The Suicide Helpline | ✔ #Wattys2018

37

L Y L A H

I looked at the man in front of me with shock, as he claims himself to be my father. If he was being honest, where had he been these years? When I was tortured for almost seventeen years, where was he?

I looked at Shawn as he kept rubbing his palm on the back of my hand. He nodded at me slightly, to assure me that everything was going well. But it wasn't. Nothing was ok.

I squirmed and moved away from the man and he had a look of hurt in his eyes.

"Xandra, baby, I'm your mother.", the woman started crying, holding my hand. That melted me, nice decision.

"Why should I believe you?", I moved and took my hand away. Shawn put his hand on my back and supported me to sit up a bit higher.

"Calm down, Lylah,", he tried to reason with me and looked at the man, "err, Xandra."

"We'll explain everything. I promise.", the man assured me and looked at me with hope in his eyes. I nodded and sat with comfort. The strained look on their faces relaxed on my cool reaction.

"Let me check the patient.", the doctor entered inside with a writing pad and pen. He came up to me and smiled at me, which I did not return.

"How are you feeling now?", he asked, taking position to write everything down.

"Okay, I guess?"

"You were shot in your stomach, so you shouldn't strain it. That will hurt. A lot.", he nodded seriously.

Well, that was comforting.

"Just make sure to carry a pillow with you. Whenever you need to sneeze or cough or do anything which affects those muscles, put that pillow on your stomach, it will reduce the pain."

"Okay.", I replied and looked ahead. He did some more question and answers and then left.

The man and woman sat in front of me, taking white chairs from the corners of the hospital room.

"Do you mind playing twenty questions with us?", the man asked with a pleading look.

"Fine. Let's play.", I rolled my eyes, as it is I was bored. The man smiled and looked at the woman and nodded. Silent communication, I like it.

"Favourite colour?"

"Blue.", Shawn answered. I looked at him with one raised eyebrow.

"We're asking Xandra.", the man said crossly, dismissing Shawn. Shawn pouted and rolled his eyes, in an unattractive, yet damn attractive manner. Was that even possible?

"My favourite colour is blue, that's why he said that.", I said, still looking at Shawn, when the man and the woman cleared their throats and I immediately took my eyes off him.

Similar weird questions later, I started enjoying their company. The woman said her name was Natalie and she preferred to be called 'mom', by me. The man was named Xavier. Nice.

Sometime later, the doctor came in and shooed them away, asking for only one person to be with me. The three of them started fighting on the topic, who was going to wait with me.

Lucky for me, Shawn won.

"Time for me and the princess to finally have some quality time together.", he wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner and rubbed his palms.

This was going to be one hell of a night.

******