“Can they still see us or did we become invisible?” I heard someone whisper behind Ryder.It was not really a whisper. It sounded like he was making sure Ryder hears him. I remembered him. It was one of the guys who burst inside Ryder’s bedroom this morning.“I don’t know about Ryder but Lea can see us pretty well.” Someone else muttered. I looked towards the voice and saw one of the girls staring at me. I tried to look away but stilled when she smiled at me.It’s been so long since someone smiled at me so warmly.The last time I remember seeing such a smile was when my mother was still living with me and my father. A memory of my mother’s smile flashed into my mind. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut as I clenched my jaw in anger. The image that once warmed my heart with love now only haunted and taunted me. If she really had to leave me, what was the point of showing me what love was and what the feeling of l

I slowed down once I reached the hospital forty minutes later and swerved the steering wheel to the right to turn the corner.The ride from my place to the hospital usually took forty minutes. I made that journey in ten minutes when I drove Lea to the hospital earlier. It sounded insane to even think about it later on.I panicked upon seeing the state she was in. The adrenaline rushing through my veins at that time made me rush to the hospital but thankfully, the roads at night here were not as busy as during the day.After parking the car back to the same spot as before, we got out. The spot was strangely still available.I grabbed the bag which contained everything Lea would need during her stay at the hospital.I handed Jake the hot soup before locking my car.Jake had been quiet during the ride back to my home and back to the hospital. I kept pestering him to tell me about what the guys were hiding from me but he wouldn’t bulge.

Lea's point of view:Both Aubrey and Shelly would go through all the events that occurred during their days at school every evening and I would listen to them. Their days at school were never uneventful with the guys. The guys were always creating some troubles to piss off the principal. I always listened to Shelly blabbering about her boyfriend, Max and the rest of the guys.Aubrey would crack some jokes in the middle of their chatter which would halt Shelly in her ramble but they would always laugh it out. Aubrey seemed nice too.Their soft voices made me realize that I was here, alive and free and away from my cruel father. They managed to get closer to me than I thought they would.There were only two times that Ryder did not visit me but he did sent the soup with Jake. Shelly had told me that Ryder was busy with something but the next day when he dropped by, he was alone and he had a busted lip which seemed fresh but healing.

Lea’s point of view:I got the feeling like I was being watched. I could feel his gaze on my back. He was waiting for me.Just turn around, Lea! I chided.I furiously wiped my cheeks to get rid of those tears. I sniffed and gulped as I willed myself to stop crying.I courageously turned and found him already sitting with his arms crossed over his chest. He was staring at me with a blank look on his face. The courage I felt earlier dissipated like a puddle of water.That blank look can be anything. He was just masking his emotion with that look. I could not make out what he was feeling at that moment.Was it anger, disdain, curiosity or suspicion? Wait, what? Why will he feel suspicious of me? I was going insane with all those stress. I needed to get rid of my anxiety. I needed to push that feeling out of my mind before it could have complete control over my entire body.I needed to forget and push it deep into o

Lea’s point of view: My belly fluttered. I couldn’t help but swoon at his actions. I was deeply touched. “I-I can do it.” I tried to take the hair dryer from his hand but he shook his head and moved the hair dryer away from my reach. “No, you will hurt your wrists. You forgot what the doctor said?” he asked and raised an eyebrow questioningly at me.  He focused back on drying my hair when I averted my eyes away from his firm gaze. I pulled my arms back by my sides and let Ryder blow dry my hair. The doctor told me that I should not apply pressure on my wrists for another week but they were getting better. I remember wincing in pain earlier when I was taking a shower. I tried squeezing some bathing gel out of its tube but successfully managed to get a little bit after multiple tries. “Here you go.” He turned the hair dryer off, removed its plug out of the sockets and pulled back to put it back insid