Chapter 145
Astrid POV
My mind was like a ship adrift in a foggy sea as I woke up. Everything felt unfamiliar. The surroundings were blurry and my head was spinning. “Argh!” I winced when I tried to get up, a pain lancing through my head.
“Stay still!” A deep, hoarse voice drifted from somewhere as I tried to focus my eyes. My body felt so heavy and sluggish that I flopped back on the pillow. My thoughts were scattered as confusion set in. I was unable to piece the puzzle together about what was happening to me.
The recollection of being consumed by fire filled me with a lingering terror. The enormity of what happened was too much to process, leaving me in a state of disbelief. It was like I was going to die. Perhaps I was dead, and it was my angel who was towering over me. I focused to see who it was and found Kael looking at me intensely.
Relief flooded my chest through the darkness seeing him. Too many questions flooded my mind: How did I get out? Who rescued me? Where were Uncle and Aunt?
“Baby girl?” Kael’s soft voice had a layer of deep worry. He cupped my cheek, brushing his thumb on my skin. I could sense the fear trapped inside his chest, which was pounding wildly. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, as I noticed the surrounding sound. Sounds of machines beeping and soft murmurs filled the space.
“You were gone…” I said through a parched throat.
“Shhh…” he said, putting his finger on my lips. Then he leaned over me and picked a glass of water to give me. He propped up my head with his hand and brought the glass to my lips for me to have water. I gulped it and let the cool sensation of liquid heal my soul.
Once I drank it, instinctively Kael’s brows furrowed as if to check whether I had more injuries. His gaze scanned my body and when his eyes were back to me, he said, “You got one bruise on your thigh. It’s minor and you’ll be fine in a day.”
“Who saved me?” I asked.
His eyes were filled with gratitude and warmth when he said, “My dad.”
Surprise washed over me. “Your father?”
He nodded with a smile and looked up. I followed his gaze and saw two exquisite people talking to my aunt and uncle. They looked at us and immediately walked to our side.
“You’re awake!” Bree said, sitting at the edge of the bed as Uncle Fred stood behind me, his eyes fixed on me, speaking of nothing but terror. She placed her hand on my forearm, blinking her tears away. “How did this happen?”
Kael’s parents, Logan and Kylie, came to stand next to his son, their eyes on me. I gave them a smile. “Thank you,” I said to Logan. And I had to say that this man was so handsome at his age that he looked like Adonis walking on earth. No wonder his children were so beautiful. Kael and Toren were just as tall as their dad and had all the beautiful features blended with their mom and dad. How could two people give birth to even more beautiful people? It must be tough, right?
Logan smiled back at me. “It’s a pleasure. I am happy that we saved you in time.” Then he curled his arms around Kylie and said to Kael. “We’re waiting out along with Toren and Aiden. But we’d like to talk to both of you once we are back at home.”
“Sure!” Kael breathed.
As soon as they left the room, Fred came to stand where Kael was, giving him a dreadful glare. Kael stepped back, allowing him to come and sit next to me. “Now tell me, Astrid,” he said, barely able to contain his anger. “Did you see who tried to burn the house? Did that person know you were in the house? I have filed a report with the police. The whole bloody house is razed down, so it means that the fire was not normal. It was an intention to murder.” His chest rose and fell as he seethed.
It was the first time I saw Fred in a fiercely protective mood. But it made me feel… happy. It made me feel wanted by him. Taking a deep breath in to stop my tears, I said, “I don’t know. I was in Kael’s room, arranging our books after he had left, when suddenly, I heard a blast. It was followed by miles–high flames. Panicked, I rushed downstairs, but my door was engulfed in flames. Before I knew it, the whole place was filled with smoke and I blacked out.”
Fred narrowed his eyes. “My doubts are confirmed. There was someone out there who wanted to kill you. He or she was hiding around the house and lit the fire as soon as they saw the opportunity. But the question is, who was it?”
“Stop it, Fred!” Bree chided him. “Let the police do their work and don’t scare Astrid. She is already in trauma.”
Fred clenched his jaw and became quiet. However, he got up and strode out. “I am going to the police. I want to know how they are carrying the investigation. It’s been a day!”
1/2
Gun
Whoa! So I was out for a day?
Briana and Nate rushed inside. “Astridddd!” Briana hugged me as Nate stood with his mother. “Girl, we were so worried. Who the fuck did it to you?”
“Language, Briana!” Bree hissed.
I chuckled. It was so nice to be with my family. “I don’t know…” I said. “Tracy had come to get Kael. It happened after they left.”
“Tracy?” Briana and Nate said in unison.
“Yeah! She wanted to cut the cake with them.” I narrated the story to them. Feeling tired, I closed my eyes.
“She needs rest,” Bree said. “Out, both of you!”
“No, it’s fine…” I said, opening my eyes.
HIS
I was discharged from the hospital a day later, but the police came to my place to ask me a thousand questions. Kael, Toren, and Aiden ditched school and were practically living at my place because their house got destroyed. Their father bought a new house for them which was fully furnished, but the brothers mostly stayed at my place.
It was on the fourth day that Logan and Kylie came to me to talk. Even I was curious to know how they retrieve me from a burning house, and who was responsible for it.
Kael cozied up next to me on the bed, while Logan and Kylie sat in the chairs across from my bed. Aiden and Toren stood behind them like sentinels.
“I know you have a lot of questions in your mind, Astrid,” Logan said, glancing at Kael’s arms around me. “So let me start from the beginning.” He looked at Kylie. “Kylie received a message from Tracy about both of you. Obviously, we were both thrilled, but we wanted to meet you in person.”
A blush crept on my cheeks.
“We arrived at the house at just the right moment, as it was being devoured by fire. We heard you screaming and so I dashed in to save you. But by the time I reached you, you had fainted.”
I pursed my lips, a shiver running down my spine when I recalled the fiasco.
Logan continued, “The police searched all the videos of other house owners around that house, and they saw a man sneaking right below your window as soon as Kael left. Now, my question is: Do you know anyone who would harm you?”
The only person who wanted to harm me was Xander. But he didn’t know my location. “No…”
“Doesn’t matter,” Kylie said with a soft smile to dismiss the tension. “There’s another very important question, Astrid.”
“Sure!” I breathed.
“When is your eighteenth birthday?”