Chapter 7

Ariel’s eyes fluttered open, they felt heavy due to all the painkillers. She winced in pain as she tried to sit up, her head throbbed with every movement, and it took her a full minute to realize where she was.

The hospital.

Her hand instinctively reached for the bandage wrapped around her head, her finger brushing over the thick gauze. The memory of what happened at the bar surged through her… the drunk customer, Luther’s furious voice, and then… the bottle. She remembered the sharp pain she felt. And then…

“Please don’t leave me, Anna.”

Anna.

The name echoed in her head.

Who was Anna?

Ariel’s heart raced, not just from confusion, but from the way Luther had said it. Broken. Desperate. Like it came from somewhere deep inside him… a place he’d sealed off from the rest of the world. She wanted to ask him. She needed to.

The door creaked open softly, breaking through her chain of thoughts.

Luther stepped in, his eyes locked onto her face immediately. For a brief moment, something flashed through his eyes… relief? But it vanished before she could read it.

“You’re awake,” he said softly, walking toward the bed. “How do you feel?”

“Like I got hit by a bottle.” She replied, trying to be funny.

His lips twitched, but the smile never came. He pulled up a chair, sat down and looked at her… really looked. “I’m sorry about what happened.”

She looked at him, biting her lower lip. “You don’t need to apologize. It’s not like you were the one that hit me.”

“But you got hurt because of me.” His voice was low. “Why? Why did you that?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I panicked when I saw him and… I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“Ariel, I appreciate that, but please… don’t put yourself in harm's way because of me. I don’t deserve that kind of sacrifice from you.”

She looked at his face. It seemed calm and distant, but his restless fingers showed he was actually nervous.

Without thinking, she reached out and cupped his face in her hands. “Stop being hard on yourself. It’s not your fault.” She tried to assure him. “That drunk customer is to blame here, and I’m sure he’s getting the punishment he deserves.”

His eyes softened momentarily. “You scared me. Don’t ever do that again, okay?”

There was a pause. Ariel almost brought it up… Anna… but something stopped her. Instead, she changed the subject.

“So… when am I getting discharged? I don’t want my mom to worry about me. And I also don’t wanna fall behind on my classes.”

“You’re worried about missing classes?” He blinked, surprised.

“What? I’m worried about failing your class.”

That earned a smirk. “I doubt that’s possible. You’re one of my top students, remember?”

“You’re right, I’m pretty smart, aren’t I?” She said, trying to lighten the mood.

“I asked Stacy to inform your family. I don’t know why no one is here yet.”

“What? No, you shouldn’t have called them. I don’t want my mom to get stressed.”

“You shouldn’t keep something this serious from your family.” Luther caressed her chin. “Ariel, about…”

Before Luther could finish talking, there was a knock, and a familiar voice sounded from the door.

“Hey! Stacy told me what happened. Are you okay?”

Ariel turned to see Ethan strolling in, holding a paper bag and flashing that carefree smile of his.

Luther stood up at once. His entire demeanor changed in a blink.

“Professor Grayson, hi,” Ethan said casually. “Didn’t know you’d be here.”

“I was just waiting for her family to arrive before I left.” Luther muttered, brushing past Ethan without meeting his eyes.

Ariel’s eyes followed him out, she felt sad about him leaving.

Ethan raised an eyebrow as he sat beside her. “Well, that was frosty. What did I do, kick his dog?”

Ariel gave a half hearted smile. “That’s Professor Grayson for you.”

“I mean, sure, he’s intense. But the moment I walked in, it felt like I killed his cat or something.”

Ariel chuckled. “Why did Stacy call you?”

“Actually I called you but she answered. So I asked her why she had your phone, and she told me what happened.”

“Oh.” She muttered. “I don’t remember exchanging numbers with you.”

Ethan scratched the back of his head nervously. “Umm, i… I kinda asked around.”

“I brought food because I figured hospital meals suck.”he said changing the subject. “Soup and bread. Nothing too exciting, but warm.”

“Thanks but I think Professor Grayson got me something.” She pointed to the bag on the table.

“It doesn’t matter, you can have mine later if you want.” He shrugged.

Just then, Daniel walked in.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw Ethan already there. “Ariel, are you good? What the hell happened?” He turned his attention to Ariel, completely ignoring Ethan.

“I’m fine. Is mom with you?” Ariel asked, worried.

“Well lucky for you, Stacy called me.” Daniel replied, staring angrily at her. “Now start explaining. Why did you have to get a job? And that too, at a bar.”

Ariel laughed nervously. “Can we talk about that later?” She said, taking brief glances at Ethan.

Ethan understood that she wasn’t comfortable talking about it while he was still there, so he excused himself.

“It’s really late now. I should head out, see you around, Ariel.”

“Okay. Bye Ethan.” Ariel waved as he left.

“Well?” Daniel said as soon as Ethan left.

Ariel groaned. “Can we skip this for when I get home in the morning? I need my energy for mom’s interrogation.”

“Fine, but only because you’re a patient. You better have an answer when we get home.”

“Yes sir.”

“But seriously, how are you feeling?” Daniel asked, his voice filled with concern.

“I feel like I’m in my bad girl era. You know, like I’m part of a gang, and we ran into another rival gang, got into a fight, and a bottle got smashed on my head in the process.” Ariel had a serious expression on her face as she spoke.

“I see you’ve got jokes, huh? Try saying that to Susan when we get home.”

They both laughed.

“I’m just glad you’re alright.” Daniel grew serious for a moment.

“I’m fine. But I would be better if I had someone to massage my feet. I walked a lot today.” She raised her leg dramatically.

“What if I say no?”

“I guess I'll have to lay here in pain, wondering why no one loves me, and…”

“Okay fine,” Daniel cut her off. “You don’t need to be so dramatic. It doesn’t suit you.”

“Thanks bro.” Ariel’s triumphant smirk made him roll his eyes.