The Truth Untold || ONC Entry 2024

Chapter 2

The next time I opened my eyes, the room was much calmer. In fact, it seemed almost as quiet as the stillness of my slumber. The lighting was dim, which I was grateful for. Overhead lights were fully off but the floor lights were on just enough to provide a pathway to what I assumed was the bathroom and towards the exit door.

I took a deep breath and let my eyes adjust. 

I also wiggled my fingers and toes. Just in case.

My eyes scanned the room as my mind attempted to recall the events of the past 24 hours. The beeping of machines behind me accompanied my breathing, at least I wasn't in complete silence again.

The room appeared to be a typical hospital room. I was laying on a bed in the middle of the room, call buttons easily accessible if needed. There was an area to my left where some cupboard space and a sink was, the cabinets were labelled with various medical supplies and how to dispose of them. 

When my eyes scanned back over towards the right side of the room, I practically jumped out of my skin when I saw someone sitting at my bedside.

"What the hell?" The question escaped through my gritted teeth, in between the sharp breaths of sudden pain. My left hand gripped my chest from the sudden scare while my right hand settled over the bandages covering my abdomen.

"Need something more for the pain?" That familiar voice whispered to me.

I froze in that moment. Where did I recognize him from?

And then it hit me. "Marvik," I whispered in disbelief. 

"Dammit," he cursed as he stood up and began pacing around the room.

"Who are you?" I questioned. 

"You know my name and that's already knowing too much."

"And how is that fair?" I crossed my arms over my chest and immediately regretted the action when a pain shot through my body with the movement.

"Listen, Terra," Marvik stopped to face me again, sitting back down in the chair next to the bed, "I need you to forget my name. Forget what I look like. Forget even seeing me here tonight. It's just past midnight, you're just dreaming. This isn't real."

I blinked a few times as I stared at him. "Just forget about you? Easy as that? I don't even know who you are or why you're here!" I started to raise my voice, but began coughing before I could get anything else out.  And before I realized it, Marvik had presented a glass of water to me.

"It's not as easy as that, no," he admitted with a somber tone. "But it must be done. For your own safety." 

I sucked down the water in the glass, unaware of just how thirsty I was. Before I could speak to the intruder in my room again, though, the door opened up a nurse peeked her head in. 

"Hello, Miss Terra," the nurse had a kind smile as she came to my bedside. "Don't mind me, I'm just going to check up on you. It sounded like you were talking to someone, so I figured you were awake and maybe trying to call out for some help. If you need to, you can always press this button here and I'll be here as soon as I can be!"

"Oh, sure," I nodded along to what she was saying. My eyes darted between her to my left and Marvik towards my right. "I," my train of thought paused as my eyes shifted again. "I was talking to this guy, Marvik."

The nurse's eyes furrowed as she looked around the room. "Well, unless you've got him hiding in the bathroom, nobody's in here."

"See," Marvik let out a little laugh, "just forget about me. It'll be so much easier for you."

I stared at the spot where Marvik was sitting, my jaw lowered just enough for my mouth to hang open in question. He was there. I was looking directly at him. I could hear him loud and clear. I started to reach out towards him to verify he was physically in that seat next to me, but the nurse chimed in again and broke my trance. 

"There! You should be all set for the rest of the night," she said with a certain cheerfulness. "Just remember," she pointed out the buttons on the bedside again, "call if you need anything. I'll be just outside at the desk."

"Sure, thanks," I tried to sound appreciative, but I was too tired and confused to put in any real effort. 

The door to the room closed soon enough and it was just Marvik and I once again. 

"You better explain to me what's going on," I snapped at him in a hushed tone as soon as the door latched shut.

Marvik let out a long sigh and leaned forward in his seat. His elbows rested on his knees and his hands cupped his cheeks. "What is the last thing you remember?"

I took a moment to think. 

"I had breakfast with Mom," I replied honestly, "and then I had class at noon. Everything after that is lost to me. Except for you."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just a blur, but I know I saw you."

"Where and when did you see me?"

"I can't remember," I whispered in defeat. 

I laid my head back against the pillow for support, eyeing him as much as I could. He had dirty blond hair, half of it pinned up behind his head and the rest seemed long enough to reach his chest. He had piercing emerald green eyes with a confident glimmer that I had never seen in anyone before. His skin was a light complexion with no faults except for a small scar on his neck. He wore a plain white t-shirt with a cream colored cardigan and ripped black jeans. 

I would have remembered seeing him before. There was something about him that drew my attention.

"Listen," he spoke up after a moment, "get some rest. I'll come back when you're feeling better and healed up enough to not be on pain meds all the time."

"You're leaving?" I hated how desperate I sounded.

"I am. At least until you can remember more about what happened to you and what you remember about our encounter."

"How will you know when I remember? Do I have your phone number or are we mutuals on social media or something?" I thought about my questions and how ridiculous they sounded. "Why couldn't that nurse see you?"

Marvik shook his head as he stood up again. "Don't worry about any of that. Just get some sleep. It's literally my job to know when and if you get yourself together. I'll be seeing you later."

"What?" I asked with aggravation laced in my tone. Within the next blink of my eyes, however, he had disappeared. 

I let out a long sigh and stared at the chair in disbelief. Perhaps it was the drugs they had me on here. It had to be. What other sense did any of this make? 

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Total word count: 2,179