SCARLETT’S KNIGHT: Frustrating females

Chapter 6

Red

It’s dark, other than an insipid light from the overhead lamp. The lamp is swinging back and forth like a pendulum creating an even inky feeling. There is a girl hiding in the doorway watching the happenings in the room. She is so scared, probably hurt, I can’t be sure. A man is seated on a chair, blood lazily flowing from his head. His left eye is swollen from the beating he has been given. But I am worried about the girl…what is she doing there? She shouldn’t be there. If they find her, they are going to hurt her too! She goes to scream but I cover her mouth with my hand. “Be quiet!” I implore her. “Don’t make a sound.”

Suddenly, another man appears. He is smoking. I cringe.  I hate the smell of cigarettes. The girl seems to hate it too. The man laughs, hard and then walks around the bleeding man. Step by step and below him, the floorboards creak. Step by step…he moves as he waves his cigarette around. On his other hand, he holds a bloody knife.

“Where is my money?” he yells. The bloody man shakes his head and says he doesn’t know. I don’t think the bad man believes him. He hits him and the little girl screams. The man looks behind her. Shit, he was her. Run! Little girl, run! He will kill you when he finds you! Run! I implore her but it’s too late. The man catches up and stabs her with the knife.

Nooooooo!

I wake up screaming. Jerking like that from a dream is painful, but I don’t care. I look around. I am still in the hospital and thankfully alone in the room. I sigh in relief, as I have no idea how I would explain it to Frowny Face if he were here. Luckily, the monitors have shown minimal change, or the nurses would be running inside here expecting a flat line. I still have no recollection of who I am and how I got here. I close my eyes and try to concentrate. Nothing.

I sigh and remember my dream. Why would I be dreaming when I don’t remember anything? Why that dream? Blood rushes through my veins to my head and I feel like am suffocating. My ears are ringing, and I can’t think. I must get these images out o my head. I try to press my hand in my ears willing the ringing to stop. It is of no use. I must get them out of my head. Please get them out of my head.

I spot some papers at the foot of my bed and a pen. Frowny Face, who also happens to be my fiancé must have left them here. I have a fiancée? I still can’t wrap my head around that. I struggle until I reach the papers, the pain after is unbearable, but compared to the images in my head, I’d take the pain, any time.

I grip the pen with all my might and draw. I draw until a can’t draw any more. And when I feel I am reaching breaking-point, I draw some more. I don’t stop until I have filled every white space on the pieces of paper. When I am done, I place them in my pillowcase and go back to sleep.

Kaz

Red has been sleeping soundly for the past few hours. I am glad she decided to play the sleeping beauty. Now, I can concentrate on what to do when its time for her to be discharged. I pinch the bridge between my eyes willing the headache to go away.

I have been looking at the tiny letters on my contacts for a few hours and my eyes could use a rest.  I place my pen and the contacts at the foot of the bed. I will look at them later. Right now, I think I need a strong cup of coffee.

Alex is seated on a bench on the hallway religiously typing God knows what. He looks up when I approach him and then closes the flap on his computer.

“Everything okay, sir?” He asks rising from his seat.

“Everything is fine. I just need a cup of coffee,” I sigh, running my hands down my face.

“I can get it if you give me a minute.”

“No, its fine, I need to stretch my legs anyway.”

“Any changes?” he asks of Red, pointing with his chin towards Red’s room.

“None yet, but the doc says it’s a good thing though. I thought I heard her moaning in her sleep, but it could be all in my head.”

“Alright, just do your thing. She will be fine with me. Also, since the doc said she could have some soup, I had George run home to get some.”

“Alright. Just text me in case she wakes up.”

“Will do, sir.”

I take the direction opposite the café. The hospital coffee tastes like shit anyway. I wonder how people can stand it. I walk along the hallways to the balcony overlooking the lush green meadow. Holding the rails, I breathe in the cold August air trying to keep a looming headache at bay. My thoughts go to the lady whose room I just left and sigh. I have started to care for her, deeply. I don’t think I have the courage or the to let her go when the time comes. From the background check, I could tell that she has gone through a rough patch.

I could be the one to make it better from now on, right?

But at what cost, Kaz? A company that you will one day leave behind? Am I that selfish to use this innocent woman for my gain?

But are you willing to let it go? You know your dad is serious with this marriage thing. You have worked on it for years! Blood and sweat! That is what’s important. Your legacy!

But what if she remembers? She could hate me for lying to her!

How do you know she will remember? Even the doctor themselves don’t have a clue when that will happen.

I sigh. This going back and forth in my head is going to drive me nuts. I will just have to cross that bridge when I get there. For now, we live the lie until the lie becomes us.

I walk back to the room feeling a lot better now that I have decided on the way forward. Looking at my wristwatch, I realize I have been going back and forth in my head for almost an hour. Alex is not at his post outside the room when I get back. I start to panic but then I hear a giggle. My heart swells with elation. She’s is awake! I open the door slowly, catching the end of their conversation.

“…I mean, it’s so boring here. Can I go home?” Red asks in an exasperated tone.

“I don’t think that is going to happen in a while, missy,” Alex says chuckling. Since when have they been this close? I growl menacingly.

Whoa, Kaz. Easy. Are you jealous?

“Okay, since am stuck here with you, the brooding guy and the green walls, you might as well hurry up with that food. Oh, am starving,” She says rubbing her stomach gently.

Don’t worry baby, I will take care of you.

I walk into the room nonchalant, like I hadn’t been eavesdropping and smile. She honestly looks good, full of life. She takes a spoonful of soup.

“Well, well, well, sleeping beauty is awake now,” I say sarcastically. “How is her highness feeling?”

She rolls her eyes. There is the Red I know, I say inwardly. “Considering I have broken… well, everything, I am just peachy!” She says and gets back to her soup.

“…. And she is back. I was worried Sassy Red had left the building as well.” Alex chuckles behind me. What the heck is he still doing here? Better send him away…

“It is okay Alex, I can take it from here.” He nods and leaves the room.

I watch her eat, pausing only to breathe before shoving another spoonful of her chicken broth. She finishes the food without even a glance at me, and when she is done, she sighs in satisfaction.

“Did you like it?” I ask trying to start up a conversation.

“Actually, I did. Burly Guy had someone bring me some food.” She says chipper as ever.

“Burly guy?” I ask, raising a brow.

“It means big,” She says deadpan.

“I know what the word burly means, Red,” I say rolling my eyes now. I had forgotten how cynical she could be.

“Speaking of which, why would my parents call me Red? I mean, they could have named me Pamela, Anna, Mary or even Margaret. Sheesh!”

I laugh heartily and when she gives me the evil eyes, I mask my laugh with a cough. “Pamela doesn’t suit you. And considering you are a little devil, they couldn’t have called you those names. Those three women were saints. Besides, you agreed to it when I suggested,” I say shrugging.

“Really? Somehow I highly doubt that.”

“Well, it was either that or Scar. We had to compromise.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, your full name is Scarlett. I figured that since it literary means red, well…there you go.”

“Hmmmh, okay. Incidentally, what is your name?”

“Kazam. But you can call me Kaz.”  She frowns.

“Kazam? Are you Arabic?”

“No.”

“Indian?”

“No.”

“then why would your parents call you that?”

“I don’t know. I guess you will have to ask them when they come for a visit tomorrow. Why?”

“Well, Kazam seems too posh.” She says scrunching up her nose. I laugh.

“What is so funny,” she asks non-too pleased that am laughing at her.

“That the same thing you said when we first met.”

“Okay…that’s not weird, at all,” she says, shaking her head. “Burly Guy says I am your fiancée.”

“Yes, I am.” Liar, liar pants on fire.

“Somehow it seems impossible.”

“Why is it so hard to believe?” I ask curiously.

“Because you are not my type,” she says removing an imaginary lint on her hospital gown.

“Really? So how is it you forgot everything and somehow manage to remember your so-called type?”

“I am a woman, we know these things,”

“Hmmmh…I don’t understand.”

“Okay, I love ruggedly handsome men with permanent smiles on their faces because am generally a happy person.”

“And you think I am not a happy person because…” I say prompting.

“Well, you have a permanent scowl on your face. If you keep being that intense, you will dig yourself an early grave.” She says as a matter of fact. Did I say I wished she was awake? She can go back to sleep now.

“See what I mean?” She says shrugging.

I use my phone as a mirror and look at my reflection. Do I have a scowl? No! I turn to her to tell her that I am a happy person, but she is snoring away. I chuckle and shake my head. Damn Kaz, you just got your ass handed to you by an itty bitty girl.

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