Mr. Know-it-all

C H A P T E R 7

REGINA'S P.O.V

"Regina! What are you doing here?!" Hailey cried, sprinting towards me. I tried answering her but it hurt to move my mouth.

"I want to go home." I said, barely audible but she understood.

"We have to go to the hospital first. Look at yourself! For God's sake, tell me how all of this happened?!" She asked while helping me into the front seat and securing the belt around me. I felt the sharp pain in my side again and it dawned upon me, what if I had a broken rib? I must've exaggerated but I had my fair share of witnessing how unintentional slaps and punches could break jaws and teeth. Hailey sat in the driver's seat and started the car. Soon, we were back on road and I had composed myself.

"It was the guy from Uber." I said and as soon as the words left my mouth, Hailey looked at me, horrified, "I feel like I have been bluffed because the guy in the car was different. He did look similar, but I don't know why I didn't notice anything."

I sounded dumb and careless to me. I wasn't the kind of person who'd sit in cabs without verifying the name and number ten times. I had been careful by checking the car number and guy's face before entering the car. Nothing made sense to me.

"Uber?" She sounded confused, "I don't feel like its Uber. Is someone stalking you?"

I shook my head, "I just got unlucky."

"We need to report it." She said and I agreed. She took me to a nearest hospital, and to the emergency ward since it was too late.

I hadn't broken any rib. It was major bruising on my sides and a few on the face due to the slaps and punches. They bandaged me, prescribed some painkillers and asked me to wait for the police to arrive. I knew it would happen because it was straight up assault. The police showed up after an hour, asked some details and left. They took my phone because they thought they might be able to extract information from it. I thought the phone had broken but in fact, it was dead.

"There is no record of any ride." The police official said to me and I was dumfounded, "We can report it to the app but I think something else has happened that we'll try finding out as soon as possible. Do you think someone might be stalking you?"

I was bewildered at the fact that both, police and Hailey, had arrived at the same thought. I shook my head again because I didn't have any stalker and I, honestly, didn't suspect anyone.

Except one person. I shook the thought out of my head.

The police interview took about half an hour, after which Hailey dropped me at my apartment. She had insisted on going back to the mansion and staying there so she could look out for me but Ana was home and I had to refuse. It had only been one day and Hailey had shown so much care for me.

I was sad.

I should have been angry and frustrated but all I felt was sadness. Pure sadness, the one that lingers around you wherever you go and makes everything look dull and dark. The kind that creeps and surrounds, slowly penetrating your heart until you give up.

I took the painkillers and went straight to bed. I never bothered turning the lights on or even looking at myself in the mirror. It felt too much of hard work so I went to bed. My eyes were droopy and I could no longer think about anything. My mind was humming a tune, Drive by Cars, slowly drifting into the farthest memories, the forgotten ones. I was too tired to fight myself so I let it all go and slept to my mind humming for me, just like it did for me when I was little.

*Eighteen years ago...*

Mom was cooking dinner for us. She was in a good mood because she had karaoke on and her favorite song was playing. I could hear her humming to it.