My eyes opened slowly, as if they were rusted shut with grime and yesterday's mascara. My belly felt like it was on fire with each breath. Beeping noises and bright lights surrounded me. A blurry person sat by the bed, choking back sobs. "Emily! You're awake!"

It was Sarah, looking pale and like she'd been crying. Her eyes filled with anger as she glared at the man standing at the end of the bed. He had tired eyes- Stevo.

He stood with his lanky frame leaning against the wall, exuding the casual air of someone waiting for a bus that was forty minutes late.

"How could he let this happen to you? What kind of office security does Daniel Hunter have that someone can just... stab his employee!" Sarah asked Stevo.

Sarah wailed, her voice climbing several octaves until only dogs could hear. Ouch. Ouch. I tried asking her to pipe down before the nurses rushed in with earplugs and a muzzle, but it came out as more of a wheeze than actual words. "Sarah, it's...not Stevo's fault," I croaked.

Sarah didn't look convinced. "I thought getting a PA job to Daniel Hunter would come with some perks, at least some security... but this...this is way worse!" she cried.

I was confused. Sarah seemed mad at Stevo but they didn't know each other. "Sarah...you don't even know Stevo."

Stevo spoke up gently. "Actually, I found Sarah's number in your emergency contact list so I called her. Standard procedure and all that."

But Sarah kept yelling. "Where is Daniel Hunter? Shouldn't he be here when his employee is lying in a hospital bed?!... and not just his assistant?"

"Not assistant...manager," Stevo corrected with a cryptic half-smile that made me think he found the whole scene absurdly hilarious, if not for the stabbing pains pulsing through my body.

My head pounded with each loud word. Talking aggravated the stab wound in my belly. I breathed through the sting.

Stevo kept his voice even. "I understand you're worried for your friend, but getting angry doesn't help Emily recover."  But his Zen-like tone only seemed to inflame Sarah's emotions further.

"Don't tell me how to feel!" Sarah snapped. She turned on her heels and stomped out of the room. Stevo let out a sigh and shrugged as if to say "such is life in the bizarre drama we call existence."

~

Sarah had been shouting at me from outside my hospital room for a good ten minutes, blaming me for the whole pathetic mess. I was recovering from major abdominal surgery, could a girl get a break?

When Sarah finally stormed off, the silence was somehow even more uncomfortable than the yelling had been. Stevo let out a deep sigh as he dragged his feet over to my bed as if understanding my gaze. I wanted to know everything!!

"Emily," he began gently, "you need to rest.  We can talk about this later when you're feeling better."

As if! The pain pills had worn off and my stomach was doing the rumba. But I wanted answers and I wanted them now, damnit.  "No," I insisted, my voice weak but firm.  "I need to know... what happened?  Why... why did Olivia attack me?"

Stevo hesitated like he was waiting for a soap opera intro song to start playing. He shot me a worried glance. With a grunt, he plopped down in the squeaky plastic chair and leaned in close, like he was about to tell me the family recipe for meatloaf.

"Okay then...Olivia," he started, "she... she was a childhood friend of Daniel's.  Their mothers, Evelyn – Daniel's mom – and Olivia's mother, were practically best friends.  When Olivia's parents died in a plane crash... well, Evelyn took Olivia in, raised her like her own daughter."

A lightbulb flickered on over my head.   I remember Sarah and even Daniel had mentioned about Daniel's mother, a renowned journalist who had tragically passed away several years ago.

"So, they were basically siblings then?" I interjected, my curiosity piqued.

Stevo nodded.  "That's how it was.  They played together, bickered like siblings usually do.  Evelyn, God bless her, worked a lot – a fantastic journalist, you know – so Daniel's grandma would often take care of both of them.  Diana, Daniel's older sister, was always off studying abroad, so it was just the three of them most of the time."

He paused, his gaze distant, as if lost in the memories.  "There was this... tradition, I guess you could call it.  Daniel's grandma used to teach them both how to sew.  It wasn't just a hobby or a childish activity; they took it quite seriously.  Learned everything from basic stitches to intricate patterns."

Stevo drew a shaky breath. This story was giving him hives. "The thing is, I know... everything about Olivia and Daniel because... well, I've been Daniel's best friend since they were kids.  And I spent a lot of time with them both growing up.  I saw firsthand how attached Olivia became to Daniel.  It was... intense, to say the least.  An unhealthy level of attachment that bordered on obsession, even back then."

Stevo leaned back in his chair and gazed thoughtfully at the ceiling tiles. "You know, looking back, there were signs even way back then that things might not end well. Like the time Olivia tried to convince Daniel they should be mummified together for show and tell. I remember she'd wrapped him up so tight in toilet paper he could barely wiggle his eyebrows. The teacher was not amused."

He chuckled briefly before continuing. "And who could forget the summer camping trip where Olivia filled Daniel's tent with peanut butter while he was bathing in the lake? Took him hours to scrub it all off. You'd think a simple crush, but obsession is such an ugly word."

I winced as a sharp pain shot through my stomach. Stevo handed me an ice chip which gave momentary relief. "So what happened then?" I asked. "They grew apart once college started I assume?"

Stevo sighed. "You'd think, but Olivia only grew more possessive over the years. She'd call Daniel's dorm at all hours crying about how much she missed him. Even tried to have his roommate kicked out so she could move in instead. It was around that time Daniel cautiously started distancing himself."

He glanced at me. "I'm sure you've heard the stories of crazed fans over the years. But this was way beyond admiration or infatuation. It was downright scary how she'd show up wherever Daniel went, demanding his attention. The final straw was when she crashed his debut movie premiere, refusing to leave his side on the red carpet."

We sat in silence for a moment, absorbing Stevo's revelations. Outside the window, the dark night sky was just starting to lighten with the pale glow of dawn. A lone seagull glided by on the breeze.

I gazed down at my bandaged stomach, my thoughts jumbled. Finally I spoke. "But how did it come to this? An attack seems...extreme, even for someone with an unhealthy attachment."

Stevo sighed, running a hand through his hair. "That's the tragedy of it. Years went by, they grew up, drifted apart as adults do. Daniel pursued his Hollywood dreams and Olivia followed her passion for makeup artistry. But she never quite let go of that girlhood obsession."

He got up and started pacing the sterile room, scuffing the linoleum with his sneakers. "Couple years back, Daniel's career was really taking off. There was buzz about an Oscar nomination for his role in that mob drama. Out of the blue, Olivia showed up at his place, going on about rekindling their childhood bond."

Stevo stopped and turned to us, stuffing his fists in his hoodie pocket. "Daniel let her down easy as he could. Told her they'd always be family but it wasn't going anywhere further than that. Not the answer she wanted though."

A cool breeze drifted through the open window, ruffling the stale newspapers on a side table. I shivered under my thin blanket.

"After that she started showing up at events, parties, film premiers...anywhere she could try and gain his attention," Stevo went on. "Left desperate messages on his voicemail, gifts on his doorstep. Even publicly accused him of leading her on, which of course we got that erased from each media house."

He shook his head sadly. "Daniel tried getting a restraining order but she'd stay just within the lines of the law, like a predator stalking prey. It was...unsettling, to say the least."

I cleared my dry throat and asked, "But what pushed her over the edge to attack me last night?"

Stevo resumed his restless pacing. "I guess seeing you with Daniel at the fitting studio in Glendale..maybe...or as I heard from Daniel you both were in the same car..it might have been the final straw. In her twisted mind, you were interfering with what she still believed was 'destined' between them. So she followed you after, waited for her chance..." His voice trailed off ominously.

We all fell silent again, absorbing the tragic and unsettling chain of events that had led to my assault. Outside, a seagull's raucous cries echoed across the parking lot.

Finally, Sarah across the room, who had been listening to us what we both didn't realize, spoke out. "Do the police have any leads on where she may have gone?"

Stevo nodded. "Last I heard they were pursuing some CCTV footage of a car speeding away. With any luck they'll track her down before she tries anything else crazy."

He leaned wearily against the wall, rubbing his eyes. "Daniel's beside himself with guilt, blaming himself for not doing more to get her real help long ago. But an obsession like that...there may have been no stopping it from reaching this point."

A soft tap came at the door before it squeaked open partway. A nurse poked her head in, features kind but stern. "I'm afraid visiting hours are over now. The patient needs her rest."

~

A thick silence fell over the room once Stevo was done, broken only by the steady beeping of the machine next to my bed. Sarah looked at me with wide eyes, full of both shock and disbelief. She gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "Wow," she said quietly, barely louder than a whisper.

Stevo stood up slowly, his face unreadable. "I'll let you both rest now," he said in a low voice. "I'll come check on you again later...Emily." With that, he went through the door, its click echoing in the still hospital space.

Sarah stayed quiet for a long moment, staring up at the ceiling. I wondered what was going through her head. Finally, I spoke, my throat rough. "So I guess that explains the whole scarf thing, huh?"

It all made sense now - Olivia's accusation, the story about some sewing kit, the scarf suddenly going missing. It wasn't really about mending clothes. She was just trying to mark her territory, show that I didn't belong there. Like a dog peeing on a fire hydrant- EMILY BE SERIOUS

"But why me?" I asked, more confused than ever. "Daniel seems popular with other girls. What made Olivia single me out?"

Sarah let out a dry laugh. "Probably because you're new," she replied. "Olivia can't control you yet like she does everyone else. To her, you were a threat."

As horrible and stupid as it sounded, it did make a kind of twisted logic. Olivia, believing she owned Daniel, must have seen me as an intruder who could ruin her made-up world.

"This is crazy," I muttered, my voice barely more than a breath. "When I took this job, I never imagined anything like this."

Sarah chuckled sadly. "Fame often looks sparkly from the outside," she said. "But underneath, there's usually something nasty hiding."

Tiredness washed over me then, draining what little energy I had left after the attack and Stevo's story. Sleep beckoned heavily, a comforting blanket.

"Get some rest," said Sarah gently, full of concern. "I'll stay here with you. We'll figure all this out together when you wake up."

~

I slowly woke up feeling like utter crap. My whole body ached, especially my stomach which felt like it had been through a blender. As my mind cleared the fuzzy edges, I remembered why. Some jerk had decided to use me for target practice with a knife. Lucky me.

I squinted at the clock on the wall, which seemed way too bright even though it was only a little after 6 AM. The sun was just starting to shine through the blinds and my eyes were trying to adjust. At least it was morning, which meant I had hopefully slept through most of the night without too many interruptions from nurses poking and prodding.

My mouth tasted like something died in it. All I wanted was a giant glass of water but of course the button to call the nurse was clear on the other side of the room, as if placed specifically to torture me. Ugh, even lifting my head made my stomach hurt. I laid there debating if it was worth the effort to push the button or if I could wait the pain out.

That's when nature called in a big way. I had to go to the bathroom like right now or there'd be a whole other mess to deal with. There was no way I was using a bedpan with an audience. My pride was damaged enough as it was.

I took a deep breath and slowly inched myself to sitting, holding my stomach the whole time. Man, that hurt like you wouldn't believe. But I wasn't about to pee the bed so I steeled myself and kept going, ignoring the nurse call button completely. I wasn't an invalid. At least that's what I told myself as I swung my legs over the side of the bed, hand gripping the IV pole for balance.

Let me tell you, that first step was excruciating. It felt like I was being stabbed all over again but I wasn't giving up. I shuffled inch by painful inch to the bathroom, taking way longer than it should have.

The simple act of urination felt like an inverted labor, complete with excruciating contortions and cries of "please make it stop!" (Thankfully without midwives fanning me with palm leaves). At long last, sweet relief came, and I dragged myself to the sink.

As I turned on the tap, a wave of dizziness came crashing over me, tilting the whole room precariously on its axis. I clutched the edge of the sink, eyes squeezed shut, battling a rising tide of nausea. Just then, a strong hand grasped my arm with firm but gentle force, steadying me before I could capsize.

My eyes flew open expecting to find Nurse Ratched staring back, syringe at the ready. Instead, a pair of amused blue eyes looked down, concern and relief written across a tan, handsome face.

Daniel said, "Whoa there, take it slow. You almost bought it."

~