"Ellise, he's going to be okay-" Dre said but was sharply interrupted by her.
"You don't know that! My mother is in a bloody coma! What if she never wakes up again?! I'm so tired of it! I thought you could handle this but, look! My own mother has been dragged into this mess!" She yelled at Dre in the hospital waiting room, making other people to give him weird stares. It was embarrassing.
"Ellise-" he said, reaching out to hold her hand but she shrugged him off, her blood shot eyes glaring at him accusingly.
"You know that this is not my fault-"
"Is it then my fault?! You started keeping secrets from me. Your ugly secrets has finally landed my mum in the hospital, thanks to you" she spat and stormed out of the waiting room. He stood there, frozen.
Ellise had never snapped at him before. What suddenly changed? The other people in the waiting room were staring at him now. Some of them looked at him with pity, others looked at him with disgust and disdain.
Swallowing thickly, he walked away. Her car wasn't in the parking lot any longer. A pang of anguish rushed through his veins. "Blood fire! What happened this time? Ellise looked like she was going to murder someone. Are you going to explain to me what's happening or not?" Xanthis said as he approached his brother.
"I don't think we can talk here. Let's go to your house" Dre said and he nodded.
"You look awful, you know. Whatever it is, I hope it isn't so bad" Xanthis said as he drove his car. Dre rested his throbbing head against the window, a small sigh leaving his lips. He was usually the big bad mafia boss who wasn't shaken by anything. But, right at this moment, Dre suddenly felt so small and helpless.
They got out of the car as soon as they got to Xanthis' residence. He led him to his study and he sat down on the couch, burying his face in his hands.
"Dre?" Xanthis said.
Dre looked up at him and Xanthis patted him on the back, his eyes filled with concern.
"Do you have anything for headaches?" Dre asked, rubbing his temples.
"Yeah..." Xanthis breathed, bringing out a bottle of Advil from the chest of drawers. He watched his brother as he chugged down the tablets with water.
"You're getting me worried, Dre. I don't know what to think" he said. Dre exhaled slowly and relaxed on the couch before he began to narrate everything right from the beginning.
....
"Okay, that's awful. That's horrible. I can't imagine what you've been going through. But, you have to know that none of this is your fault. I know you think that it's your fault that you met Nadine, but what's done is done. You can't change the past but you can work on your future using your present" Xanthis said.
Dre chuckled weakly.
"How motivational" Dre snorted and he smiled.
"Don't overestimate me. I can be whatever I want to be. I can be the hero or the villain, the punk or the dork, the poison or the sauce. Nadine is a bitch, that's one of my deductions from the whole situation. She knows how to get what she wants and she knows how to make others play her own game. But, we can make her loose at her own game. You mentioned something about her weird mentality"
Dre nodded.
"Yeah, she's like a switch. She can be really moody, then she becomes really happy to the extent that she begins to laugh like a maniac. Other times, she would just let out a scream or zone out for an hour. It's scary when she does it"
Xanthis smirked, his blue eyes lighting up.
"Aha, there we go. What if she actually has a mental problem?"
"Well, how do I find out?" Dre asked.
"I'll suggest two bold steps. First of all, see if you can find another strange drug in her possession or anything that might relate to an asylum or mental facility. The second step is to try trace her full identity to any mental health center or asylum"
"How do we do that? Besides, I'm not really sure about the fact that she might be-"
"That's why we need to get hold of her real identity. My girlfriend is an undercover detective.... she'll be able to help"
Dre sighed.
Why had he not thought of all this before?
....
Nadine was sitting on the couch in the sitting room when Ellise alighted the stairs. She clenched her fist, gritting her teeth as she glared at her.
"Oh there you are" Nadine said, smirking.
Ellise bit her lip, trying to keep calm.
"What? Tongue-tied, are we?" She said.
"Why are you doing all this?" Ellise said. She sighed dramatically and stood up.
"It's because I don't want to be the only who couldn't be with the one I love. Happy marriages disgust me"
"You're sick in the head" Ellise spat.
She chuckled, throwing her head backwards.
"Oh dear, I know. Trust me, I know" she giggled, rubbing her large stomach.
"Why can't you just leave us alone? My husband has suffered enough" Ellise said.
"There are only two options. Either I kill one of you or the both of you get a divorce" she said and started to walk out of the house.
With pain in her heart, Ellise stared at her retreating figure. Her phone rang and she picked the call.
"El?" Elvis sniffed
"Elvis? What's wrong?" She asked.
"She- she's dead....Sara's dead" he croaked.
Ellise gasped, her grip on her phone loosening.
'No, this can't be happening' she thought.
"I'll be on my way" Ellise said.
"Okay" he whispered and the line went dead.
...
Noelle closed her eyes shortly, a small sigh leaving her lips.
"Here's your order" the woman at the drug store counter said to her. She nodded, grabbing the paper bag before paying her. She pulled on her hoodie, several thoughts buzzing in her mind.
She bumped into someone.
"Sorry, I wasn't looking" she said, not looking up at who she'd bumped into.
"Elle?"
Noelle froze, her blood turning ice cold. She knew that voice. She slowly looked up, trembling slightly.
"L-lucas" she stuttered, taking a step back.
"I didn't know you were here. How are you?" He asked.
She stared at him.
He still looked the same.
Messy ash blonde hair, grey eyes, tanned skin with lots and lots of tattoos.
Memories of him forcing himself on her flashed in her mind and she stumbled farther away from him.
"Elle, I won't hurt you. I promise, I just want to talk" he said, softly.
'Liar. Conniving liar!'
Her mind screamed.
"I have changed, I'm not the same Lucas who used to hurt you. Please, Elle... I just want to talk" he said, hurt clouding his eyes when she flinched.
Still trembling, she broke out in a full sprint and got into her car before driving off. In the car, she was trying to keep calm but she was failing. She needed one person at the moment.
Valentino.
Tears blurred her vision as she parked her car and walked towards the entrance of the hospital. It was at that same moment that she saw Ellise embracing another man. She didn't want to steer up a misunderstanding because Ellise seemed nice. She didn't seem like the type to cheat on her husband. Noelle thought that maybe, she wanted to comfort the guy.
"Noelle"
Noelle stopped when she heard Alexandre's voice behind her.
"Are you okay?" He asked and she shook her head feebly.
"Valentino will be okay" he said.
"I hope so" she said, fighting the urge to whimper.
"Um- have you seen Ellise?" He asked. She wanted to tell him that she was just a few metres away, embracing a certain young man.
But, she couldn't.
So, she lied.
"No, I haven't" she said.
"Oh, okay-"
He looked so tired and weak.
She felt sympathy towards him. Suddenly, his tired eyes hardened and he clenched his jaw as he looked at something behind her. He looked really upset, his hands tightened into fists.
Confused, she turned to look at what he was looking at.
Ellise.
She was smiling feebly at the young man as she squeezed his hand gently. Noelle turned back to look at Xandre.
His eyes had gone icy cold.
His glare could possibly freeze fire.