Chronical Wounds

Chapter 11: Ordinary

I've been thinking about Zain since yesterday. I keep on wondering how this is the second time that he has been badly injured. What got me confused the most is that even though Zain literally got shot, he didn't go to the hospital. Why? Also, it was pretty early when he picked me up. I'm sure we didn't leave the party earlier than midnight. Where would he go to that early after a party like that? I have so many questions and so little answers. It drives me insane. 

"What bandaid would you like today?" I ask Lyra as I open the box filled with different themed bandaids. She smiles happy as she scoots closer to me on her bed. She starts rummaging through the box. She seemed to stop at a Lilo & Stitch bandaid when someone knocks on the door. Both Lyra and I look up as the door creaks open. 

There he stands. The reason for all my questions. "Farah, when you're done here I need you in the room across yours." My heart skips a beat for no reason at all. "Oh. Sure, I'll be there in a bit" I say. "Hey, I want to be needed too!" Lyra sighs frustrated. I let out a small chuckle as I look at her frustrated frown. She crosses her arms as she glares at her older brother. When I look back at Zain I see his poker face as he closes the door behind him. In the time I've been with the Cains he has never acted like that towards his little sister. I didn't even think he was capable of ignoring her in the first place. "He seems grumpy today" I say as I focus on the box again. Lyra drops her arm and sighs. "Isn't he always?" she pouts. "Lyra, don't say that. He's always good to you." I tell her. Lyra is silent for a moment before she says "But he isn't to you, right?" she looks up at me and I'm taken aback by her sudden statement. "Why do you say that?" I ask her. Lyra looks at her hands as she starts fidgeting with her fingers. I place the bandaid on the spot where I have previously injected her. "Zain is nice to me. But he's my boss too. Just like you and grandma and grandpa. Zain and I just aren't friends." I try to explain. Yet I wondered if it would make sense in Lyra's little head. "Are we friends?" she asks a little sad. "Yes! Of course we are friends. We have lots of fun, don't we?" Even though Lyra isn't facing me I can see her lips curl into a smile. It melts my heart to see the tiny girl in front of me content with merely a simple statement. I pull her into a warm hug and she giggles in response. We stay like that for a moment and I rest my chin on her head. The silence was nice. In a short time Lyra has turned into a somewhat little sister. The sister I always wanted to have. "If Zain gets mad at you again, you have to ignore his stupid behind. He just does that sometimes, but he is nice too" she suddenly says. "What do you mean by again?" I question. Lyra pulls away from the embrace and looks at me. "I saw how he talked to you on the porch a while ago. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, sorry."  "Oh... you don't have to worry about that. That was a misunderstanding, but it's resolved now." I smile. "Really?" she smiles. "Yes, Lyra. And next time you're worried about something, anything, you immediately come to me, okay?" "Okay." I hug her once more before I stand up. "Alright honey. I'll go check up on your brother and after that I'm going home. We'll see each other tomorrow." I explain. "Yes, see you tomorrow." She smiles as I shut the door behind me. 

I turn to walk towards the room Zain had mentioned, as I notice the door is creaked open. He probably just needs me to clean up his wound, but yet my stomach flips with every step I take. Zain seemed awfully grumpy today, more than he'd normally be. I knock on the door "come in." I hear him say. I open the door and see what seems to be a bedroom and office in one. On the right side is a large desk by the window, facing the room. On the left side is a king-sized bed with black wooden nightstands on each side. And a small pathway which seems to lead to a shower and a walk in closet. 

"Like what you see?" Zain asks bored and I remember that Mr. Prick is extra grumpy. He is seated on the end of the bed as he unwraps his bandage. "Bad day?" I ask slightly annoyed. "Non of your business" he snarls. I roll my eyes "What do you want?" I sigh. "I obviously need you to change the bandage and clean the wound, " this time he looks up at me with a frown. "We also need to talk." he says a little calmer than before. The way he says it got me a little worried. 

I roll the office chair to the bed and sit as I take over the bandage he tried to remove. For the first time I notice how sculptured his arm actually is. As my fingers touch his arm it tingles for a second, but I quickly move the disturbing feeling aside. I'm pretty sure Mr. Prick could've changed his wound on his own, which would mean he really just needed to talk to me. He has my full attention now. "What is going on?" I ask a little cautious, expecting the worst. He watches me work on his arm for a moment. "I'm pretty sure you've figured out that we aren't an ordinary family. I'm not going into too many details about it, but you have to know that things are changing within our borders." He starts. 

I knew he'd sometimes be vague, but this particular sentence has my thoughts racing. Did I oversee something? What does he mean with 'not ordinary'? Sure, they are rich, but this is my first time getting in touch with any rich family. I don't dare to ask for clarity. I simply look up with a frown, but quickly look back when I see Zain's gaze. He's suddenly closer than I thought. Damn, his eyes are intense. Stop it Farah. He's doing it on purpose. He's trying to read my reaction. 

"You're going to need bodyguards twenty-four-seven."he suddenly states. I scoff and look up again. "You've got to be kidding me, right?" I smile at him but he simply glares at me. "Farah, this is no joke" he states. My smile turns into a frown and I think for a moment. " I won't need a bodyguard for whatever reason. Thank you, but I respectfully decline. You guys may be extraordinary, but I'm just an ordinary girl with an ordinary life. Whatever you've got going on is none of my business and I'd like to keep it that way" I can feel myself getting a little angry. I don't need anybody keeping an eye out for me. I can manage on my own. Having the Cains assign a bodyguard to me would mean they would be able to know my personal life. The last thing I need is someone looking into my business. Zain abruptly snatches his arm away as he hisses. "Careful now. You don't need to express your frustration on my arm." he grumbled. "I'm so sorry I didn't realize that" I gasp. "You better not," Zain glares at me, which makes me regret apologizing in the first place. "You are a part of this family now... and an important part too," he pauses for just a second, which has me wondering why.  "We are being threatened. And as much as I don't want to admit it, but if something were to happen to anybody I'd need your help. Let's hope it won't come to that, though. I need you to be safe... obviously to care of Lyra." He explains. I am silent for a moment. His tone was soft as he explained the situation to me. It sounds like a pretty serious threat and yet the only thing I could focus on was him saying HE needed me. Not the family, not Lyra, but he. 

I finish changing his bandage and help Zain put on his jacket. "How come you're always badly injured?" I blurt out. I immediately regret asking him. He looks surprised. "How come you're always asking questions?" he fires back. "I guess I'm just curious" I answer. He smiles slightly "I guess the same goes for me. But seeking for answers might come with a price." He states pointing at his arm. "As long as it's worth it, right?" I smile. A sound erupts from his mouth and my body shakes merely by hearing it. He laughed. He sincerely laughed... at me? My smile gets bigger. He wants to say something, but my phone rings. 

I still smile as I put the phone to my ear. "Hello?" "Hello Ms Gillette, I'm sorry to inform you, but your mother has passed away." Before I knew it my smile as well as my phone dropped to the ground.