𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐄 | 𝟏𝟖+

[09]

IX

𝐈 spend the entire night in and out of the medical room, barely leaving her alone for more than a few minutes each time. What the fuck happened? Her body was like a canvas from satan himself, rufescent patches plotted upon the defective surface.

I desperately need to find out if the Mexican's are linked to her disappearance.

The nurse explained that she fainted due to blood loss and lack of energy, both combined can be significantly dangerous. When she showed up at the door, I didn't know what to feel or think. Seeing her after a month makes me feel at peace, I guess. But I won't be fully at peace until I find out if the Mexican's had anything to do with this.

The nurse comes in the room every twenty minutes to check how she is doing and if she is stable. "How's she doing?" The nurse asks, examining some machines and taking a few notes on her laptop. "You're the fucking nurse, you tell me." I reply bitterly.

The doctor adjusts a tube connected to Lana's arm and then turns to me. She takes off her glasses and perches on the edge of the bed.
"She should wake up soon." The doctor informs, calmly. She smiles at me before walking out of the room.

Milana POV
I slowly open my eyes, allowing them time to adjust to the bright lighting. I immediately feel a sharp pain in my abdomen and look down to see a giant bandage plastered on my stomach, and a few tubes connected to my body. I squint my eyes for a moment and think. The memories from the past few days come rushing back instantly, I remember everything and grunt in annoyance as I come to realisation where I am.

I'm angry. Angry at myself. I was never supposed to let Marco Cortez see my 'weak' side.

That should have been left in the past.

I look around, searching for answers when my gaze meets Marco's. "Finally. You're awake." He calls out.

Before I can say anything, he walks up to me crouches down besides me. "I have so many questions." I voice groggily, my mind overworking itself. "Let me sum it up for you." He says. "You were shot, you turned up at the door, and passed out."

"Sounds serious." I reply, digging my nails into the pillow besides me, watching as he clenches his jaw. "Doctor says you need to stay here for another day." He explains. I laugh out loud and stare into his intense eyes. He stares back, watching me like a hawk. "Like that's going to happen." I reply.

"Whatever. Now tell me who did this to you. Was it the Mexican's?" He snaps, forcing me to look at him. "Because I swear to fuck if the Mexic-"

"No. I don't think it was the Mexican's." I cut in. He goes wide eyed and waits for me to continue. "They were... Different."

He holds eye contact with me for a few moments before breaking it and looking down at his phone.

"Hm. Interesting." He says as he sends a message on his phone. "Now what the hell happened at the ball?" He asks, standing up and leaning over me. I think back to the day it all happened and look up at him, feeling powerless in the moment. "How's my family doing?" I ask, ignoring his previous question. "No idea. I haven't been in contact with them all month." He explains. I purse my lips and sigh in exhaustion.

"You need to rest." He orders before walking towards the door. "Rest my ass." I whisper, too quiet for him to hear. I stare at the ceiling for a moment questioning if I should just get up and leave. But I ultimately do as he says and roll over, trying to at least get a little bit of sleep. Though it is hard to as I am in such an uncomfortable position, I soon drift off.

A few hours later, I wake up again, feeling a little better than I did earlier and desperately wanting to talk to my family. Have they given up on me? I rub my eyes and sit up just as Marco comes back into the room, the nurse following closely behind him. He folds his arms and leans against the wall.

"Slow down, Lana. You got shot yesterday." He speaks, pushing himself off the wall. I lean against the headboard and sit up straight, staring directly at him. "It was just a graze. I'll be fine." I reply. I was lucky in a way, if the bullet fully penetrated my skin, this could have turned out much worse. "And you need to eat." He adds, carefully watching my every movement. "No I don't, I'm fine." I snap.

"Don't argue with me on this, Lana. You're eating whether you like it or not." He snaps, speaking in a harsher tone than he was previously. A few moments later, a maid brings me bowl of cereal, fruit and toast to my bed. I thank her with a runty smile and place the food to the side, but Marco notices and moves towards me.

"Am I gonna have to get on my fucking hands and knees and feed you or can you do as your told for once and eat." He shouts, lacking pity in his voice. I open my mouth to argue but decide I am too tired to fight with him. I sigh and accept my fate. I pick up the cereal and begin to eat it slowly.

"Good girl." He praises, slowly retrieving back into his seat. For the next five minutes, he barely takes his eyes off of me. I eat as much as I can before caving and ripping the tubes from my arms, trying to free myself. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" He yells, furiously.

"I need to get out of here. My family don't even know i'm back!" I yell, freeing myself from the contraptions. "No." He yells, possessiveness lacing in his voice.

I shake my head vigorously and he straightens his shoulders. "You have some balls coming here and disobeying me under my own roof. Now sit the fuck down." He demands.

"Why do you care if I leave or not?" I snap, pausing for a moment. He furrows his brows and flashes me a cocky smile. "Who says I do?" He questions.

I fall silent for a moment and stretch my arms out.

"I'm done here." I clarify.

"Don't piss me off." He says moments later.

I don't take note of his words as I sit up even more. I will admit, I still feel a little sore and uncomfortable but I need to see my family and can handle the pain. The bruising on my arms is still pretty bad but has gone down drastically from what it looked like previously. The cuts were now clean and only a few stay noticeable on my arms.

"Fine, be a brat. But before you go, what did they want with you?" Marco asks.

"Information on you, which I didn't give." I announce, throwing the final tubes on the ground and walking out. I head for the front door but am unexpectedly stopped by Marco's sister, Amelia, who pulls me into a tight embrace.

"Lana? Oh my gosh everyone has been so worried about you!" She yells, squeezing me tightly.

"Its good to see you, Amelia. I really have to go though, I'll call you later." I declare, hurrying out of the room. I had already messaged Elliot off of Marco's phone when I was in bed earlier so he was outside waiting for me. I walk up to the car and crouch down to get inside.

"Where the hell have you been?" He asks. "Long story." I laugh. He looks down at the huge bandage on my stomach. He also looks at my arms, noticing the bruising. I clear my throat to hint to him to stop looking and it luckily works. He starts the car and we drive back home.

As I step out of the car, I notice my home has been refurbished with tall black gates. There are also six guards outside now instead of the usual four. The guards stare at me for a while, not asking any questions.

"What is it with you guys?" I ask as I inch closer towards the mansion. The guards stay silent, turning their attention to the huge bandage on my abdomen.

Their puzzled looks say it all. Without any questions, they open the door and let me in.

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Short chapter but the next ones will be longer!

I wonder how everyone else will react to her being back...

Please comment/vote to show your support! It gives me motivation.