A Starry Eyed Mystery

Chapter 5

And we found ourselves at the hospital a few minutes later. Ugh, I really hate hospitals. The smell, the uncomfort, the amount of people there. Why couldn't there be another way to do this? I took a couple deep breaths and then turned to Aidan. "So, which room is Olivia in?" He replied, "Room 304, let's go." We cautiously stepped into the room, thankful that there were no nurses in sight. I sat down in the chair beside Olivia and took a minute to be silent. She looked so peaceful, yet eerie. Just seeing her like this made me want to find out what the hell is happening right now. Why Olivia? There's something not clicking here. The victim could've been anyone, but they chose Olivia. One of the most kind people in Sunrise Valley. I was so deep in thought that I didn't feel someone sit down beside me, Aidan. He looked down at me, and he seemed...worried? "Hey, are you okay?" He said gently, with the softest expression I've seen on his face all day. I nodded. "Yeah. I just want to know who did this to her and why. I didn't even know her, only by the town's reputation. But I don't know. It's like I feel personally connected to her." He sighed and looked at me. "I get how you feel. But moping around isn't gonna help. We need to find out who did this quickly. Because who knows? What if there's a second victim?" I suddenly jolted out of the chair. "Aidan! What if you're actually right about that? What if Olivia wasn't the only victim? In fact, what if she wasn't the intended one either? It could be a wrong place at the wrong time, kind of thing!" He looked thoughtful for a second. "The only way to find out if she was the intended victim is to see the seriousness of her injuries. If it's bad, she was likely targeted. If not, it may have been what you suggested. We should talk to the doctors." I was about to agree but suddenly an agitated nurse walked in. He glanced at the two of us and said "Who the hell are you guys and why on earth are you in here? Visiting hours are over, and even if they weren't, you too don't look like family members." Damn, he sounded pretty pissed off. Aidan was about to say something but I cut in, "Hi Sir, I'm Ashley Reynolds, daughter of Chief Reynolds. We're assisting the force on Olivia's case and we had some questions about the extent of her injuries." The nurse glared, clearly about to kick us out. But I jumped in again, "And before you even think of kicking us out, remember that I am the chief's daughter. One wrong move and I can call my mom. You can be fired too, you know." That did it. He went from angry to flustered. "Yes, um, of course ma'am. You and your friend are welcome here anytime. Ask all the questions you want. I, um, apologize for my behaviour. Your mother is one woman to reckon with." He coughed, clearly embarrassed. I covered up my satisfied smile with a polite one. "Oh don't I know it. Rumour has it that her daughter is also one to reckon with." The flustered nurse replied, "Indeed she is. You two stay here. I will call the doctor and have her answer any of the questions you two have." He hurriedly left the room then. I turned and saw Aidan smirking at me. "You're a feisty one, aren't you, Ash." "So we've entered the nickname stage? I don't think so." I retorted. After though, I added slyly, "But I am feisty, aren't I? Good thing I know how to stand my ground." He grinned. "I'll give you that." But before he could say anymore, the doctor walked in. "Hello kids, my name is Doctor Higgins. Nurse Johnson said you may have some questions. How about we take this outside so as to not disturb the patient." We followed her outside the room, with Aidan muttering under his breath, "We're not kids, we're 18 for god's sake. Get it right people." I shot a glare at him but turned to the doctor, smiling. "Hi Doctor Higgins, my name is Ashley Reynolds, daughter of Chief Reynolds, and this is Aidan Wilcock. We're assisting the force to figure out who hurt Olivia, so to begin, we were wondering if you could tell us what exactly happened to her." The doctor nodded. "Of course, and pleased to meet you both. I understand that you pulled Olivia out of the water so you must've noticed some things. So you see, Olivia was indeed strangled. Quite seriously I would say. There were signs of struggle but the culprit was stronger than her and was able to overcome that quickly. However, this was not an intended murder. She was strangled, yes, but not enough to kill her. Her faint pulse was caused by the water in her system. She must've fallen due to the impact. In addition, it was no robbery since all of her belongings were intact. No other injuries other than on her neck. So frankly, I must say that Olivia Dean was likely not intended to be murdered." I was right! Ha, I was right! Take that Aidan Wilcock. Unfortunately, he noticed my glee and muttered, "Stop gloating, we need to go report this to your mom." I smiled and said to the doctor, "Thank you so much. We appreciate you taking your time to let us know. Anyway, we should be going, so have a nice day! We may be back if there are any more questions. By the way, is there any update on Olivia's condition?" The doctor shook her head. "I'm afraid not. She's still the same as she's been since yesterday. But I'm glad I was able to give you guys some answers." She smiled pleasantly. I took this as our cue to leave. On the way out, Aidan said, "So what the hell did Olivia get herself in the middle of which lead to her being strangled, and not intentionally murdered?"

Here you go, chapter 5 complete, let me know what you guys think!

This time I promise that this is the last chapter I'm posting for today!

I've been writing for hours and I needed to get my thoughts down, haha!

So what did you guys think about seeing Aidan act nicer for a change?

What about Ashley's feistiness?

And what did you think of the new revelation of Olivia not being intentionally murdered?

Stay tuned for the next chapter, just not today!

Keep dreaming, dreamers!

-Ennie