PECULIAR (✓)

10. Feeling Bothersome

Being confronted by machines beeping and white walls is most probably the worst way to wake up.

Everything feels unfamiliar and so cold.

I shiver slightly while my eyes attempt to adjust to the foreign surroundings.

What happened?

As I tried to get up, immense pain seared through my entire form, making my head go dizzy.

Shakingly, I sat up, breathing heavily and still slightly unable to see properly.

It hurts to even breathe.

All I remember is Cassius' cold look from across the hall... God, if I thought I was in pain before, I was most certainly wrong.

That look has enough power to break me all over again. But I still can't seem to remember anything.

I look down at my arms. Why are there bruises all over my skin?

As my head starts to feel even more so fuzzy, Liz opens the door and runs to my side.

She's saying some things, but all I could hear was my blood furiously rushing through my head.

The nurses rush in to the room due to the excessive sped up bleeping the machine was producing and try to calm me down, as I shake violently.

But while my eyes are clenched, I hear him.

"Alettra...", the softness of his voice is enough to make me want to cry again.

I look up to see him by my side and his blue eyes red and tired.

His normally neat soft brown curls, a mess.

I hesitantly ask after calming my breathing down, "What happened Cassius, why does everything hurt?"

Cassius looks down at the floor, and then the Doctor comes in and explains everything to me...

I had been out for almost a full day. What was supposed to be a wonderful evening turned into a nightmare I can't remember.

I was drugged and attacked by Charlie and his friend Alex. I remember talking to him, I think, but...

I just can't... My head is pounding too much to allow me to think.

Frustrated I let out a sob, making Cassius' head snap up.

"What did they do to me?", I timidly ask afraid of the answer.

Liz shakes her head. "They didn't do that Alettra, Cassius managed to find you before they could."

I look at Cassius to see him, still with his head down, shoulders hunched.

Liz gets a call and excuses herself while the doctor and nurses leave.

Cassius stands by my bed, still unable to meet my eyes.

I look at him and wonder how bad I look. It feels bad.

My jaw twitching and stinging with pain.

Attempting to ease the tension, I blurt, "You lied to me."

He looks up wearily...

"You said my elbow wouldn't hurt... the snob's expensive nose was made of steel." I say seriously. We all knew that wasn't Charlie's real nose.

His mouth slightly lifts before it falls back into a frown.

After a while, he says something that stills me. "I'm so sorry."

"What are you sorry for Cassius? You didn't do anything?"

"Exactly! I was supposed to look out for everyone there, but I messed up, and you got hurt, your ribs were almost crushed, and you almost rap-" he stops himself in a sigh.

"Cass, you did do something. If it wasn't for you, I would have been... you know." I follow with the fact there are two people to blame for this and they are in jail.

He sits down and nods.

It's silent, but I could hear his thoughts going a hundred miles an hour. I can't stand the silence and, again, I break the tensity of the atmosphere.

"Sweetheart, can I have a hug please?" I say with a painful smirk. He looks at me in surprise and mouth ajar, his face also flushing. I shrug and remind him he said I can call him anything.

He gulps and stands up and holds me as if I was going to break.

"Tighter, please?" Cassius slowly tightens his grasp on me and kisses the top of my head sweetly.

The action makes me smile in peace. He really does carry the world on his shoulders.

I call his name again and he rolls his eyes and asks what happened to Sweetheart.

"You will forever be my sweetheart if you can find something out for me." He nods instantly.

But when I ask him to ask the doctor if I could go home, he sighs. "Alettra, I think you should stay here for a while. You only just woke up."

I shake my head, the pain of it making my eyes tear up.

"Please Cass... I wanna go home, I don't like it here." His eyes soften and even fill with some tears, then he nods while leaving.

Liz comes in and hugs me, also apologizing for leaving me alone...

Is this another Ardent trait?

I tell her the same thing I told Cass, the one to blame are in jail, but I can't help but blame myself as well...

I was extremely naïve, I should have known better, but I bury the feeling, not wanting to be even more of a burden than I already was.

"Liz, if you are really that worried about it than make it up to me by telling me what happened after Andreas whisked me away?" I tease, to which she blushes furiously.

She stutters "Well um... he kinda confessed to liking me and we urghh... We totally kissed!"

I smile in glee. My ship is thriving.

Cassius walks in with the doctor. The doctor, of course, says he advises me for at least a week, but since my CAT scan shows nothing troubling and what I need most is rest and pain meds, I can discharge myself if I wish to do so.

I ask Liz to get me some spare clothes from my apartment, but Cassius stops her and points to his bag that has some of his spare clothes and asks if I just want to wear his.

I nod, wanting nothing more than to just leave.

Liz helps me into Cassius' clothes that smell like him, warm and woodsy while he waits outside.

In the bag, I can see a familiar white shirt covered in blood.

While Liz helps me into the wheelchair slowly, I ask if that's the same shirt Cassius wore that night. "Yeah, Cassie changed here at the hospital because he didn't want to leave you." Of course he stayed.

He was a good man, even if he didn't believe it himself.

I should have been more aware. I can't even remember a moment where he could have slipped the drug in my drink.

But it was most probably with a friend... I could have prevented this, preventing them from feeling bad.

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