go home

Chapter twenty three

The concept of the world's doom was something beyond her grasp, but she thought she saw flashes of what heaven could be when he took off his suit. 

The saliva receded to the back of her throat, making swallowing a difficult task. Her stomach turned leaden with dread and apprehension. What had she done? 

"Do you know what caused this?" He flashed the muscled arm against her face. She tried to concentrate on the angry red bumps that was rapidly becoming uncomfortable to look at, and not the ropes of vein that decorated his forearm. 

And definitely not the tattoo of a tail snaking around his upper arm. She knew she had been compromised. 

Body, soul and skeleton. 

"I'm..very.." the words trailed off her tongue and her blood spiked with alarm when she saw his dilating pupil. 

"Fuck!" Lu Chen stood up abruptly and grabbed Ezekiel by the shoulder. 

"Get moving! This isn't a skit," he barked at them. Gone was the charming and affable man, in his place was a man with a domineering aura. 

Biggy waddled closer, his beady eyes widening and flashing with ranging set of alarm. He raised his pudgy arms and pointed to Lin wei. 

She grimaced inwardly, preparing herself for another round of spittle bath. 

"What have you done this time?" He whispered furiously, he pinched Lin Wei's wrist cruelly. 

"Let's get out of here," Lu Chen said. 

Lin wei stood rooted to the spot, her limbs losing their movement aspect and turning to jelly. She wasn't capable of any movement and wouldn't be, if shackles were placed on her legs and arms. 

She'd always been complimented for looking good in bright colors. Orange overalls of those prisoners would bring out her pale complexion. 

"What are you doing?" Lu Chen barked at someone. 

Lin wei craned her neck to look at who the threatening words were directed to. He was pointing to her. 

"Get in the car." He helped his cousin out of the restaurant. 

Her limbs needed that command and she snapped out of her reverie, and she rushed to the door. 

"Don't come back here!" Biggy squeezed some money into her palm, his eyes shinning evilly. 

Lin wei took the money and resolved to go cry at home later. Right now, her tears glands were preparing to make it a hailstorm. She was going to prison. 

She entered the car, and thought all her body heat had been swallowed. 

It took a while before she noticed the slow cold was the air condition of the car. 

"He told you not to put coriander, no?" Lu Chen asked. His face was a mask of deadly calm, no smile in sight. 

Did she seriously think he was better than his cousin? She was sorely mistaken. 

She screened her brain for appropriate response, but none was forthcoming. So she nodded jerkily. 

Ezekiel was sprawled in the car, his eyes closed and his breath coming in fast. Lin wei felt her own come faster than his. 

If he should lose his life, she'll lose hers the next second. 

Sharp!They finally got to the hospital. It was a gigantic building that looked more like a luxurious shopping mall than an hospital. What does she really know? 

Lu Chen helped Ezekiel out of the car and paid her no mind, expecting her to follow them. Which she did. 

The next few minutes were the longest and shortest minutes of her life, when she was waiting to hear the determinant of her fate. 

The room could pass with for an hotel suit, Lin wei was sure. Though she supposed she'd never been in one so her judgment might be flawed. 

Lu Chen came back some minutes and his face was a great deal more relaxed, though his smile was still absent, he didn't look like he'd burn her to crisp anymore. 

"He's going to be fine," he announced,and plobbed down into the soft looking couch. 

The relief came in huge waves, threatening to drown Lin wei with the intensity. She staggered a few steps back and wiped her slick forehead. She thought she was going to jail for sure! 

"What about.." she cleared her throat, "what about the hospital bills?" 

She opened her palm and stared at the twenty dollars whose edges were just straightening out. 

A nervous giggle escaped her patched throat. 

"Won't you remove the veil now?" Lu Chen asked, his voice laden with amusement and a lurking dose of anger and maybe something else. 

Perhaps pity. 

Lin wei stared down at herself and saw the bruises forming from her pinched shoes and her knees jiggling like rusty bells. 

She would pity herself. If she had any left. 

"Bills?" She croaked again. The fear was threatening to overwhelm her but she squared her shoulder. In a large hospital like this, perhaps she could sell her kidney to pay for the bills."We'll take care of it." Lu Chen's lips quirked into a smile. 

Another bout of relief slammed against her sternum, and she took a tentative step backward. This was too good to be true. 

Her luck had gone from bad to worse to good, in just a day? 

She had better milked this one opportunity. 

"I'll get going then," she told him. Her voice small and shrill. 

"Where do you think you're going?" A cold voice asked, and Lin Wei's hands stilled against the door knob. 

She groaned inwardly! Why??? Why couldn't he just ve out of consciousness for just a few minutes more? 

She'd have been halfway across the continent. 

Words, once again, have refused to come to her tongue. 

"I think I asked you a question." He enunciated. 

That was true. He did ask her a question. Only she doesn't have answers to his question. 

She said the only thing that came to mind. 

"I'm going home." Her voice was somehow firm. Why yes, she wanted to go home. 

A laughter erupted from the bed side, Lu Chen was clapping and laughing so much. What was so funny? 

It wasn't until the cold in her side registered. The blood had been trickling to her legs from her stomach. Her vision was dotted with crimson before everything went dark.