"There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul."

~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox

"Ariel, watch out!" An indistinct voice reached my ears.

It felt like rain drops were gliding against my skin, except that in truth the downpour I was experiencing wasn't rain at all. Shards of glass scattered all around me like glitter, sparkling incandescently. They hovered in the air for a fleeting moment, like fireflies in the night sky.

Like an unexpected wave, a shadow engulfed me. At first, I thought it was a threat but as it turned out, the silhouette was my knight in shining amber. Arms curled around me like a protective shield, the scent of smoke and cinnamon surrounding me. I cowered into my hands and deeper into the seat, hiding from the unidentified danger.

Something isn't right.

Disoriented and confused, my mind was too busy admiring the chaos. With an abrupt jerk, reality came crashing in. Tobias. SUV. Glass. When the recoil of the jerk passed, my frightened eyes connected with Tobias' to witness his fuming expression. Beneath his seething anger, I caught traces of concern.

He parted from the sanctity of the car, but not before barking, "Down here, now!" while pointing to the foot space.

Breathe.

I climbed down, crouching in the shadows. My neck was sore, my stomach uneasy from the turbulent ride. Still, the unparalleled curiosity which coursed through my veins urged me to get back on the seat. disobeying Tobias. He was sprinting towards the SUV, which had swerved and stopped inches behind us. Momentarily, I observed the shattered glass that had now settled all over the black leather seats. The rear windshield had collapsed, pieces scattered and broken.

It was a fucking wreck.

Breathe.

A draft of air entered the car as the windshield no longer acted as a barrier, making me shudder. I inhaled deeply before dusting my clothes, hoping I had caught no shards. My head was pounding, my body producing cold shivers. I shifted my attention back to Tobias, who was yanking the driver out of the car by his collar.

The dreary street light illuminated the scene poorly but it was enough for me to see a series of ferocious punches collide with the driver's left cheekbone. The force of the knuckle duster which enveloped Tobias' right fist caused blood to trickle down from the fresh wound on the driver's face. His biceps were flexing with his every punch, outlining his throbbing veins and firm muscles.

I winced at his aggressive behavior, watching him mercilessly assault the driver, who was undoubtedly no match for Tobias. I gawked like a headless chicken, unable to fully comprehend the extent of the position we were in. When Tobias began smashing the man's head against the windshield, creating loud cracking echoes, that was when I realized how insatiably his hunger for violence was.

Fucking hell.

The ruckus that was being generated had attracted a small group of spectators who had gathered on the sidelines to witness the brutality Tobias was directing towards the driver. I stayed low, not wanting to incur Tobias' wrath, keeping myself out of sight. But I couldn't just sit and hide. I had to do something.

Think. Inhale. Think. Exhale. Think.

Struggling to pull my phone out, I stumbled backward into the foot space, landing awkwardly on my ass. My back rammed uncomfortably against the dashboard.

Thud.

"Ow, what the heck." I winced, rubbing my back in the process. It was as if the universe had caught me sneaking glances of the fight and was compelling me to comply with Tobias' orders.

I rolled my eyes, muttering to myself, "Yeah, yeah. Take his side, why don't you?" Looking up at the sky, as if I was conversing with God.

I managed to dial for help, rambling hastily, "Mel, no wait Andy. You need to come, now! I don't know what's going on, uh, I-I c-can't breathe. We, we, we need help."

"Ariel. Ariel, breathe. Calm down, you're talking too fast. Just focus on my voice, it's okay. Just take a deep breath."

I closed my eyes, gulping down the panic which was stuck in my throat. He was right. I needed to breathe.

After exhaling shakily, I choked out, "Tobias was, uh, speeding and--"

"Did he crash? Fuck, are you hurt?" Andy jumped to conclusions.

I shook my head, "No, no, i-it wasn't Tobias' fault. I don't know what happened but, uh, s-some guy almost c-crashed into us so we, uh, chased him but somehow we got into some kind of...an accident."

"You're doing great, just keep talking to me." Andy encouraged me.

"There's g-glass everywhere, the rear windshield is shattered. I-I think the driver...he, uh, threw something at it..."

My eyes studied the backseat, I got on my knees to examine the floor space in the back and that was when I discovered a wrench, "Oh, God, he t-threw a wrench at us."

"You're okay. Just keep breathing, okay?" said Andy.

With a calmer heart, my gaze darted upwards to search for Tobias, but I couldn't find him. My vision was being blocked by bystanders. My breathing intensified again, my pulse spiked.

"Andy, I can't see him. Tobias stormed out of the car. He was p-practically killing the guy. There's so many people g-gathering. Please, hurry." My words were frantic and breathless.

"Okay, okay, you need to breathe. Ariel, where are you? Give me something, a street sign, anything."

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

My eyes searched for some indication, landing on the board. "Uh...you know that park that we, uh, never mind, uh, I think it's the corner of...Baker and 3rd," I rasped. "What if, what if, someone calls the cops?"

"Hey, don't worry about the cops. Tobias can handle them, alright? Just keep telling me what you see, okay?"

I poked my head out from behind the seat, "Fuck," I immediately gasped at what I saw, "Tobias is being held back by a few people." My heartbeat accelerated and my palms grew sweaty.

An old man put himself between Tobias and the driver. An unsettling feeling circled in the pit of my stomach as the old man gripped Tobias' arm, not allowing him to attack the driver any further. I slowly recognized him as Major Thomas Brady, the man who saved me from Kiara.

"Oh, my god, Thomas." I gasped.

"Who? Ariel, don't you mean Tobias?" Andy asked, "Ariel, what's going on?"

"I'll, uh, call you back. I'm fine, don't worry."

I hung up, slowly crawling out of the car, staying low and guarded. I brisk walked towards the scene and suddenly Tobias came into view. He was struggling in Thomas' grasp, his face contorted into one of pure rage. Meanwhile, the battered SUV driver lay unconscious in the middle of the street.

Breathe.

Fuck, don't be dead.

Please breathe.

"Nothing to see here folks. Come on, now." Thomas commanded with authority.

His thick eyebrows knitted into a deep scowl, his beard freshly trimmed. Dressed in a denim jacket and cargo pants, he somehow appeared twice as young. When my gaze shifted to Tobias, my heart lurched out of my chest. Thomas had Tobias pinned against the SUV, his
Thor-sized forearm pressed against Tobias' throat, cutting off his circulation. I rushed towards them, trying to catch my breath.

"Stop!" I demanded as I tried to shove Thomas away from Tobias, but the man was too strong for his age. When he didn't budge, I began screaming, "You're hurting him! Stop it! He can't breathe. Stop!"

Tobias began wheezing, his hand tapping the metal of the car as a sign that he was losing way too much air. His knuckles were bloody, his eyes bloodshot from both lack of oxygen and his hunger for violence.

"Ariel? Ariel Parker?" Thomas spun to face me, loosening his grip on Tobias.

"Yes, now let him go!" I commanded, yanking his arm away from Tobias' neck successfully.

Breathe. He's okay. Breathe.

Nothing could have stopped me from what I did next. I lunged at Tobias with full force, my arms hooking around his neck as his hands steadied my waist. I didn't care if he couldn't breathe. I didn't care if anyone was watching. I didn't care how he felt about me. All I cared about was the heat of his soul radiating into mine.

Warmth.

The kind you feel on a blazing summer day when humid gusts of wind ferociously ripple against your supple skin.

The kind you feel when you frantically dig into a steaming bowl of macaroni and cheese, its heat captivating your senses as you speedily swallow before chewing.

The kind you feel on a chilly winter night when the ocean of hot chocolate cascades down your throat as you gulp it down while snuggling into your soft blanket.

The kind you experience when you jog a mile just to clear your head, beads of sweat forming all over your face as the heat releases itself from your breathless body.

That was what I felt when I connected with him. My arms grew steady as they encircled his neck, my fingers submerging themselves into his hair as I crushed him, removing every atom of space between us. He tightened grip around me, lifting me slightly off the ground. His masculine scent immediately engulfed my nostrils as I inhaled a deep breath, making me instinctively tear up.

Thud, thud. Thud, thud.

I was hugging him with all the courage I could muster. I could feel his heart beating against my chest which caused an overbearing smile to creep onto my lips, despite the circumstances. I tilted my head to sneak a glance at him. As our eyes interlocked in the fiercest of ways, I couldn't find it in me to look away. We held the weight of unsaid words; our proximity overwhelming.

The wailing of police sirens from a distance made my heart rate quicken, snapping me back to reality. Before I could process what was happening, I felt a pair of arms rip me away from Tobias' embrace. A tsunami of emotions made my eyes glisten. I was being forced to part from him, being hurled into a car. Amidst the ocean of bodies, his eyes were locked with mine, they spoke to me, revealing things he had never said and I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't fucking breathe.

No matter how many times I told myself to breathe, I was having an anxiety attack and there was nothing I could do about it.

"Ariel, please breathe." I heard a familiar voice from beside me and reality washed over me.

Melaine?

"You're okay, please breathe. He'll be okay. Everything is okay." She reassured me, patting my hair, rubbing my back, my arms.

I felt my lungs burning painfully until I finally inhaled, long and deep.

You're okay. Just breathe.

Melaine kept hugging me until I calmed down, my short pants becoming deeper and slower. That was when I realized that she was in the driver's seat.

When she let go of me with an apologetic smile and began reversing, my lower lip quivering, "What a-are you doing? Why aren't we h-helping them?" I felt my pulse spike again. "No! Stop the c-car, Melaine." I began panicking hysterically.

"Ariel, we need to go. Please, just try to breathe. Come on, just, here..." She extended her hand and I clutched onto it immediately. "Please, Ari, we need to go."

"But--"

"I'm sorry. We need to go. Andy will kill me if I don't get us out of here right now." She cut me off with a guilty look.

As the car retreated, several police cars appeared within the scope of my vision. The blue and red lights blinding my eyes. The blaring sirens rang in my head like a bad tune on repeat. The initial adrenaline rush I had felt was swiftly dwindling. Instead, a numbing sensation began circulating through my blood.

Damp eyelashes. Jittery palms. Wheezing lungs.

I was abandoning him. 

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Love, Ari