And it all started with this meet & greet - Ondreaz Lopez

Chapter 11: "And who are you, may I ask?"

Soph's POV:

 Pain. The first thing I really noticed when I opened my eyes and looked up at a white ceiling Carefully I turned my head, suppressing it from screaming out loud, as an unpleasant pressure spread throughout my whole body.

 I saw everything blurred, blinking to see more clearly. I could make out two outlines in front of the window through which bright daylight fell. At first I thought I had only imagined them, but after closing and opening my eyes several times they were still there. They were asleep. 

 It took a moment before I could assign names to the faces. What were Ondreaz and Tony doing here? And where was I, anyway? A closer look across the room told me I was in a hospital room. Scared, I sat up and my bones cracked.

 A painful sigh came over my lips and something stirred up among the boys. About the same time they woke up and rubbed the sleep out of their eyes. Confused, they looked around but then seemed to remember where they were and their eyes fell on me immediately.

 Relieved, they exhaled and stood up. "Good, you are finally awake," Tony said in a rough morning voice. "How are you?" Ondreaz asked. "Um... I'm pretty miserable, but I'm not really interested in that right now. What's doing here? And what am I doing here?" 

 "You don't remember?" Tony asked and I searched my memory. I remember being mad at Amy. Fucking angry. And that I had gone to the gym to vent some frustration. I didn't remember much after that, though. Did I really...

 "Is it just my imagination that I cut off the doll's limbs or did that really happen?" I asked, a little confused and a little scared. "'That really happened', Ondreaz laughed and I touched my forehead with my hand, which I regretted immediately, as every little movement hurt like hell. 

 "And how did I get here?" I pressed out. "Ondreaz found you unconscious in the gym. We thought you would wake up soon, but you didn't, so we called an ambulance, which brought you here," Tony explained and I nodded.

 I was about to ask if I had caused them much trouble when the door opened and a doctor came into the room. "Ah, you're awake, Miss Taylor. How are you?" he asked and I looked at him in confusion as he shook my hand.

 "Dr Bennit," he introduced himself and I nodded again. "Well done. Can I go?", I asked. This was not true, but the memories I associated with hospitals made me want to get away from here as soon as possible. 

 "I will examine you again briefly, but I think that I can discharge you right away," he said and bent over a monitor. "So your blood count is fine and your heartbeat is also back in the green zone. You should continue to cool the injuries and you will need to come back in a week to have the stitches removed. Otherwise, you're done."

 Sutures? "Have I had stitches?" I asked now and Dr Bennit nodded. "Yes, in two places, but the wounds were not alarmingly deep. Sewing them seemed necessary," he explained and I nodded. 

 He checked me for a moment, then asked me to stand up. Again everything ached me and again I forced myself not to let on. "Tell me, do you still have much pain? I can't tell from your facial expression and posture."

 I shook my head. "Oh nonsense, it's fine. Can I go now?" He nodded somewhat hesitantly, but handed me a painkiller and accompanied me to the door.

 "I would like to ask you not to be alone for the next few days, as best you can, as you will need to see a doctor immediately if you faint again. And in a week's time you will come to have your stitches removed", he reminded me, then he disappeared into another room. 

 "Say, Ondreaz? You found me, didn't you?", I asked as I was dragging myself to the exit. He nodded, turning pale. 

 A little ashamed I looked at the floor. "Sorry, I didn't mean to cause you any trouble. You don't have to bother with me either, that's fine," I said and assumed that they would nod and leave now, but they both shook their heads. 

 "As if we were going to do that. You look like you're going to faint at any moment. Besides, we can't really leave the hotel because of the fans, so you have to keep us busy. And I think you've already forgotten what the doctor said," Tony said, smiling at me cheerfully. 

  I laughed. "If you think... But I tell you, I'm still pretty shaky on my feet. On command, I stumbled. I'd prepared myself for a hard and painful impact. But it did not come.

 When I opened my eyes again I looked straight into Ondreaz's face, he had just caught me. Carefully he put me upright again and supported me by putting one arm around my waist. 

 "Thank you," I murmured and wiped a strand of hair from my face. "Tony, can you please drive?", he asked and the dark-haired man nodded. Together we got into a car with darkened windows and a massive body.

 "Is it armored?" I asked and Ondreaz nodded. "For security," Tony explained and started the car. It only took us ten minutes to get to the hotel. During that time, the two boys talked.

 They looked pretty exhausted. I didn't know how long they had been asleep, but it couldn't have been very long. One look at the clock told me it was only 9:30. And I was hungry. 

 My stomach was already growling and Tony looked at me with a grin from his rear-view mirror. "We are hungry too, believe us", Ondreaz laughed and his stomach made strange noises too. 

 Finally we arrived at the parking lot and went to the hotel. Ondreaz was still supporting me, otherwise I would have fallen down for sure. When I saw the buffet on the dining floor, my mouth watered.

 Greedily we filled our plates and then sat down in a corner. The others were not there yet and I was happy about it, because I was not very happy with Amy at the moment. What she had said had simply been outrageous.

 I caught up twice more - actually the boys did, as they insisted on looking after me - and we talked a bit. I was just putting a piece of pancake in my mouth when Tayler, Thomas, James, Alex and Chase came rushing into the breakfast room. When they saw us they came rushing towards us. 

"I'm glad you're all right, Soph. I'll talk to you later. Right now we've got a big problem. Nick's gone into town with Amabella. Manuel's gonna go crazy." 

 As if on cue, a man with a bright red face came stomping towards us and built up in front of us. "Could you explain to me why I just got a call that Nick Austin was spotted in town with a blonde girl, Hm? I thought I had told you CLIP AND CLEAR that you are not allowed to leave the hotel without MY permission," he said, getting louder and louder.

 "There was nothing we could do about it. The two of them left without saying a word to us. Nick said he would come for breakfast and we trusted him, of course. He didn't come, though, but... well... gone into town," Chase stammered.

 "Well, he'll get his sermon later on." He turned to Tony and Ondreaz. "And now for you: Why did you stay out all night and not tell me? Anything could have happened to you." 

 The vein on his temple was throbbing dangerously hard and his face had taken on an unhealthy color. Since neither of the two boys made a move to say anything, I just took over. 

 "They were kind enough to stay with me in the hospital after they found me unconscious and injured. They only cared and even prevented my injuries from becoming more extensive than they already had. They just did the right thing and they did not deserve to be subjected to unjustified and totally outrageous attacks. My money's on the Manger. Take it easy. They are not scapegoats," I said nicely but insistently and he took a step back in surprise.

 "And who are you, if I may ask?", he asked angrily. I looked around and saw shocked faces. "Apparently the only person at the table who isn't afraid of you."