Her Soul

22. had the knife been for me?

They walked down the street laughing at each other. Aviana loved Dash's company. She found out they shared many common traits. Dash was just the opposite of the mysterious, brooding Riaan. Dash was near to Aviana's hight; standing near Riaan, he looked tiny. But then, who didn't look tiny near Riaan.

"Ok, my turn. What is more rigid than steel?"

Aviana was no king at chemistry, she stretched her brain thinking for the answer. "No idea."

"The answer is Riaan."

Aviana cackled, her sound bouncing. That was true, Riaan could be very rigid. She was pleased to know she was not the only one who thought so.

"I try to teach him about fun, he just won't let me."

They reached the pizza shop and was waiting for the order. Conversation with Dash felt easy and natural. The place was noisy. Some pop song was playing at the back. "Can I ask you a question?" Dash asked in a curious tone.

"Sure." She nodded her head.

"Do you miss your friend Scarlet?"

Aviana was surprised he wanted to know about this and not about Sage. "She was the only best friend I ever had." In her previous school, Aviana had never befriended anyone. Then, she did not think it was a loss on her part. Books had been her best friends. But having a friend, then again losing her felt like a big loss.

They got the pizza and moved out. One was pepperoni and the other was BBQ chicken. Dash walked swinging his hand, the pizza was also swinging with him. Worried the toppings might fall off, Aviana got it from him. They were discussing their all-time favorite flavors.

As they passed the fashion boutique, she felt like someone was watching her. She turned back to see, but everything was normal. No one was looking her way except the mannequin. She decided it was the remaining of her paranoia from the other day; after-effects of an adrenaline rush.

But again as they walked the back street, she felt the presence. It was like someone was following her. Ahead of her, oil was spilled on the floor. It looked camouflaged so Aviana did not notice it. In three steps she would step on it. It all happened out of the blue. She slipped and fell, dropping the pizzas.

"Ahh!" And a scream was heard.

But it was not her.

Dash was on the floor. A man in a raincoat was running before them. He turned and Aviana only got to see his eyes. His face was covered. The man hurried off. Aviana tried to help dash up. Her hands came wet, with blood. Dash was bleeding. There was a slash near his neck. The floor was now being covered in blood. His blood. "Oh my god! Dash!"

She called Riaan immediately. The ring kept going on. Dash eyelids were drooping. He was getting paler with each passing second. "Come on pick up!"

Aviana could not discern what had happened. One minute they were walking. The next, Dash was on the floor getting his blood drained. She was ready to leave a voice mail when he picked up. Not giving him a chance to speak, Aviana rushed the words out of her. "Come down to the back street near the house...Dash...he is injured."
Her voice was shaking. She gripped the phone tightly in her hand, which was slick with blood.

An immediate alarm came over Riaan's voice. "Calm down and tell me where you are and what happened."

"I don't know. Just come down here. God! He is bleeding. Fast!" The phone went dead. Aviana called the emergency number for an ambulance and mentally slapped herself for not calling them first. She used the tissue from the pizza shop to stop the bleeding. Dash's eyes were barely open. There was blood everywhere. Aviana's light blue top was now red.

"What the hell happened?" Riaan and Jayden came running, their food steps loud. Their faces filled with horror as they saw the blood. They sat down to examine Dash's cut. Aviana moved away from Dash, trembling. She looked pale although all her blood was intact.

"Dash, stay with me." Riaan tried to keep Dash from slipping into unconsciousness.

"Aviana!" Riaan brought her out of the shock. "Did you call the ambulance?"

Riaan who always looked impassive was panicking. Somehow it made things even scarier. "Answer me!"

To answer his question, the ambulance arrived just in time. What happened after that was a blur. Dash was boarded into the ambulance. Later they were all waiting in the hospital lobby. No one talked.

Aviana was still covered in blood. Riaan kept glancing towards where they had taken Dash. Aviana had never seen him like this. He always had a composed front. Now he looked afraid. Afraid of losing Dash.
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The corridors were white. The air smelled of antiseptic. Aviana stood near a window. The other three were in with Dash. He was alive and breathing. Since the cut was shallow, he was lucky. If it had been deep it would have been very difficult. Aviana had washed away Dash's blood from her. But she still saw red, whenever she closed her eyes.

She had slipped on the oil when Dash had been cut. If there had been no oil, it would have been her neck. The man in the raincoat must have slashed Dash, standing behind Aviana. If Aviana had been cut, it would have been very deep. She could have died. It was very queer why someone out of nowhere would do this to Dash.

Had the knife been for me? Her paranoia returned with full force. Only this time, it may not be just her paranoia.

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