~ 27: Scowls From Hell - Part 1 ~

I was enraged. I would have choked him to death the second he said his statement. If he had known for even a day, what had taken him long enough to speak up?

I pushed him over, letting him fall to the floor. I didn't even care if it hurt him in the slightest. I removed the drip system forcefully from my hand, not caring if I would be on a low glucose level sooner or later.

I strode away and pushed back the curtains on my right. The bed was empty and the sheets were crumpled. That would only mean Lucas had left as soon as he could.

My temper was more on the edge at him having left without a word. It was only then that I noticed a little paper near the side table. However, it contained nothing except scribbles. I crushed it in my hand and moved to the next ward.

I threw back the curtains, nearly knocking them off their hooks. There lied the lifeless woman, whose bare arms now unveiled new red scars and bruises. The old ones looked like tanned parts.

I ignored the shocked nurse, who was placing the ice pack on her blemishes, and kneeled beside her, lacing my fingers with hers. They were warm and yet cold. I wanted to bring life back into her body. Her father, or any one of her kin, must have been sitting for hours on end, awaiting a response. The ventilator attached to her still showed a normal heart and breathing rate, but her ghostly face spoke another tale.

"When will you return, Mel?" I mumbled into the bed. "It's most probably been a day. And I miss your company already."

Aidan had already caught up with me by that time. I ignored his presence as though we had never shared any memories in our lives. He had never breathed a word about her, regardless of the countless times we had met in the corridors or classes in her absence.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked the nurse, clenching my jaw. "How long has she been like this?"

"She's in a coma since this morning. Her nervous system has been affected. We expect her to not suffer from any paralysis as nothing could be discovered."

I glared at Aidan and he hid his face by looking away. But it wouldn't do the both of us any good. I had suspected it for a week, but I hadn't been able to get out because it had taken me days to realise the trap. He either didn't have the courage to tell or was up to something. Perhaps, we could have winded this up faster if we had communicated.

The fact that none of us trusted each other lingered in my heart. I went away from there and changed into my fresh pair of clothes, which he had been kind enough to bring along with him. Then I sat down under the tree in the nearby park and closed my eyes.

'Lucas, are you there?' I asked the emptiness in my head. I received no response from the other side. I wouldn't even know if he was dead or alive by the look of it.

'Lucas ran away, leaving only a note,' I uttered in weariness, wishing for death. 'Aidan and Mel don't trust me with their findings. Or perhaps they wish that I stayed out of trouble, while none of them could save the other, no matter what the trial be. What's the point of being here? Better to be buried away than kept alive.'

"Don't say that, Celest," said a voice I didn't want to hear. "I'm really sorry. I had to find out much before planning on attacking them."

"Like what?" I shouted in anger. "Until when Mel would survive? She was on the verge of death! She's probably going to be bedridden for the next few days or maybe even more. Can you undo it? Can you undo the guilt that has settled in my heart?! Answer me!"

His utter silence agonised me to the point that I was shaking him by his collar.

"Just what took you long enough to deliver me this message?" I asked him in a quiet and threatening voice. "Since when did you know about it?"

"For the past three days," he breathed. "I was hunting for information about them. I had called the police on them once and they had run off, not leaving any hint of evidence. It was only last night that I decided to attack them early morning when the curfew was off. They were charged with human trafficking and the illegal selling of drugs. I just needed to catch them at the right time."

"You could have still told me and we could have found a way out together. Also, how come I wasn't charged for anything? I was the one who stabbed and butted them in defence, but there's no proof of that."

"A genius had left the cameras on to record everything. And I saw the footage."

He was seething, but the smoke was still well-hidden for the first few minutes. Then I was cornered by him to the tree, its bark scratching my back. My wide eyes stared back at him, questioning why he had to look at it and what he was trying to at present.

I gulped when his face was nearly touching mine, our breaths mingling with each other. I stopped breathing and didn't even word out that he was too close for my liking.

He took out a small blade from his pocket and held it out on his hand, near the light. It looked just like the ones people had used to slit their throats or create permanent scars on their limbs. Some students in my school would do it for not getting the attention they sought.

"What would you feel like if I cut myself with this blade?" he drawled. "Perhaps, I should try slitting my throat with it."

"Don't!" I yelled and then realised I nearly exposed us. Then I whispered harshly, "Don't even think of doing that!"

"Why not? It's not like you care about you getting hurt, or even other people's feelings when they are trying to protect you."

'You are doing it again,' I wanted to tell him. 'You are always getting me irritated with this topic, even after that incident that happened with you.'

"Does protecting Mel like that sound justified for you?" I scoffed out. "They had blanked her out. And she knew what she was doing by adulterating my food. Did the both of you think that I would leave you alone to die?"

"Couldn't you have at least informed me? I stay up late every night, practising in my room. We both could have helped her out easily and not let that man get injured as a result. Tch. He ran away before I could even thank him."

"You're an idol. Nobody can risk you being hurt or getting yourself into scandalous events. It would tarnish your name as well as the group's. Can't you see that there are people out there who care more about you?"

"Can't you see that I care for you? I was going to take care of it without getting anyone involved. And the other people, they are only after me for soothing their pains in life, or for their money and reputation which depends upon our whole band."

I scowled at him as he was trying to get on my nerves whenever he got the chance. My impatience with him had shot up suddenly. I couldn't place my feelings straight. I was angrier at myself than at him for not stopping it earlier.

"I can't see any reason, and I don't think I want to hear your voice anymore. The brother who helped us run off, and next, I would be left alone anyways. Why would anyone want to help a poor village girl from the seaside? It is, after all, a hoax."

He pecked me lightly on the cheek when I was done speaking. At that moment, my eyes caught sight of the red trail that seeped out from his Adam's apple.