Blanca Like Snow

Chapter 7 - Discreet

          "Hello?" I hear her voice from the other side, filling my heart with relief that I remembered the number accurately and that I can get to talk to her. It hasn't been that long since the accident happened, just a few days, but I bet she's been worried about me.

"Nora, it's me, Blanca," I say, clutching the gadget, my knuckles going white.

I can hear the gasp and then a drop, what makes me think she left the phone hit the floor in her surprise, because then I hear her rumbling, probably hurrying to pick it up again.

"Blanca, is it really you? Where are you? Are you okay? What happened? Why didn't you call sooner?" she rants, question after question without a pause to take a breath. "I thought you were dead..." she breaks down then, I can hear her voice wavering as she fights the sobs.

"Mianhae,"I apologise in Korean because all the languages I can speak are clear in my head, more than my own memories. "I was in... a coma? I'm not sure. I was just unconscious for a few days so I couldn't call and when I woke up I didn't remember a thing."

"Are you kidding me? It's not funny, Blanca!"

"I swear I'm not joking! I'm in a hospital bed. I was in the car when the accident happened... I thought... I thought I was going to die, Nora."

"Blanca..." her voice is weak again and I feel like crying myself. I wrap my good arm around my waist, careful with my ribs, trying to keep myself together without breaking down. I need her right now, my best friend to hold me because everything is so unstable.

"I'm okay," I reassure her. "I remember now, and aside from being quite bruised up, everything is fine. I'm not in danger or anything."

"Where are you?"

"I'm not even sure to be honest, but I'll ask and let you know. Can you come, please? Pick me up? I want to go home." I know I sound like a little kid, but I don't care. I have been treated well in here, with Clarisse looking after me and everything, but I just want to go home, to be with my family. And yes, by family I mean Nora and her family.

"Of course. Mum is here, she wants to talk to you, she's here next to me."

"Okay," I agree, waiting for Louise to take the phone, hearing the movement on the other end of the line.

Soon, I can hear Louise's voice calling my name. "Blanca, I can't emphasis enough how relieved I am to know you're okay. We've been so worried about you."

"I'm sorry for making you worry," I apologise immediately, taking deep breaths to calm down.

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault. And I'm sorry to ask you this, Blanca, but your accident... it's thought it was an attack from the activists. The official reports says so, that's the statement they've done but... how to say this?" she struggles to find the words. "It seems odd, the circumstances I mean."

"What do you mean?"

"Blanca..." she sounds exhausted, as if just trying to say this was tiring her. "We can't be sure it was an attack from the activist to get revenge, but we know you're in danger and I fear... I fear Laura had something to do with it."

"What?" I spat, choking on my own spit when I hear the words. "That can't be true. I know she's power-hungry and she hates me, but she wouldn't be capable of that... would she?"

"We can't be sure, but how she's handled things and... Blanca, I know it's hard and I can't be sure, but what happened is weird and we need to be careful. Please, lay low until I tell you otherwise and let me handle this. We'll keep it quiet from Laura for now and see how things go. Whether it was her or the activists, you have to be extra careful."