Thick smoke from the used cigarettes lying on the jar beside Nick's bed hung heavily in the air, obscuring my view and blocking out most of what I was seeing around me in his VIP room.
The clock's hands had just struck eight o'clock in the morning. I stayed with Nick for eight long hours, still lost in thoughts of how to confront my father with all the things I had done and learned.
The old man, Montes, has had me since the beginning. He must be enjoying all these coincidences. Or was he just trying to punish me because Nick had turned out to be a disappointment because of the accident four years ago?
Even barely seeing, not minding how suffocating the smoke was, my gaze followed his slow movements while he tried to find his position to sleep. I could feel his uncomfortable whines when his bruises and wounds stung in contact with the hospital's bedsheets every time he tried to shift around.
His agony could be felt from a distance like his body was screaming because it was too tired of being broken. His hair stuck up everywhere, and his eyes were bloodshot, trying to ignore my presence.
The sound of the door opening interrupted my train of thought.
"William?" I stood up immediately upon seeing him enter the room.
"How is he?" he asked, standing beside me.
"He seemed fine. But I don't think he is."
"What happened exactly?" William crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well..." I paused for a while, trying to make up some excuses. My body froze with the thought that the old man might have told William my true identity. "His...ah, the center called me and told me he had gone out. Gladly he had his tracker on, so I went to fetch him!"
"Did you get hurt? Are you okay?" William asked in his serious voice while looking at me beside him.
William and his gazes these past few days piqued my curiosity. His stares were more intense than usual. Like he expected something from me. It was driving me crazy. The way he was looking at me made me want to tell him everything about who I am, but I couldn't do it.
"I am alright. A few scratches maybe. I just didn't expect Nick to be in that situation." I tried my best to sound as casual as possible, not wanting to give away the information about the real reason I was there in the first place.
But there was something in his eyes that said he knew something. I couldn't quite figure it out.
His eyebrows creased together. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," I answered, turning away my gaze from him.
"Is Ferine alright? I hope she hasn't fallen into shock again," William said in his low voice while turning his gaze to Nick.
My face furrowed at hearing Ferine's name. I did not bother giving him a response. She should be here instead of Nick. "There's still an hour before his last medicine. Let's go get something to eat."
"I'll go ahead then. Meet me at the canteen."
William nodded before leaving and closing the door behind him.
I sighed before sitting back down.
"Try to get some sleep. I'm stepping out for a bit so, please behave while I'm gone. I am going to get something for you to eat. When I return, I'll give you your last medicine, and you can return to the center," I said to Nick before walking towards the door.
As soon as I walked out, I heard him scream. My heart almost broke because of the sound. His pain was almost tangible. I wanted to stop, but I couldn't. The urge to help him was overwhelming.
Shutting the door with heavy hearts, I went on my way to the canteen but stopped as I saw Ferine coming down the hallway, clinging like a cat to William's left arm.
My blood started to boil thinking about how she acted last night, leaving Nick in such a pitiful situation.
I took two large steps closer before reaching them and stopping directly in front of Ferine.
She looked surprised for half a second, and I could see confusion in her blue eyes. Before she could ask anything, William had already reached me. "I cannot eat with you tonight; Ferine needs me."
My face scrunched in frustration once again, and tears were starting to form in the corners of my eyes. I watched his hand reach up her waist slowly and pull Ferine close to him before ushering her away from me.
I watched them walk away from me; every inch of me wanted to be in Ferine's position, but I had to show William that I never get weak, even at the most breaking times.
"Heureu! We need assistance. There was a commotion in a club nearby and a lot were hurt!" Niko grabbed me by the collar and pulled me to the emergency room.
"Which club?" I asked Niko while grabbing a pair of gloves and disinfectant.
"The one operating at the corner of the city along the LRT!" Niko answered, handing over cotton and bandages to the bed beside the patient I was attending.
The club Cavin and I came from last night was a mess. I should prepare for a worse punishment.
After hours of treating patients, I immediately ran to the canteen after remembering Nick's time for medicine.
But I was halted when I saw Nick being strangled by two police officers along the corridors. He was bleeding again.
"Niko, hold this for me!" I yelled, passing him the supplies before rushing after the police officers to help Nick.
By the time they dragged Nick back to his room, I could see him flinching in so much pain.
"What happened?" I asked, heaving when I saw the nurses injecting sedatives into Nick.
"He ran away again and caused trouble in his father's office after following Ms. Ferine," said the officer standing outside the room.
"Ah, is that so?" I thanked the police officer and stepped inside. "I will take care of him; leave the medicine alone. I am his personal nurse," I ordered the nurses.
No one refused and contradicted me for fear that I might end up upset, and they were too weak to handle me.
The nurses asked the police officers to leave, and I shut the door and slammed it behind me before marching toward Nick, lying helplessly on the bed.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed? What's with Ferine?" I sounded so upset.
I couldn't understand how he had become such a weak person.
"Leave! I don't need you!" Nick shot back with his weak voice. The sedative might be taking effect already.
"Pathetic! I'll leave but you need to eat first. You need to take your last medicine! It is a protocol, so you do not have any choice but to oblige."
"Feed me!" He said while looking at his hands tied tightly at the edges of the bed.
My face frowned. "Fine!" I sighed and sat beside him, grabbing the food served by the hospital on the bedside table.
I fed him, almost choking him up. Even though I felt pity for him, he is still my enemy. The person who should be suffering from my vengeance.
"Enough!" Nick yelled. "I need water!"
"Finish the food first!"
"What? Are you crazy? You are shoving all the food at once into my mouth,"
"Whatever!" I grabbed the glass and was about to choke him with water but he spoke again.
"Put a straw! It is a protocol, right?" Nick grinned.
He was taking this as an advantage!
After feeding him, I cleaned up and was about to go get the last medicine when Nick called me.
"I need to pee!"
I turned to him with my most irritated face, but he was smiling.
My heart was skipping abnormal beats with his smile.
This can't be happening!
"Bear with it!" I grinned, marched towards him, and injected him to sleep.
"You will pay for this!" Nick tried his best to speak before drifting to sleep.
My heart sank as I watched Nick being in pain even while asleep. Hours had already passed since I put him to sleep. Every move he made was the same as when I was in training years ago. Even in dreams, I am trying to survive, begging for people to see that I am torn.
"What's the problem?" I asked softly.
He easily got up from his bed and looked for where the voice was coming from.
He looked around the room and saw me sitting on a nearby sofa.
He slowly got up from bed and walked towards me.
"Why didn't you leave? What are you doing here? Did you stay that long?" Nick asked nonchalantly.
"I'm your personal nurse, right? I'm just waiting for the time of your last medicine. And it's just about time. After this, you'll be back in the center," I said as I stood up and injected his medicine into the cannula. "Or we go out tonight?"
I threw the tracker on the bed, and Nick's face fell in astonishment.
"How did you get it off my feet?" he asked, pointing to the tracking device he was wearing around his leg.
"Everything that closes opens. Let's go?" I told him.
Nick was in awe to even respond.
"Come on! Let's go! We only have a few hours left and you'll be back at the rehab center. Now get changed!" I said and then handed some clothes to Nick from Niko's locker.
We went to a park. I could see Nick was overjoyed and inexplicably excited.
The lights were so beautiful, and the excitement caused by the noise and laughter that filled our ears at that time was strange.
"I want this," Nick said, pointing to a firing booth.
"Okay, go ahead."
"Ah, I need money."
"You're rich, but you don't have money." I tried insulting him.
"I have all of them in my bank!"
I gave up and paid for Nick's first set of bullets. "Make the most of it; I have a lot of money."
"You are so full of yourself! But thank you. I have never been to a park before," he said happily as he excitedly aimed the balls. But he failed to shoot it. I forgot he was a loser.
"Wait! I've been hitting the balls for a while now, but they're not falling! Are you trying to trick us into giving you more money?" Nick complained, annoyed and impatient, to the man guarding the fifth firing booth that he and I went to.
"Sir, you have to work hard to get a stuffed toy," the man replied with a grin.
"What? And who said I'm after a stuffed toy? I can buy the whole park if I want! Go away! You cheat!" Nick shouted and was about to enter the booth when I was in time to stop him or I'd have to pay for his damages again. Gladly, I am eating ice cream and corn dogs in both hands while the serving box hanging from his waist is still full.
"Let's go somewhere else! You suck!" I tossed an ice cream to calm him down before slamming some cash on the booth table and secretly shooting the man guarding the booth on the neck with a tranquilizer.
"Wait, where did you get that?" Nick asked, pointing to the serving box filled with many foods hanging on my waist.
"I hassled the vendor!" I smirked.
"Wait…"
"I paid." I grinned as I saw him drop his jaw in shock.
We walked away from the park and went somewhere peaceful, and I heard him gasp in shock when I stopped and yelled, "We are here! What a perfect place!"
"Seriously? A cemetery?" Nick sounded terrified for the first time.
I slowly turned to him and grinned.
"Why here?" he asked.
"I thought it was a perfect place to put you in silence!" I answered and saw his face turn pale.