Chapter 3 NIGHTMARE

       El walked out of the elevator into the hallway and swiped her card when she got to the door of her suite. She got inside, closing the door behind her as she turned on the lights in the room. She was exhausted from the day's work, and all she could think of right now was to have a warm bath and go to sleep.

         She dropped her bag on the couch and walked to the kitchen, where she poured herself a glass of water she drank, before walking to a door in the living room which led to her master bedroom.

      There was a queen's bed covered with a white and twilight fog mattress which matched perfectly with the curtains and tv stand inside the room. The chandelier that hung at the center of the room was covered in diamonds and on the right side of the room was a door that lead to the bathroom. 

       She walked to her closet, removed her clothes, and walked to the bathroom where her bath was already prepared for her by her room service team which she had informed a couple of minutes ago of her arrival.

        As she entered the water, she could feel every muscle in her body relax and she just sat there enjoying the feel of the water on her skin and the smell of the scented oil that was put in the water. She almost drifted to sleep inside the bathtub, but she stopped herself and lazily came out of it.

       After putting on her nightgown, she walked to the bed and finally went to sleep.

.

   Ethan dropped the cup in his hand on the table in front of him and walked towards the door as he heard the sound that came from the doorbell. When he opened the door and saw that it was Max, he walked back to the couch folding his sleeves up and max entered closing the door behind him.

       The room was dark and the only light that was reflected in it was the one from the hallway, which disappeared when the door was closed.

   "I thought I told you I don't want to be disturbed?" Ethan stood up from where he sat and walked to where the man stood. He switched on the light behind him, earning a slight shiver from him and he smirked. 

   "I'm sorry Sir, it's important."

     Ethan's gaze narrowed as he stood two meters away with his hands in his pockets.

   "Of course it is, you're fully aware of the consequences of defying an order," he said while walking back to the couch, which he sat on.

      'Hell yeah,' the man screamed in his head. He knew the damn consequences. He had been working for Ethan from when he started handling the affairs of 'Grayson's Enterprise' and knew how strict his boss was with his rules and orders, and also how brutal he was to those who disobeyed them. He witnessed it thousands of times and he still wasn't used to it because his boss is unpredictable. It's like his brain is made to think of different ways to torture a person.

   "Speak." His gaze was fixed on him as he rested his face on his knuckles.

     "Your parents are in the country, including your siblings." 

   Ethan frowned. "How does Gage's presence in the country concern or affect me?" He picked up the cup he dropped on the table and took a sip from it.

   "They are here with your grandfather, Sir."

       Ethan froze for a second, before gulping down the rest of the drink in one go.

   "Leave immediately." The man bowed and left the room.

     He poured more drink into his cup and gulped it in one go again, before returning It to its rack and walking to the bathroom to take a quick shower. 

       Ethan turned on the shower and the hot water poured down his body, relaxing all the muscles of his body and relieving his anger, as he stared at the mirror in front of him. He was fully aware of the reason behind his family's visit to the country. His parents wanted him to get married and they brought the old man to pester him into changing his decision on the matter.

      He knew what his grandfather was capable of.  As much as he hated to admit it, the old man was similar to him. They both can do anything to achieve their goals. Who knows what the old man is thinking of doing to him in that head of his to make him bend and follow his proposals?

       The thought of people making decisions and imposing them on him made him angry, and he clenched his fists as he continued staring at himself. Trying to control the burning fury inside him, he raised his head to the direction which the steamy water poured from, and after some minutes of torture, he felt his anger die down. 

   When he came out of the bathroom, his skin had turned red from the hot water he stayed under for a while, especially on his face. He wore a pair of his pajama trousers only, and laid with his back on his bed, looking at the ceiling but then his eyes got heavy and he drifted off to sleep.

.

   El was rolling on her bed with sweat all over her face. She was having the nightmare again.

      She saw herself in a car with two people. She couldn't see their faces but they had the voices of a man and a woman. The man was driving, while the woman was sitting in the passenger's seat and she was at the back. They looked like a couple, a really happy one, and were laughing about something when a truck suddenly came out of nowhere and was heading in the opposite direction of the car at a very high speed.

       Before they saw the truck in front of them, it was already very close to them. She could hear the panic in their voices and fear crept into her. The man tried to avoid the truck by turning the wheel to the left but it was already too late as the truck hit the car and she woke up in shock.

      She was panting in fear as she looked around her room as if what she had seen wasn't a dream. Her throat was dry, and she was sweating profusely. She opened the drawer close to her bed and brought out a small bottle that contained some pills in it and poured some into her hand which she put inside her mouth and swallowed.

         Feeling a little discomfort in her throat, she poured some water from the jug on top of the drawer into a cup and gulped It down quickly. Her body was vibrating, but she tried to steady it by taking deep breaths. Her PTSD was acting up again. She sat on her bed for a while, and when she stopped trembling, she went back to sleep.

   The nightmare continued.

      She could hear the couples laughing, and then the panic in their voices as the car approached them, and how the truck hit the car, but it didn't stop there this time, it lasted longer. The impact of the force from the truck to the car was very strong, making the car flip three times before landing with its wheel on top and the roof below.

     The windows of the car shattered inflicting serious injury on them. She felt blood running down her cheeks from her head as part of her body was outside the car and her body was numb. Her vision was blurred but she saw the silhouette of a car coming towards them and she woke up.