CHAPTER 5

 Shirley

My eyes flustered open and the first thing that came into view was the white ceiling of the hospital. I stared around in confusion trying to figure out what brought me here, it was then that it started coming back to me. I remembered everything that had happened previously, I remembered rejecting Dawson but the reason was somewhat unclear to me. 

It felt like I had rejected him out of impulse but as I thought more about it, I knew the reason why I had rejected him but the memory seems to be distant and if I didn't think more about it I wouldn't have remembered it. It felt like it hadn't happened but the pain I felt in my heart whenever I think about it. 

“She awake,” a voice jolted me out of my thoughts and I turned to look in the direction to see my parents and Aurora. 

“Are you alright? You scared me back then,” Aurora asked as she stared at me with a worried look on her face. 

Seeing the look on their faces made my heart flutter, and I decided that there's no need for me to think more about my memory or dwell in them as all I need to do is make things right.

I knew that my memories might be right and might not be, but all I need to do is verify and see if all that happened in the dream-like reality that I felt is real, and if it is real I need to change it.

“Shirley, are you alright?” my parents asked with a caring look on their faces. My heart was filled with happiness as I threw all that happened to the back of my mind as I knew that there is no need to worry about it unnecessarily. 

“I’m alright, I just feel weak, I'll be alright after a short rest” I said with a dismissive look on my face as I didn't want them to be worried about me. I sat up with a smile on my face while trying to appear like nothing was wrong. 

I still didn't understand what was going on with me but I didn't want to be worried about me, and I did my best trying to act like I always do. 

“It’s good that, you are alright. We would leave you to rest” my mum said, stopping my dad from asking any more questions, and before my dad could say a word he was dragged out of my room by my mum.

“Take care of yourself, I'll visit you tomorrow. We trust your decisions” my dad managed to say when he was at the door.

A smile formed on my face as I stared at the door knowing that my parents didn't want to make me sad by asking about my mate, and it warmed my heart. I was glad that they didn't ask why I had rejected my mate as I don't know what to say to them. I can't tell them about my ordeal as it would make them more worried about me.

“Why did you reject him? How did you know his name? Do you have some kind of history?” Aurora asked with a gossipy look on her face. 

It was now that it dawned on me that I had acted without reason when I rejected Dawson without asking for his name. I realized that there's a lot of loophole in my rejection of Dawson that I didn't take note of before.

“I have a bad feeling about him,” I said perfunctorily, and she looked at me doubtfully but I didn't bother to explain more. 

“What about his name?” She pressed, staring at me intensely like she could see through me. 

“I know his name because I once had a dream about him, and his character isn't commendable which is why I rejected him” I said with an hesitant look on my face. What I told her was half the truth as I knew she wouldn't give up if I didn't explain my abnormal behavior to her.

“That must be the reason why you were acting weird this morning,” she said with an understanding look on her face. I breathed a sigh of relief as she didn't ask any more questions as I think I'll have the answer to her questions. 

“I will leave you to rest now,” Aurora said, and I sighed as I realized that we have been chatting for hours. I knew that I would have been lost in my thoughts if it wasn't for her, and I was glad for that as I was immersed in our conversation. 

“Goodnight, see you tomorrow” I said with a smile on my face. She turned to look at me when she got to the door. “You should get better because I hate the smell in hospitals, and I won't be visiting you if you spend more than a week here, and if you find it hard to sleep, there are some sleeping pills on the table” she said jokingly and with that she left. 

I turned my head to the table that was at my bedside, and after spotting the bottle with the pill I turned to look at the door. I stared at the door with a dazed look on my face with different thoughts running through my mind. I felt confused about what was going on but what I was sure of is that the two years or so that I lived was real, and it only meant that I was back in time. I was happy and glad that I have a second chance as I would make sure I don't make the same mistakes twice. 

 Since I know what will happen in the next two years, I will do all I can to change it. Although I believe that the memory of that time was real, I still planned on confirming it. I believe that this second chance is given to me by the moon goddess, and I will live to my fullest.

With those thoughts in mind, I fell asleep, it wasn't long before I woke up with a panicked look on my face as the memory of that time when I caught Dawson having sex with Arielle filled my head. It was a nightmare and a memory I wish to forget.

I was unable to fall asleep, and I felt glad that Aurora had left a sleeping pill on the table. I knew that she must have figured out that I would have trouble sleeping like I always do after a major incident, an

d I fell asleep not long after taking the pill.