Chapter 2: Good Luck or Bad Luck?

[KRISTEN]

Waking up in the hospital room was a bit of a trip. At first, I thought, "Heaven, maybe?" But nope, the whole sterile vibe and my best friend's perfume hit me. Reality check – not exactly heavenly. Just me, a hospital bed, and a strange mix of scents, trying to figure out how I ended up in this surreal situation.

I slowly looked around and saw my best friend sleeping beside me. "Lynn," I called her.

She woke up easily, which made me think that her sleep wasn't that deep, maybe because she's worried about me.

"Kristen," she uttered with a shaky voice, holding my hand. "I'm really sorry; I shouldn't have taken you to that bar. I should just take you home."

I gently tapped her hand for a second and responded, "None of us two would expect that something like that would happen to me again. I mean almost happen. So, please stop blaming yourself. It's my fault for being too unlucky."

Lynn shook her head in disagreement, "No. Don't say that. It's just that assholes are scattered in this world. I should have seen him and kicked his manhood to death."

"Let's just stop talking about that, please?" I begged her, and then she nodded as a response. "Anyway, I'm glad you were able to find me at the bar and took me here. Thank you, Lynn."

"What? No. I just got here like an hour ago after getting a call," she responded.

"For real? Then...how did I end up here?" I wondered.

She took a deep sigh and said, "When I stopped dancing with the crowd, I went back to our seat thinking you were there, but you're actually not." She paused for a while and then continued, "So, I took my phone, tried calling you a couple of times, but you're not answering. I even tried looking for you everywhere, but no traces of you, so I thought you went home alone. Then I received a call from your number, and was shocked when a man responded, telling me that you're here."

"A man?" I confusingly asked. "But how.." I stopped and started thinking about what happened right after that rapist let go of me.

"I'm not really sure what he looks like since he's already gone when I came here, but I believe he's not the one who tried to violate you, but who knows?" She responded. "Only you can tell."

I suddenly remembered the man who barged in inside the restroom that night, the reason why I was saved from being raped.

I shook my head slowly and said, "No, he's not the one who raped me."

Lynn nodded, "That makes sense. I mean, why would he bring you here, take care of you until I got here, and pay the bills?"

"He did that?"

"Yup, according to nurses, yes he did. And also, according to them, I've also learned that he looked perfect."

Only a true friend would joke around even after an incident happened. Not only that, but Lynn's radar when it comes to handsome men is surely stronger than anybody else in the world.

"You guys could be a good fit," she suggested.

"No. I'm not interested. He was also just trying to help." I breathed.

"Come here, let me give you a hug." She offered, spreading her arms wide. I moved closer to her and started, and hugged her back.

"I'm not even sure if I could trust someone else again, especially wealthy people."

Wealth that causes greed is something I would like to point fingers at. If only each one of us has the same, and enough money to use for our daily living, without anyone having more, then maybe none of this would have happened.

I hated rich people, but that was only a mask of something I truly hate, those greedy ones.

Back then I was in that position, the only heir to the wealth my family has passed from generations to generation, and just like the normal thing for a wealthy family, I was meant to marry someone I never knew. At that time, I had a boyfriend. I never wanted anything in life than to marry the person I truly love, but everything messed up when my parents told me the cons of not giving up to what they want for me.

I was forced to marry someone and leave my boyfriend. Furthermore, I had my reasons, but I guess it's too late to ease the anger out of him.

On the day of my wedding, I was kidnapped. I woke up, nearly at night, seeing him driving the car. He's looking straight onto the road, driving really fast, and I could sense the anger on him by looking at how tight he grips on the driving wheel. That was the night he raped and almost killed me. I thought everything would be over once that moment passed, but as soon as he was done, he stood up and uttered, "You'll never be happy. Not when I'm still breathing."

I didn't know who to blame. Is it him, me, or our parents who locked us up in this situation?

We were so happily in love, but how come he managed to do this to me? As if he never loves me? How come the person I truly love would turn into my most hated person in just a snap?

I was completely broke, messed up, and tried everything I could just to die, but my parents would always find me, and then I ended up being saved. Months came by, and I was spending those months in a hospital, trying to recover from everything. I rarely managed to at least come back to myself. My parents went back to the US, but I decided to stay here all by myself away from them and far from the living that I got used to, with a promise that I wouldn't do anything to purposely harm myself.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Lynn asked as soon as we reached the front of my house's door.

I nodded my head and let out a slight smile, "Yeah, no need to worry, thanks for dropping me off."

"Of course, Kristen. Anything for you. I'll be back tomorrow, okay?"

I shook my head and responded, "No need, Lynn. I actually have plans for tomorrow. Plus, you don't need to guard me 24/7."

"I just wanted to make sure you're doing fine."

"I know, and I'm grateful about that. But you also have your own life to live for." I responded, "Go now, you'll be late for your shift."

She nodded and smiled, "Take care of yourself, okay?"

We gave each other a goodbye hug, and then I watched her leave before heading inside my room.

The next day came so fast, and while having breakfast with my laptop open, I was searching for opportunities in some great art galleries where I can work.

Yes, I'm into arts as well, specifically paintings. I used to paint when I was a kid up to high school but then stopped since I had to pursue and study business marketing. I had an experience working in one of the biggest art galleries that my parents used to own, and it was unfortunately sold right before I was hospitalized. It wasn't because they were going bankrupt or something, but the reason was something beyond that, which I never had the chance to ask them.

"Everhart Creations, formerly LuminaFusion Gallery, owned by Marcus Everhart, a 25-year-old mysterious painter who never appears in any of his exhibits unmasked," I uttered while reading Wikipedia about the company that was looking for an Event Coordinator. "Marcus Everhart, so he's the one who bought our gallery. Sounds like someone I already know from before."

LuminaFusion was the biggest art gallery we owned. The position they were hiring for wasn't actually what I was aiming for since I'm into marketing and sales, but since the gallery meant so much to me, then I would give it a shot.

I had my fingers crossed right after I sent my application, hoping to pass the initial screening for the position.

That was around 8 o'clock in the morning when I finished my breakfast and left my laptop open for some reason. I used it to play a song, with speakers plugged in, so I could listen to my favorite tune while doing household chores.

"And it's new, the shape of your body is blue. The feeling I've got is~" I was singing to the tune of "Cruel Summer" by Taylor Swift while scrubbing the glass window near my living room when I heard the sound of an email notification.

It was easily noticed since the song volume went down whenever a notification came up.

I quickly went back to my laptop to check it, and then I saw an email from Everhart Creations, which almost made me jump out of excitement.

"Hi Kristen. Congratulations, you passed the initial screening, and you were invited for a face-to-face interview with our hiring manager this afternoon. Please confirm if you can attend or provide your availability for tomorrow if you wish to reschedule it."

I was filled with excitement as I read that email and didn't even realize that I confirmed to attend the interview this afternoon.

The preparations I made before heading to the gallery weren't overly done. I mean, yeah, I took a bath, got dressed in semiformal attire, and put on light makeup, just enough to prevent myself from looking like a corpse.

Using my scooter, I drove straight there, which is not too far from where my house is. I was carefully driving and was almost there when a car almost hit me.

Thank God, I didn't get a scratch nor had myself and my scooter thrown onto the ground.

"What the hell?! Are you dumb?!" Someone almost shouted as she got off from the car.

I tried searching for another person whom I thought she might be talking to, but there was no one else there other than me.

"Oh, seriously? Yes, I'm referring to you, a piece of scratch." She fretted.