The Red Rose - The Prequel

Chapter 30

Author's POV:

Lily opened her eyes to find herself sleeping in her bed in her room. She tried moving from the bed but failed. She looked around her trying to see what was holding her back on the bed but saw nothing.

Suddenly panic kicked in when she saw a huge, dark figure standing near the window. It lifted its head and looked at Lily. She couldn't see its face or it didn't have a face at all. She tried her best to move as the figure started walking towards her. In a flash, it was hovering over Lily.

After so much effort, finally a loud, ear piercing scream escaped her mouth and everything went dark. She could feel people moving around where she was lying. They were holding her arms and legs down, trying to restrain her from moving. She kept screaming and thrashing. She could hear the sounds of the people talking around her even though she couldn't open her eyes just yet.

Little by little, she was losing her strength and gradually she fell back into a deep slumber.

April 2 2015

3:10am

It was dark outside. There was a dim yellow light at her foot. Lily realized that she was in an unfamiliar room. Her lids were too heavy and teary. Through her blurred vision, she saw a movement next to her. She crawled away from whoever it was but soon she recognized that very familiar face.

"Ayaat..." her voice was hoarse.

Ayaat sat down on the bed next to her and gently stroked her hair. Her body felt numb, like she couldn't feel anything. But somehow the hands on her head felt relaxing.

Lily's smile dropped when she noticed the bandages on Ayaat's hands that were right in front of her face. Out of concern, Lily moved to grab her hands but Ayaat pulled them away quickly.

Her frown deepened at Ayaat's action but she was still concerned, "Are you okay?"

Ayaat shrugged her shoulders.

"Can I see it once?" Ayaat shook her head no. Lily let out a sigh in disappointment. Ayaat continued stroking Lily's hair and soon she fell back into sleep.

The next morning Lily woke up with a bad head ache. She felt nauseous but no matter what she did, she found it extremely painful to move. Ayaat was nowhere to be seen.

She had almost given up on trying to get up when a nurse walked in. That's when Lily realised she was in a hospital with all the weird machines attached onto her and a needle on the back of her palm.

The nurse checked to see how the girl was doing. After a few minutes she finally spoke, "How do you feel?"

"Nauseous with a head ache. It feels painful to move though. Can you help me go to the washroom? I feel like I'm going to puke."

The nurse quickly handed a plastic bag which she held close to her mouth. The nurse started noting down something as Lily held the bag to her mouth and started gagging. The nurse gently stroked her back as Lily sat on the bed puking her gut out, holding the bag with all the strength she had.

Once she was done, she was handed a glass of water to clean her mouth and the nurse collected the plastic bag from her to dispose it.

"How long was I out?"

"One week." The nurse spoke softly as she helped her lay back down on the bed.

"When can I leave?"

"You will have to stay another two days under observation, and if you are okay you can leave. I will inform your guardian that you have are awake. The doctor will visit you soon for the check up."

Guardian? Ayaat?

The nurse left the room before she could enquire more about the said guardian.

Mr. Gardener?

It had to be Mr. Gardener. She wondered if everything had gone as per the plan. At least Ayaat was safe. That was all the information she needed for the time being.

Lily flinched at the loud knock on the door. Expectantly, Lily watched the door open but unlike what she had thought, it was not Mr. Gardener who walked in. A huge man with a big scary moustache walked in.

He sat on the chair next to Lily's bed and clasped his hands on his lap.

"Hi... How are you feeling now?" He asked with a smile.

She felt confused and more than that, scared of this stranger.

"I'm okay."

"Thank god... I was really worried. I don't know what I would have done if something had hap-"

"Who are you?" Lily interrupted the man. She had expected the man to introduce himself but she was running out of patience.

"Uh...hmm...yeah. Me..."He paused for a second as if he was thinking how to introduce himself. "I'm... uhh... I'm Rustar. Rustar Delmont, your.... Hmm... father?"

"Oh. Hmm... nice to meet you. I'm Lilith Lake."

To be continued...