"You mean she was the one who attended to me and not the temporary nurse?" Rhea asked, her eyes widened.
Louie chuckled at the look on her face. "Are you that surprised?"
"I am. I thought the temporary nurse did."
"She was gone before we brought you in, but luckily, Leslie was available."
"B-but why can't I remember any of this?"
"You fainted before we got here," Louie said, and Rhea sighed.
Her injury wasn't that deep. Why did she faint? She must have fainted due to her sleepless night.
Leslie noticed her sad countenance and smiled. She patted Rhea slightly. "You don't have to feel sad about it, okay."
Rhea only sighed but said nothing. She wasn't sad. She only had a lot going on in her mind.
Leslie moved away from Rhea. "I will leave you two to talk."
Rhea furrowed her brows. Why is Leslie leaving? What about the interesting story she had started?
"You won't finish up the story you started? I can't wait to hear what happened next."
"I know you can't but Louie is here now. You both must have a lot to talk about. As for the story, you can always come to see me. I will be here for a while," Leslie answered.
"I do wish you could finish it up today," Rhea mumbled.
She might be having another sleepless night today, just thinking about it.
Leslie only smiled but said nothing. She headed to the door. "I hope to see you soon, Rhea," she said before closing the door behind her.
Rhea watched Leslie leave and she sighed.
"Why do you look so sad?" Louie asked.
"Leslie was telling me an interesting story about the mermaids and mermen before you came in. And how they used to live in the sea."
Louie furrowed his brows. "You mean those mystical creatures with tails?"
Rhea nodded. "Yes. It was such an interesting story."
"You must love the sea," Louie said, sitting down. "Your countenance seems to have changed just talking about it."
"I do love the sea very much. You know there is a beach some distance away from my home, right?" Louie nodded.
"Yes, I do. What about it?"
Rhea chuckled. "I do visit it without Celia's knowledge; she is always against my visit to the sea." Louie nodded but said nothing. "Tell me, it's time to go home already, please," she said, and Louie nodded.
"Luckily it is. And I am here to take you home."
"Where is Celia? Is she not coming?"
"No. She has this group assignment and will be returning home a bit late. She asked me to take you home."
"But you don't have to do that. I can..."
"I know you can but I insist. I will feel better knowing that you got home safe."
"I still wish you would not have to," she mumbled.
"I will get you..."
Louie's phone rang and he picked it up. After a few conversations with his Father, he stared at Rhea sadly.
"Rhea, I might not be able to take you home. My dad just called and he wanted me to meet him at the art gallery but... I can ask my driver to drop you home."
Rhea shook her head quickly. "No. That won't be necessary. I can always find my way home."
"I know you can't. But I can't let you go home all by yourself. I will call my dad back and ask him to give me a few more minutes."
"You don't have to do that. I will..."
"I will take her home," Will said and their jaws dropped.
They had not noticed him walk in.
"Y-you want to take me home?" Rhea asked, her eyes widened in shock.
"If you don't mind. I overheard Louie talking about..."
"I will take her home," Louie answered quickly. "You don't have to worry about that."
Louie wasn't going to leave Rhea to Will. He was afraid she was going to get into trouble if Sasha saw them together.
"I can go home myself," Rhea answered.
She had no plan to go home with Will, knowing she could get into trouble if Sasha saw them together. She also does not understand why he came back. She had spoken to him in a harsh way a few minutes ago.
Why is he back?
"I understand your fear, Louie. I won't let Sasha hurt her," Will answered.
He had ignored Rhea's words completely. He knew he needed to convince Louie and not Rhea.
"Can you assure that?" Louie asked.
He wasn't going to let Rhea go home all by herself and since he can't go with her, he might as well let Will take her home. But he needed to be sure that he would keep her safe.
"Can you assure that?" He asked again. "Can you assure me that she won't get hurt?"
Will nodded. "She won't, I promise."
Louie sighed and stared at Rhea who seemed confused. She had been wondering why they did not ask for her opinion when the issue on the ground involved her.
"Rhea, you should go with Will," Louie said in a low voice.
"I won't do that. I am going home alone."
"Will? Can you excuse us for a minute? I need to speak to Rhea in private."
Will nodded and left the room. The moment Will closed the door behind him, Rhea folded her arms. Her face tightened as she glared at him.
"What is that for? You did not ask me if I wanted that?"
"I am sorry, Rhea. You know how much I do not want you to get involved with Will. But right now, he is the only one who can take you home and I will be rest assured that you are safe."
"Are you not worried that I might get bullied by Sasha because of him? Have you forgotten he used to bully me too?"
"I know he used to but I think he has changed. Or why do you think he kept coming to check on you?"
"He is using me to get back at Sasha!" Rhea said almost in a yell.
"Things might have started with that, but now I think he means well."
Rhea scoffed. "I can't believe you said that. You must like him now."
"No, I don't. But I feel a bit comfortable with him now. And I am certain that he will keep you safe."
"You think so?"
Louie shrugged. "At least, I can hope so."