Caitlyn's POV
"You need to take your medicine, professor. Your grandson would kill me if you had another seizure."
I know that that was a bit harsh but I was tired. So damn tired. I looked at the clock. Almost 4:30 am!
Great. Just great.
"I'm sorry but...who were you again?" I sighed. "I'm Caitlyn, sir. Your nurse."
The professor seemed confused.
"I don't need a nurse. I'm old, but not that old." "I'm gonna be honest sir, we have known eachother since I was about one year old. Your memory is getting worse and worse day by day. You've been asking me for my name everyday since already two weeks because you refuse to take your medicine. Grayson will kill me if he finds out. So could you pretty please take those pills?" Professor Starling looked at me and smiled. "But I do remember you! Cara, right? You're Grayson's girlfriend."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It was hopeless. Not only did he use the wrong name, he also forgot the fact that Grayson was 17 while I was 35. Yeah. We were definitely dating. "Even though you do remember me, those medications are important. I get why you don't trust them. She didn't deserve what happened to her but I promised Lacey to help you when she is not capable of doing it anymore." My patient looked out the window. Dark clouds covered the moon, a storm was coming. But I don't think that was what he looked at. " Lacey... ", he whispered and turned around. He looked at the bottle with the medication and took all the pills he needed. Quietly I gave him a glass of water and he swallowed them. For a few moments we sat in silence. Then:
"Caitlyn?" My smile was as wide as the Grand Canyon. "Thank God. I thought we had lost you." He smiled too. "Not yet. You know I'm strong, kiddo." "I'm sorry for mentioning Lacey. I know it's not exactly your favourite topic." "I loved her. Her death broke me, but I don't want to forget." He leaned back. "She taught me to be strong. She's the reason I'm surviving." I smiled even wider. "She would be so proud of you." The professor looked at the clock. "Yeah, but not if you stay here any longer. It's already 4:45 am! Go home and rest, I will survive a few hours without you. I'm going to sleep anyways. Also, isn't Brandon waiting for you?" I couldn't stop the tears. "Hey hey, don't cry." I laughed a little. "Thank you, sir. For being yourself."
"No need to thank me. Now get lost, I'm tired!" I left the house happier than I had been in a long time.
I decided to take the shorter way home, a street that was never used by anybody except me. Maybe because the lights flickered in a creepy way or because it was through the woods. Many superstitious people lived in this area and they always told me that the dark souls hid in the woods and that I would end up dead one day. Maybe that was the reason why I alwys drove with opened windows, listening to every noise, afraid to hear something suspicious.
Slowly I drove with my old car, enjoying the cold air. It was around five when I decided to call Brandon. Hopefully he didn't worry too much. I placed the car at the edge of the street and dialed his number. It only took one second for him to pick up. "Caitlyn? Oh my god, you're okay! I was so worried." "Sorry. Professor Starling refused to take his pills again and I was determined to make him swallow them." "Don't get me wrong, I love the professor, but you have to think about yourself sometimes, too. You need-"
I didn't hear the rest of the sentence because Brandon was interrupted by a tired puffing and slow steps. "Do you hear that?", I asked. "Yes. What's going on?" "There is someone in the woods, but the next village is 75 kilometers away!" I heard another louder noise and the puffing stopped. "I think the person collapsed!", I said, my voice sounding hysterical. "Maybe he or she needs help? You should go there. I'll stay on the phone and call the police if something happens.", Brandon suggested. "My hero.", I said sarcastically, but following his advice. I turned the lamp on my phone on, opened the door and slowly walked outside. I walked about 50 meters and with every step I held my phone tighter. Then I felt a raindrop.
And another one. "Brandon, I don't see anything and it's starting to rain." "Then come home, Cat. I don't want you to get sick." Just when I wanted to go, I saw something. Behind a tree I got a glimpse of something lighter than the floor. Blond hair? I walked there slowly until I saw the figure of a girl. I kneeled beside her. She had dark rings under her eyes and a scar from her left ear to her mouth. If I would have guessed I would have said that the cause was a knife.
Although all of that was pretty shocking, the most shocking thing was how young she looked. About 17.
Her blond hair surrounded her face like a curtain and she was shaking. "Cat? Are you still there?" I blinked a few times and noticed that I was staring at her. "Uhm, yeah. Sorry. I found her. How long do you take to drive to Starling's mansion?"
The raindrops drummed against my window and I could hear the thunder while I drove into the parking lot. The loud noises of the storm couldn't cover the rattling breath of the girl on my rear seat, which really had me worried. I turned the engine off and heard someone knock on my window. Brandon. I opened the door and fell in his arms. He held me tight and we both weren't capable of breaking the hug. After a while Brandon looked at me and smiled. "I don't want to ruin the moment with movie-star elegance, but we should probably bring the girl inside. "You're right. I'm sorry." "What did I tell you about apologies?" "That they're only necessary if I actually did something bad." We smiled at each other. I didn't care how cringy that sounded, I loved him.
After that Brandon went to the car and lifted the girl up while I opened the big double door. We carried her to the old room of Grayson's little sister Tessa and laid her into the bed. I took her backpack and put it on a chair next to her. Quietly we went out of the room and to the salon.
"What are we going to do now? We have no idea who she is or what happened to her." "Let's think about this later. For now I just want to sleep."
We decided to stay in the mansion because that was easier. We took one of the guest rooms, got changed into the clothes I always left there for emergencies and climbed into bed.
"Good night. I love you.", I mumbled.
"I love you too, Cat.
We'll see eachother tomorrow."
