Page 58 of Bossy Grump's Secret

Footsteps flood the room when I decide I'm not in a coma after all. I open my eyes with everything remotely resembling will and hiss as the light floods through them, blinding me momentarily and striking the nerves responsible for my headache with absolute precision.

This headache is not momentary because even after keeping my eyes open for a few extra seconds and eventually getting used to the blinding light, the headache is definitely more of a threat than whatever put me in this condition.

What or who put me in this condition?

"He's okay, just waking up from sleep, I see. A much-needed rest, I must add. His brain seems tired from the scans, ” a man in scrubs informs as he peers into my eyes. “How are you, fella?” He slaps my cheeks lightly. I find his gestures endearing despite the shock in my head.

“Oh, thank goodness!” I turn to see Mom squatting by my bed. “Dylan, I’m alive now that you are.” Tears stream from her eyes as she talks. To be fair, I was always alive, but let’s give her the benefit of her emotions.

“What happened, Dylan?” Layla asks. Mom sobs too much to speak coherently.

I hesitate for a while. “Why…”

Yup. As I suspected, my voice is dryer than doughnuts left in an oven for days. My throat literally feels like leather! I'm going to talk, even if it's just this once.

“Why aren’t you in school?” I smile at my sister, and she grimaces, holding back a smile.

“Doctor G, is there any way to put him back in a coma? Better still, I need a pillow. I’ll just smother him,” Layla grunts, and the young doctor laughs.

“Doctor G, huh? You know what they say about nicknames…” I taunt my sister, and she reddens like a tomato.

“Shut up.” She reaches out to hit me before remembering the delicacy of my condition. This is probably the only time I get to taunt Layla without consequences. By the way, now everyone knows I'm fine. It's around this time that Dad walks in.

“Gary Dillinger. How in the world did you two even come in contact?” are his first words.

“Nice to see you too, Dad.”

"Oh, shut up. We're boys. Someone has knocked me out a couple of times . There was this one time…." He's about to start a story but realizes something. "Oh, this isn't about me this time. Tell me about you. What happened?"

When he asks me the question again, everything comes back at light speed. The headache takes prevalent, and my mind gets thrown into deep worry.

“Ava," I grunt. "Where's Ava and Lily? " I struggle to move out of bed, but Mom restrains me.

"They're fine, Dylan. Thanks to your stupidity, they only suffered minor wounds, but they're alright. Rest."

I give Mom a look, but I don’t want to push an argument. It’s unnecessary.

"We'll get to them later, Dylan; just please, tell us what happened," Layla persuades me. "We need to know whether you guys are in further danger."

My father nods in approval of her statement.

I think I'm getting used to talking now after swallowing enough saliva. I take a deep breath and wince a little from the headache, understanding that dissipating takes a while. I begin my narrative. I didn’t even remember what happened until my father asked.

“The first time we met the man was when he came to stay in the hotel. He tried to rape Ava, and I was lucky to be going around checking for her. Obviously, I stepped in and rescued the girl before calling security. They kept him in custody until the cops came. He was slated for a trial about a month from now. I don’t know why he was granted bail.”

Dad shakes his head to say, "Gary's a mutt; everyone knows that."

“Except me, unfortunately. How do you know this man, Dad? Down to his name, even. And what beef does he have with us? I remember he knew me without us ever having been introduced.” I throw two simultaneous questions at him.

"Easy, kid. I'll answer your questions…but I want you to keep an open mind." He looks at my mother, who nods as if giving him the go-ahead.

He accepts the permission and begins his tale. "So, our story should start sometime around the early turn of the century, some years after Dylan was born. It was our fourth anniversary, and we thought we should behold the Aurora Borealis together. You know…charm, luck, whatever. Silly adult things, and we had the money, so why not?”

I hear Layla behind me.

“Anyway,” Dad ignores her and goes on, “…that’s our first encounter with Gary. Young as well, enthusiastic as hell, always wanting to jump into things and be rich at all costs. There was a time when he came to ask me how I got rich, refusing to let me go until I divulged what I knew about acquiring wealth, but even that was not enough. "

As if on cue, Mom takes the story from there. “It would be three days after this weird encounter. Your father and I were wandering the hotel we were lodged in when I heard a muffled scream. I immediately sought your father, and the ensuing case uncovered one of the biggest scandals in that hotel's recorded history. Not one, not two…but seven girls and three young boys were tied and encapsulated in his closet and other parts of the hotel.”

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