CHAPTER 13

The hospital seemed partially quiet, since it was quite late and most patients were asleep. She walked past the receptionist who didn't bother to ask who she was because she had been to the hospital several times, and she knew who she was there to visit.

The receptionist whose shift was at night recognized her because that was the usual time she came. She had a bouquet of flowers in her hands and a wide grin on her face. She finally arrived at the private ward and, taking a deep breath, she entered.

As expected, Cleopatra was asleep. She was usually sedated since the pain she had wouldn't let her sleep.

She placed the flowers by her side and sat on a seat beside the bed. She softly caressed Cleopatra's face, looking a bit of hurt and sad.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that," She said softly, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Suddenly, her sad expression changed as her lips formed a wide grin.

"At least now they won't know who you really are," She muttered, resting her chin on her right arm. She touched Cleopatra's face one more time, this time tracing it down to the scars on her shoulder and some other bare parts of her body. She pulled away quickly like she felt a spark and stood up to leave.

Once she was out of the hospital, she got a phone call from her elder sister, who was worried she about her being out late.

"Where are you?"

"I went out to see a friend,"

"And you aren't back yet?" Her sister, who was worried, yelled over the phone.

"Calm down sis, I'm on my way home," she said

"You better be," her sister said and hung up.

She sighed deeply before and then took a stroll while trying to order a ride. When she finally did, she sighed again. Feeling tired, Avery found a pavement to sit on while waiting for her ride to arrive, so she could get home.

★ ★ ★

Gabriella refused to leave her room or bed even after being persuaded by Rosalind. She used the excuse of not feeling well, so she could stay at home and not go to school. Veronica heard what was going on and decided to check on her daughter.

Gabriella laid on her bed facing the ceiling. Her vision was blurred, so she couldn't see anything clearly. This was because she kept her eyes open for a long time without blinking at all. There was then a knock on her door.

"I said I'm not hungry, Nana," she responded, thinking it was Rosalind. She had been to her room a few times, asking her to at least come down for breakfast, even if she wasn't going to school.

"It's me," Veronica's voice sounded. She turned and after seeing her mother with a tray of food in her hands, she sighed and looked away.

"You should at least eat something since you aren't feeling well," she said, calmly placing the tray on her table. She sat by her daughter's bed and wanted to touch her forehead, but Gabriella pulled away.

"Try to put something in your mouth, I'd bring lunch for you when you're ready," She stood up to leave.

"Stop trying so hard," Gabriella said blankly. "It's annoying,"

Veronica, upon hearing this, said nothing and just left the room. Gabriella, on the other hand, felt a bit guilty and just covered her face with her hands. Why on earth hadn't She kept to her word? She overheard her mother's conversation with her Nana and Veronica clearly said she'd give her space, so why wasn't she? Why was her mother making her say hurtful things to her?

F*ck,

Gabriella headed out for an evening stroll, which seemed more like a jog. She was heading to a field, which was the only quiet place she knew. It was still a bit early, so she had decided on staying at the field for as long as she could.

When she got there, she surprisingly found Keith. She knew it wasn't a coincidence because his house was quite far from the area.

"Hey," He greeted

"Hey."

"You weren't at school today." He said in a tone which sort of also said, what happened?

"You weren't at school yesterday."

"It was a long story," Keith reluctantly said.

"Same here," Keith made room for her to sit, and she didn't refuse, her legs ached after all.

"So, want to tell me your long story?" She asked.

"Maybe some other time, yours?"

"Ask Iris," Hearing this, Keith immediately understood.

"You seem close with my brother," He suddenly mentioned, making Gabriella scoff, and then she turned to face him.

"Yeah?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Well I'm surprised because obviously, we have a strained relationship, and you're my friend, so I thought he'd definitely not want to associate with you. Plus the fact he accused you of stalking," Gabriella listened silently and just smiled. A moment later, Keith found the silence as an opportunity to say something he wanted to say.

"Gabby, about me and Renee…"

"I've already told you I'm not bothered, why on earth would I be bothered in the first place," she said, sincerely this time. Keith sighed, and tried his best not to bring the topic of the previous incident. He had already figured out that that was the reason she wasn't in school that day. He felt bad for not being around to defend her.

He might be the Popular guy who all girls loved and wanted, but he was a complete fool when it came to Gabriella, not even Renee.

After a long stay at the field, they both finally decided to head home. Keith offered to walk Gabriella home, but she declined, starting she needed to clear her head before heading home.

On her way home from the field, Damian called her. She was happy because she had tried getting through to him. She tried calling several times, but she couldn't get through to him.

"I received a strange text yesterday." She informed him.

"What text?"

"It was sent by an unknown number, actually."

"What did it say?" He asked.

"It said something about making my life miserable if I keep interfering."