REBORN: MEET MY BROTHERS-Chapter 59: THE VENT

Ava closed her eyes and inhaled sharply, smiling softly regardless of the pain she felt. When she opened her eyes again, she took another look around the room. Nothing had changed. She was still alone inside the room, and could still hear whispers from the two men outside the door, but somehow she’d finally managed to free herself.

Freeing herself was extremely painful, and while she was at it, she thought she was going to die from the pain, but that didn’t happen.

Pushing herself up with her right hand, Ava managed to stand on her feet, resting on the steel table beside her to steady herself. Her dizziness had almost gone but she was extremely weak.

She swallowed hard as she glanced at the room door where the men chuckled loudly. She was happy she wasn’t caught while she was trying to free herself, but she couldn’t stay here.

These men could come in at anytime and she didn’t want to think about what they’d do to her if they found out she’d somehow managed to free herself.

Her jaw clenched as she looked around the room once more. It was darker than how she remembered, and the dim light inside the room flickered occasionally. But even if she could barely see, she could tell that there was nothing in the room to help her escape or at least have a chance to.

Ava nearly groaned in frustration, but she bit back the moan when her eyes fell on the small vent near the ceiling, just above the corner of the room.

She exhaled slowly before she decided to check it out. Sliding her hand along the table, Ava moved toward the far wall. Her knees buckled slightly, but she caught herself.

When she reached the wall, she pressed her forehead against the cool surface for a moment, closing her eyes to steady her racing heart.

Opening them again, she took a closer look at the vent. Since two of the screws were already removed from it, and the remaining screws were loosed and almost out of their holes, the vent cover was bending.

Ava sighed in relief at the sight. Turning around, she looked for any object that she could climb to get to the vent since she wasn’t tall enough. Luckily, there was a metal stool at the far end of the room, close to the door.

She took in a deep breath before slowly walking to the chair. When she finally reached the stool, she looked at her injured hand. There was blood on her skin, and it still throbbed, but she ignored the pain and held the edges of the chair with both her hand.

It was heavier than it looked, and the cold metal bit into her sore hand as she lifted it. She had to bite her lips hard to stiffle the scream.

Tears filled her eyes as she dragged the chair to the vent.

When she dropped the chair, she clutched her injured arm, and her tears almost spilled from enduring the pain.

Once the pain subsided, Ava positioned the stool, wiping her sweat from her brow with the back of her uninjured hand.

Taking a deep breath, she finally climbed. She barely placed her other feet on it when the stool wobbled beneath her. Her heart pounded in her chest like a drum, almost drowning the sounds of the murmur outside the room. Still, she stretched forward, and when she finally held the loosed vent cover, she smiled.

Her hands trembled as she held the edges of the vent and pulled it to herself. The loud sound from the metal made her freeze.

Her heart almost dropped as she turned to the door only to find out that the men had stopped talking.

Ava clung to the vent. Her heart pounded so loudly that she feared that they might hear and she started praying silently.

After a few agonizing seconds, the men began talking and laughing again. Her stomach churned, but she breathed shakily, trying to calm her racing heart that was beating like it was about to fall out of her chest.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Jerome wiped the corner of his lips, glaring daggers at Dustin. Unable to contain his anger, he threw a punch back at Dustin, but Dustin dodged by simply stepping away from the room.

Matilda gasped, stepping in between the two men. She held Jerome’s hand to stop him from engaging with Dustin, before pressing her back to him so she could face Dustin. "You come in here and hit my son, Moore?!" She yelled. "You’ll pay for this!"

Dustin wiggled his wrist nonchalantly, still glaring at them. He knew damn well the implications of his actions. Hitting Jerome will definitely start another war between both their families, but if he could go back in time, he’d do everything he did again, and maybe throw in some extra punches cause one wasn’t enough for this bastard in front of him.

"Security is on their way!" Matilda continued. "I’ll make sure to sue you for assault, you bastard!"

Dustin smirked. "You should be more concerned about yourselves," he said calmly, even if his insides burned from his anger. "If I find out that anything has happened to Ava and you’re involved, breaking your son’s jaw wouldn’t be your only problem."

With that, Dustin turned away from the room and walked into the elevator. As the elevator descended, Dustin gritted his teeth. He’d been right all along. Something had happened to Ava. That thought almost drove him mad.

He hit his fist on the elevator door about the same time the elevator stopped at the second-to-last floor.

The bald man stood at the entrance when the door slid open and Dustin’s eyes immediately fell on him.

Taking in his appearance, Dustin paused. The blad man was dressed in scrubs stained with what looked like blood. He was holding a small metal tray with a syringe and a pair of surgical gloves, but Dustin noticed the sign close to the elevator. The floor was being renovated.

Immediately the man’s eyes flickered up to meet his, Dustin’s instincts flared. Something wasn’t right.