can't stay here with you?"

"No baby. You can't stay here."  

"Momma, I don't want to go back.  They hurt me so bad momma." 

Mom took me by the hand we walked through the field towards the sunrise, "I know baby. I promise you; it will not hurt forever. You will find the strength you need to overcome this. You will not let this break you. You still have so much left to give to the world. Your father and brothers still need you, especially Noah and Oliver. You know you were always their favorite little sister." 

I laughed, "Mom, I'm their only sister." 

"I know that, I wanted to see you smile. That does not change the fact that Noah and Oliver love you more than anything. They would be so lost if they lost you and your father would be lost as well." 

"I don't know how to do this without you. I miss you so much momma, I wish you were here with me."

Mom turned and placed her hand on my chest over my heart, "Ophelia, I am always with you. I have never left you. I am right here, and I will be right here with you every step of the way. You have my strength coursing through your bones, all you have to do is look inside yourself and find it." 

"Momma," I said, as tears ran down my face. "I miss you so much."

"I miss you too baby, but it is time for you to go now."

"Can't I stay here a little while longer? It's so peaceful here." 

"Your father and brothers have been in so much agony, they have missed you so much. You need to go back to them." 

"I love you momma. I miss you." I cried, as her figure started to disappear. 

"I love you too baby," Mom said as she disappeared.

"Ophelia. Ophelia, can you hear me baby?” I could hear my dad's voice calling out to me. 

As I opened my eyes, I saw my dad, Noah and Oliver standing next to my bed.

Tears instantly fell from my eyes, my voice was hoarse, but I managed to whisper, “Dad."

"Hey, sweetheart," he said. Tears started to fall from his eyes as he leaned over and kissed my forehead, "I am so sorry Ophelia."    

"It's not your fault dad."

"Hey little one." Oliver said, as he walked over and kissed my forehead also.

"Hey Oli."

I could see Noah standing at the end of my bed, he looked like he was in so much agony, and he hadn't said anything to me. 

"Hey you." I said softly, holding out my hand to him. 

He walked over closer to me and sat in the chair next to my bed. Noah grabbed my hand and put his head down next to me. My hand turned wet as tears fell from his eyes. I reached over and placed my other hand on the back of his head. It was not often that I saw my dad or brothers cry. My dad gently wrapped his arm around my shoulder trying to hug me without hurting me. Noah sat with his head next to me and Oli sat next to him. My emotions were all over the place. I was both happy to be home and horrified by the events over the past week. Having my dad and my brothers in my arms made everything better.

A little while later I heard a knock at the door. Dad walked over, opened the door and Jax walked in. He had a smile on his face as he walked over to me, "Good morning. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay."

"Good." he said, then looked at dad. 

“I talked to Damian last night about some of the stuff that happened. When you're ready, I think you should hear it as well." 

My eyes widened when he said Damian's name, "Wait, Damian is alive?" 

"Yes ma'am, he's right next door." Jax said. 

"Why would you think he was dead?" Noah asked. 

"The last time I saw him was after he fought with the men that kidnapped us. They carried me off back to the cell and I heard a gunshot. I thought he was dead." 

"Damian told me about that. He said they took him to a separate area and he never saw you again.”

"Can I see him?"

Dad nodded and Jax walked out. A few minutes later he came back in the room with Damian behind him.

As soon as I saw Damian I started crying. Damian walked over to my bed and sat down on the edge. I moved myself to sit up and wrapped my arms around his neck. He put his head on my shoulder and wrapped his arms around my waist softly. 

"Let's give them a minute." Dad said, and they all walked out of the room. 

I could feel Damian tighten his arms around me a little more as he pulled me closer to him. I was so happy to see him, I never wanted to let him go. For so many days I thought he was dead. I thought I would never see him again. I couldn't believe he was here with me. 

I finally let him go as it was hurting to stay sitting up too long. I leaned back against the bed and grabbed his hand. "How are you still alive? I heard the gunshot. I thought you were dead." I said, wiping tears from my eyes. 

"I thought I was going to die for sure, but for some reason they didn't shoot me. They brought me to a different part of the building and put me in another cell."

"Ophelia. I am so sorry I couldn't stop this from happening. I wish I could have done more to get us out of there. I wish I –”

Interrupting him I said, "Damian, none of this is your fault. I watched you fight like hell. I watched them outnumber you and there was nothing you could do. It's not your fault." 

"What did they do to you?"

I turned my head and looked out the window. This was the first time someone had asked that question. I closed my eyes and tears fell down my face. 

He gently placed his hand on the side of my face, "Hey. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"I don't want to talk about it. Not yet.” 

"Okay. That's fine. Just know that if you ever do want to talk about it, you can talk to me."  

I wiped the tears off my cheeks and nodded my head. A few moments later dad, Noah, Oliver and Jax walked back into my room. Damian and Jax walked out and went back to his room. 

My brothers and dad sat, and we talked for a while. They told me about how they searched for us, and how they eventually found us. While listening to their story, it became clear to me that none of them had slept in a while. 

As nighttime fell, I finally managed to convince them to go home and get some rest. All three of them were still wearing the clothes from the day before. I knew they hadn't showered or left the hospital. None of them wanted to leave, but finally they agreed. Dad had security guards posted outside my room and Damian's room. Dad, Noah, Oliver and Jax finally went home and got some rest.

After they left, I was alone for the first time since being in the cell. The room was quiet, the only thing making noise was the IV machine. I was alone with my thoughts and emotions. Emotions I had not had time to even begin to process yet. Emotions that suddenly came pouring out of me like a damn waterfall. I covered my face with my hands and laid there and cried. I screamed silently into my hands as I didn't want to freak out the nurses. 

I heard a knock at the door and Damian walked in. He saw me sitting there crying my eyes out and ran over to my bedside. He sat down next to me and wrapped his arm around me and pulled me to him. I laid my head on his chest and all my emotions poured out. He rested his chin on top of my head and wrapped his other arm around me and held me close. He didn't say anything, he sat there and held me while I cried. His body tensed around me and I could feel his arms shaking. I could feel that he was struggling between being gentle as to not hurt me and wanting to hold me closer.

After a while, my tears finally stopped but he didn't let go. He stayed right there next to me and held me. The warmth of his embrace made me feel safe, the rhythm of his heart beating finally put me to sleep. He never moved, he laid next to me and held me all night.