The CEO's Rose

Chapter 151: Stressful

Vivian’s POV

Stress was bad. Vivian knew this. Many scientists across different fields had studied it at length and they had all come to that agreement. Too much stress on a plant could lead to it becoming stunted or not producing fruit anymore. Animals like chickens could even die from it. She’d even heard that the layers could even stop laying eggs.

For people the signs of stress often varied. Now Vivian had finally discovered what her own major stress symptom was. Apparently Vivian Rose was the kind to hallucinate when she was under a lot of pressure. Given how much she had been stressing herself by spending time with Bryce, and all of the strain she had just recently put herself under when thinking of ways to dodge him. It only made sense that her breaking point led to her seeing someone who was not there. Clearly she had missed him so much that her mind had decided to let her see him.

Staring at the man at her door, Vivian could not help but drink him in hungrily.

The Ryan Terrell that her mind had conjured up looked ’good’. He looked like a tall drink of something that she really wanted to drink, or cuddle, whichever came first. Sure she could see the faint shadow of dark circles beneath his eyes. But if anything they made his blue eyes even more enticing. It almost felt like her hallucination was looking straight into Vivian soul.

Deciding that since she had already lost her mind, there was no need for her to keep up her pretense of having diarrhea. Vivian straightened, her hand falling away from her stomach as she threw her head back and laughed at the ridiculousness of her situation. She was so out of it that she was actually imagining that Ryan Terrell, a man that she was never going to see face to face again was standing before her.

"Oh, Vivian how far you have fallen," She whispered to herself.

Still, even though he was a figment of her imagination Vivian missed Ryan so very much that without wasting any more time. She moved forward, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing as tightly as she could. Unable to hold back a tear as his familiar scent enveloped her and she could feel the familiar thump, thump, thump of his heart.

It was all so very lifelike that Vivian almost...wait...wait...

Her imaginary Ryan felt a little too real.

Was her mind capable of coming up with such a lifelike figment of her imagination?

Letting him go, Vivian took a step back, and looked him up and down, trying to spot anomalies that would give away the fact that he was not real. Finding none, she let her gaze drift back to his face. The man was still watching her, completely frozen on the spot. Waving a finger in front of his eyes Vivian watched as he tracked the digit. Were hallucinations supposed to have that much coordination? Pulling the hand back Vivian pinched the skin of her arm and gasped in pain.

No... there was just no way.

Could it be? Was he actually real?

***

Staring at the area that she had just pinched Vivian looked back at her visitor in shock.

"Ryan," She gasped, the apparition huffed out a soft breath.

"The last time I checked that was still my name. Hello Vivian, may I come in," He finished with a soft smile. Completely stunned Vivian stared at him for a split second then she shook her head.

Man, she really was too far gone. freёwebnoѵel.com

Not only did her imaginary friend feel real. He also had Ryan’s voice down to a tee. It wasn’t even just the sound, it was the way that hearing the hallucination’s voice made her feel. It gave her that zing that always seemed to go up and down her spine whenever she heard Ryan’s smooth baritone.

’What about the pain that you felt when you pinched yourself? Doesn’t that make this real?’ A voice at the back of her head pointed out. But Vivian was not about to start listening to it. There was just no way that this could be real. She had spent weeks hoping that Ryan would show up just like this.

And now she was supposed to believe that he was suddenly really there, no way.

Vivian had simply lost her mind, and that was all that there was to it.

"Hey Ryan, even though you are not really here, it was great seeing you. Bye now," Reaching for the door Vivian began to close it. And that was when the apparition suddenly moved. Out of nowhere Vivian found herself unable to move the door any further. A strong hand stopping her from doing so.

What?

***

"You are not imagining things Vivian. I am really here," There was a soft smile on Ryan’s face, a smile directed at her. Oh, letting go of the door Vivian stumbled back and Ryan took the opportunity to walk inside, gently closing the door behind him.

Oh, he was really there. Ryan Terrell was in her apartment.

"How was he- How in the world had he-’ Unable to finish off any of her thoughts, Vivian suddenly felt as though the world was spinning. Looking over at Ryan, she found him staring at her with worried eyes.

"Hey, it is alright. There is no need to panic. I’m not here to fight you or anything. In fact, how about we take a seat and talk about things?" Vivian must have shown some sign of agreement because Ryan moved forward, his hands settling around her, (oh, how she had missed being held by him).

Leaning into the touch a little more than was necessary, she let herself be guided to the couch, still not quite able to believe that instead of enduring the nightmare that was Bryce, she actually had Ryan Terrell in her apartment again. Something that she had thought would remain a dream that would never come true.