Plates fell and shattered on the floor as Ariel staggered and fell on the slippery floor of the restaurant's kitchen, blood dripping from her wrist that was cut open as she fell.
SLAP!!!
A harsh slap landed on her cheeks, her face swinging to the side from the force.
"Useless!" A man dressed as a chef stood menacingly above her, looking down at her spitefully.
"It was just a simple task, Ariel, but you couldn't even succeed in delivering an order to a customer, how useless can you get?" The Chef asked furiously as he stared at the wasted food on the floor.
"No, Chef, it wasn't my-"
"Quiet!" A blonde girl scolded and landed another hard slap on Ariel's cheek.
Ariel bit down on her on her lip to stop herself from letting the tears fall. She raised her face and stared at the culprit who had caused her current condition by purposely pouring water on the polished Tiles when she was about to carry the food out, causing her to trip and fall.
"Get up, and tidy this mess up, immediately! No salary for you this month! Useless!" The Chef condemned and angrily walked away.
"Tsk! What a loser," The blonde girl flipped her hair behind her and slowly walked around Ariel, a condescending look in her eyes as she stared at her.
"Told you I'd make you suffer, didn't I? Hmm," The blonde girl put her chin between her thumb and index finger, pretending to think about something.
"This place is not for you; you don't fit in; you should be on the streets, waiting for the next man to cum inside you, slut," The blonde girl giggled at her crude jokes.
Ariel ignored her and gently stood up and started picking up the shredded plates.
"Answer me, you bitch!" The blonde girl pushed Ariel with her two hands, causing her to lose balance and fall to the floor again, the shredded plates cutting her palms.
"Ah!" Ariel cried out in pain.
"Ha-ha-ha! Yes, fool, cry like a baby, you better quit, or else-"
"Or else what, Lin?" A voice asked behind Lin, startling her.
"Oh, hi, Mike, it's not what you think, I was just trying to help-"
"Leave it, Ariel, I'll help, go wash yourself up," Mike totally bypassed Lin and went to help Ariel up, taking the mop stick from her.
"Thank you, Mike," Ariel sniffed and quickly ran to the bathroom.
Inside the bathroom, she stared at her pale and tired face in the mirror as she cried quietly.
She put her hand under the tap and the water automatically rushed out, washing out the blood stains from her wounds.
"Ashh!" She winced as the water stung her fresh and open wound.
She would need to visit the pharmacy on her way back to get some ointments for her wound, so it doesn't scar.
"You alright, Ariel?" Mike's voice suddenly sounded from the other side of the door.
Ariel startled a little as she heard her name, "Uh, yes, I'm almost done."
She quickly rinsed her hands and washed her face to get off the food stains that plastered her cheeks and eye area.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were waiting to use the bathroom," Ariel apologized as she opened the door.
Mike was leaning against the opposite wall and immediately straightened up as she came out.
"No, I was just checking up on you. You feeling okay now?" Mike asked, putting one hand in the pocket of his brown pants.
Ariel felt moved by the genuine concern she felt for Mike. For the three months she worked there, he was the only one who treated her kindly and always looked out for her.
She was very grateful to him.
"Thank you, Mike, I'm fine now," Ariel replied, blushing lightly.
"Come on," Mike outstretched his hand to her and led her out of the bustling restaurant's kitchen.
They left through the 'staff only' area which was behind the restaurant, and that was where he normally parked his bike.
It was 9 p.m. in the night, and everywhere was already dark as the moon had refused to shine that night.
Mike knew it would be dangerous to leave a girl alone at that hour of the night, especially, a frail girl like Ariel.
"Let me drive you home?" Mike asked softly as he noticed the reluctance in Ariel's movement.
Ariel appreciated his kindness, but she didn't trust him.
The world and family she found herself in, destroyed her trust in everything and everyone.
"I don't want to bother you, I can go home by myself," Ariel softly rejected his offer.
Mike smiled, already knowing that was the reply he would get, this was the fifth time he'd asked to drive her home, and he always got the same reply. But this time, he would insist.
"You're not a bother, Ariel. Look," He pointed out to the dark and empty street, "It'll be dangerous for you to walk alone tonight, come on, let me drive you home," He held her hand and turned her to face him.
"Please," He begged.
Ariel sighed. He was right, it was already dark, and the restaurant was located in a lonely area; it was dangerous for her to walk the lonely streets alone.
"Okay," Ariel nodded.
Mike smiled broadly as he fixed the helmet on Ariel's head.
"Hold tight," He said as he placed her two arms around his waist.
Ariel never liked bikes, it reminded her of the brutal accident she had with her late mother twelve years ago. She held on tightly as the bike sped through the dark streets.
The night wind blew against her face and ruffled her midnight-dark hair.
"Can you slow down a bit?" Ariel asked as they approached a blind corner.
She really hated bikes, she couldn't help but remember how their bike had tumbled multiple times on the road, and in the blink of an eye, her mother was lying lifeless on the tarred road.
"What did you say?" Mike asked, turning his head back to look at Ariel, but the panic he saw in her eyes alerted his senses.
"Watch out!" Ariel screamed fearfully as she widened her eyes at the car in front, coming towards them with an unimaginable speed.
"Shit!" Mike cursed loudly.
But he was too late to get out of the way, the car hit them off the road, sending them crashing into a building.
Ariel couldn't tell what was happening as she lay on the ground, her head feeling extremely light, and her body numb.
She barely made out the faint voices she heard around her, all she knew was that she felt a kind of peace she'd never felt before, and she wished to surrender to the tranquility of the inviting darkness.
She was glad she was dying; at least she got to escape this cruel life of hers. She hoped to meet her mother and be with her in a world where there would be no pain or struggles.
The last voice that registered in her mind was a man's voice, so chill and unfeeling as he indifferently ordered someone to do something.
Ariel gave in to the darkness; she was happy she didn't have to face people who were like the owner of that voice; she knew his type: rich, famous, proud, and cold to people.
She was done with his kind and the whole world.
***
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Ariel distantly heard the beeping sounds in her head.
She slowly opened her eyes and closed them immediately from the bright light above her, then, slowly, she opened her eyes again and was faced with a white ceiling.
She felt a band-aid wrapped around her head and when she tried moving her arms, she realized she had something sticking into her left arm.
Ariel managed to slowly lift herself with her elbow and looked around the room. She realized that she was lying inside a hospital ward in a blue hospital gown.
'Didn't I die?' Ariel thought as she stared at the cannula that was fixed in her arm.
Her fate must really suck.
"Oh no! Please lie down, you just woke up," A middle-aged woman in a nurse's uniform opened the door and rushed towards Ariel's bed.
"Where am I?" Ariel asked as she slowly lowered herself back onto the bed.
"You're in a hospital; you're lucky you were brought in on time, a second later, and you would've been dead," The nurse said as she checked her vital signs.
"They should have waited a second later..." Ariel muttered.
"What did you say?" The nurse asked as she removed the thermometer from Ariel's armpit.
"Nothing," Ariel sighed.
So, her journey wasn't over yet. Did God want her to witness all the hardships in life before he took her?
"Everything seems nice, Miss?" The nurse asked.
"Ariel," Ariel supplied.
"Ok, dear, I'm sorry if that was unprofessional; I know we're supposed to check the patient's name from their folder, but we couldn't find any identification on you, that's why I asked," The nurse explained, writing something down on her chart.
"No, it's fine," Ariel replied calmly.
She had always imagined this scene when something happened to her, and people wanted to help her but couldn't because she didn't have an identity.
Courtesy of her father and stepmother who ripped her off of anything that would connect her to them.
"Ok, here are your medications," The nurse dropped a bag of medications on top of the drawer.
"Thank you," Ariel replied.
"Mm," The nurse replied with a nod.
"Um, how long have I been here?" Ariel asked.
"Just a day," The nurse said without raising her head from the patient's file in her hand.
"Oh..." Ariel said quietly.
She knew that even if she was to stay here for six months, no one was coming for her.
"You're quite lucky, your friend is in a more severe condition. You'll be discharged in the afternoon; your bills have been cleared, too," The nurse smiled and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Ariel immediately sat up after hearing about her friend.
Did she mean Mike? Was he injured?
"Yes?" The nurse paused and turned to Ariel.
Ariel knew she had some other patients waiting for her so she didn't know which question to ask first.
She debated whether to ask about how her bills were paid or ask about Mike.
"Where is he?" She asked, choosing to ask about Mike.
"Your friend? He's just in the adjacent door," The nurse informed.
"Oh, can I go see him?" Ariel asked.
"Sure, after resting," The nurse said and then left.
Ariel nodded and patiently waited for her to leave. When she was sure the nurse was gone, she quickly disconnected the cannula from her arm and slowly climbed down the bed, quietly walking out of the room.
Ariel stood in front of her door, contemplating on which door to enter as there were a series of doors lining the hospital hallway.
She quickly ruled out the doors opposite hers, the nurse had said adjacent, not opposite.
She narrowed it down to the two doors beside her, not knowing whether to enter the one by the left or the one by the right, she wasn't sure which one Mike would be in.
She sighed and walked toward the door by the right, hoping she would be lucky.
Nope, she wasn't.
"Ah!" A woman screamed.
"Oh my god! I'm sorry!" Ariel said in shock as she quickly slammed the door shut.
What did she just see? A nurse sucking her male patient's cock?!
She shook her head to get the image off her head and almost fell from feeling dizzy. She was famished.
She stared hard at the door by the left, praying to God to let it be the right room.
She was lucky this time.
She opened the door to see Mike lying on the bed with his legs wrapped in a cast.