The CEO's Rose

Vivian’s POV

Vivian was somewhere, where that somewhere was or how she had gotten there in the first place, she had no idea.

But wherever she was it was dark, warm and comfortable. It was so nice that she wanted to stay there and never leave. But there was something nagging at her, telling her that the dark place that she was in, as nice as it was, would not be a good place to stay in for long. She tried her best to ignore that little voice.

The darkness was so kind to her.

Why would she ever want to leave it? But the nagging sensation just would not go away, it kept poking and prodding at her until finally Vivian stopped just floating about. The pieces of her that she was not even aware had been scattered slowly coming together.

As she became more whole, the realization that there was more beyond the darkness pushed Vivian to keep fighting, her curiosity driving her.

What could possibly lay beyond the all-dark of the world that she had gotten so comfortable in?

The first thing to break through the barrier was a voice. It was a low and deep thing that made Vivian instantly feel safe. She tried to reach for it, to hold on as tightly as she could. But the more she struggled, the more the darkness around her changed, no longer being the soothing blanket all around her. But becoming tar, thick and syrupy, pulling her under no matter what she did to try and stay awake. It carried her away from the voice, dragging her in deeper and deeper, until she could no longer hear the wonderful sound. But even as she lost the battle with the dark, Vivian knew she would win the war. She had no choice, there was a voice out there that she needed to hear more of.

***

The next time that Vivian became aware of being more than just a part of the dark, there was another voice.

This one was different from the very first one that had brought her to the surface. It was soft, feminine and very energetic. The owner of the voice talked with a kind of whimsy that made Vivian want to get up and be a part of whatever she was saying. The person sounded like someone fun, like no matter what they were doing together, it would end up being something great. The owner of the voice, unaware that Vivian was listening and trying to piece together who it was laughed softly. And just like that, it clicked for Vivian...Amy.

The person who was talking was Amy. Her best friend was on the other side of the darkness. Having that knowledge renewed Vivian’s need to struggle against the hold of the dark. But just as it had done in the past, it pulled her back under without even giving her a chance to lay eyes upon her friend.

But having heard the two voices, Amy’s and that of the mysterious man with the safe sounding baritone. Vivian had become stronger. She had no idea how much time passed with her still stuck in the dark, but she now spent every single moment fighting instead of just letting herself float. As she struggled to remain aware despite her body not reacting, she soon realized that it was not just her friend and the man who were out there.

There was a whole world out there waiting for her.

She could hear sounds, loud beeps, professional sounding voices, and a third voice that showed up almost as much as Amy in the other voice...Mark, she realized during one of the third voice’s talks with her. The third voice belonged to Mark, and Vivian’s heart sang with joy at the realization. She had Amy and she had Mark, two very important people that she had to get to.

Still, the name of the first voice eluded her, and yet it was her favourite. Every time that the man would begin to speak, Vivian would just feel her entire soul beginning to glow. Once when he had been speaking, she had even managed to regain enough control of herself to flutter her eyelashes, the lids trying to open. But when she had done that, the voice had gone quiet and she’d lost her grip on awareness, her anchor gone. She’d cursed the darkness as it had pulled her under.

***

When the name of her favorite voice finally came to her. It did not do so the way that others had, feeling like flashes of lightning. Instead, the name had washed over her like the sun warming her heart as her mind finally pulled the right memories.

Ryan...Ryan Terrell.

That was the name of her first voice, her comfort, her safety.

The knowledge of who he was made Vivian feel like an engine roaring back to life. In that moment of awareness, as she listened to him speak, Vivian realized that the dark was no longer pitch black. That it was now grey and fading fast as she focused more on the sound of her Ryan’s voice.

"They keep doing your hair wrong. Messing it up no matter how many times I do it right for you, don’t worry, I will never just leave your hair all messy," There were soft fingers trailing across her scalp and Vivian realized that Ryan, sweetheart that he was, was doing her hair. She almost wanted to smile and tell him that she didn’t care how her hair looked, just so long as he kept talking to her, everything was fine.

Fine...fine... fine!

At the word fine. Alarm bells just started going off in her head. A sense of urgency that she had not felt before suddenly overwhelming her.

Things were not fine.

She was stuck in the dark and Ryan was alone with-

Wait, who was Ryan alone with?

There had been someone else, someone dangerous. That person was the reason that she was in the dark. But who was it...who?

Oh no! Bryce! Bryce was out there!

Her memories of the last things that she’d seen before she had fallen into the darkness suddenly came to the surface, and panic like she had never felt before seized her.

She had to warn Ryan! Bryce was there, she had to keep her Ryan safe. She had to leave the dark, Ryan needed her! All around her, things were shifting fast, there was a loud beeping but she barely paid it any mind. Warning Ryan was more important.

"Vivian? Vivian darling, can you hear me? Help! I need help in here!"

Yes! Help...Ryan needed help, she needed to help him.

But the darkness would not let her go.

Sick and tired of being in its control, each time that it pulled at her, Vivian pushed back against it with all of her might, not letting it take her down the way that it always had. Push, pull, push, pull... and the next thing she knew, there was light.

"Vivian?"

Squinting against the sudden brightness, she groaned in pain, and only allowed her eyes to open up fully again when the light dimmed. Blinking, she stared at the room in confusion.

Where was she? This was not her apartment.

The next thing she became aware of was something stuck in her throat, bringing her hand up. She tried to remove the tube protruding from her mouth, but there was instantly a hand there, stopping her.

"Hey, now, none of that," The voice was even warmer that it had sounded in the dark. Forcing her head to turn to the side. Vivian was greeted by a face that the darkness had made her forget, but the moment she laid eyes upon him, she instantly knew who he was.

Ryan.