Chapter 15

I was starting to wake up from what felt like the worst hangover I had ever had. I did not recognize where I was and thus was very confused. I felt exhausted, but I did not know why. What day was it? Where was I? I tried to lift myself up but barely managed to lift my head. It seemed like it was daytime, from the amount of sun pouring in the room. I saw Alejandro jump up in the distance and come next to me.

"Don't, don't try to get up" he said gently, "you are still very weak."

My head started to pound lightly. I wasn't remembering much, but I remembered fighting off Juan, and I remembered running away from Alejandro and falling. I remembered hospital lights and a lot of noise. I remembered that I wasn't home. I remembered I had been kidnapped.

"No, no," I said between breaths. I was trying to push him away but was barely managing to touch him.

"Shh, please, calm down," he begged in a low voice. "You are okay. You are safe, and I won"t let anything happen to you. I won't leave your side. I promise."

Hearing his words, seeing his distorted face and his dark stormy eyes, somehow calmed me down a bit, and I let him put my head back down on the pillow. Alejandro sat down by my side, concerned eyes looking at me, searching my face. I was starting to fall asleep again, but his presence felt reassuring. I reached for his hand, and he grabbed mine and kissed it tenderly. My body was starting to relax and find peace again. I closed my eyes and fell asleep, feeling safe and protected.

"Dolores, she's waking up," I heard from a faint voice in the background.

I opened my eyes as wide as I could this time. Dolores was next to me, on my right, looking at me with relieved eyes. I saw Alejandro a little farther back.

"No te apures," said Dolores gently. "Here, let me help."

Dolores helped me lift my back a bit and put a big pillow behind me for support. Alejandro was keeping his distance while looking at me with a concerned look on his face.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You fell," explained Alejandro, slowly moving to the end of the bed. "You fell, and you hurt your head," he continued, jaw clenching. He turned his head away, avoiding my gaze.

I remembered what happened.

"Where am I?"

I wasn't in my bedroom. The room we were in was massive, with a king-size bed and dark-oak furniture. It had a small couch by the bay window as well as an L-shaped table and a chair. There was a coat rack in the corner. The room was simple yet classic and felt strong, masculine. The walls were light gray, making the room feel peaceful and reassuring. The sun was coming through, but it was more the warm, orange color of the beginning of sunset.

"In my room," answered Alejandro, suddenly searching for my eyes.

I had more questions, but Dolores was gently asking Alejandro to leave the room so I could get a little more comfortable and eat something. Alejandro reluctantly obeyed.

Dolores sat down with a preoccupied look on her face until I was done with the soup she had made me. While I did not feel like eating, the smell of the food revived my senses and made me feel stronger.

When Dolores left, I got lost in my thoughts. I now remembered the events of the night before very well. I had attempted to escape and had once again failed. This time, I had managed to hurt myself. I was still confused, as Juan had attacked me, and I had no idea why.

I didn't know if it was of his own volition or if Alejandro had ordered him to do so. Alejandro might have gotten tired of having me around and decided to get rid of me when he realized that I might have seen something compromising in his office.

Nevertheless, Alejandro jumping fully clothed into the pool to save me would be inconsistent with him ordering Juan to get rid of me. So would him worryingly hanging out by my bed. I remembered being carried to a room. I remembered people hovering over me.

There was a knock at the door. Alejandro entered, accompanied by another man. He was a man around his sixties, tan, tall and skinny, with very nicely combed gray hair. He was carrying a medical case with him.

"Amelia, this is Doctor Rodriguez," explained Alejandro. "He has been taking care of you since the accident."

"Nice to finally meet you," said the doctor in a slight Spanish accent, shaking my hand.

Calling it just an accident was pretty audacious, I thought, but one look from Alejandro's face told me perhaps this wasn't a good time to discuss what happened.

The doctor examined me, took my heart rate, my temperature, and my blood pressure, and then asked me a few questions about my memory.

"It would seem you are okay," he said. "You suffered a mild concussion, so if you feel unwell, please let me know. It will be normal for you to feel tired, so please try to not become stressed, and do not engage in any aggressive exercise. You will have to take this medication for pain and inflammation for the next week or so, and I want to see you again in a week. If anything changes, please call me."

"Thank you, Doctor."

When he was done, Doctor Rodriguez left the room, and Alejandro left with him. Did this doctor know that I was kidnapped? I wondered what Alejandro must have told him and the hospital, as he didn't seem very concerned about my safety. Who could blame him? To an outsider, I likely looked very well taken care of.

A few minutes later, Alejandro came back. He walked all the way to my side, his hands in his pockets, while he searched my face with that concerned look in his eyes again.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay."

I turned my head to look outside through the bay windows. If I got lost in his eyes for too long, I would forget about my doubt, my concerns.

"Good."

Alejandro seemed out of words. He was standing there, wearing a pair of jeans and a blue polo shirt. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. His face was unshaven, and his hair was curlier than usual.

As I started to get up, Alejandro quickly closed the distance between us and grabbed my hands.

"Careful," he said.

"I know." I found so much comfort in his touch that I didn't want to let go.

I managed to stand up with his help. I felt a little dizzy and held onto him for a little while. Alejandro seemed concerned about me and my safety. It didn't seem possible that he would have sent Juan to harm me.

"Why are you being so thoughtful?" I didn't mean to ask the question so brusquely.

"I'm not a beast, you know."

He sounded hurt. I lifted my head to look at him. Alejandro had a slight shadow on his face. I resisted the urge to touch his cheek and made an effort to stand by myself as I gently pushed his hands away. Alejandro accepted but remained close.

"Did you send Juan to hurt me?"

"What? Hurt you? What are you talking about?"

I searched his eyes, confused. Was he telling the truth? Did he really not know? He seemed honestly concerned, but I didn't know if I could trust him.

"He came into my room."

"I sent him to bring you to me. I did not send him to hurt you."

"He tried to kill me or…something else," I insisted.

Alejandro shook his head, frowning. "Amelia, you must be confused."

"I think I can tell the difference between someone who is trying to take me somewhere and someone who is trying to kill me, don't you think?!" I shouted.

"Juan works here. I can't imagine him trying to harm you. He has no reason to."

"And I have no reason to lie about this."

"You do," he corrected. "After all, you were trying to escape last night."

I felt anger rush through my veins.

"AFTER he attacked me!" I cried.

My breathing started to accelerate, and I felt the earth move under me. Alejandro caught me in his arm before I collapsed on the floor. I leaned on his shoulder and closed my eyes to try to make the spinning stop. Alejandro put his arms around me, holding me closely to him. I gestured toward the bed, and he slowly took me there, then covered me with the sheets.

"You can't be your usual hotheaded self right now," he teased softly. I shot him a death stare. "Doctor's orders," he said, lifting his hands in the air.

I lay there, puzzled. I felt overwhelmed by his attitude. He was tugging at my anger. I couldn't fathom that he would have been the one to try to hurt me, but then again, he was holding me hostage. And say he had sent Juan to kill me, why would he then rescue me and take care of me instead of finishing the job? Why was he acting so nice all of a sudden?

Normally, this would be the moment he either stormed out or I did. Was he really that worried about me? But why wouldn't he believe me? I had so many unanswered questions, but I felt exhausted. I turned my head toward him, still sitting next to me, observing me, paying attention to my every breath, every wince. Looking in his eyes calmed me, reassured me, and caressed me, until I fell asleep.