Chapter 4: Teasing

"What?" Jenny asked the man in bafflement and tried to fight the embarrassment she felt after what she did. "Is it good? We can do it again." She arrogantly challenged the man.

"You dare to steal a kiss, but you can't even do it right." He sarcastically commented on the woman.

Jenny frowned and glared at the man. "Isn't that how they do it in the movies?" She asked, seemingly naive.

Yazed's laughter grew louder at what he heard. He was highly entertained by the woman and she was like a child who just discovered a new toy. When he stared at her pouty lips, a memory suddenly entered his mind. He quickly dismissed in his mind his childhood playmate, more than ten years ago.

"You just copied that from what you saw in the movies?" He asked while chuckling.

"What's wrong with that?" Jenny glared at the man to hide her shamefulness.

"If you want to learn…" He moved closer to the woman, "I can help you. I'm an expert, you know." The situation was reversed and Yazed now seduced her. He smirked and his action became effective to stop the nonsense that the woman was thinking.

Jenny quickly backed away from sitting on the bed. She covered her lips with her palm for fear that the man would do what he suggested.

"What? Have you changed your mind?" The smile on the man's lips became mischievous as the woman moved down from the bed and then quickly stood up.

"Where are you going? Let's do the kissing tutorial." Yazed dared her before she could completely walk away.

Yazed laughed as the woman scrambled away from him. She seemed to have forgotten her ability to defend herself against a harasser. If he would compare her behavior now and the woman who fought with men earlier, he can say that they weren't the same person.

Jenny didn't turn around or stop walking. She went straight out of the room as if her drunkenness had disappeared due to the embarrassment she got. She got back to her senses and changed her mind about what she wanted to do earlier. She was annoyed with the man and prayed that they would never cross paths again.

When she arrived home, Jenny was careful in opening the door so as not to create noise. She didn't want to wake up her friend who had probably been looking for her.

"It's good that you got home safely." Sasha greeted her friend who just entered the door like a thief. She wanted to laugh when she saw the shock on her face when she looked in her direction.

Jenny quickly straightened her posture and looked at her with a straight face. "Why are you still awake?"

"Because I'm not asleep," Sasha answered sarcastically. She knew she just wanted to avoid her scolding so she acted like that.

Jenny smiled and approached her. When she spoke like that, she was certain she didn't want them to fight either. "Have you eaten?"

Sasha sighed first before she answered. "The pot is just here, so I didn't wait for you when it's getting late."

Jenny hugged her friend so that she would not be upset with her anymore. She intentionally turned off her phone earlier, thus she could not contact her. She was joking, but she sounded like she should be guilty.

"You, did you eat before getting drunk?" She asked Jenny as she smelled the alcohol from her mouth.

"I'm just trying my new life here. I need it for the job I'm going to get into." Jenny explained to her. She didn't refuse when she offered her food. Sasha didn’t ask anymore, which she was grateful for.

Jenny knew her friend well and she knew her well too. They already know each other like the back of their hands.

"Just tell me what happened to you today," Sasha said in front of Jenny who was eating.

Jenny stopped eating for a moment and the handsome face of the man she had met earlier at the club, suddenly came to her mind.

"Hey, looks like something strange happened?" Sasha asked excitedly when she saw the small smile on her friend's lips.

"Nothing pleasant, but I've enjoyed punching crazy men earlier." She said and did not mention the man who took her to the hotel.

"What? Someone molested you?!" Sasha's eyes widened and even her nostrils widened.

"Easy, nothing bad happened to me and you know I can defend myself against such rotten people."

"But still, you're a woman and you were drunk!" Sasha scolded her. "Don't ever go to that place alone again!"

"Yes," Jenny said and rolled her eyes. She acted like her mother oftentimes, even though they were the same age. In fact, she was stronger than her when it came to self-defense. She laughed when she also rolled her eyes and pouted. She knew she was still sulking because she didn’t let her go with her.

Jenny quickly finished the meal and went to bed after resting for a few minutes.

Because she drank, Jenny quickly became drowsy. She had another nightmare, so she woke up immediately. Sasha quickly gave her cold water to calm her down. Her dream was becoming more frequent now that she had everything near her grasp to carry out revenge.

Sasha sighed when her friend went back to deep sleep. She knew that her friend's dream was getting worse because the only thing on her mind now was how to kill the person who killed her parents.

Sasha was worried for her friend because hatred had almost swallowed her heart and only revenge was on her mind now. So as much as possible, she will be with her to support her and remind her of the proper process of revenge. She did not want her hands to be stained with the blood of the man who had murdered her parents.

...

“AMBER...”

Amber's spirit awoke in emptiness when she heard a familiar voice. It repeatedly called her name. She wanted to step forward and shout, but she couldn’t.

"Wake up, Amber. My daughter needs you!"

She could feel the sadness in the voice of a woman talking to her, but she could not see her. She could not determine where the voice came from.

"Don't leave her. Protect my daughter!" She pleaded while crying.

"Dalia?" Amber said inwardly when she recognized her voice. She did not yet have the ability to open her mouth, nor open her eyes. "Dalia!" She called her friend's name again and tried to find her way into the darkness.

"Jenny. Take care of my child, Amber."

"Where are you? Let me see you, Dalia! Help me get up here so I can go to your daughter!" She pleaded with her best friend as she felt her body weaken. Gradually, she remembered what had happened to her, and she became even more confused.

"Come back! Help my daughter!" Her friend’s pleading voice gave her the strength to fight the darkness that enveloped her consciousness.

Amber felt the voice full of pleading. And she couldn't help but be scared when the voice gradually faded. "Dalia, don't leave! Don't leave me here!" Amber continued to scream in her mind.

The nurse stood in front of the monitor while busy writing in her patient's folder when her attention diverted to the patient on the hospital bed. She immediately pressed the emergency button to which the on-duty doctors and nurses responded shortly.

"Cardiac arrest! Prepare the defibrillator!" Said the doctor.

The nurses quickly followed the doctor's orders. They immediately picked up and prepared the equipment.

"150! Shock!"

The patient's body arched when the defibrillator pressed against her chest. But there was no positive reaction from her.

"200! Shock!" again, the doctor spoke in a loud voice.

The lines on the heart monitor remained straight. But on the last test of the defibrillator on the patient’s body, her heartbeat returned which made everyone feel relieved.

Yazed had not slept well for days in extreme fear and worry about his mother. After her first cardiac arrest, she woke up for just a few seconds. But he heard nothing else from her but Jenny's name.

He felt guilty for not fulfilling his mother's wish. He did everything. It's just really hard to find who he was looking for. He will grant his mother's request as long as she wakes up. Even he wasn’t sure if destiny intended them for each other.

"Mom, wake up. I'm all alone. I missed you so much." Yazed spoke to his mother who kept her eyes closed.

Yazed's gaze focused on the open door. The doctor went in there.

"How's the patient?" the doctor asked while examining the patient's eye. He asked the man if he had noticed anything strange in the patient while he was away.

"Doc, she hasn't woken up again. Why so?"

"As I said before, the patient's recovery now depends on the patient." The doctor's sad answer to the man.

"She’s a fighter. I know Mom is fighting." Yazed replied, to give himself courage.

"Then, there's nothing for you to worry about." A small smile flashed on the elderly doctor's lips.

"Can I take her home soon?"

"That was my advice before she got a cardiac arrest. But for now, we need another series of test. So that we can make sure that her condition will be fine when she returns home."

Yazed nodded. "Thank you, Doc."

The doctor said goodbye after checking on the patient. Yazed sat quietly before sigh while looking at her mother.