The paramedics were careful as they lifted me on a stretcher.

Though the pain from the burn had ebbed away a bit, they insisted on sticking an IV into my arm. It was awkward with a team of three people hovering over me, asking me every few minutes if I was alright.

I resorted to keeping my eyes closed for the remainder of the ride. 

It was a quick affair from the Emergency room, to the ICU. When they had made it clear that my burns weren't too severe and wrapped bandages around my leg, they allowed me to rest on my bed to watch a television marathon.

It was quite boring and I wanted to be anywhere else but here. 

An hour had passed before Hero finally was able to visit. He looked distraught, sitting on the farthest side of my bed, as if afraid he would hurt me. 

"How's your burn?" He asked. "After I'm done here I'm going to find that fucker-"

I shut my eyes tightly. "Hero, please. Not now. The burn is fine. They told me I could leave in the morning. Now that I think about it, I'm extremely lucky the burn wasn't worse."

"I'll say," Hero exclaimed with an edge to his voice, "If that kid had been more careful- god, why was he carrying that water anyway-?"

I huffed. "Hero!"

When I saw that I finally had his attention I carried on. 

"Hero... it was Diedre..."

For a moment he went silent. Then, with disbelief in his eyes, he blew a strong breath out the side of his mouth.

He was in denial. 

"Hero," I stated adamantly, "This was her doing. I am in here because of her-"

"What?" He breathed angrily. "What the fuck?"

"I know, it's crazy-"

"No," Hero interrupted, "I'm pissed at you. Why the fuck are you saying this?"

I looked all around gesturing to the wires set up to my IV. 

"Why are you so upset? I mean, isn't it obvious?"

"Nothing is obvious!" He spat. "It was an accident, just like you said back at the restaurant!"

I sat up, already fed up with the screaming. "You can stop yelling at me, Hero. I know it was stressful dealing with your grandmother back there, but you don't need to take it out on me. She paid the waiter to boil the water."

"I know you don't necessarily like her," Hero went on, "But you don't need to demonize her this way. I know Diedre, she would never do anything so inhumane..."

"Really?" I challenged. "You want to talk about inhumane right now? Forcing a ten-year-old to have sex against their will isn't very humane if you ask me."

"She didn't force me if we're being technical-"

I felt my heartbreak in half.

"You're defending her! Why are you defending her?"

Hero rolled his eyes. "Because you're blaming her for something she never did."

My eyes widened. "You like it, don't you? You like her doing these things to you..."

Hero tore his eyes away from mine, staring at a far wall.

"You don't know what you're saying."

I felt my breath catch in my throat. "Oh my god. I'm in love with a man that will never be able to feel the same."

Hero spun around, pinning me with a glower. "You're a lunatic! You're really insinuating that I like to fuck my grandmother!"

Of course, when he put it like that, it sounded worse. But then, it was true. It wasn't fiction. He admitted that every time he saw his grandmother- even now- they continued their affair. 

I shrugged. "Well, you still do it, don't you."

It wasn't a question. 

Without pausing for a breath, Hero kicked at a nearby blood-bag stand, knocking liquids on the floor. I didn't even want to mention how unsanitary that was. 

"You're a psychotic bitch," Hero seethed, "Fuck you! I didn't even want to be here!"

And with that, he stormed out. 

Not really knowing what else to do, I pressed the button on my bed, calling for the nurses. Upon seeing the mess, they immediately transferred me to another room and began cleaning. 

There wasn't much else to do, so I decided to turn on my television, watching some late-night host show.

It took me by surprise. It made me laugh. Oh, how long it had been since I laughed.

As I watched, I couldn't help but think back on Dorinda's behavior towards me. It was strange. She wasn't exactly shy when she wanted to show me how she really felt. Then why was she being so... nice? It wasn't like her at all. It was out of character. 

It was like she was bent on protecting me against her mother.

Did she know she had a plan with boiling water?

It didn't really matter. It was over and done with and I needed rest. 

When I next opened my eyes, I was facing a window. The sun blared strongly through the glass making me squint my eyes. It was the afternoon. I could tell. 

As I stretched, I saw a nurse looking expectantly at me. 

"Well, rise and shine," She smiled, "Are you ready to be discharged? We,of course, just need to fetch your belongings. Do you have a ride available?"

"Oh, um..." I scratched my head, looking over at my phone. "I'll just need a moment to call them."

The nurse nodded. "Perfect. I'll be right back to remove your IV."

When I was left alone, I picked up my phone, eyeing my contacts.

Hero definitely wasn't who I was going to call. After what he pulled last night, I wasn't in the mood to fight again. My parents definitely weren't an option.
 
As I scrolled through my messages, I saw a text from Josephine. 

Hey. I know we haven't talked but we left for Tahiti early. There was a sale on tickets. I'll call you when we land. 

I sighed. Now there wasn't the slightest chance that I was going to be able to take out my frustrations. 

Pressing down on Tawnee's number, I waited for her to pick up.

"Hello?" 

"Hi... um... Tawnee... I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm getting discharged from the hospital and I need a ride to my apartment."

Tawnee gasped. "Oh my! What are you doing in the hospital?"

"It's a long story." I pressed my fingers to my temples. "I don't really want to talk about it..."

"I understand. I'll be there momentarily."

Just as I hung up, the nurse entered the room once more. 

"Alright. Let's get you out of here."

It was quiet as Tawnee drove me home. Like any normal manager, she made small talk about the progress in my application process and the funny things that happened in the office.

Apparently, it was a habit for co-workers to receive silly gifts like mishandled toys. 

One girl got a squirrel head on top of a barbie's body. This fact made me cheer up a bit. It was definitely something to look forward to. 

When we made it to the apartments, Tawnee set a hand on my shoulder. 

"I"m serious. If you ever need anything, I'm only a phone call away. I'll see you soon."

"Thanks."

With one last smile, I climbed out of the escalade, thinking about contacting Hero straight away.

Yes, what he said wasn't right, but I would rather fight my own battles than make this an ongoing thing.

He said he would go to counseling. He was a lot of things, but a person who didn't keep their promises wasn't one of them. I would be better. Both of us were going to schedule appointments at the nearest office. I would go all-in for the both of us.

When I stepped over the threshold, I saw that service had returned to my phone. Like a storm, notifications went off sounding like an annoying gong. As I eyed them,  I saw I had 200 missed text messages. 

That was odd. I knew I wasn't that popular. I only had one friend. Were my parents that insane?

When I checked my texts, I saw that it wasn't from my parents, Josephine, or even Hero for that matter. It was a contact that read:

Group Chat- You played with fire.

You played with fire. Now, why did that sound familiar? 

Why was I in a group chat? Was it some club the college had gotten together? Had I been invited?

With excitement, I opened the chat, only for my heart to drop to the pit of my stomach.

Thank you all for giving my book a chance.

It's been quite a journey 😭😭

Can't wait to upload the next part 🤗✨

Everything's coming together in the plot