Page 30 of Behind the Mask

Olivia

An annoying beeping sound woke me from the deep sleep I was in. My eyes tried to peel open but closed immediately due to the bright light that stood above me. Panic crept in as I tried to remember where I was and what happened before I went to sleep. My throat was parched as I tried to swallow the dry spit to quench my thirst. My head was hurting, my hands were numb, and my stomach felt like it had been stabbed repeatedly.

"Oh good. You're awake." My head slowly turned to the right and noticed Lindsey hovering in the chair close to the bed.

"Where am I?" I asked, surprised with how hoarse my voice sounded.

"You're in the hospital, hun." Lindsey was cautiously watching me as if she was afraid I would break in front of her.

Hospital. Why was I at the hospital?

I started looking around anxiously for my parents and Axel but found them nowhere in the room. "Your parents went to the cafeteria to get some coffee, and well, Axel's not here."

He wasn't here. That made my stomach clench, making me more uncomfortable than before. "What happened? Where is he?"

"Calm down. He's coming back. He just needed a breather. And well, it's probably not a good idea to tell you everything right now and risk upsetting you."

My brows furrowed in confusion. What would upset me worse than this? I tried to sit up, but Lindsey stopped me from doing so. "Easy, you need to take it slow. You're hurt."

I tried to remember what happened, but nothing came forward. "Lindsey, what happened to me? Why do I feel like I got run over with a truck?"

The corners of her mouth tilted up in a small smile before they turned back into a frown. "You had disappeared from the fight. I've never been so scared in my life, Liv. You told me you were going to the bathroom, because something had upset you, I just didn't realize at the time who it was. I was so focused on everything else and so excited that I lost track of how desperate you were to get out of there. This was all my fault."

The sadness in her tone got to me, and as if I was watching a movie the memories came rushing back. Watching Axel come into the ring, seeing Brad underneath his hood, running to the bathroom, getting taken, all of it. Everything crashed around me as I remembered being tied up as the mayor watched over me, giving me his sinister smile as his "doctor" cut into me, making me scream out in pain. The mayor told me all about his plan. That his doctor would torture me as he watched them give me a sedative that made it look like I was breathing fine when in reality I was bleeding out.

He wanted to make it look like I had just gone home, tired from a long night so Brad wouldn't take the fall. He told me he wanted me to leave and never come back, that he'd keep his word this time with killing my parents and making sure Axel wound up in jail for a crime he didn't commit, ending his life as we know it. The fear I'd felt when I was eighteen came back, scaring me more than ever. The letters, the text messages on my phone threatening me away from the only life I'd known.

It was happening all over again. He was threatening me away all because he wanted his son to get the position of mayor so he could retire. All because he wanted his son to have an unscathed record.

Tears gathered in my eyes as I reached over and grabbed Lindsey's hand squeezing it in reassurance. "It's not your fault. You did nothing wrong."

Her tear-stained face met mine as she looked up to speak when the door opened revealing my parents who looked like they had been put through the ringer.

Mom rushed over to me, wrapping her arms around my neck as she engulfed me in a tight hug, and I groaned. She leaned back. "I'm so sorry honey, we should have never left!"

She caressed my face in her hands and my eyes traveled back to dad who looked a little choked up as well. Dad was a strong man, and it was almost impossible to get any emotions out of him sometimes. It was weird seeing him so broken standing there in front of me. I returned my gaze back to Mom and smiled. "It's okay mom, I'm twenty-three not eighteen, I'm not a kid anymore. You can leave me at home alone."

She nodded and took a step back, but I knew the conversation was far from over. She was worried, and I was afraid she would watch me like a hawk from now on. Dad took a step forward, but the door opened again, revealing an older man in blue scrubs. He walked in and closed the door behind him.

My parents backed away so they could give him space as he studied me. He started checking my vitals.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as he reached for my wrist, checking to see if my pulse was steady.

"Other than feeling like I got hit by a truck, fine." He smiled at me as he flashed his light in my eyes.

"Good. Well, as I told your parents, you're going to be fine. We are going to keep you here for the next couple of days so we can keep an eye on you and the baby to make sure there are no lingering problems. Your stomach has been stitched up, so don't try to be brave and move from the bed." He reached down as he grabbed a cord and placed the small remote in my hand. "If you need anything, please press this button. You are in a very critical part of your pregnancy because you're not far along and with all of the trauma you endured, it's vital we make sure you're comfortable." Without another word he left the room leaving all of us alone.

I couldn't believe that I was pregnant. I thought the mayor's doctor had been lying just to scare me, but it turned out he was right. My only question was, would it be able to survive this time? What would happen if I lost it again? My hand immediately went to my stomach as I felt around, trying to calm my nerves of carrying an unborn child.

I looked around at my parents and Lindsey and noticed there was something lingering in the air they weren't telling me. "What?"

Lindsey looked to my parents as if asking for permission and I knew immediately there was something she was hiding from me. "What!"

She took my hand in hers as she rubbed tiny circles in a soothing motion. "Well, I have some good news. Axel is not the father of Vanessa's baby, and therefore, he has no ties to her anymore."

Relief poured into my body. Even though I was lying in a hospital bed injured, I couldn't help but have a little hope that maybe things would be okay.

But then I remembered what the mayor told me, and I realized it was only the beginning.

---