Ines P.O.V.
****
Blinking my eyes open and seeing white ceilings, I wondered where I was, I was very sure this was not heaven, and also it wasn't hell, maybe a reception place in the afterlife? I lifted my arm just to see white sleeves on my arms, and I was scared shitless, this made me cry, he did kill me from witnessing the murder.
"She's awake!" I suddenly heard someone say, and that's when I noticed my surroundings, I was on a bed, and I listened to a monitor just beside me beeping steadily, I was in a hospital, what a relief, and now I was crying out of relief, then a little lady walked up to me
"How are you feeling, why are you crying?" she asked, I didn't answer, I just sniffed and started cleaning my tears and she patted my back telling me it was okay
"Where am I, like which hospital is this, and who brought me here?" I asked
"Well, this is a private hospital, and our boss brought you here to treat the poison in you and also take out the bullet from your body"
"Okay, who's paying the bills?" I asked and paused "Is your boss named Shawn?"
"No, the bills are already paid, and our boss is not Shawn, how are you feeling; we took care of your wound"
"I'm okay," I said lifting the covers to look at my thighs "This is going to scar"
"We help with scar removal too"
"Good, when can I leave, I need my friend over, is there any landline?"
"You're going to recover in 2 months, but before then you can't leave, and you can't have any contact with anybody,"
"Excuse me?" I asked irritated "Am I some kind of prisoner?" I started panicking, was it because of what I had witnessed
"But you can make a call," she said
"I am a freaking student, and I work, how will I cover up for all that, is my phone here?"
"I'm afraid you were never brought in with a phone, and no you are not a prisoner, it's just that this is a secret location, and it is challenging to take you out, you can call anyone to assure your safety and take permission from your university," she said
"Okay, with what phone?" I asked I didn't even want to care about anything anymore
"I'll be back," the nurse replied and left, I felt oppressed and since I didn't want to dwell on the negativity of it, I started wondering who I wanted to call if it was my dad or Vivian, I thought Vivian cause, of course, my dad wouldn't be thrilled to hear all this.
After a while, the lady came back with the phone and I placed a call to Vivian, yeah; I knew her number off-hand because it was just too easy to memorize
"Hello, Ines?"
"Viv, how did you know it was me"
"Oh, it's you Ines?" I overheard her excitement, "Oh my, I got so scared, where are you, were you kidnapped, are you okay?"
"It's a long story, I'll explain later, but I'll be back next month"
"Next month? I've been worried sick about you, and I've searched a lot of places, but it's okay you're alright"
"How about my dad?"
"He hasn't called in yet"
"He must be very busy, okay, I'll talk to you later"
"Sure, bye, and please do come back with a very resourceful explanation"
"Please help me suspend my studies for a few months, thank you," she said and cut the call
" You all better keep me entertained," I said to the nurse
"Sure ma," she said.
For one and a half months straight, we ended up playing checkers and chess, also cards as I sat on my big hospital bed, I talked with Vivian sometimes and watched Netflix, I ate and slept after that much time had passed, I went in for a scar removal session and my body looked stunning
"When am I leaving?" I asked the nurse whose name turned out to be Samantha, she's a very creepy fun character, I observed
"I've not heard anything yet," she said
"I am pretty sure it's been 2 months," I said, suddenly wondering if I was in the hands of my father's rivals or something and they wanted to use me as collateral to destroy him in 2 months, but it hasn't worked yet, nah... I was thinking too far "Do you have a pole here?"
"Yes, we do"
"Really?" I was shocked, and I asked in the spur of the moment, but a pole in a hospital! Crazy.
"But, it's in the master bedroom, it has not been habited in months so we can sneak in," Samantha said, I was already used to this devilish part of Samantha, at intervals, she had devilish thoughts to sneak in places, and I was obviously up for all her deviousness "Then take the lead, Samantha, let me dance for you" I spurred her on
"Okay," she said
She took me to an elevator, it took us up and I was wondering what was going to happen, I felt a rush and my heart was thumping.
In the past days, people really didn't come by and I only had Samantha as my partner, she was always around me, and she said the creepiest things, she liked horror movies so she would mention six different ways to instigate crime in a day that no one would get her with and I was so intrigued by her wisdom, I asked her if she would leave the hospital but then she said she was like an important person there and she was stuck, I felt bad for her.
My rules were not to move around, but I had walked through the layers of the hospital and gone into operation rooms; I knew the place like a book, just because I moved around with Samantha, I ended up cooking a meal in the private kitchen and now sneaking into the master bedroom? It was a different kind of thrill, and I didn't know if we were watched but then we never got caught.
It was my first time going high up on this elevator, for sure this was one place I didn't see, she scanned a card and a few more devices, and then the door opened, the way she scanned it I knew we just snuck in
"Mhmm... what a pretty place this is," I said walking in, the apartment had dim lights and it was a sight to see, the place looked cozy with the chairs soft and fluffy, and the place looked like a place of comfort, I lived in wealth so I wasn't surprised with the rooms décor, but then I noted to take one or two inspiration to design my room when I get back home
"Yes, very comfortable looking," Sam said "Want to explore?"
"I mean since we are here already, okay," I said
She led me to the kitchen, and the fridge which was only full of drinks, the room was just like a hotel suite, and the theme was navy blue glittery walls, the windows were so large that they covered from each side of the walls, the curtains were dark velvet and lovely, I walked up to it and looked through the window, in 2 months that was my first time seeing outside, it was just plain dark, no city, and I could spot the forest miles away.
It was getting dark in the evening, I didn't spend a lot of my time there, but the view made me want to stand there forever, Samantha beckoned me away before I caught the attention of someone outside, I didn't know how that would be possible, but then this was a highly guarded institute, so I left the windows
I sat on the bed, and it felt like I had sunk into a cloud, the bedsheet and the pillows were of silk and the duvet looked like a mirroring material, smooth, beautiful, and soft I couldn't help but lie fully on it
"This reminds me of home," I said
"Imagine you got married to him?"
"Who?"
"I mean my boss"
"What's his name?"
"Crest" she responded in a way that didn't prompt me to know further
"It would've been crazy for me to get married suddenly, and I don't feel unworthy of such luxury"
"Cause you are from a rich home?"
"No silly, because I'm Ines, and I only deserve the best in life," I said and she giggled, I rolled to the middle of the bed fantasizing about cuddling with the handsome man who shot me on these cold comfortable sheets, I sniff the sheets, and it smelled divine
"The channel bags and the Dior"
"Here me out Samantha, as much as Prada can make your day, real luxury is peace of mind, and if marrying your boss can offer me that; then I would sign my marriage certificate without blinking twice," I said and smiled at my fantasy of peace, but then that's what I believed
"Let's go to the pole room," she said, and we went there after I managed to drag myself from the bed, when I got there, I played Feeling Good by Michael Bublé, then I got to the pole and started freestyling from the floor
"you know, I am feeling good," I said while spinning
"I can see that," Samantha said "Anyway, why did you say peace of mind is luxury"
"Because it is, my dad lately has been going through a lot, and it made me wonder if there's any way to acquire wealth in this life without getting bothered by a lot of factors, I mean responsibility is hard, but then imagine all this setting and décor and beauty in a home, plus you're surrounded by your loved ones but all you feel is anxiety and not the reassurance that all this could never be taken away"
"Right? Because with wealth should come happiness"
"Yes, but why aren't they happy at the end? I figured it's only something peace can give, and that's luxury, so how did you end up here Samantha?" I asked splitting on the pole
"It's quite a long story"
"You look couped up in this place"
"I'll soon leave"
"you're like princess Fiona"
"Okay... wait that ugly sucker?" Sam said and I laughed falling in a controlled movement to the bottom of the pole.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack," she said "How long did you start dancing?"
"Since I was sixteen, I just love to dance and I could be here for hours, wait; does your boss dance on a pole too, why is this here?"
"Honestly I don't even know, anyway, let's leave I'm starting to get bad vibes"
"Sure," I said getting down and she stopped the music, then we walked out, I couldn't help but look at everything one last time, heading back to my room where I had my treatment then a shower and a meal, I loved Sam's company and that's all that kept me sane in a strange place for 2 months.
"Suddenly I miss lazy body," I said, laying down on my bed and getting in my blanket, I slept in PJs but on a normal, I slept naked, just that I didn't know what to expect here.
"Where is that?" Sam asked folding clothes
"The club I work at, and I will miss you when I leave too"
"You bet" she responded, and I laughed
"Excuse me for a while," she said and left, and after five minutes she came back with a glass of yogurt, for herself, and I
"For me?"
"Yes," she responded, and I took it, we cheered, and I drank it, and then I slept off.