Not only did I feel itchy from the sweat, I also couldn't find the strength to take the food after a few spoons. I felt like if I took more, I would throw up. So I clamped my mouth shut and turned away.
"Just a few more and we are good. Now that's a good girl…" the nurse cooed to me.
I looked at her as if she was crazy. What in hell was all that?
She blushed, seeing how she had made herself look like a fool.
"I am sorry." She stuttered before putting the spoon down.
"Would you like me to wipe you or would you take a bath?"
"Bath" I whispered then glanced at Uncle Liam.
"Help." I said to him in the same tone. He came over and carried me into the bathroom where he placed me in my bathtub and turned on the water. That was when I realized that I was in one of my lingerie. I couldn't remember when I put it on. My timeline was messed up but I stopped overthinking and focused on feeling better.
I reclined, resting against the tub, letting the sound of gushing water lure me away from my headache. The pain had reduced after I got some food into my stomach though. So It was a little bearable.
I don't know how long I stayed but I heard the nurse calling from far away, asking if she should come in to help. I don't know if I replied but the next time I became conscious again, it was daylight and my bed was drenched in sweat. My fever had broken.
This time around, I felt tired but the dizziness, heat and fatigue were gone. The drip stand and the injection tray were still in the room and my bedside couch which usually housed my small handbag and used clothes was empty. I can't even remember the last time some clothing item wasn't on that chair. I assumed the nurse might have been sleeping there. I got up and went to use the toilet. My body felt light and weak but I managed.
I was about finishing up when I heard the door to my room open.
"Caitlin?" Uncle Liam called out in his deep, gruntle voice.
" Here, Uncle Liam." I replied a little louder than called for, thinking that my voice was still bad but surprisingly, it was as clear as it could get. I got my voice back and my throat wasn't hurting like before.
I quickly cleaned up and reenter my room where I found Uncle Liam dutifully standing by the door, waiting for me.
"Uncle Liam." I called him with a little smile. "How long was I out for?"
"5 days." He replied.
"What?! How?, Why?!"
"Your nurse is out, running an errand. Before she comes back, what would you like to eat?"
"You talk a lot these days." I smiled at him again. He just turned and went out the door.
"I would also like a recent newspaper please." I called out to him.
Trying not to think too much, I picked up a soft, comfy jumpsuit and entered the bathroom. As expected, the food was already waiting on a tray before I finished. Uncle Liam didn't wait for me this time. I was disappointed. I was hoping to get some gist from him before having to face Mum and Dad. Then I saw the newspaper on the bed and sighed in relief. Whatever made the headlines of the papers five days after my very public drama would decide how bad my situation was.
Crossing my fingers, I flipped open the folded paper and the first thing I saw was; " MISS WOODS, CRITICALLY SICK!" Followed by a writeup about how after my mental breakdown that led to several family secrets being unveiled, I got transferred to an asylum and would be there in the foreseeable future.
I found the piece annoying and crazy at the same time. Thinking about it, I might really get sent to a clinic before the end of the day. Afterall, I did drugs that night. It wouldn't matter that it was my first time. All Mum and Dad would want to do was punish me for embarrassing them. They did it to Daniel several times.
Thinking about this, I became angry with myself and threw the paper away. My door opened and the last person I expected to see at a time like this stepped in.
"Why are you so angry with the paper?" He chuckled then picked up the paper.
I squinted my eyes at him suspiciously
"Are you here to gloat? '' I snorted at him, instinctively gathering myself together, not willing to give him the chance to see or smell my fear and defeat.
"What is there to gloat about?... I heard your fever broke so I came to check." He then went to sit on my couch.
"Well, as you can see, I am on my feet, bubbling as ever." I can't help but snort. He opened the newspaper and started flipping through it. Not knowing what to say and deciding to ignore him,I sat by my dressing mirror and tried to sort out my hair. It was in disarray. Comb hadn't run through it for 5 good days. I couldn't believe that I was out of it for 5 days. That had never happened before. Was it the drugs?
"That was a fright you gave us all." Daniel broke into my thoughts.
"What do you mean?" I didn't want to ask him directly but now that he was speaking up all by himself, I wasn't going to shut him down.
"What happened that night?" he asked with open curiosity.
"I was in a coma. How would I know?" I shot back.
"How could anything happen without the show opener? We were waiting for you to come around. Now that you are healthy, we just need to wait for Mum and Dad to get back home." He smirked devilishly.
Dad and Mum… shit!
"How bad was the press?" I asked.
"What do you think?" He sneered, sounding angry. I stole a look at him through the mirror but I couldn't see beyond his hand on the couch's armrest. He wasn't sitting at the right spot.
"Are you angry with me?" I adjusted my sitting position so that I was facing him. He casually glanced up and found me looking at him.
"Should I ?"
"I don't know." I shrugged. "I just exposed the family to public scrutiny."
"There is nothing you said that isn't an open secret. You only confirmed what people already know."
Just then, the door opened and Uncle Liam came in with a tray of rice congee. The aroma instantly filled the room. It was so fragrant and made me hungry instantly. He placed it on the table with the injection tray after getting rid of it, then transferred the table to where I was. I didn't wait to be asked, I picked up the spoon and started eating immediately. The rice congee was served with sausages and two bars of chocolate.
"I have called your nurse. She will soon be back." Uncle Liam announced before leaving the room.
Before long, I finished everything and started nibbling on one of the chocolate bars.
"That's some appetite. Do you want more?" Daniel, who had remained silent the moment I started eating, spoke up. Just like Dad, he hardly talks when eating.
"No. I am okay… you want some?" I pointed the chocolate bar at him. Can't even remember the last time I shared anything with him willingly but at that moment, it felt like the right thing to do.
"No thanks."
"So, that night… What were you doing in that room with Dakota and Sylvester?" He asked, staring me down.
My first instinct was to tell him to mind his bloody business but then something told me not to be like that. Whether it was his business or not, I would still have to talk about it and he would still know of it. I have no intention of lying to Mum and Dad. It's been five days where they had every chance to find out the truth. It would be an insult to their intelligence if I started lying. Then, whether I lie or tell the truth, they must have decided on how to punish me. So it doesn't matter what I have to say. Lying at this point can't be better than telling the truth. But…
"Why are you asking what you already know?" I asked Daniel.
"I prefer to hear it from you."
" Why? You think someone is lying?"
"How can test results lie?" He rolled his eyes.
"Oh, that. What did the test say"
"That you took a cocktail made with party and rape drugs."
"Oh." Was all I could say.
"Did you take the drugs willingly or was it fed to you?" An unexpected edge was in his voice. I looked him over, trying to read him but as usual, he was closed off.
"Caitlin, were they trying to rape you?" He asked.
"No. I took the drugs willingly…Are you by any chance worried about me?" I asked, feeling incredulous.
"I wanted to do a threesome and needed some courage." I answered nonchalantly.
"Threesome with Dakota? I get doing something like that with Sylvester but why would Dakota be in the mix? I thought you hated him." He looked at me like something was wrong with me.
"That was why I needed the drugs. So I was able to overlook the fact that he is trash." I snorted in self degradation.
"Fuck!" He fisted his right palm up and hit his thigh several times. He was really annoyed.
"Why are you getting worked up? It's not a big deal."
"Of course it's a big deal. I swore that you will never stoop low enough to have sex with him." He snapped.
"You son of a bitch!" I picked up my powder case and threw it at him. He caught it and smashed it on the floor. It shattered on impact.
Silence…
I could hear my heart pounding.
"You will buy me a new one." I yelled again.
I was really furious. I knew it! How could Daniel ever care about me? We may be related by blood but that was where it ended.
"Okay. I will."
No apology, nothing. He was such a jerk.
"How much? '' I asked after a few minutes. My curiosity won. I needed to know.
"It was just 100k then."
"100k?! How dare you?!" The bastard staked 100k on my decency. How low could he get?!
"It was a long time ago. After he tried to drug you. 100k was a lot to me then cause I had no money. My account was freezed by Dad."
"Oh. I see. … So … have you sent him the money?"
"No. And I don't think he will have the courage to ask. He has been on the run since that night. Unless he can prove that he didn't rape you, he is not getting the money."
"What about Sylvester?" I asked as fear slowly crawled up my neck. I could imagine how it would look with me in a coma and rape drugs found in my system.
"He is out on bail… for now."
Hearing that, my heart skipped.
"He is innocent." I stood up and wanted to go find Dad, forgetting that he wasn't around. But the moment I stood up, the whole room started going round and everything went dark.