6| Hospital Bed

Blair jolted awake as if waking from a long dream when she opened her eyes. Blair felt her body hurt all over the place. She couldn't even move her hands freely. Blair glanced at her tingling hand.

"Where am I?" Blair thought, trying to sit up straight.

"Are you awake, Miss? Can you hear my voice?" A nurse suddenly approached and checked Blair's pulse and the pupils in her eyes.

Blair felt uncomfortable and scared. She brushed off the nurse's hand and inched away. "Tell me, where am I? What happened to me? And the wolf? Then what about the two men in the rest area?"

The image of pieces of skin and flesh torn apart by a huge wolf instantly made Blair nauseous. She could still clearly see the pained face of the man pointing the dagger at her.

The nurse tried to calm down when she heard Blair's jumpy and incoherent statement. The nurse was aware of the condition of the patient, who had just woken up from fainting and was traumatized by accident.

"Take a bed, Miss. Your condition has not fully recovered," said the nurse. "Do you remember what your name was? Where do you live?"

"Why?" Blair shouted. "Is it important? Are you sending me back to those who kicked me out?" Blair's eyes filled with tears.

"You had a traffic accident, Ms. Can you remember what your name is?" repeated the nurse to get information from Blair. "You've been unconscious for two days since arriving here."

Blair was silent and tried to remember the details of the last incident. She doesn't remember having an accident. She only remembered the two men and the wolf who wanted to attack her.

The nurse kept talking to make Blair regain her memory. "A road user brought you here. There are no serious injuries, just some bruises and external injuries. Other than that, you're fine."

"My baby?" asked Blair, who immediately panicked as she felt her belly with the hand still attached to the infusion hose.

The nurse smiled kindly. "Luckily, your baby is fine, madam. So rest and wait until the doctor comes to check before you get out of here."

Blair breathed a sigh of relief. Slowly but surely, the previously closed memories returned to Blair's mind. The last incident that still lingered in Blair's mind was the light of a vehicle speeding toward her. Then she didn't remember at all.

"Maybe that night I was really hit by a vehicle? However, I was lucky because it was only a minor injury."

She looked down and saw her still flat belly. She kneaded the hospital gown and thought that soon her belly would swell.

"Nurse?" said Blair.

Almost on her way to the doorstep, the nurse finally turned to Blair. "Is there anything you need, Miss?"

"W-what about the hospital bill?" Blair was terrified.

"The man who brought you here has already paid all the bills."

"What? Who brought me here?" Blair was very curious. If social services or police officers brought her here, she had to leave before they realized Blair's identity as a pregnant homeless teenager.

"A man who brought you here. Don't you remember the details of what happened? We have contacted the police. I am sure the information you provide will help you escape this complicated situation."

Blair fell silent with a pale face. "The police came here?"

Immediately Blair's body shivered violently. She tried to act friendly in front of the nurse until she left.

"No way," Blair screamed to herself. "I have to get out of here! They can't ask me about anything. I don't want to end up in a social service shelter. Even though I saw the murder that night, I can't say anything for the safety of myself and the baby."

Blair rubbed her belly gently.

"That night, I was just lucky because a wolf appeared. I don't know what would have happened without the wolf."

Blair immediately got up quietly. After making sure no one else was entering the treatment room, Blair pulled out the infusion hose needle and quickly dressed.

She opened the small cupboard at the side of the bed. It turned out that the nurse had indeed kept Blair's dirty-looking and worthless things there. However, those were the only items Blair had at the moment.

Blair changed into a hospital gown with her own clothes that felt too big on her body. The clothes she got from donations at a homeless shelter. Blair couldn't choose. The only backpack she had, she slung on her back. She had to sneak around before opening the door, so she wouldn't be caught.

Just as Blair came out, at the end of the hall, she saw two police officers arriving with the nurse. They headed to the room where Blair was being treated. Blair immediately hid her face and turned to find another way to escape.

"They can't find me!" mumbled Blair. "They can't take me anywhere. I didn't want to be separated from my baby just because I was underage and deemed incompetent to have a baby. I have to go and hold on for this baby."

Blair walked as far away from the hospital as she could. She didn't want to be recognized by anyone or be seen hanging around there. Until the afternoon, Blair was still walking along the city sidewalks. She was sure she was still in a state not far from the woods before she was attacked by two foreign men and a wolf.

"I'm so hungry," thought Blair. She sat on the overhang of a nearly closed shop and drank the water she got from the garden. "Why didn't I put the food at the hospital in the bag? Now I don't have a penny to buy food."

Blair bit her lip and looked down the street she was currently on. The town was tiny, and there weren't many people moving around.

"How can I earn money here?" thought Blair.

The girl walked a little further until she arrived at the underground station. Blair stood at the top of the steps that led to the underground station. Blair noticed a street musician playing the violin. Walkers and rubber users occasionally threw coins at the man's violin case.

Blair continued to watch the man without saying much. Half an hour later, the street musician began to stop playing his violin. He collected the gift money from the violin case and started to leave the station. The violinist walked past Blair.

"Wait, sir!" Blair scolds.

The street violinist in his fifties with silver hair covered with a hat turned to Blair. He smiled warmly. Blair could feel the gazes of people like him who were used to living on the streets. They try to avoid trouble.

"Excuse me, sir, are you going home?" Blair asked hesitantly. "Was my question impolite?" she thought.

"Yeah, it's time to go home, young girl. I've been playing the violin down there too long and am so tired. Do you need anything from me? Or… have we met before?"

Blair was so nervous that her palms were sweating. She rubbed her palm against the surface of the shirt before saying shyly.

"Can I rent your violin for the next few hours?"

The man frowned. "What do you mean by renting my violin?"

The man's smile faded. He stared coldly at Blair from head to toe before starting to sneer.

"Oh, apparently you're a tramp too? Even though you are a tramp, you should have the capital to survive. Do you think you can take this one and only violin from me? I won't let it go." Then the man tried to turn and walk away from Blair.

"Wait, sir!" said Blair. "I didn't mean to snatch or steal the violin from you. I told you I'll rent it for the next few hours."

The man grinned mischievously at Blair. "I thought you were better at any other game than the violin. But, well, why not? How much will you pay for my violin?"

"How about two Coll for every hour? I only need three hours. Do you mind?"

"Three Colls are too cheap. Tsk, how about you just hand over your body, and I'll pay you 10 Coll/hour?" he whispered into Blair's ear.

"10 Coll?" thought Blair. She gulped and glanced at the man beside her, who continued to grin mischievously at Blair.