Chapter 3 - A weird encounter

"What do they know?" I asked her with a stern expression. I wasn't concerned about her telling them my whereabouts, as she didn't know about it herself. But what if they got hold of me here in the hospital?

When she didn't reply for a few more minutes, I quickly collected my things and went towards the door. "I am not a little girl anymore," I told her and went outside the room. I closed the door behind me.

I kept my calm and went towards the elevators. If they are in the building they will never use the elevators as they always avoid crowds and the staircase is always empty. 

I quickly ran towards the parking lot, but my steps automatically stopped when I saw one of their members. I hid myself behind the pillar. He was talking with someone on the phone, and the bad thing was that he was standing right next to my bike. I would never be able to escape from here on foot. Would it be a good decision to wait for him to leave? What if more of them joined him here? Should I hit him and run from here? No, that would land me in more trouble.

My mind was processing so many possibilities together, but it seemed like I was lucky today because he went in the other direction after a few minutes. I didn't even think twice before going towards my bike and quickly wearing the helmet.

I drove away but not too fast because that would have attracted the attention of others. When I came a little away from the hospital, I stopped the bike and looked behind to see if they were following me. If they have followed me then the option of going to Greenville is not even an option. When I didn't spot anyone nearby, I took a much-needed calming breath and closed my eyes. 

I didn't have to worry about my mom. They would never hurt her, but that wasn't the case with me after whatever I had done. I decided to wait for a few good minutes there because I couldn't risk them following me back home. If they reach Greenville then the consequences will be something that I would never be able to even bear in my lifetime.  

When I didn't see any of them coming, even after fifteen minutes, I took a deep breath and started my bike. I looked around and was about to pull the clutch when something crossed the road just in front of me at lightning speed. It was so fast that I wasn't even able to see what that thing was.

I was startled and unable to understand anything or even do anything. I looked from left to right, dumbfounded. My brain was not able to process if there was really something that crossed or if I had just hallucinated. A slight growl from the woods startled me more, and everything became eerily silent after it. My heart was thumping hard in my chest, my brain was in a frenzy, and my hands were numb. I knew that I should be running away from here at this time, but something was pulling me towards this forest.

I again heard a growl, and this time, it was loud enough to shake me to the core. When I came to my senses, I found myself standing in the middle of the road. I can't help but feel as if I just came out of some daze. I was near my bike a second ago and now I am standing in the middle of the road while my bike is parked on the corner. I was confused, but instead of running, I looked towards the direction from where the sound came.

It was hard to see anything for a few seconds, but when my eyes finally saw something behind the bushes, my heart skipped a beat. I couldn't clearly see what animal it was, but I could see white fur there. I was about to take another step towards it, but I heard several growls and howls that alerted me.

This was a cue for me not to be the feast of beasts. I didn't take much time and ran towards my bike. The engine roared, but before driving away from there, I looked at the bushes where I had seen white fur before. But this time, there was nothing to be seen. "Don't be stupid, arya," I scolded myself.

Before my mind could think of other things, I drove off. On the whole way, I didn't even look toward the woods, but I knew that I was being followed. By whom I don't know but there was someone who followed me the whole way till the woods ended.  At first, I thought to drive directly towards my house, but the thought of being alone was not so alluring right now, so I turned towards the diner. I parked my bike and went directly inside.

When I went inside, Elina was behind the counter, and as usual, the restaurant was filled with students at this time. Concern flashed in her eyes as soon as she saw me, and she looked at me questioningly. I took a deep breath and entered the kitchen, and she followed behind.

"What happened, Arya? Yeah, Drake told me that you were in pretty bad shape, but what are those bandages and all?" I took a deep breath and lowered the sleeve of my hoodie. "I am fine, Elina. I had a little accident yesterday," I explained, eying the chocolate shake on the counter.

"Uh, uh, no, lady. If you want a shake, you need to wait," she said while pointing at me. "And we are not done talking. You have to tell me why you looked freaked out when you entered the diner. I have checked outside, no one followed you here, but I know that there is something," she said to me while I sat on the stool and she went towards the mixer to make me my favorite chocolate shake as the cooks were already busy preparing for the others.

"I know that Drake has told you everything, as he always does. So why waste our energies when we both know the conclusion?" I said to her, and she narrowed her eyes at me. "I am not Drake, so your looks are not going to work on me," I said to her, and she rolled her eyes while pouring the contents of the jar into a giant mug.

"Why do you always drag Drake's name into everything?" she asked me, and I smirked while taking the mug from her hands.

"Because you like it," I said and took a long sip. She rolled her eyes at my comment, but her smile was enough to prove that I was right.

"We know that we are not family or anything like that, but we care for you, Arya," she said to me, and unwillingly, I transferred my focus from the delicious shake to Elina.

"Do you seriously think, that you have to use words to prove that to me?" I asked her, and when she didn't say anything, I nodded and gulped the shake as if my life depended on it.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to skip breakfast?" she scolded me, and I smiled at her.

"It's not my fault that I don't find anyone else's cooking good enough to eat the food cooked by them," I pointed out, and though she looked stoic, I already knew how much she liked it whenever someone praised her cooking. "Can you please set a sandwich for me? Not any sandwich, your special sandwich," when I asked her, she didn't even decline once.

"Yeah yeah. No need for buttering. I should keep you away from Drake for some time. That man has taught you so many skills to flatter me that I can’t even decline any of your requests,” she complained but didn't deny my request.

“You are the best, Elina,” I told her. She waved her hand but then shooed me away from the kitchen by ordering me to keep an eye on things until she fulfilled my wishes. So, I did what I was told.

“Hey, love. Did you talk with the kid?” Drake came towards the counter, looking at his mobile phone.

“Yeah, and the kid also denied her request to tell any of you anything.” When he heard my voice, he closed his eyes and cursed inaudibly.

He looked at me and placed his mobile in his pocket. “You should learn to be respectful towards your elders, kid,” he said sternly. When I didn't say anything, he took a deep breath. “You are a tough nut to crack.” I smiled at his statement.

“Well, it shouldn't be a surprise for you. I am your student, after all.” His stern facade turned proud in seconds.

“You are getting good with words, kid,” he said while ruffling my hair, which automatically annoyed me.

“Not my hair, Drake,” I told him in irritation and tried to set my shoulder-length hair properly. “What did you do about my appointments? I don’t think I can tattoo in this condition. My hand will shake, and I don’t think I will be able to sit in one place for too long... and both the clients booked for today are interested in larger tattoos,” I said to him in concern.

“I will take care of that—no need to worry. Now, I am going,” he said with a grumpy smile and went outside the diner.

Elina came outside with a very delicious-looking sandwich on a platter. I took it from her hand, but she narrowed her eyes at me, and I huffed in defeat. “Fine, I am going to the table,” I said to her and approached an empty table.

I grabbed the sandwich and opened my mouth wide enough to take an extremely huge bite when the bell on the door chimed. My attention automatically went towards the door, and the person who entered the diner took my breath away.