CHAPTER 14

Song for this chapter:

Touch it by Ariana grande

~If you have no critics, you'll likely have no success ~

~Marcus Aurelius

SERAPHINA'S POV

I released a huge breath I didn't know I was holding when the lady showed me her ID.

Katerina Holland, Chief Detective.

"And it's a wrap. No further questions. We'll contact you when we need you again." The lady whom I now knew to be Katerina concluded. She signed a few documents and carefully placed the tape in a transparent file, before securing everything in a huge briefcase.

Her colleague stood a reasonable distance from us the entire interrogation. I didn't miss his creepy stares though.

"Thank you very much for your cooperation, Miss Del Varia." She smiled, which I returned with a fake one of my own. I don't like her.

They stopped short at the door, and Katerina faced me with an amused smirk. What now? Something about them makes me so uncomfortable and creeped out, but I guess being one of the world's top secret agents comes with special qualities.

"Do you miss something?" She asked, and I shook my head.

"You sure?"

I rolled my eyes and sighed, rubbing my aching temples.

"What do you want Kateline or whatever your name is?"  She's no different from Severina. Annoying as fuck.

"Can I borrow your phone?" My eyes snapped to her, baffled.

"What for?"

"I just wanted to check the time." Is she serious?

"What about yours?"

"My time's wrong. " she shrugged nonchalantly.

"Don't worry. I can check it for you just fine." I reached for my phone from where I placed it in between my thighs, only for my hands to connect with the soft leather of the seat. 

I checked under my hospital gown, nothing. Patted the spaces on either side of me but to no avail. Confusion and panic settled in. I lifted my gaze to Katerina and found her silently laughing.

"Where's my phone?" I spat out. I wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"What made you think I have it?"

"Duh. I don't need any confirmation from any of you on that. I knew something was fishy about you  the moment you stepped in."

She stared at me with a scrutinizing gaze for a while before nodding to her colleague and gestured with her head towards me.

"Give it to her Pat."

The guy removed a small, black package from his jacket and handed it over to me. Out of fury, I snatched it from him and opened it, coming face to face with my phone. What the...

"Never try to record an interview with a top-intelligence officer, Miss Del Varia. It can land you in serious trouble. Have a good day." 

The embarrassment I felt was inexplicable. I unlocked my phone and went straight to my recordings, despite already knowing the confirmation of my suspicions. As expected, it was empty. Everything was wiped out.

"Fuck!" I cursed and kicked the leather chair. How she accessed my recently-deleted rendered me dumbfounded. Only my fingerprint works on that folder. Damned FBI's.

I flopped down on the bed, pouting like a child denied candy on Christmas. I tossed and turned, yearning for sleep, but the stupid thing was being damn adamant. I unlocked my phone and scrolled through our group chat. Might as well kill boredom with my friends, they can't be eternally useless.

Speaking of chatting, I haven't heard from Rique post the incident. I checked his status but it indicated inactivity twelve hours ago, something very rare. I wanted to send him a message but decided against it, and instead dialled his number.

Ayo, Enrique speaking here. Leave a message if you want, putas.

So rude,  I sighed and returned the phone, all traces of sleep gone. I've been in the hospital for a day now and he hasn't even bothered to call, not even a text message. Part of me felt hurt, the selfish part, but the most rational one told me something wasn't right and call me weird, but out of every hundred-per cent guess, this part of me always gets ninety-nine per cent right. Maybe he had something important to do, but what could be more important than me?

After endless thinking and self-loathing, I finally decided to get over it and watch the God-awful crap playing on TV.  An hour into the show and the door creaked open. Doesn't this hospital have a no-disturbing-patients policy? I was about to lash out at the intruder but, stopped mid-way when familiar blue orbs stared straight into my soul.

"Rique!" I squealed and ran straight in his opened arms, not caring about my backless hospital gown. He had seen me in less, so there's nothing to hide.

"Careful Princess. You're still not fully recovered." He gently placed me back on my feet.

"I don't care, I miss you." I breathed in his neck, not wanting to let go.

"I miss you too babe. I'm so sorry I couldn't make it yesterday." He apologised.

"It's okay. I felt bad in the beginning but then realised you wouldn't abandon me an entire day without a genuine reason." I held his hand and lead us to my bed.

"I'm so sorry. Your feeling is justified. I was running some errands for my mother and had to travel out of the country to represent her in some conference she couldn't make it to."

I nodded in understand and climbed on his lap. I missed this.

"I missed you." I pouted. He laughed and moved my hair from my face.

"I'm here now. How are you feeling?"

"Superb, now that you're here." I grinned.

"So, anything about the incident? Investigations?"

I frowned, thinking back to my encounter with the annoying FBI agents.

"Nothing interesting, aside being interrogated by annoying FBI's, who wouldn't stop repeating the same questions." The memory never ceased to irritate me.

"That's so great. At least they're making progress." I stared at Enrique with a blank expression, not for once blinking. 

He returned my stare with an amused one, biting down on his lower lip.

"What, babe?" He groaned. "look, I don't mean the part where they annoyed you okay, but you damn well know this issue can't slide.  Something has to be done. The perpetrator must be brought to justice."

Not this again. I wasn't dead for crying out loud, and it's not like someone attempted to decapitate me or something.

But someone did attempt to kill you.

Shut up.

"No Sera, look at me. You almost lost your life. I almost lost you." He held my shoulders, whispering the last part.

"But, you didn't. " I whispered back.

"But what if? what do you expect to become of me Phina? How do you think I'll survive in this cruel world with the harsh reality that you're gone, huh?" His eyes pooled, but he repeatedly blinked, fighting back the tears.

That wasn't me though. My eyes rendered Victoria's Falls shameless.

"I love you Seraphina, so much. I always find myself questioning your reality. Are you sure you're not some supernatural being who charmed me?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him.

"I'm not going anywhere Rique." I mused, playing with his curls.

"You won't, even if you wanted to. You're stuck with me forever."

"Together forever?" I held my pinky out. He smiled and locked it with his, pulling me closer to him. If that's even possible, given the position we were in. We stayed glued to each other like that for some time until my stomach growled. Feeding time.

Enrique wiggled his brows and pointed to my stomach. I scowled and smacked him upside the head before getting off him.

"Damn." He wolf-whistled, shamelessly taken in my rear. Pervert. Boys will always be boys.

I quickly eased myself in the tiny closet of a toilet before rejoining Enrique. He took out what seemed to be a jar of...Nutella? from a brown paper bag, and a plastic spoon.

"Nutella!" I squealed and rushed to take the family jar but he swatted my hands away.

"Shhh. Do you want to get me arrested for bringing an entire jar of chocolate for a hospital patient?" He whisper- yelled with an amused look. Like an eight-year-old, I pouted and stomped my foot on the ground. No one denies me chocolate, no one.

"Give me the thing already." I tried reaching for the jar again, but he took it out of my reach.

"Only if you behave." The jar was far above his head.

"I don't care. I just want chocolate. " I jumped again, trying to reach out but was rather unfortunate.

"Fine, you won. I'll behave." I sighed in defeat, slumping down on the uncomfortable hospital bed.

"Good girl. Here you go."  He handed me the jar. I snatched it and twisted the lid but it wouldn't budge. These stupid manufacturers. Who seals food like you're protecting it from threats? This is pure cruelty.

After several failed attempts, I lifted the jar over my head, wanting to smash it on the tiles but for Enrique's intervention.

"Woah! Woah! what are you doing?" He laughed and took the jar.

"The damned thing won't open, so I figured why not smash it on the floor and eat it from there instead. I mean, chocolate is chocolate." Ain't it?

"Eat Nutella on tiles Sera? hospital tiles?" Enrique reiterated, astounded.

"Yes, tiley Nutella. It'll be a new trend, now give me the Nutella already Enrique Romano. Haven't your mama taught you not to ever deny a girl chocolate?"

"Not when she's mentally unbalanced. "

"Thank you. The chocolate please." I stretched my hand out. When I attempted removing the lid, I realised it was still tight.

Mother fucking virgin chocolate. So, the guy wasted all my time without even denting a hole in the thing.

"What is your problem bro?" My energy's drained, and I'm afraid my appetite would be next.

"What! Me? I haven't done anything. You wanted chocolate and I gave you one." He laughed, raising his arms in surrender.

"Without opening the lid." I glared at him and shoved the jar back in his arms.

"You didn't ask." He chuckled, and in one swift motion, the Nutella was back in my hands, opened. That was quick.

"How did you...never mind. I don't want to know. " I have chocolate, and that's all that matters.

"How can you expect the lid to come off without removing the tape? Common sense babe."

"Whatever. I'll respond in a decade. "

I dipped the plastic spoon into the brown goodness, and raised it to my mouth, only to be hit by a sharp pain in my stomach. Enrique was quick to react and took the glass jar from my hands, placing it on the table, before rushing to my side.

"Oh, my g.." I whimpered, short of breath.

"Doctor! Doctor!" Enrique yelled. The door flung open, revealing doctors and nurses, alongside my family.

"What happened man?" Someone asked, but I couldn't make them out.

I screamed and violently trembled, wishing the pain away.

"The infection had reached its peak. Her stomach needs to be flushed."

"Well, do it then!" A loud voice boomed.

Sweat was dripping down my body, yet, I felt ice-cold inside.

"She's running a high fever."

I felt myself being placed on a stretcher and wheeled out of the room.

"You'll be fine, I promise. I won't let anything happen to you." Enrique held my hand and the gesture took my mind back to when I initially passed out in the cafeteria. Déja Vu much.

I weakly clenched his hand, showing him that I heard him.

"My apologies Mr Romano, but you can't come in."

"But...

"Please understand, Mr Romano."

I was taken to a dimly lit room and placed on another bed. Bright lights shone above me, while Anesthetics, nurses, and doctors, bustled around.

"This is going to be painful, Miss Del Varia so I'm going to sedate you."

I tried lifting my head to see what was going on but found out I couldn't even move a muscle in my body. I felt an injection on my right arm and just like candlelight, I went out at once.

Next update in an hour

Xoxo,

Mina.