When Violet and her parents finally arrived at the hospital, Jared just got settled in the VIP hospital room. His assistant was busy with the administration, so only four of them were there.
“Oh, my poor boy,” Marissa was close to tears. She tried to hold it back, knowing it’d ruin her mascara and heavily applied makeup. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Mom,” Jared said weakly with a white lie. If he was fine, he wouldn’t be attached to cables and small tubes everywhere, looking as pale as death after the doctors dealt with his internal bleeding. Well, he also sported black and blue on his face, bruises Ryan dared to leave behind.
“You almost died,” Violet was exaggerating, but it was the first time she saw her older brother this vulnerable. “Why didn’t you call me first?”
“I don’t want to make you worry,” he said a little apologetically. “Sorry, you’re supposed to be in Paris now, having brunch with our little brother and comments on the Parisian’s fashion
Under the spray of water, Ryan looked at his hands.They were full of blisters and callouses. Long, boney fingers that grasped at nothing. Yet, it felt heavy. As if he was dragged along an invisible burden by imaginary chains on his wrists.He couldn’t forget.There was blood everywhere.On his hands, on his skin, and the road in front of him. Red liquid haunted his dream – a nightmare.‘You son of a bitch.’Someone said, and Ryan could only close his eyes in fear.There was blood everywhere, and he couldn’t breathe. He could only look down at his tattered shoes, colored brown from overused mud. But he liked it better than red, which reminded him of blood.It came like a geyser. Sprouting from under his skin. The after-effect of the older man’s hit against him.Ryan whimpered, trying helplessly to stop the cry that threatened to burst. He shouldn’t cry. Boys don’t cry.
It was the first time Ryan went to a hospital.He had no illness, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t injured. When he was injured, some unknown doctors would treat him. If not, he had to bear it and get on with his pitiful life.Furthermore, he had no one to visit. Or, to be precise, no one wanted him to visit.He almost went to a hospital when Violet’s grandfather was in his dying days, but his parents-in-law and Violet didn’t want him there. So, yes, it was the first time he ventured inside hospital walls.From some glimpse of the TV show he watched when he could, Ryan knew that hospital VIP rooms were as comfortable. He just didn’t know it could rival a five-star hotel.“Keep your mouth shut.”Standing on the other corner inside the elevator, Violet eyed him with annoyance. Apart from the scowl that made her look older than she was, Violet got a nasty glare every now and then.Ryan sighed. She
The VIP hospital room felt stifling, as if twenty people were there, along with Ryan and the Crowne family. “I guess I have to remind you again,” Ryan said to Jared. His older brother-in-law looked puzzled, “Remind me?” Ryan didn’t bother to hide the sly smirk from them. “If you think you’re above me that you refuse to apologize, then I just have to bring you down.” Before he could leave, a knock resounded from the door. It opened to a couple of police officers, stern-looking but polite enough, in Ryan’s opinion. “Mr. Jared Crowne?” one of the officers said, introducing themselves and then telling what they were doing there. “If you are well enough, we would like to get your statement.” “Statement?” As usual, Marissa was the one who spoke first. “You don’t think my son did some crime, do you? Because I can guarantee that he’s innocent.” Ryan almost scoffs in disbelief at a mother’s blind love for their child. He didn’t understa
After Violet bought all kinds of snacks sold in the stalls along the street, Ryan insisted they ride the London Eye.They sat in the passenger capsule, which he managed to buy so that the entire ride they would be by themselves. The view was enchanting, he smiled to himself. It was a first – everything seemed to be a first for him. He had a dreamy look on his face.However, what captivated his attention the most was how the blue and green interchanging lights of the Ferris wheel looked against Violet’s soft skin, shining back on the glow she had on. For all of her rejection, Violet at least enjoyed the view she had from there.As far as their eyes could go, the beauty of London sprawled before them. Big Ben, some castle he couldn’t name, and Thames smoothly submerged in the background, blending in the evening lights engulfing London beneath the orange setting hues of the sky.Noticing the lack of people in the other capsule, Violet gave
She saw a boy right across the tall wire fence in the small woods she played in the afternoon. He hid behind a tree, perhaps hoping she wouldn't notice him."I see you."The bush rustled beside the tree."Are you shy?""Why would I?"She heard him, but he still hid behind the tree, peeking to get a glimpse of her."Because you never saw a girl as pretty as me," she said, voice loud and clear, a little smugly, so he couldn't detect her nervousness.The boy laughed so hard, little hands clutching his stomach as he stepped away from the tree. She knew why he was shy then. He missed a tooth. "My teacher is prettier than you.""Oh, yeah? Clearly, you haven't met my little brother then!" She said, eager to tell him about the one-year-old baby in her home."I don't believe you.""Hmph!" She squinted her blue eyes, trying to get a good look at the boy.He had dark hair, contrasting her own blonde strands. She didn'
The police continued to investigate Jared Crowne and the underground fighting club, Exhibit X. Still trending on number two in the UK, the operation involved several known investigators, but none of them couldn’t get far after a week.While watching an interview with Jared – who used the hospital as an excuse to make himself appear weak and innocent – Ryan lamented TEETS’ latest report.[You have failed Mission Heart-Thief.][You receive no reward.][Failed Mission: 1/3.]Ryan sat straighter on his kitchen stool, asking, “What do you mean by that?”[If Host fails 3 Mission, a punishment will be issued.]“Punishment?” Ryan asked, “How come you never told me about that?”[TEETS will only reveal information if it concerns Host’s current situation.]He grumbled, slumping on the kitchen island with his face on his folded arms. “What’s the punishment
A fair-skinned woman was seen boarding an airplane to France wearing a bomber jacket and mid-thigh shorts. She looked like any other passenger, except if ones looked under her black hat, they’d find a beautiful blonde who often appears in Hollywood movies and series. Besides that, she’d easily blend with the crowd.Of course, what happened right now was not what she had in mind.“Ugh, why should we sit in business class?” a woman’s voice was heard, a little loud for the passengers three seats away from her.“They said all seats in first class are booked.” A man’s voice this time was also just as loud.“I mean, why do we have to fly now? I bet we can get first class in a later flight.”“Jared said we have to get out of London now before situation get worse.”“Worse? That’s the more reason we should stay here with him. Don’t you think so, Violet?”
There was a boy who lived on the other side of the small woods behind her grandfather's house.Violet knew that, remembered that. She just didn't know who that boy was. The talk with Ryan a few days ago bothered her that much. He said he knew her and her late grandfather. He was the boy living in the other house behind the small woods.The boy with the missing tooth.The boy who she used to play with.Could it really be Ryan all along?But the name – Violet was sure it wasn't Ryan Wilder. The name tasted like an alien, it was foreign to her mind, and even her memory loss didn't erase that strangeness. Who could it be?Ryan refused to tell the name, the one he owned that only he knew.Perhaps her late grandfather knew.Oh, he must know about it. Why else would her grandfather ask her to marry a homeless man who lived by eating trash and sleeping with rats? Even if he saved her grandfather's life, then his gratitude shouldn