Darker And Devastated

1.

IVA FAITH

The continuous sound of the machine beeping near my head made me groan. I opened my eyes slowly to adjust to the light. I didn't have to think a lot to know where I was. The White walls, the intense smell of medicines, and the depressing environment–it's a hospital.

I inspected my surroundings with a clear head until the part of my brain responsible for memories started working, and I recalled everything I was going through and how I ended up here.

My heartbeat picked up the pace, and my airways started constricting, making it hard for me to breathe. I gasped for the air, and the beeping sound increased, alerting the people out there.

Noah was the first to rush inside. He looked at me with a terrified expression on his face, and then ran away, screaming to call the nurse. I looked at the ceiling, taking deep breaths but the oxygen didn't feel enough.

Noah came running to me. "Everything is okay. Juan is fine. He is with grandma at home."

His words worked as a substitute for oxygen. I felt my breathing rate coming to normal and I looked at his face to check if he was telling me the truth. He turned his face away because a nurse entered. She checked me and said my vitals were fine. I can go home with precautions.

"Take me home," I asked Noah the moment the nurse left. He nodded his head.

"Let me talk to the doctor first." He said and went out.

When he returned, he told me that I could go home but I had to be very careful and stress-free.

"Juan is not with grandma. You lied." I said. He sighed, refusing to make eye contact with me.

"I will bring him to you. I promise." Noah said.

I shook my head knowing it was not going to happen unless her husband Casper forgave her for what she did.

"You can't," I said. Noah looked at me.

There was a moment of silence before Noah asked me. "What happened between you and him?"

I look at the ceiling, trying to hold my tears back. Noah deserves to know the truth. There is a high chance of him starting to hate me after that but I'm going to tell him anyway. He and his grandma sheltered me and took care of me when I couldn't go back to my home. He deserves to know what kind of person I am.

I told him everything about me and there was not a single expression on his face to make me think he was disgusted by me. The sympathy in his eyes lasted till the end.

"Let's go home." He said after listening to my story.

"Don't you hate me?" I asked him.

"I would have had I not made any mistake in my life." He said, helping me get up from the bed. I couldn't say anything so I just kept staring at his face.

                      ___________

"Take a turn to the left," Iva asked Noah, making him scrunch his eyebrows in confusion.

"We are going home." He tells her, saying no to her demand indirectly.

"I want to talk to him." She said, fighting her tears back.

"This is not the right time," Noah said.

"Turn left, Noah," She was getting irritated by his constant counterreplies.

Sighing, he took the turn. Iva guided him for the rest of the drive until they stopped in front of a mansion kind of house. Noah looked at Iva who was fidgeting with her fingers, already contemplating what to do next. Her chest heaved as she breathed deeply.