Elliot's POV
Eric left when the ambulance stopped inside a mansion. He seemed uneasy being in a place filled with armed guards. However, I went in. The place was unusual to say the least. There was an area which looked like a military training ground where people were training. We were taken past that area into a zone marked medical facilities. The place must be huge to have an entire area dedicated to the hospital area.
A two storey white building came into view. I watched through the ambulance windows as we went into the building's parking space. Levi was wheeled out quickly onto a bed and moved into a lift. I remained by Levi's side as we went up to the first floor. A doctor awaited us in the room where Levi was taken in. I was impressed at how quick and efficient they were. I was asked to stay outside while they attended Levi. After what felt like thirty minutes or so, the doctor came out.
He told me that the nurses were cleaning Levi and that he had already stitched up the areas that required stitching. He told me the gunshot wound has been cleaned properly and that there was nothing to worry about except for the possible concussion. It seemed the hit on the head was hard enough to create significant swelling. He wanted to do some further tests and I told him I wasn't Levi's guardian or anyone who could give medical consent. The doctor noted that I couldn't inform his guardians anyway since it was a facility inside a gang hold. So, reluctantly I had to consent to everything they requested. I watched Levi being taken in for a scan and X-rays. After what seemed like endless tests, Levi was wheeled into the room again. I sat beside him. He still looked very pale.
With him sleeping soundly there was no noise in the room and I was quickly getting bored. I checked my phone and saw a few messages from Daniella asking about me. I recalled how I had run out on her at school this afternoon. It almost seemed like days ago. I closed my eyes. She said she was worried about me. I texted her back, saying I was fine and just a little worried about my family. I wondered if she would really care about my family's situation. I didn't feel like I could tell anyone about what was going on. It was late now. I looked at the clock in the room and checked the cozy surroundings of the room.
The room looked quite luxurious for a hospital room. It had a TV, a fridge, a sofa and even a bed for the attendant. I sighed, rubbing my head and pulling up my legs to the chair. I propped my chin on my knees as I watched Levi. The doctor told me I could leave with him when he woke up. I just wished he would wake up soon. Just then I heard giggling in the room. I looked around and saw nobody there. I scowled and heard the giggling again. It sounded like it was coming from under the bed. Quickly I checked under the bed. A gray eyed boy around four years old sat there with wide eyes.
He came out from under the bed and said in a superior voice that he won the competition. I raised my eyebrow at that. He looked like he was supposed to be sleeping, judging from the blue sky with stars pajamas he was wearing. His hair looked cute with a side parting that looked like a hairstyle from the 1920s.
"From where did you come in?" I asked him and he puffed out his chest.
"I used the tunnel." He said and showed me what looked like an opening under the bed. I nodded warily. It made sense to have escape tunnels in a gang hold, I guess.
"So..what are you doing here?" I asked him, regarding him suspiciously. What if he was a ghost from the nineteenth century? He didn't look ghostly though.
"Sor sis said there are new people in the hospital and that whoever gets to them first will win a plize." He said loudly. I smiled at him.
"Is that so?" I asked him and he nodded with a smile.
"Ames won." He said proudly.
"So your name is Ames?" I asked him.
He looked at me oddly. "Uncle, you are saying my name wrong. It's Ames." He said pronouncing "A" clearly. I cringed at the "Uncle" part. I was a little delighted though. The boy clearly thought I looked like a guy.
"I thought that's what I said. Ames." I said again and he shook his head coming closer to me.
"You have to say it from the thloat and put your tongue out like this." He said pulling out his tongue and trying to say his name. I giggled. He was cute. I didn't see where I was going wrong though.
"Okay..so maybe your name is James?" I asked the first name that came to mind that seemed similar to Ames. James nodded delightedly.
"Now you can say it. Ames is good at teaching plounciation isn't it?" He asked with a cute smile. I just smiled at that.
"So..do you know Ames Daee?" He asked me, coming closer and touching my knee as he looked up at me. He looked so adorable.
"Who is Daee?" I asked him.
"You don't know?" He asked astonished.
"Sorry baby. I don't." I told him with a guilty look. James looked appalled.
"But Daee is famous." He said.
"Oh. How do you know that he is famous?" I asked him.
"When anki, Ames and Daee walk together, everyone is looking. Maly Alice says people look at famous people." He said.
"Who is Maly Alice?" I asked him.
"My fliend." He said cutely. I realized he couldn't say "r" properly.
"And who is anki?" I asked him and his eyes widened.
"You must have lived under a lock." He said dramatically and I couldn't help laughing. Lock obviously meant "rock". The fact that he knew how to say that itself was funny.
"I see. You really have important people around you." I said and James folded his hands on his chest.
"Of course. Ames is also famous." He said.
I grinned.
"So where's anki and daee now?" I asked him and he looked sad.
"Far away. Ames came here in an aeloplane. But Ames can see a small daee and anki in Ame's ipad. So it is Ames's most precious thing." He told me and I smiled.
"Ames is with papa and Loo papa now." He said.
"Two papas?" I asked him and he nodded. Um..was every guy this boy met a papa perhaps? I wondered.
"So is your papa also famous?" I asked and he nodded.
"He must be very handsome then?" I asked him and he smiled.
"Papa has yellow hair." He told me as if he was telling me a secret.
"Yellow?" I asked him and he said "And gurple eyes." He told me.
"What's gurple?" I asked him in the same secretive voice in which he was talking to me.
"That's what anki calls purple. He says his eye colour is blue. Papa also says his eye colour is blue. But Daee says it's purple. So anki said it's not purple..it's gurple. When papa heard it he also said it's gurple and laughed." He told me.
I smiled at that. Purple eyes..yeah right! Little kids and their imagination!
"And papa is very tall..like a building." He said and I couldn't help bursting out in laughter.
The boy yawned as he put his chin on my thigh and looked up at me sleepily.
"Sor sis is not coming." He said anxiously.
"It's okay. Come up here." I said and carried him onto my lap. He easily leaned against my chest and cradled his head on my breast.
"Why is your chest bumpy uncle?" He asked me and I blushed.
"It's..uh.." I struggled for an answer.
"Papa is also a bit bumpy but your's is soft bumpy." He said, squeezing my breast. I stopped him.
"Kid. I am like your mummy." I said finally and he pouted.
"Ames mamma died when Ames was born." He said and I gave him a look of surprise.
"Sor sis's mummy also has a chest like this. So..you are a girl? Aren't mummy's girls?" He asked in surprise and I winced.
"I really don't want to be one." I muttered.
"So you are like ai-sis then? Ai sis also had short hair like a boy. But now Ai- sis has long hair. It's plitty. Don't you want to be plitty?" He asked me and I chuckled.
"Nope. It's too much trouble." I said with a grin.
James looked too sleepy to complain. He looked puzzled but slowly dozed off to sleep. Just then I heard someone speaking outside in rapid Italian.
"How could you lose them? Where is Sorcha and James? I swear that kid's so much trouble I should ban Olivia from bringing Sorcha." The man muttered.
"Go find them." He snapped at someone just as he came into our room. He looked surprised to see me with the boy. A look of horror crossed his face. In long strides he came over and pulled the boy from my hands screaming out to his guards.
"Papa..you are loud." James muttered, sleepily nuzzling into his neck.
"James..baby, are you okay?" He asked but James just softly snored.
He looked frantic as he called the doctor. The doctor came inside quickly and looked at James.
"He is..sleeping." He said.
"Are you sure he isn't drugged or anything? Check the CCTV footage now." He said, throwing me a dirty look.
I saw the guards hurry to do as he asked. Meanwhile violet eyes regarded me with hostility. Oh this must be James's papa or anki, whatever. He really did have purple eyes, I thought as I stared back at him. The guy's eyes narrowed dangerously at me when he knew I was staring. I looked away. I wasn't going to win any staring contest with this man. He knew how to scare people away from looking at him.
"Sir, she was just talking to James. The security gate at the hospital entrance would have indicated if she had any weapons on her. She doesn't have any and she certainly did not drug the boy." Said a man who came in to the room. The violet eyed guy relaxed just a bit.
The guy started to leave and I said.
"You are welcome." To him. He turned around. "You didn't do anything to deserve my gratitude." He said.
"Gee thanks. I deserved your hostility though, it seems." I said with a roll of my eyes.
He sighed. "I don't like strangers." He said.
"Keep an eye on her." He told the guards and tried to leave again. I rolled my eyes. He really was a suspicious guy.
"Wait!" I said, remembering something suddenly as I ran after him.
"What now?" He sounded irritated.
"You..must be James papa." I said and grinned. He looked at me as if he was asking me whether I was an idiot. I quickly fumbled out.
"Sorry for taking your time but I am assuming you are somebody important around here...I mean in Blood Phoenix." I said and he raised his eyebrow imperiously at that.
"I am not in Blood Phoenix." He said.
"Oh..their junior gang then I guess?" I said with a small smile.
"Senior." He said with an annoyed look.
"Oh! Then it's better." I said and he frowned.
"Sensei, please teach me how to fight." I said, doing a quick bow to him. What better place to find a fighting teacher other than one of the most famous gangs? Judging from the katana on his back, this guy must be good with swords, I am assuming. Anything was good for me.
"Why would I do that?" He asked me.
"I'll..pay you." I said with a small smile and he looked surprised.
"You can't afford me." He said simply.
"Well..what's your hourly rate like? Maybe I could try if it's less than a hundred." I said in way of bargaining.
"Starting rate is a million..atleast. That's on top of the fact that I don't do anything for hire anymore." He said and I sputtered.
"Did you say a million? You sure do think you are important." I said and laughed. Who pays million dollars to a guard?
The guy gave me a dour look and the guard went into a coughing fit beside him.
"This is a moot conversation." He said and tried to walk away again. I ran in front of him.
"Look..there's this great mojo about you. I mean you just have to be my sensei." I said and he gave me an annoyed look. The guy looked irritated now.
"You are not worth my time. Did you cut your hair trying to be tough?" He asked me bitingly.
"The better way to say that is trying to be a boy." I said and he looked at me strangely.
"Why do you want to be a boy?" He asked me in surprise.
"They are stronger." I just said with a shrug. He looked unimpressed.
"If that's what you think, you are doing a pretty bad job of convincing me to teach you." He said.
"Why?" I asked him in surprise.
"You..are a girl and somewhere in your head you believe that. If your opinion of girls is that low, what could you possibly think of yourself? I will not teach someone with such low self esteem." He said clearly.
"But..everyone starts somewhere." I said and he regarded me with narrowed eyes.
"That's true. You can teach any idiot to make some random moves. But you can't teach anyone to be a fighter. It's something that should come from your heart." He said.
"I don't understand. What should come from my heart?" I asked him.
"The will to not be defeated. The will to not go down until your last breath." He said.
"But..I have that." I told him and he scoffed. He signaled to the guard something and without warning the guy punched me. I fell back from that looking aghast at the guard. I actually had blood in my mouth. The pompous, violet eyed jerk looked down on me arrogantly.
"Do you like sitting on the ground? What are you staring at?" He asked me.
I gaped at him, realizing it was a test. I jumped up quickly, knowing fighting him with words was going to be useless. The moment I stood up, the guard hit me again. I was appalled that he had no regard for the fact that he was hitting a girl.
"Why do you look so appalled? You think a guy shouldn't hit a girl?" He asked me tauntingly and I glared at him. That was exactly what I thought. I stood up again and was punched down a third time.
"You really like getting beaten do you?" The guy asked with a shake of his head. I growled at him and stood up angrily. I was hit again several times but I refused to give up. I realized it wouldn't help if I only just kept standing back up. I had to do something. Or I was going to lose consciousness at this rate. I tried to do a whirl kick like the one I saw Levi doing and got my foot caught. I looked in horror as the man easily turned me around like he was turning a stick and slam me down on the ground.
"Don't try fancy tactics when you don't know how to deliver them properly." I heard the violet eyed guy saying.
I charged angrily at the guard but he slammed me down on my face, knocking out my breath. It was impossible. I heard the guard counting down from ten. I just couldn't get back up even when he finished. I was wheezing pretty badly and my whole body hurt terribly. Silence greeted my pained breaths.
"Get up!" I heard the violet eyed guy telling me sternly. I looked up and saw him look at me coldly.
It took me a while to stand up.
"What's your name?" He asked me.
"Elliot." I said after a bit of hesitation.
"Why do you want to fight Elliot?" He asked me.
"I have to save my family. A gangster killed my father, enslaved my mother and threatens to do the same to my little brother. We owe him 2.6 million dollars. He said that he would forgive the debt I owe him if I become the queen in the Tournament. If I fail, I will also become his slave." I told him and he looked at me.
"When that much is at stake, is that all you could show me?" He asked me and I looked up at him in surprise.
"Do you know what slavery is, Elliot?" He asked me, taking a sudden interest in me.
"It's a situation worse than death. Freedom is everything Elliot. Everything." He told me.
"Then why were you kissing the ground and refusing to get up?" He asked me, a stern look in his eyes.
"I am not a fighter like you. It hurts." I told him.
"Nonsense." He snapped loudly.
"With an attitude like that, you might as well have already admitted defeat. Good bye Elliot. I don't like seeing week willed things." He told me and was just about to walk away when I grabbed his hand. He scowled at me and pulled away his hand.
"Please teach me. I will become better. I promise." I told him and he shook his head.
"When is this Tournament anyway?" He asked me.
"It's next week." I told him.
"It's the same one master Cade is participating in." The guard replied and the man inclined his head at that.
"You can't learn anything in a week. You are a wimp to begin with." He said and I glared at him.
"A glare doesn't scare me, Elliot. It looks like a meow of a kitten." He said with an amused chuckle.
"This is not a fictional story for you to master fighting with gangsters in a week. Go and tell that man to sign you in as his slave." He told me rudely.
"Shut up." I said angrily. "Someone like you, who has muscles and look like a tower to begin with, would not understand how hard it would be for someone like me to fight back. But I will fight back. I will save my family." I told him.
He chuckled at that. "You just said the words of defeat right now. You think you are weak. That's all it takes to get defeated." He told me.
"I am born this way. I am born into a weak body that is good for nothing other than creating babies." I said angrily in frustration.
"Shut up!" He boomed at that. I watched him advance towards me.
"That kind of attitude makes me sick. Let me tell you of one woman I knew who had grown men begging for mercy at her feet. She brought down towers, as you call it, to her level and had them eating out of her hands. Do you know how that is possible? It's possible because she believed she could do that. She was no mountain woman. She was a skinny girl in heels, looking all frail. She took delight in looking as weak as possible and it became her strength because people mistook her for a fluffy little kitten. Her exterior hid the dangerous person she was inside and she triumphed until death came for her. On top of that she had a smart brain. No grown man could defeat her." He told me.
"You appreciated her." I said in surprised.
"I hate her." He said just as quickly.
"Nevertheless, one word you could never attribute to her is weak." He said.
"All you need is in here and here." He said tapping my chest and my forehead.
"You mean my hair and boobs?" I asked him, just to irritate him and he did look irritated.
"Dumb!" He muttered in annoyance and the guard snickered.
"So..you will teach me?" I asked him hopefully.
"No." He said simply.
"I told you before. I don't teach losers." He told me.
"Why don't you ask your boyfriend to teach you?" He asked me.
"He won't. He thinks it's too dangerous anyway." I muttered.
"That's too bad then." He told me.
"Please..there must be something I could do for you in exchange for teaching me." I said.
He gave me a peeved look. "Seriously girl, there's absolutely nothing you could do for me." He told me and I gave him a defeated look.
"I could find you a girlfriend." I said with a shrug and he shot me an odd look.
"You are weird." He said finally.
"So..it's a no?" I asked him sadly, making doggy eyes to him.
He looked at me and sighed. I could tell he wasn't as hard-hearted as he looked.
"Michael, her matches..what's it like?" He asked his guard.
"If they win in the first round they go straight to second round. Then on, it's knockout matches until 4 participants are left. Then after three weeks they have the quarter finals, semi finals and the final matches." He said.
The violet man eyed narrowed his eyes in thought as he looked at me.
"Luc's kid, Georgina is participating in it." The guard said and the violet eyed man nodded.
"George is serious competition for you." He told me. I didn't know who he was talking about.
"Here's the deal kid. Survive the first round on your own and I might help you if you are worthy of it." He said and left the room. The guard looked at me.
"You are one lucky kid to have master Obivan teaching you. He only teaches seniors even among us. It's a good thing he likes dogs and you have pretty good doggy begging eyes." He told me. What did he mean by I have doggy eyes? Weird guy! So, my sensei's name was Obivan, I thought with a smile. That seemed like a cute nick name. The guy was named after Obivan in Star Wars. I looked at the guard.
"But how am I going to survive the first round? I know nothing about fighting." I said worriedly.
"Use the advice master Obivan gave you." The guard said.
"But that's not much." I told him.
"It is a lot. Just survive and don't give up. Yank the girl's hair off or something." The guard said with a shrug.
"Please..can't you teach just one move?" I begged the guard but he shrugged and left. I sighed. I guess I was on my own until I finish the first round at least. I went back to sit beside Levi's bed. It reminded me I had no idea how to get in touch with my new sensei. I didn't even have his number. I guess I could get it from a guard before I leave.
Just then Levi's eyelids fluttered. I looked at him and called his name eagerly.
He groaned. "Are you in pain?" I asked him and then realized how dumb the question was. I tried to run out to get a nurse but Levi had grabbed my hand. He looked confused as he looked at me.
"Ellie?" He asked me and I nodded quickly.
"Why...are you here? Where am I?" He asked me as he looked around. I explained everything that had happened but he continued to look confused. Maybe it was the concussion.
"Okay..but..why are you here?" He asked me again.
"Why wouldn't I be here?" I asked him back and he seemed to be thinking. Just then the doctor came in.
"The guards informed me you have woken up." The doctor told Levi as he came over. He asked Levi how he was feeling. Levi said he was okay. But he kept looking at me.
"Why are you looking at her?" The doctor asked with a smile.
"Um, well..I don't know what she is doing with me." He said and I gaped at him.
"It's me Elliot. Don't you remember me? God, did you forget everything?" I asked him, looking at him with shock.
"I know who you are." He said and then made a pained expression.
"I just don't know why you are here." He said and I rolled my eyes.
"I told you how I am here." I told him.
"No. Not how..why?" He said.
"She is your girlfriend." The doctor replied and Levi blinked at that in surprise.
"Is that true?" He asked me, looking surprised. I gave him an awkward look.
"She didn't want to leave your side." The doctor told him with a smile and Levi looked flustered. He glanced at me.
"I don't remember that." He said softly, looking guilty.
"What's the last thing you remember?" The doctor asked me and he looked at me, seeming confused.
"I..I can't remember." He said shakily, touching his head.
"Calm down and think without pressure. Relax." The doctor told him.
"I remember starting 10th grade yesterday." He said uneasily and I gaped at him.
"You don't remember me moving in to your apartment?" I asked him and he looked surprised again as he shook his head. The doctor smiled gently.
"It's okay. Don't worry." He said to Levi and asked me to go out and wait while he asked Levi some questions. I went out with a puzzled frown. The doctor came out after about fifteen minutes and told me he had temporary memory loss. He said it was because of the concussion but that he was sure Levi would completely recover. He asked me not to pressure him to remember and to let him believe whatever he wants until his memory comes back naturally in a week or two. He also asked me to let him rest when he gets home.
When I came back into Levi's room, Levi was already standing and trying to get dressed. I helped him get dressed and noticed him staring at me. His face looked a bit red and I wondered if he was feeling ill. I touched his forehead to check his temperature but he pulled back. He rubbed the back of his neck and gave me a small smile.
"Sorry." He muttered, looking a bit confused.
"I guess we will have to leave soon." I told him.
"What happened to your face?" He asked me and I recalled how I got beaten up by Obivan sensei's guard.
"I am learning to fight." I said with a grin. He looked worried.
"I can teach you." He told me and I shook my head.
"You would never hit me. Then what could I possibly learn?" I asked him and he didn't disagree.
"But why would you need to learn to fight?" He asked me. I realized he didn't remember much about me. At the beginning of the school year we were pretty much enemies.
"I have enemies I want to fight." I said with a shrug and he chuckled.
"Ever the fighter aren't you?" He said teasingly but didn't try scolding me the way he usually did. He still looked puzzled at me. I wanted to ask him what it was but waited. I supposed I could ask him when I got home.
Levi needed help getting out of the place. Cade met us as we were leaving and somehow I couldn't get alone with any guard to ask Obivan sensei's number. I didn't think it would be right to ask when Cade was there. So in the end, I had to leave with no way to get in touch with my new sensei. Or was it just me who thought I got a new sensei? I sighed on the way to home. Cade had arranged a car to take us home. Levi told thanks to Cade and Cade raised his eyebrow at that. I didn't want to say anything. I shrugged at Cade as he looked at Levi suspiciously before going on his way.
"That guy was nice to have helped us out." Levi told me when we reached home.
"Uhuh.." I said warily. I didn't tell him he almost killed Cade a few hours ago.
It was almost morning when we came home. To my annoyance, Richie and Hans were waiting at the door. I thought I could get some sleep before I could go to school. The guys quickly rushed over to help Levi and I opened the door for them. I pulled Richie back and told him what the doctor said about Levi's temporary memory loss. Richie nodded and said he would look out for Levi when I went to school. I yawned. I was really tired.
Richie asked me if the gang had beaten me up. I shook my head and told him that I tumbled down the stairs there. He gave me a skeptical look and I hoped he didn't find out about my lie from Levi. I didn't want him to know I was getting help from an enemy gang. I could have asked for help from them but then Levi would know about everything and I didn't want that.
I came in and watched Hans helping Levi into bed. He was quite compliant and went to sleep almost immediately. I watched Richie explain what I told him to Hans. I looked at the clock. It was already six in the morning. I was thinking of sleeping when Richie asked me about Levi's medicine. I groaned remembering the prescription. I gave it to Richie who looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Aren't you coming with me?" He asked me.
"Why would I need to go with you?" I asked him back.
"Most pharmacists in the area are scared of us. It's better if you go in." He said and I gave him a weird look before agreeing with a long sigh. I am definitely going to sleep through all the classes in school.
"On second thought, you can go with Hans. I will stay with Levi." He said and I looked at him suspiciously as he went and said something to Hans.
"What did he say?" I asked Hans as we took the lift.
"Nothing much." He said quietly and I gave him an odd look. The ride to the pharmacy took forever and the ride back took forever as well. I swear almost an hour passed. When I came home I saw it was already 7.30am. So it was more like one and a half hours. I was furious. I was just going to shout at Richie that it was his plan to ruin my sleep when Levi unexpectedly hugged me from behind and kissed my neck.
"Welcome home, Ellie. I am sorry for making you take care of me." He said. I turned around to face him in slow motion, my mouth hanging open. Why was he clinging to me? And he wasn't wearing a shirt. It seemed he woke up after we left. No wonder, we took ages to come back.
"Wh-where's your shirt?" I screeched, almost getting a heart attack.
"It was uncomfortable. So I took it off. Do you mind?" He asked me and I just stared at him.
"See you later love birds. Have great sex you two." Richie chimed in and I turned my head like whiplash towards him. I walked towards him like Godzilla and grabbed his hand as I pulled him out.
"What the hell did you tell Levi?" I growled out, wanting to claw out his eyes.
"I..just said you were his girl friend and that you were living together as lovers and having sex and whatnot." He said nonchalantly and I shook him by his neck.
"Are you out of your freaking mind?" I screamed at him.
"What do you mean? He obviously likes the idea. Why else would he immediately accept it?" He asked me and I frowned. I had an idea why he would accept it. He probably remembers his girl friend. God, this made me feel sick.
"By the way..I moved your mattress out while Levi was in the toilet. It's on its way to Osher's house. You don't mind sharing a bed with Levi do you?" He asked me and I almost spit fire on him.
"How dare you!" I raged.
"I will go and tell Levi right now." I told him.
"And risk distressing him further. He will have final matches in three weeks. If he doesn't recover by then Osher will have your hide. Just play along. How bad could it be? Have sex with him once or twice." He said and I punched him.
He screamed "fuck" as I went back inside, while grabbing his nose. I was angry as I came inside fuming. Thanks to him, I now have an unwanted boyfriend.
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AN: Please vote and or comment if you liked this chapter.