Chapter Thirty-Two: Glimpse
Estelle
"I'll visit again tomorrow. Sorry, I can't stay," Sophie said as she bid me goodbye.
I chuckled and gestured to her that she should go now or else she'd miss her meeting and her classmates would go hysterical again on her. But meh, I doubt there will be any difference. She's always late.
"Oh, good evening Aunt Martha and Uncle Robert!"
"Where are you headed, Sophia? I'll tell Dado to drive you." A familiar voice of a woman. I froze.
They're here.
"Ah! No need, Auntie. But thank you for the offer. I should get going now. See you again tomorrow, Estelle!"
The moment Sophie left, Mom and Dad entered the room and the atmosphere around us got heavy. When will this change?
They just put some groceries down which made me question them. That's a lot! It seems this room has become my condo unit because of the amenities here.
"T-That's too much," I said while scratching my head. I felt a sharp gaze from my father, who was just busy talking with someone on his phone earlier.
"You'll be staying here for almost a month," Mom said while putting some groceries inside a mini fridge.
"What? Why would I need to stay here that long? I feel better now and I could even be discharged—"
"And go back to your café-crap, be depressed, and take your life?" Dad said without any remorse.
I bit my lower lip and avoided his look. As much as I want to stand up and defend myself, I cannot do it. I have no guts to talk back to my parents because when I do, they would still invalidate me. Just why...
Why do they hate me so much?
"Sophia's mom will be checking up on you. Be sure to give her the best of your behavior," Mom said as soon as Dad went out the door because he got another call from his client.
"What? Mom... I am not depressed or anything like you thought I was. I don't need a Psychiatrist!"
"Estelle, shut that!" She said in anger which made me flinched. "Depressed or not, you need her. I don't know what's going on in your mind when you committed that crime but let me tell you one thing. Don't do that inside my house."
I lowered my head and the tears that I had been holding back since earlier, started to flow like a river on my cheeks.
'Don't do that inside my house.' In the end, they still think about their reputation. What they would be when I was really found gone inside my room. Does she also mean that I can do it, just not in their vicinity?
Hah, what kind of parents...
"Wipe your tears. Me and your dad will go now and don't have time to babysit you. Call Dado if you need anything or Yaya Lia," she said and picked up her ringing phone.
When she opened the door as she walked away, Dad was out of sight already, so I assumed that he left earlier without even telling me.
I think it's much better. He would just glare at me anyway.
The room went silent again, but I was relieved that the heavy atmosphere around me was gone. I felt like I could finally breathe.
After switching off the lights using a remote, I comfortably tucked myself in on my bed while wiping my tears.
"Let's just get a good night's rest," I said to console myself and slowly closed my eyes.
Someone is chasing me...
"I'm not a thief!"
Huh? Why would I say that?
Ah, there's someone in front of me. I know. I have a feeling...
That man can help!
What's this?
Why is he giving them money?
I'm following him?!
What's wrong with me?
But... this world is so strange.
It's so unfamiliar yet has that familiar feeling.
Oh... his eyes.
Ocean eyes!
"AH!" I shouted the moment I woke up. I felt some sweat running down my cheeks. My shout also startled the nurse who was checking up on the equipment around me.
"M-Ma'am, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" she worriedly asked.
"No worries. I was just having a nightmare," I said and smiled at her. She asked me once again, and I really assured her that she had nothing to worry about.
Nightmare, huh? Was that really a nightmare?
"Is it okay if I take a stroll?" I asked her. She immediately looked down at the paper that she was holding and when she confirmed what she needed to see, she replied to me with a smile.
"Sure, Ma'am. Just be sure to come back here to your room when you feel tired. Don't overdo yourself."
"Thank you," I replied and immediately jumped out of bed while leaving her to do her work.
The moment I got out, it was so quiet. Maybe because I am in one of the VIP rooms that's why the rooms here are all soundproof and that visitors that are only allowed are those granted.
"Ma'am, if you want to get some drinks, just follow that hallway. There are vending machines there, some snacks, and also the other patients are sometimes hanging out there," the nurse said when she got out of my room.
Once again, I thanked her. But before I went to that hallway, I grabbed the money that Mom left earlier inside the desk. After, I went straight away to where the nurse told me to be.
I am starting to get impatient. The man in front of me has been standing at the vending machine for almost five minutes now. He was also towering over me, so I couldn't see what he was doing.
Am I going to be rude if I just took a sneak from behind?
I did anyway.
"I think you need to press here." I cannot help but interrupt him and press the green button that was blinking.
"Oh sorry. They changed this machine recently so—"
"You're that man!" I exclaimed the moment our eyes met. His blue eyes widen in surprise.
Blue eyes? Is he a foreigner?
"Oh shit," he said and started walking furiously after getting his drink.
I looked at the vending machine in front of me and the back of the man that's walking away. I am stuck on getting my drink or chasing him first.
I was about to go with him, but some clanging of coins from the vending machine got my attention.
"76 pesos?" I said to myself after counting the coins.
Oh, he forgot his change.
At that moment, even if I chased him, I wouldn't be able to catch him because he was out of my sight already.
I just chose to stick with the vending machine and ordered my soda. And while waiting, I put the money he'd forgotten in my other pocket so that I wouldn't mix it with mine.
"Why is he so scared of me, though?" I mumbled to myself, but someone from my back answered me.
"Probably, he did something wrong to you. Any guess?"
It was the nurse that was in my room earlier. Now that we're in somewhere filled with open lights, I got to take a good look at her face.
She looks angelic!
"I think she took something from me," I replied, remembering the marks that were on my hand earlier. I am now also closer to thinking that it was the reason that man was trying to avoid me as best as he could.
"Hah, really. That shitty jerk."
I almost choked on the soda that I was drinking. Did I hear her right? She just cussed him using that angelic face?
"Don't worry, he'll probably give whatever it is back to you once he got his guts," she said while pressing the buttons of the vending machine. I just nodded my head and was about to head back to my room when she suddenly asked me if it was okay if we could talk for a bit.
I really didn't have anything to do, and I guess I could lend an ear to ease the boredom at this place.
When we got empty chairs just meters away from the vending machine, she started rumbling about how stressed she was.
"You know when they say that if you work hard, you'll get the best chances out there. Well, sucks for me. I really did work hard so that I could work at a public hospital because the pay was so high then one day, one of the esteemed doctors called for me at his office. Do you know what he said?" She asked me as if she wanted me to guess it. But before I can come up with an answer, she's talked again.
"He'll transfer me to a hospital where the pay is three times higher than what I usually earn at that hospital. Of course, I freaking grabbed that opportunity! I thought I really hit the jackpot. My hard work is paying off! But do you know what happened?"
I just shrugged. I have no idea.
"I got assigned as one of the private nurses to that animalistic jerk!" she said while pointing at an empty hallway, "Yes, the pay is really high but I cannot really stand his attitude."
"Wow," I said without an ounce of excitement. I just want to say that to show that I am somehow interested but don't know the person that we are trash-talking about.
"Do you know how many times he has been called by the higher-ups in just a month? Almost every week, he's there because the other patients, especially the old ones, would report him for some childish things that he does."
"Uh-huh."
"Of course, that will get us in trouble also because some of them would think that we neglect him! There's no problem with everyone in the hospital because they knew him already but the new patients here would give us bad reviews. Do you know that it would ruin our record? MY record?"
She just keeps nagging until I just find myself already staring at a void.
When will she stop?
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