Oliver’s POV,
“No! no… no! Sissy… She was bleeding. She was bleeding a lot. There was a lot of blood coming out of her head… so much blood” Theodore replied stretching his arms horizontally to show the quantity of blood.
“Is she okay?” Laina asked in a frightened tone.
“I gave her vodka so she should be fine” Theodore replied with a proud expression.
“You didn’t give her medicine or first-aid but vodka?” Olivia asked in frustration.
“Yes, she asked for it. Must say, I am impressed! She has an expensive taste. We are drinking buddies now” Theo announced happily.
“She drank?” Laina was beyond confused at this moment.
“No! At least, not in front of me!” Theo shook his head in complete denial.
“Then why did you give her vodka instead of a first aid kit, you brat?” Mark asked in an enraged tone.
Theo frowned and replied, “Because she asked for it. She is my cousin too, I wanted to help! And….”
“And?” Laina asked with a raised eyebrow.
“And she had a morphine shot in her hands” Theo added casually.
“Morphine shots?” Olivia nearly shouted in shock.
“She also uses drugs? She is so cool but where did she get those though?” Theo was clearly asking himself that while scratching his chin in confusion.
I took a deep sigh and shook my head in disbelief.
“No! My sister doesn’t take intoxicants. How dare you little….!” Mark was about to hit Theo when I pulled him back.
“Leave it, Mark. He is drunk. He doesn’t know what he is talking about” I replied calmly but Mark wasn’t looking at me rather he was busy murdering Theo with his eyes.
“But he is accusing her of using drugs!” Mark said pointing at Theo trying to get out of my grip but I held him back firmly.
“He is talking gibberish. Listen to me, look at me!” that got his attention and he took a deep breath to calm himself.
“Good, now see this” I said grabbing his attention and turning towards Theodore.
“Did you see something else? Something weird?” I asked knowing the answer would be so stupid that I might want to choke him to death as well.
“Yeah, pigs were flying. Piggy piggy!” Theo danced while speaking.
Each and every one of us rolled our eyes.
“See, he is a lost case. Just look at him. Don’t fry your brain for him!” I replied in a casual tone while pointing toward the dancing clown in front of me.
Mark nodded in agreement and his expression changed from anger to worry as he added,
“But she is hurt and there is no denying it”
I closed my eyes and nodded. I couldn’t deny she was hurt and I was one of the reasons behind it.
I turned towards Theodore who was still busy dancing with some imaginary piggies.
“Theo, concentrate now, it’s important and only you can help with this. Is she home now?” I asked in a serious tone and Theo nodded like a madman.
“Yes, yes, she is in the basement” Theodore replied while moving his head a bit too much.
“Thanks, Theo” I replied and turned towards my other siblings.
“Laina, Eva, and Nova guide Theo safely home, while Olivia, Mark, and I will rush towards home and check on Rosey first. Is that clear?” I demanded like a sergeant about to go on a life-threatening mission.
“Okay, Bro” Nova replied on behalf of everyone while everyone simply nodded.
“Let’s go” I said and Mark and Olivia started running with me towards home.
As we reached home, I observed the window was open and it was awfully quiet inside.
I had the spare keys so I opened the door and we ran directly towards the basement.
As soon as I reached the door, I tried to open it but strangely it was locked and I was hit by the smell of alcohol and drugs from inside.
Along with that, there was a very strong and undeniable scent of blood.
My eyes widened thinking she must be more hurt than I imagined. I hurriedly knocked on the door a bit too loudly,
“Rosey, open the door!”
…..
Rose’s POV,
“Oliver!” escaped my mouth as I heard his frightened voice from the other side of the door.
I obviously couldn’t open the door while operating on my very first patient.
“ROSE! Are you hurt?” came Mark’s terrified voice.
‘Was he crying?’ I couldn’t help but think as his voice broke twice within one statement.
“OPEN THE DAMN DOOR, ROSEY! YOU ARE KILLING ME!” Oliver shouted. He sounds hurt.
In front of those manly voices, Olivia’s voice sounded more like the roar of a kitten when she said,
“Rose, Are you okay?”
I couldn’t open the door. I am in the middle of surgery and I couldn’t possibly tell them that there is an unknown man inside. Moreover, I can’t let them come and contaminate this already average-cleaned room more.
I can’t afford to lose the guy who saved my life and I can’t lose my focus either.
I had to think of something before it gets too late and one of them breaks in.
“ROSEY! ARE YOU THERE?” Oliver shouted again; his voice filled with fear.
“ROSE! YOU ARE SCARING ME!” Mark gave him tough competition.
They should have thought about it when they left me alone in the middle of the forest.
They should consider themselves lucky as I am unable to hold grudges against them! I would have still troubled him to death if not for the situation I am in.
“GET LOST, BOTH OF YOU!” I shouted, but because of wearing the mask during the surgery, it sounded like I was choked.
“ROSEY, PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR! LET’S TALK, PLEASE” Oliver begged.
I know what I am about to say is going to hurt him a lot but I have no other choice.
“Talk about what, Oliver? About how you left me there to die after promising me that you will protect me? Please, give me a break!” I replied, pretending to be angry.
I was actually angry at them first, but after going through what I did tonight, it doesn’t matter anymore. After all, it was partially my fault first as well, but I need to be harsh for them to leave me alone for now.
“I am so sorry, Rosey. I didn’t mean to do that” Oliver replied, his voice broke.
I felt a piercing pain in my chest hearing his weak voice. I gathered all my strength and replied,
“But you did! At the end, you really left me alone like you did last time” I closed my eyes and said with a really heavy heart. I felt like breaking into tears.
“I am extremely sorry. I thought you were lying.. I mean acting again” Oliver corrected himself instantly but the damage was already done.
“Do you mean I always lie?” The feminist inside me woke up.
“No.. I mean…” Oliver tried to speak but I cut him off,
“Shut up! And leave me alone. I don’t want to see your face” I said harshly.
“Rose! It wasn’t Oliver’s fault. I am sorry. it was all my ….” Mark tried to reason with me but I cut him off too,
“Yeah, it was your fault. You were supposed to be the older brother who protects me but instead, you left me alone in the middle of the forest for a wild animal to eat me. Thank you very much”
“Rose, listen to me..” Mark tried to persuade me again but looking at the condition of my patient I cut him again.
“No, I don’t want to listen to you. Both of you get the hell out of my dungeon and never return!” I shouted and closed my eyes.
I never heard my brother sound so guilty. He must be dying from the inside.
“That means you are not angry with me and I can enter and check on you” Olivia tried and it made me roll my eyes.
“You didn’t even care about my existence before. Just drop the act and leave, and while you are doing that, take your brother along with you” I know I am being unreasonable, but I’ll handle this later.
“Rose..” Mark said weakly.
“I will see you when I am feeling less angry. Leave me alone for now” I said while taking a deep sigh.
“Okay” I heard his broken voice.
I heard their footsteps on the staircase as they were returning to the corridor. I took a breath of relief as I heard them closing the door.
“I almost got caught, Damn I was harsh, now what was I doing before…”
I began with my work. It took me a while to remove those bullets from his body and treat his wounds. I was exhausted, this was tough without any assistance or a fellow doctor.
As I was done, I washed my arms, cleaned the bed nearby, and mopped the floor to avoid contamination.
I covered his body with a clean blanket that my Aunt Stella so generously provided me with.
I moved the couch near the bed and lay down on it.
As soon as my back touched the couch, I felt immense pain in my entire body.
It was given. I tried to carry a person twice my weight and then operated on him all by myself.
I lay on my side and glanced at his handsome face.
“He has such a perfect side profile, I am jealous” I thought staring at him blankly and my eyes started to close on their own as I lost consciousness again.
The reality was soon replaced by nightmares where I saw him fighting brutally with my uncle but only to turn up dead in the end. I saw his lifeless body lying on the ground while his eyes still staring at me. I sat next to him and suddenly his body started glowing along with mine when he touched my hand.
I opened my eyes and sat upright on the couch. My breath quickened and my palms became sweaty again.
‘What was that?’ I ran my hands through my hair.
I kept my other hand on my chest to calm my racing heart.
‘It was a dream’ I told myself.
“But why was he glowing like that?” I ended up asking myself in confusion.
‘When did I fall asleep?’ I didn’t know when the darkness engulfed me completely.
I was dragged out of my train of thought when I heard his painful voice,
“Ahh! Ahh!”
“Are you awake?”