SIX: BURN

SERENA

TWO DAYS LATER

For someone like me who was a morning person, waking up to see that I was still in this godforsaken place called a hospital, was definitely not how I planned my life. It has just been two days here, and it felt like I had been here for two good years. I wasn't even allowed to get out of bed, and that was more sickening than the brutal pain that I was feeling in my torso.

My legs were beginning to become stiff and numb, and I feared that I wouldn't be able to walk anymore soon.

Dr. Guilio has been coming over to check up on me frequently, and the nurse, who's name was Tasha, has been making sure that I have a clean dressed wound. I knew my wounds were too early to heal, but I wanted them to heal as quickly as possible. Being stuck here was the last thing I wanted.

A knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts. My eyes went to the door.

"Come in" I muttered trying to figure out who was at the door. It definitely couldn't have been the doctor and the nurse, because they just left here some minutes ago. And it definitely wasn't Gabe, because he hasn't been here for two days, and I don't even think he really cares. Well what did I expect? You don't expect your enemies to just warm up to you.

And i didn't even want to be bothered, because i sincerely hated his guts. The hospital room door opened, and an unfamiliar man poked his head inside.

"May I come in?" He asked, his voice firm, and weirdly deep. I couldn't actually see his full body structure since he was still technically outside, but from his voice, I felt like he could really be a very buff person.

I nodded, and watched as he opened the door widely, and I was definitely correct. This man was huge, that i almost felt the need to actually run away out of fear.

"Who are you?" I asked, my tone laced with fear. There and then, my hands began to tremble, and my heart began to beat faster than usual. Did Ariel find out that I wasn't really dead? And she sent someone here to actually finish what she started? Different thoughts went through my mind, that I couldn't help but instantly sit up, ignoring the excruciating pain I felt. I didn't even care about the pain at that instance. All I wanted to do was scramble to safety.

"Oh, did I scare you? I'm so sorry" he said, waving his hands in the air, and for some reason, I instantly calmed down.

"I'm one of Mr. Gabe's personal bodyguard, Malcolm" he added, and that was when i fully relaxed.

"I'm so sorry" he apologized again, and I simply nodded.

"It's okay, I just didn't expect anyone, so I was a bit scared when you came in," I said.

A bit scared Serena, really? You definitely almost sh*t your pants.

"Alright" he said as he smiled. Malcolm looked cute though. His huge and buff body was a stark contrast to his face. If he was to only show his face, he could be regarded as a cute and fluffy teddy bear.

"Okay, why are you here?" I asked. "I definitely didn't expect Gabe, or anyone from Gabe to be here, because he seems like he abandoned me," I added.

"Ohh no no! He didn't abandon you, he has just been very busy with work, and the company's duty. He even had to go overseas yesterday, and would be back in three days time. He asked me to give you this"

"And to tell you that he has made amends to the contract, and you can sign it after going through it" Malcolm, handed me a brown envelope. I took it from him, and tore it open, bringing out the contract file. I skimmed through it, and after I was sure that everything I had requested for was in it, I nodded and looked up at Malcolm.

"Thank you. I will get back to you as soon as I sign it. But how do I contact you? I don't have a phone" I asked, as I looked around me. I had left my phone at home, and I was sure I wasn't going to get it back anytime soon.

"That is not a problem," Malcolm smiled. He brought out something from his pocket that looked like a phone.

Yeah, it was definitely a phone.

"Here, boss asked me to give you this. You can reach him through this, and if you need me, he would quickly let me know, and I would be here" he said, and I nodded. I took the phone from his hand, and went through it. It was a brand new phone that had Gabe's contact already in it.

"Thank you" I muttered, as I dropped the phone on my lap.

"You're welcome,I'll take my leave now" he said, and slightly bowed.

He began to walk towards the door, and when he was about to leave, I suddenly remembered something.

"Wait! Hold on!" He turned around, and stared at me, waiting to know why I stopped him.

"What happened in the past two days?"

"I mean about everything? Like, I'm sure my blood trails are still left in the house, with the knife, my phone and all," I asked. Since I was still in the hospital, I had no access to what was happening in the outside world. And I was a bit scared that Ariel would have come back to the house, and not find my body there, and she would figure out that I was still alive and would try to kill me again.

The thought of that scared me so freaking much.

"We have taken care of that ma'am" Malcolm said, and my brows furrowed in confusion.

"What? How?" I asked, wanting to know exactly what happened.

"We burnt the house down" Malcolm said with a cold expression, and my eyes widened in shock.