Breathless (The Breathe Series Book 1) Read online

“I know – I was just going to the restroom but got dizzy so I had to take a seat in the chair.” The lie escapes my mouth with ease.

  “But you have a catheter in.” He says bemused, his eyes straying to the corner of his lids trying to prove his bewilderment.

  “Oh – that’s what that thing is for.” I giggle nervously. Still lying.

  “Well, anyway, I told you that I would come back when you are well rested. Are you okay?” He fans away the lie I just told. He seemed truly worried about me but more as a friend rather than my doctor.

  “Yes. Yes. Lay it on me.” I groan in between words, attempting to sound strong but deep down I was nervous to hear the news.

  “Here lie back,” He comes over to me and props up the pillows behind me. He clicks something behind my pillows and leans in closer to my ear. “We must talk in private. Not here.” He says quietly. I wonder what could be the news. I knew it was about my tattoo but what could the extra information be? “Oh! Miss Jacobs – you said you were trying to use the restroom correct?”

  “Um, So where –” I avoid his last question.

  “Shh!” He cuts me off with. “Do you still want to go to the restroom?” He asks in his normal voice.

  “Yea – sure.” I look at him.

  “Okay, well I will pull your catheter out so you may and then we will take a small walk to strengthen you up some. Is that okay?” He was talking as if someone was chiming in on our conversation, listening to everything we were discussing.

  “Oh – okay.” I don’t mask my confusion. He lies the bed down semi-flat. I moan and curl my toes to fight the discomfort. He does his procedure as far as taking the catheter out. I don’t pay attention to anything he is doing. I focus more on not screaming out and gripping the bed railings.

  “Okay, we’re all set.” He says, raising the bed back up into sitting position. He puts the IV back into my arm and switches out the IV bags. “This is for you to stay hydrated. Let’s try to keep this in.” He looks into my eyes squarely and I lower my face to break the connection between us. The annoyingly familiar flutters accompany me.

  “So, where should we go?” I whisper this time.

  He smiles, “Just come with me,” holding out his hand to me. I grab ahold to him and he pulls me up slowly from the bed. “Easy, easy.” He says, making sure that I was taking this slowly.

  We walk down the hall side by side with confidence and he acts as if he’s giving me instructions on how to care for my sliced open abdomen. I try not to look so confused, playing along with him, nodding and looking into his eyes simultaneously. I still didn’t understand why he had to take me to another room to tell me something more regarding my secret. There was no one else in the room; no cameras, or personnel who could accuse me of being a barren woman and have me banned or exiled. I shudder at the thought of actually being sent anywhere else other than Abenaki. Maybe there was a secret tribe that no one else knew about. My mind drifts back to Donna Harris and her fate. I wonder what had happened to her that night and why hadn’t we heard anything more about her death.

  *****

  DONNA HARRIS

  THE PAST 1.2

  Donna looks down at her fingers trying to decide which nail to chew on next. Her gut shakes uncontrollably in fear.

  “Donna?” Roxanne peeks around the door of Donna’s office. “Come in.” She’s motioning for her to come in.

  “What’s going on?” Roxanne enters the room, checking the hall left to right for people. She closes the door, turning to face Donna. “What is it, Don?” She pushes her glasses up on her face.

  “Roxy, I – I have to go.”

  “Wha – why?”

  “She was here. She was here.” Donna’s face cringes and the tears roll down the sides of her cheeks.

  “Who?” Roxanne comes in closer to grasp her shoulders.

  “Nora – Nora Jacobs.” She gulps with fear. “She’s real. It’s real.”

  “Donna, you aren’t making any sense! Just calm down. Explain to me what is going on.”

  “I diagnosed her today with infertility.” Roxanne steps back from Donna covering her mouth. Her eyes widen with fear.

  “Wh – what are you going to do? We’ve never had one case like that before. I mean – did you report it to Miller? He needs to know so you can be protected.”

  “I – I didn’t. I can’t.” Donna sniffles. “I have to go.”

  “What else do you know about her?” Curiosity grows within Roxanne. She tosses her straight, shoulder length black hair back off both shoulders.

  “She possesses the mark.”

  Roxanne lifts one brow, “Really? And what does this mark look like? How did you see it?”

  “She’s Leslie’s daughter. Leslie’s my friend. The mark is a key. I know what that means. I’ve worked here long enough to know what is going on. I –” Donna begins to shake as Roxanne holds out her hands, power pouring from them into Donna, electrocuting her. Her eyes shift to the back of her head as saliva runs down the sides of her mouth, blood oozing out of her nose. She collapses onto the floor. Roxanne smirks, leaving Donna’s office to tell Luke Miller what information she had just discovered.

  “And you’re sure?” Luke walks over to the window of his office on the 54th floor with his hands resting in the small (well, in this case, large) of his back. He was just about the only chubby man from Rise. He looked different impelling people to fear him more. He ruled the world but not because the Originals are scared, only because they didn’t care too much of his tactics and illegitimacies.

  “I’m sure. Nora Jacobs was her name, Luke.”

  “Mm, good work Colleen. You can step out of Roxanne’s body now.” He shifts his head to the side, spotting her from his peripheral. He smirks as he watches her shapeshift back into her beautiful self. Her honey skin complementing her dark, long and flowing hair. Her pursed, full black lips ravished in the dimmed room outlining her dark sinister eyes that they all seemed to possess. “Now, it’s time to get our son into the game.” He says.

  “What do you mean?” She stands behind him, almost a foot taller than he. She runs her long fingers along the baldness at the top of his head.

  “It’s time to get Devin to play along. I think we got her.”

  She pulls her hand away from his head. “It isn’t time. We don’t want the same thing to happen as they have in the past lives with the others.”

  “Of course, not.” He turns around, facing her, gripping her by the waist and yanking her into his protruding belly. “But in about two years, it will be time.” He smirks.

  “Mm,” she bites her bottom lip, leaning down to kiss him.

  “…but –” he throws his hand up before her lips could graze the surface of his chapped lips. “I need you to do something for me first.” She rolls her eyes awaiting his order. “How do you feel about using that cute little power of shapeshifting again?” He stretches his hands high to run his fingertips along her smooth, voluminous breasts that were distending from the top of her tight, black leather dress.

  “What do I have to do?” Her eyes dim into seduction, biting her bottom lip again.

  *****

  PRESENT

  NORA

  “Here.” He stops and holds out his hand to direct me to the door. He doesn’t look back to see who’s watching, he just follows in behind me.

  The room is blistering cold, filled with lights, gadgets and stations to look at X-rays. He helps me sit in the chair facing the X-ray boards. I watch him as he moves around the room turning on lights, shutting some off. He dips his head allowing my X-Rays to project as he waves his hand around to position the X-Ray.

  He’s tall. I didn’t realize how tall he was before, not even when I was all over him at Veritas. His short cut, straight hair flickers like wildfire and his eyes were waves of the ocean that cooled his fire-y, red hair. His smooth, creamy fawn skin glistened under the light. With pursed lips, he looks closer at the X-ray. I notice his beard was closely shaved; though,
it looked as if it had grown more in the last few days. I bite my lip as a rush of chills prickle down my spine. The hairs on my arms rise and I am certain it wasn’t because of the chilled air in this room. It was more like the fantasy of him and how luscious he was.

  “It’s safe to talk here.” I didn’t know what that meant. “Look here.” He says, pointing at my X-Ray and breaking my trance. I sweep the hair from my face; flustered that I couldn’t finish mesmerizing.

  “Hmm.” I try to sound as if I knew what I was looking at, squinting and nodding my head as he continues to talk about tumors, humps and bumps – I am lost.

  “You – you don’t know what you are looking at, do you?”

  I mesh my eyebrows together. “Um, I was waiting for you to explain, in English, might I add. You’re the doctor, aren’t you?” I smirk.

  “Oh yea, that’s right. Sorry. You see this spot here?” His forefinger was moving in a circular motion around some – thingy.

  “Uh huh. What’s that?” I ask, trying to contain my lust for him.

  “It’s a tumor in your fallopian tube and it’s growing. Rapidly. That is what is blocking your eggs. If it keeps growing, it WILL end in a fatality.” He grimaces. I lower my eyes, speechless.

  “Do you have stomach cramps so excruciating it has you bent over?” It’s growing rapidly. That’s why Donna couldn’t see the tumor. It wasn’t big enough to see yet. Two years is a long time. The growth must be huge! It WILL end in a fatality. There was so much emphasis on the word “will,” I zone out for a moment, envisioning my own death.

  “Miss Jacobs?”

  “Yes!” clears throat. “Yes, I do actually now that I think of it.”

  “We need to get in there and get the tumor out.” He says enthusiastically, hands on his hips, looking down.

  “But wait, wouldn’t that shred my fallopian tube, leaving me even more infertile than I am now?” I didn’t know much, but surgery sounded very risky.

  “No.” There was a pause.

  “No?” No explanation or anything?

  “No.” He says again.

  “Okay?” I roll of my eyes. “Doctor? Er?” I never got his name. He never told me his name! Gosh, I was going to go under the blade for a doctor I didn’t even know the name of?

  “Doctor Roberts. Grant Roberts. Sorry, I was just so anxious to get in there.” My eyes widen. Weird. He clears his throat. “Sorry that didn’t come out right.”

  “I see – Doctor, I need to know the risks. I mean if it is going to be about the same suffering as I am feeling right now, then would it be worth it?” Seriously? That was the most depressing question ever. I scold myself.

  “You’re joking, right?” He chuckles but becomes serious again when I display my own momentousness. “Are you kiddin’ me? Nora –” He clears his throat. “I’m sorry, Miss Jacobs, this is your life we are talking about. If this ruptures your fallopian tube, you could die. This is about the same as an ectopic pregnancy which is a preg –”

  “Pregnancy that occurs within your fallopian tube. I know.” I don’t give him a chance to finish.

  “You could bleed internally!” He breaths deeply, calming himself, “All I am saying is that we need to get this tumor and not to mention that it could be malignant – cancerous.” He corrects himself but I already knew what that word meant. “I want to help.”

  I sigh. Funny thing is, I wasn’t asking for help. I already accepted the fact that I could not get pregnant and now here he is, all gorgeous and such, telling me that there is hope.

  “Can I get pregnant? Will this surgery make it possible?”

  He looks down and says, “Yes. You just have some decisions to make.”

  *****

  I pace my Care Station room floor, trying to make a decision. Would I die if I got the surgery? Would I die if I didn’t? I slam my face into my hands. Why was all of this happening and now? I’m dying? I close my eyes tighter – they zoom closer into my eyelids again. I gasp.

  “I love you, Nora.” It was his first time saying it. I look at him softly.

  “I love you, too, Riley.”

  My eyes snap open. “Riley! Dammit!” I ramble through the chest beside my bed trying to find my wrist gadget. I slide it onto my wrist and project the screen onto the palm of my hand. There were 56 missed calls but the only one I was concerned about was Riley’s. I use the Care Station’s phone to dial his number.

  “Hello! Riley?” I didn’t give him time to answer it.

  “H – hey Nor. Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick.” He says weakly.

  “You?! I have been worried sick about you!”

  “Where are you?” Should I tell him about the car accident?

  “Um, I’m in the Care Station 17, Unit 7. I was in an accident on my way to come see you.” Yes. Of course I should tell him.

  “Are you okay!? Holy crap, you’re in Rise!?” He exclaims, confused and happy about my whereabouts.

  I bite my nails. “I’m fine.” I lug out.

  “Nora, it’s been 5 days since I was released from Unit 6 and I was in there for 3 days. How long have you been in Unit 7?”

  “Wh – what?” I say confused. I have been here for 8 days without knowing.

  “Do you not know how long you’ve been there?”

  “I – I didn’t know. I mean, I knew I was out for some time but for those amount of days!” I smack my forehead. Riley coughs inconceivably. “Are you okay, Riley? Where are you? I’ll come to you!”

  “No, no! You must be in pain. Stay there and get some rest.” He struggles to talk.

  “No! I have to come see you. Where are you?!” I snap.

  “I’m home.” His voice faint.

  “I’m coming. Call you when I get there and we’ll talk about everything. Okay?”

  He coughs again. “Okay.”

  “See you soon.” I hang up the phone, ripping off the Care Station gown and slipping into my jogging pants and shirt. Grant comes to the door.

  Knock. Knock. “Hey, Miss Jacobs. Where are you going?” “Home. I have to go home. There’s someone I’ve been meaning to see.” My back is turned to him, my hair dangling and whipping as I move.

  “But what about the surgery?” he comes in closer to me, “What about your tumor?” He whispers.

  “Doctor –”

  “Grant.” He interrupts. “Call me Grant.”

  I sigh. “Listen, I’m going home. I need to. I had no idea I was here for 8 days! I’ve missed so many training sessions.” Flustered, I shut my eyes, forgetting all about training. Sudan is going to kill me! “And – and – and logins and plus, there is someone I need to see!” I stammer, tears swarming in.

  “But Nora, you could die!” He grips my arm, his ice blue eyes searching mine.

  I pull away from him. “Well, I guess I made my choice then, huh? Goodbye Grant.” I say, flinging my purse over my shoulder disregarding the pain.

  8 the one to blame

  I tried not to show how hurt I was; throwing my bag over my shoulder hurt like hell but I had a tough role to play. I don’t realize that I don’t have a car anymore until I walk out of the front door.

  “Shoot!” I stomp my foot and run my left hand through my hair. I drop my bag to the ground, although, it wasn’t heavy, anyway. “Dammit! I cannot believe I didn’t think of this sooner. What am I going to do now!?” I turn, facing the Care Station doors, attempting to go back inside when a car pulls up next to me.

  Honk. “Hey! Need a ride?” His voice intercepts my thoughts. My eyes widen and I turn around to face the guy with such a familiar voice. “Hey.” He says again.

  I hesitate.

  “Well, aren’t you going to say, ‘hello’?” He asks, grinning at me.

  “H—hi Devin.” How did he find me? My mind flashes back to the nightmare I had of him earlier today. I bat my eyelashes harder, avoiding reminiscing on his attack.

  “Hey, do you want me to take you somewhere or are you okay?” He asks again.
/>   “Um, well, I—I should probably get a Call Car.” I say, jiggling my phone in my hands. I’m lucky it wasn’t crushed in the accident.

  “Tsk! You will have no luck out in these parts. Call Cars don’t come out here. Too far out.” His engine reaves.

  “Oh—dammit. That’s just great!”

  “I could give you a ride, you know, I don’t mind.”

  “Well, I—I should try to call my friend to see if she can come to get me.” I smile.

  “Are you sure?” I tap my phone against the palm of my hand. Mairi wouldn’t be able to make it this far. Her parents monitored the miles she put on her car and her parents hated me. And I couldn’t call my mother because she hated Riley so there was no way she would take me to see him. “So do you want me to take you somewhere? I promise I won’t bite. Unless you ask me to.” He laughs but I don’t.

  Like it or not, he was my only option. It was either walk or go back into the Care Station and be forced into surgery.

  “How did you find me?” I blurt out, peering at him.

  He chuckles. “What makes you think I was looking for you?” I didn’t find him funny, especially after that recent dream. It had to be a sign from the Creator. When I don’t answer, he continues, “Okay? Well, my father works here. He’s the Chief of Surgery and I was just coming to visit him on some...” He looks down, “… family business. I was not following you or looking for you. I saw you out here freaking out, and you look frustrated so I thought I’d ask you if you needed a ride but if not, I can go.” He puts his car into gear, pressing the fancy buttons in his baby blue Avreocar.

  “No—wait.” I roll my eyes. What the heck? “I wasn’t trying to be a bitch or anything. I’m just a little shaken up. That’s all.” I tremble, grasping my jacket in hand to my chest.

  “Wanna talk about it?” I give him a yea right look.

  “Too pushy?” He grins.

  “Um, no it’s fine. I don’t need to talk. I need a ride to the Eyubus station.”

  “Sure. Hop in.” He pushes a flat red button on the window shield allowing the door to glide open. He was definitely from here. A Riser. I slide into the car.