Ego's Trap | ✔

40 | Rays of Sunshine

I found myself tilting my head to the side, looking closely at him. He was breathing hard now, no longer was it shallow. From the looks of it, he was wide awake now, but not necessarily fine. When he finally opened his eyes, all I saw was red, emeralds, and tears. I wondered why, but then again, I shouldn't have.

"I don't know." Too many questions.

"I'm... I'm going to go get Teresa," he began. He wiped away a couple of tears with his wrist, and stood up from the bed. "Get dressed, but don't, don't go anywhere."

"No, don't!" I yanked his arm down, forcing him back on the bed. I felt nothing but dread coming up my throat as his teary eyes questioned me. I wondered why, but then again, I shouldn't have. "Why call Teresa? I'm fine."

"You're clearly not."

"What will she do anyways, lie around? Y'know she can't do anything, she can't move. She'll barely hear you if you call her now, y'know." There's nothing she can do, she can't move, she can't hear much, that's right. How did I forget? I leaned over to him, looked him straight in the eye. "She's not herself right now, Daniel."

"Ane, what are you saying?"

"They shoot her up with god knows what, how the hell d'you not know? It's been happenin' since the first day, dummy. All she does is drool and moan." Her brain's fried. She's gone, gone, gone. "Must be nice."

Daniel's entire self paused at that, froze. His whole self looked like one heck of a cute statue. A shaken one, but nevertheless cute. There was something in his face that felt off, as if something was tearing him apart. His eyes were glowing and very much alive, though, as if he were thinking of something major. I wondered why, but then again, I shouldn't have.

"Ane, tell me, why would you think that? Why must that be nice?" He still didn't move an inch. Not a single inch, except for his lips. His soft, pink lips.

"Can't you see it, Daniel? If your brain's fried, you can't feel a single thing," I said, squeezing his arm. "Teresa's fine. Teresa might not remember, but I definitely will, if we somehow make it out alive. That's why it must be nice, that's why, honest to god. It's not fair."

Daniel's whole body suddenly shifted over to mine. He swallowed hard, breathing in and out, harshly. His fists were clenched, his jaw was under immense pressure. His eyes, still very much in tears, were staring at me with a look that shook me. I couldn't help but gulp.

"Ane, tell me, who did this to you?" Too many questions. Too many questions. Too many questions. "Ane, who did this to you? Who hurt you? Who hurt your sister?" No, Mom, I can't. I can't say, I can't say a single thing. Dad already tried makin' me talk. Nothin' will change with you. I ain't sayin' shit. Tess ain't either. We ain't sayin' shit, not to you, not to Dad, not to the police, not to any other soul, so leave me alone. Leave us alone. "Ane, TELL ME!"

Daniel's voice, for once in his life, was deep, rough, loud. Harrowing. Far from soft, far from gentle, far from all that's music to the ears. It was a desperate cry for something I knew, from a weeping angel whose wings were torn.

I wondered why, but then again, I shouldn't have, because he knew that a while back, when he was miles away from Florida and had yet to be actively involved in my life as my boss and boyfriend── someone took advantage of me.

He's hurt. He's cried so, so many times. He still cries. He's crying now.

I wondered why, but then again, I shouldn't have, because after learning of what had happened to me, Daniel has been dying to hunt that someone down, to catch that someone, to at least know if that someone was behind bars. He has wanted to be my knight in shining armor, to do nothing but help and support me, ever since our first date. No, even before then.