"Don't ever lose this, sweetheart."
The blurry man which she knew as her father put her mother's wristwatch around her wrist. The man's mouth was moving and was obviously saying something important but she couldn't hear his voice at all. It was fading, not sure why.
Was it the wind in the park? She feels like something got stuck inside her ears.
She then looked at the little kids playing with their mom and dad around the park since she couldn't hear the man beside her. To her surprise, the scene changed and now she was looking at the bumpy road before them. Her father was driving the car crazy fast as if they were running away from someone.
Banggggggg!!! She heard a familiar sound.
A gunshot! Her heart suddenly trembled in fear. She had mastered that specific sound since it was the last sound she heard when her mother passed away.
Yes, she already learned the truth about her mother's death. She was so young back then that she thought they were just shooting a movie. But she was wrong.
"Papa…" She muttered trying to gather some courage. Seeing her perplexed father driving fast gave her goosebumps. She knew that not to soon from that moment, they will surely get into a car accident if he won't slow down. It was even raining hard that night.
However, slowing down would also mean death. There are many cars chasing and shooting them.
He was also muttering a lot of things, but her heart beating abnormally fast was the only thing she could hear at the moment.
Though she knew that she heard the man clearly but she can't seem to remember what she was hearing at that time.
"You have to live. You need to live at all cost so you can bring the hidden truth into light." It was the last things she heard before the car went tumbling round.
It happened so fast. The next thing she knew was feeling pain all over her body, especially in her head. She slowly opened her eyes because she heard some faint voices nearing the car. Then a seemingly familiar shadow appeared and stood in front of the wrecked car.
She didn't see the guy's face, only the faint shadow on the ground. That figure, it was totally familiar! She wanted to ask for help but her mouth was too weak to move, her lips were tied in a knot.
Banngggggg!
The sound of a gunshot echoed in her ears. It was too loud that she thought it would make her go deaf.
After a minute, the man left. She was trembling in fear in the cold night. Once again, she slowly lifted her eyes.
No!
She wanted to move but her body seemed paralyzed. She's seeing blood again and it made her go weak! Blood was oozing from the man's body and it was mixed up with the rain therefore it looked like a river of blood!
It didn't take her a minute before she was bathed with blood--- Her father's blood and her own blood.
'Papa! Mama!'
Her fears and her tears…. It was so great that it suffocated her to death!
"Help them! Take them out!" She heard a voice of an elderly woman rushing to their location. She could have seen her face but she already lost her consciousness before they even reached her.
"JADE, WAKE UP!" The man was trying to wake the woman up since she's been screaming in her sleep.
Her voice was filled with fear and despair.
"Jade!" He kept shaking the woman until she finally woke up. "It's okay…" He immediately embraced the weeping woman as he caressed her back. "It's just a dream." He muttered worriedly.
She was sobbing for a few minutes before she tried to calm herself down.
The feeling of comfort and security she felt while being held by the man, it gave her solace from within.
"Are you okay now?" The man's voice was filled with concern.
"Ehm." She gently nodded as soon as she broke away from him.
"What happened?"
Yeah, what happened to her exactly? She was supposed to see Jackie today but why is she inside a …. Hospital? She creased her brows and looked at the man in front of her? Eh? And why is Marcus here?! She tried to rummage her memories.
She fainted! Yes, that's right, she fainted! Was it Marcus that saved her?
"Marcus?" She squealed. "What are you doing here?"
The man raised his brows.
"Did you notice me just now?" He was wearing a gaze that says 'unbelievable.' The woman gave a confused look in return.
"Did you embrace me without knowing it was me? Whoa!"
"I...I… -_- "
"I cannot believe this. Have been doing this to anyone who found you whenever you fainted?" The man stood up annoyingly.
"Hey! I never did it to anyone!"
"Lies!"
"It's true! As if I keep on fainting all the time!" She pouted.
"Oftentimes." The man snorted. "Hey you, don't you dare faint anywhere without me again."
"Then why don't you stick with me all the time, huh?!" She glared at him. It was supposed to be a joke but the man's response surprised her.
"Then don't you dare resign so I can keep my eyes on you all the time!"
"Hey! That's not what I meant!"
"But I mean it." His tone suddenly softened up and sat at the edge of the bed once again. "Stick with me until we figure out what's wrong with you. Okay?"
Her heart suddenly skipped a beat. His 'Stick with me' phrase got stuck in her mind.
"I-I'm not sick." She awkwardly looked away. The man's gaze was too strong to behold.
"I know. The doctor told me a while ago."
"Eh?" She has a confused look. For how long was she out? Did the doctor run a test on her without her knowing it?
"For your information, you've been unconscious for almost two hours and yes, I told the doctor to run a general check on you. You're pretty healthy, thank God. But he recommended you to see a…" He paused for a few seconds. "Psychiatrist."
"Do you think I'm crazy?"
"Well, we can ask the psychiatric doctor to check on your sanity too if you want." The man chuckled playfully.
Dang it! her joke backed fire on her. She hissed as she glared at the man.
"Then you go alone." She gave a disappointed look.
"It was just a joke." He flickered her nose with his finger. "But why don't you see one? I know someone with that expertise. He could help you overcome whatever trauma you have."
"I'll try, but not today. I need to see Jackie first." She was about to move out the bed but Marcus held her shoulders.
"No. You take a rest first." He was firm.
"But I already got plenty of it."
"Don't be a stubborn girl and just take a rest. Doctor's recommendation." He pushed the woman back to bed.
"But Jackie…."
"Don't worry about her, I already paid a visit while you were sleeping."
"Really?" She couldn't believe her ears.
He smirked proudly. "Turned out that I am not a total jerk after all."
His mocking laugh echoed in the room.
Tsk! The woman hissed but smiled after. Looks like the man has a soft spot too.