The Cherry on Top

Chapter 15: The Puppet Hospital

(Y/N's POV)

My eyes fluttered open, and a smell of disinfectants filled my nostrils, next thing I saw was a white clear ceiling, and then...a figure hovering over me. Speaking, but its voice was muffled.

My vision was so blurry, I couldn't' see anything clearly. And my body felt so tired that I couldn't keep my eyes open. Eventually, my eyes closed again, and fell into a deep slumber.

I can't remember the last time I had a goodnight sleep.

After what felt like so many hours of sleep, I woke up again, but this time, the ceiling was dark. It must be nighttime. My eyes adjusted to the dark, and slowly moved my head to the left to see someone sitting on a chair next to my bed.

"W...Willy?" I whispered, but he didn't move. He was still wearing his hat and sunglasses, even though I don't know why, he must have been here the whole time in case I wake up.

"Willy..." I whispered again, my voice was raspy and tired, and my lips were chapped because I was thirsty. He still didn't wake up. I felt upset, and gathered all the strength I could find in me and called him once more.

"Willy!" I said, almost screaming, making him jump in his seat. "(Y/N)! Oh, my dear, you're awake!" he said, smiling happily. He then noticed something that seemed weird and took off his sunglasses. "Why am I wearing this?" he muttered and threw it away behind his shoulder.

I giggled at his action, which made him smile at me again, Willy held my hand firmly yet gentle enough to not hurt me. "How are you feeling?".

"Okay, I guess. Where am I?" I asked, frowning. "You're in my factory, my dear. In the puppet hospital and burn center. The Oompa-Loompas said that because of your lack of food and sleep, you passed out" Willy answered, and my mind was swarmed with questions.

"Wait, how did-..." I was about to ask, but he cut me off. "Amelia came to the factory yesterday and told me that she hasn't seen you in a month. Of course, I didn't let her go back to that tiny apartment, so she spent the night with the Bucket family" he reassured with his usual, warm smile.

"But how did you find me? The last thing I remember was me walking home after my night job was over" I stated, frowning. "I saw you. I was just across the street when you walked out of that bar, and when I noticed you were losing your balance, I rushed to you and...you fainted" Willy explained, I sighed in frustration.

I then noticed the hospital clothes I'm wearing, then glanced at him. "Who changed me??" I asked.

"The Oompa-Loompas did. They also treated your feet because they were injured from those pointy sticks you wear all the time. They're just weird, and it amazes me how you can walk easily with them. Haha" he giggled casually.

I groaned, and then looked at the small clock, it was 10:00pm, which caused me to gasp.

"Oh, no! I'm late for my night job!" I tried getting up, but Willy swung his cane in front of me to block me from getting off the bed. "No, you're not going anywhere! I already sent a letter for both Mr. Dungworth and Mr. Evans to give you a few days off. Fortunately, Mr. Evans didn't seem to mind, but I had to deal with Mr. Dungworth because he didn't seem to like this at all. You should quit working for that guy, he'll just hang over you like an old dead goose anyway" Willy stated.

"But if I don't work, I'll never be able to pay the rent for my apartment!" I argued. "That's why we moved all of your stuff to my factory and live with me, so you and Amelia won't have to live in that place anymore. Hahaha!" he said with a smile.

My eyes widened, and I quickly sat up. "How could you do tha-...Argh!" I was feeling so upset, but suddenly my head started throbbing. I laid back down while he watched me whine with a smirk.