*Slap!*

*Swoosh* The sound of knife slitting.  “No, please!  I’ll leave, I won’t return.  Please…”

Carrying nothing but my luggage and my wounds, I dash out the door towards the bus stop.  *Drip… drip… drip…*  I can’t tell anymore.  Is it the sound of rain or the drops of blood from my wrist?  Haha, red, rainy and runaway rhyme… so fun…n…

…

*Flashback – 3 years ago*

Mum: “I HATE YOU, KEN!  YOU FILTHY CHEAT!  HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME? TO US?  We’re leaving tonight!”

Dad: “We?  IN YOUR DREAMS!  LAILA’S STAYING!”

The fight never ended until...

Mum: “I’m sorry, Laila.  I have to leave, I can’t stay with the man who hurts and cheated on me.  I can’t.  I’m sorry, I don’t have enough powers to take you away too; only if you stay here can you have a decent life.  I can’t drag you down with me, so please, endure and stay alive.  I’ll come back for you.  I promise!”

And off she ran towards the door with her belongings and she was never seen again.  I can never forget her swollen eyes, so innocent yet so… sad…

*Back to present*

“Mum… you lied…”  Tears rolling down my eyes as I laid on the bed.  It’s freezing, must be the air-conditioning in my room.  “Hey!  You awake?  Stop pretending!  %@&$(^%”  I can hear an unfamiliar man’s voice, yelling beside me.  That’s not my dad… how did a man get into my room? “Please calm down and leave the room sir, this is a hospital.”

Hospital? … No… no… no… no!!!  I remember now.  I’m currently running away!  The longer I stay here, the more expensive the fee!  I gotta leave!

Forcing myself to wake up from the unconsciousness, I squint my eyes, just enough for the ceiling lamp to shine into them.  I push myself to sit up on the bed and notice that I’m wearing the blue patient gown.  That’s better than the white dress, that’s stained with my own bright red blood, when I left the house.  Albeit, I quite like that dress, it’s as plain as my feelings towards my dad.  Owww!  Oh, that’s right… my wound…

“Doctor Ine!  Patient in the VIP room has woken up!” yelled a nurse.  A tall, slim figure, wearing a long, pure white coat which floated behind him as he walked into the noisy room.  He has bangs just long enough to land above his eyes and wears black-rimmed glasses, separating his eyes directly from mine.  His eyes are as blue as the wide ocean and his perfect jawline is so prominent.  Just, everything on his face is just indescribably perfect.

Doctor Ine examined my wrist and spoke in a soft voice: “Ok, Laila Snow.  You’ve suffered from an excess loss of blood from the cut on your left wrist and as a result, you fainted on the streets.  You were lucky that someone called the ambulance quickly, otherwise, the consequences would’ve been serious.  We’ve bandaged the wound and treated the bruise on your face that you got when you hit the floor.  Please look after yourself to prevent sequela and prevent contacting it with water in the meantime.  You can be discharged.”

*Ha!  The bruise on my face that I got when I fell?  What a joke!  Even a doctor can't tell what happened.  That's hilarious... **Well, I don't care anymore.  This won't happen to me again anyways.  The past is gone!

“Um… thank you doctor.  May I know how much the hospital fee is?  I’m kinda on a tight budget…”  My heart pounds against my chest as I wait to hear the answer.  I definitely won’t be able to afford it!  I brought money with me but I need it for other purposes.  Furthermore, this is a VIP room… VIP!?!?!  Why would they do this to me???

“Oh, Miss Snow.  Don’t worry about it, your boyfriend has already paid for you.”

… Huh?  What?  My boyfriend?

To be continued...

… My boyfriend?

I deliberately stay on my bed with the thought of hoping not to run into him.  Afterall, it’s already been two years; seeing him will just remind me of the past and the efforts of hiding all the painful scars deep down in my heart all these years will be gone to waste.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful that he saved me; in fact, I’m surprised.  But I don’t want to be reminded of what

happened back then and get hurt again.  I’m just afraid, I worry I’ll cry like the waterfall if I see him.

Hearing the yelling of doctors and nurses across the corridor as more injured patients are wheeled in.  Looks like the longer I stay here, the busier and noisier it’ll get.  My heart beats quicker and quicker as the second hand of my watch approaches 5pm.  It’s time to leave, I should free up my bed for those who really need it.  He’s probably gone by now… I'm kinda looking forward to meeting him though.  It'll be great to feel that he may still care about me a little.  But he hasn't showed up so... Anyways, we have nothing to do with each other anyway.  Contemplating as I glance out the window with a disappointing, yet relieved expression.

Grabbing my stained white dress on the desk beside me and wearing my socks and sport shoes, I tiptoe out the door when I suddenly realize that my belongings are gone!  Oh no!  The ambulance must’ve left them on the floor?  Looks like I need to go back…

Being extremely cautious just to not meet my “boyfriend” according to the Dr. Ine, I sprint towards the exit at full speed.  I’m nearly to the door when I realize I can’t reach the handle.  I’m confused… it’s like time has stopped and the pause button has been pressed.  Even my heart has been stopped and I can’t breathe.  Am I having a panic attack and… I’m floating?

I feel something tucking on the collar of my gown.  I turn my head just enough to see the sleeves made of an expensive black silk fabric.

“OUCH!”  I yell as I sit on the floor after floating for what seems like a long time.

“Is that how you treat your savior?” I hear a deep, manly voice calling out to me.  So sexy, yet so gentle, he reminds me of a certain someone...

He…sounds like my ex… Oh my goodness, how should I face him?  If I know him, saying thank you just won’t be

enough! 

I’m still sitting on the cold, hard floor.  Thinking about the next sentence to say.

Stranger’s POV

*… What is wrong with this girl?  It’s freezing cold on the floor… I called out to her several times, even offered to help her up but what’s she doing?  Just shooting lasers at my shoes?  Damn, am I losing my touch already?  Girls are usually so attracted to me… instead, she’s attracted to my shoes…*Sigh*I’ll just wait till she gets up herself…*

Laila’s POV

I look straight at his brand-new Converse shoes.  Not limited-edition?  That’s surprising, he should be the spoiled brat of the Chin family; it’s very rare to not see him wearing super expensive clothing in public places.  Haha!  Perfect conversation topic!

I don’t dare to make eye contact with him so I just close my eyes as I bounce up nearly to the ceiling (but not tall enough though) “Eyy yo!  Euwen!  Long time no see!” I say awkwardly.

“OWWWWW!  WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU??!!”  I open my eyes just to find out that my iron head has banged against a stranger’s forehead who looks extremely annoyed as he covers his forehead with his hands.  “Oh

my goodness, I’m so sorry!”

Subconsciously, my hands lift up to try to massage it for him just like any normal girl would have done if they accidentally hurt their boyfriends or even ex-boyfriends.  Though I would have felt pretty great that he finally gets what he deserves if he is who he is.

… if he is who he is.

Unfortunately, I look to see that he’s a tall stranger, wearing a black long-sleeved collared shirt which compliments perfectly with his dark red hair and the white necklace, resting on his broad shoulders.  His facial features are absolutely impeccable: his thin eyebrows, pale white skin, thin sharp nose, the jawline, the thin lips and the piercing dark blue eyes!

“Hey!  Hey!  You ignored me for like the fifth time already!  Are you feeling unwell or something?  You look pale, like you’ve just ate warm sushi and now you want to throw up.”  He says.

Sudden anger just fills me up.  How rude can this person get!  He may be handsome but his temper is indescribable!  I wear a twisted smile, trying very hard to not show my annoyance as I apologize to him again, bowing: “I’m sorry that I bumped into you.  Also, I’m fine.  I’ll get going now, thank you very much.”

I turn and run for the door again.  Staying here longer will just increase my chance of bumping into my ex if he’s actually here.  And AGAIN, my movement has been restricted.  Looks like it’s this guy who grabbed my collar before!  I need to teach him a lesson! 

I extend my arm to punch him and that’s the moment when I realize that a 17-year-old girl can never win an adult, especially if he’s like 10cm taller than me.  He grabs my fist like it’s nothing to him and holds on to it until I stop struggling to take my fist out of his and run away.

“Ok, old man.  Please let me go, I’m only 17 and you’re like 30 something and you’re doing this at a hospital!!  You can be charged with sexual harassment right here.  I suggest you let me go right now or I’ll scream!”  I yell.

I can feel a murderous aura.  I look up to see him smiling and showing his teeth like a maniac and his dark blue eyes almost change to the same colour as his hair.  He’s still handsome though :) and the next thing I know, I’ve been dragged back to my VIP hospital room at rocket speed.

“Young master!  Please be careful!”  yell several people who look like guards, wearing black suits and black glasses.

He shuts the door close and throws me back onto the bed like I’ve no weight.  He presses my hands down, onto the pillow above my head as I lay on the bed.  I cannot resist.  He climbs onto the bed and even traps my legs between his.  There’s no way I can escape.

Everything is still as he glances at me at eye level and even more weird, he’s on top of me on a BED!  That’s just a whole ‘nother level of weirdness.  His face is so close to me and his eyes pierce into mine as if he knows everything about me already.

I can’t help but blush.  “Ha!  What are you thinking, again??  You look like you’ve got sunburn!”

“That’s because you’re too close!”  I try to push him away.  Urghh, sharp-tongued but so handsome!  Such a despicable combination!

He finally lets go of my hands and gets off the bed.  He walks towards the door when I call out, “who are you?!  And why’re you doing this??”

He turns around, letting me see his face for the last time after a long time.  “Ha!  The name’s Luka… and I’m the same age as you, woman!”

…

I guess my 7th sense of guessing ages is still as terrible as ever.  But it’s his fault for acting so mature! 

I frown, then I realize that he’s already left the room.  His black fabric floating behind him and his dark red hair is the last image I see of him…