HEALER
EPISODE 6
Kendra opened her eyes and blinked turning her face away from the light above her. Was she in heaven alre-ady? The light was so bright the nearly blinded her. She winced. The pain was still there. Didn’t they teach her in church then that when one was in heaven there was no pain? Then why the hell was she feeling like she had used her entire b©dy to battle with a truck. Then she turned to the faint noise she heard at her right ear and saw someone in white dress. A lady whose back was turned as if she was busy with something and Kendra couldn’t see her face. She tried to move but she discovered that there was something in her hand. Then it occurred to her. She wasn’t in heaven after all. D–n it! Why was it taking God too long to take her life? She recalled what had happened last night. She knew she ran out of the mansion with Connor calling her to st©p and once. No…he wasn’t calling her, he was ordering her to st©p. But how her weak legs had carried her that far to the express, she was still at a loss. A car had st©pped and that was all she could remember. She blinked. She also heard voices calling into her to come back but it wasn’t Connor’s. It sounded familiar and there was only one person with that kind of strong willed voice….Alex. She wasn’t sure if she had been dreaming it but she heard the voice in echoes loud and bold calling her name to come back. The lady turned and looked at her, then she smiled. Was it her or did she have a striking resemblance with Alex? She wasn’t the nurse because she was dressed in a very fancy outfit. She looked almost like Kendra’s age mate.
And she was beautiful.
“Hello. You’re finally awake. Thank God.”. She said and sat on the seat next to the be-d. Kendra looked around the ward..It was a.very big, pri-vate ward.
” How long have I been here?”
The lady shrugged, still smiling.
“Just last night and this morning. How do you feel?”
“Like I was run over by a truck.”
She chuckled and nodded. “You did look like you were run over by a truck when you were brou-ght in here last night.”
Kendra looked at her. “Who brou-ght me here?”
She said holding her breath hoping it wasn’t Connor as usual. “Oh, my brother did. He said he saw you on the way and you almost died because you pas-sed out. I’ll call the doctor and tell him you’re awake.”
She made to leave and Kendra called her back.
“Wait…who is your brother?”
“Alex? You don’t know him? He said he knows you.”
Alex was the one who had st©pped for her?
“And you are..?”
“Monalisa. Or Lisa whichever suits you best.”
She said and turned and left the room. Kendra tried to turn on her back and winced. Wrong idea…she felt like she had lain on nee-dles on the be-d then she remembered she had been beaten badly there. This wasn’t the hospital she usually went to but she didn’t k ow the owner of this one. She sighed and tried to get comfortable. The be-d was comfortable enough but her b©dy and arms gave her great discomfort. The door opened and she expected to see the doct]
When Lisa had told him that Kendra was awake he made a mental sign of the cross and sighed in relief. He hadn’t been able to rest easy with the way she had slumped in his arms last night. He thought he had lost her. In fact he had nearly lost her when he found out that her pulse were weak and rushed into the car on a full speed, calling the hospital to get re-ady for him. But she was almost gone but he time he got there and they were trying to revive her. For the first time in his life since his mother had nearly lost her life, Alex had never been this scared of losing anyone else. He had thought that she had somehow gotten into an accident with her husband on their way from the mall last night but it wasn’t until he had undressed her, he saw the marks on her light skin. They weren’t ha-rd to notice. The marks from various beatings. Her Husband had been hitting her. He thought as much with the way he acted last night and the way she acted with him, that the was something going on that even Aliyah didn’t know of. What kind of a man would raise his hands and beat his wife to the point of death?! The thought of having her beaten by that beast made his blood boil. He could never raise a hand on a woman regardless of who she is and what she is.
He stepped in and she looked at him. This was a beautiful lady who a devil like her husband was trying to damage. She was still staring at him and she lowered her gaze as if she was ashamed. Of what, he thought. With his hands folded against his che-st, he sat on the edge of the be-d and looked at her for a while.
“Hello, Kendra.”
He said.
“How are you feeling today?”
She sighed and nodded. “I’m fine. Just a little ache here and there.”
She gave him a weak smile.
That was number two.
Then the smile left again as fast as it c@m£.
“Do you remember what happened to you last night?”
She looked at him and stared as if she was trying to remember. “I…had an accident.”
Lies!
“An accident.”
He repeated. “What kind of accident?”
He knew the truth but he wanted her to admit and trust him to say it to him.
“A…car..”
What the hell?!
He lowered his gaze. “I see.”
He said.
**********
Kendra didn’t know what else to tell him. She felt that he would believe what ever she told him since he wasn’t the doctor anyway. He wouldn’t know the truth. But when he lowered his gaze and murmured, she looked up at him. He knew she was lying. But how would he know that?
“There were marks on your b©dy,Kendra.”
He said after a few seconds of silence between them. She swallowed ha-rd . She didn’t nee-d to be told. She could still feel the plasters at her back and on her cheek.
“It was an accident.” She said. “Thank you for bringing me here,Alex. I’ll pay the bills.”
She heard him chuckle and shake his head.
“You always have a way of paying for everything,don’t you?”
She looked up at him. What the hell did he mean by that?!
There was a knock on the door and a tall and pretty looking nurse walked in.
“I’m sorry, doctor. Its time for the surgery.”
She said and Kendra looked confused. Who was she referring to. She saw Alex nod.
“Is everything set?”
He asked.
“Yes sir.”
She said.
“Give me a few minutes.”
She nodded and sli-pped out the same way she had sli-pped in. He stood up and looked at her as if he was going to say something but was hesitating. Then he turned and left the ward. Kendra was still shocked at this new revelation. He was the doctor? Was he also the one who had attended to her? She remembered his voice calling her to come back. It was him!
And she had just lied shamelessly about an accident!…
**************************””***
EPISODE 7
Alex c@m£ back six hours later probably after the surgery that nurse had announced. She was still shocked that he was even a doctor. He didn’t even look like one and she was still ashamed of the lame lie she told him few hours ago. She knew now that if he hadn’t believed her, then he had seen the marks both old and new while she was unconscious. But he didn’t come in alone, he c@m£ in with Lisa. They were in a conversation and he looked like the girl was boring her. He was in his white coat and had a fancy looking sphygmomanometer hanging around his n£¢k. A nurse c@m£ in with him and this one was completely different from the last one.
“Lisa, I’m busy and you’re disturbing me.”
Lisa made a pouty face and looked at him.
“plea-se, Alex. You know you can do it.”
He looked at her and she blinked like a doll and grinned. Kendra found herself smiling at them.
“Let’s talk about this later. Okay?”
“No. Right now. You will leave here late and drive all the way to your house and avoid me. Don’t think I don’t know you,Alex.”
“Alright, then. I’ll do it.”
Lisa smiled, planted a k!sson hisl-ips and left with a goodbye at Kendra. He sighed and turned to her and stared at her.
“What?”
She asked him. He stepped forward.
“I don’t know. You seem to be smiling better than before.”
Kendra didn’t pu-ll back her smile. She nodded towards the door.
“She’s a cute lady.”
“Who? My sister? More like a be-d bug.” He said and took the folder from the nurse, studying it.
“She’s your age,Kendra. I’m sure you both can get alone well. She’s not ha-rd to love. And she makes friends easily.” His eyes were still on the chart board.
“How old do you think i am?”
He looked up at her and grinned. His smile was affecting her in ways she couldn’t explain. Maybe because she was beginning to feel comfortable around him, or that she wanted him to forget about the shameless way she lied…she didn’t know which one.
“I know you’re twenty one,Kendra.”
She looked at him in surprise and he laughed.
“Relax, I haven’t been stalking you. Aliyah told me last night.”
“Oh.” She said and he went back to the chart board. He looked at the nurse.
“She’s awake and stable. I don’t think there’s any nee-d for the drip. Cut her off from it and let her start taking tablets.”
The nurse nodded.
“Yes sir.”
Kendra looked at them as the nurse took the folder a and left the ward.
He looked down at her and then settled at the chair beside her be-d.
“You know you can sit on the be-d. I won’t bite.”
She said and he grinned.
“I’m sure you won’t. You don’t look like one who would. But I’m in my coat which can be harmful to you considering the fact that I have been walking mg around the hospital in it.”
She nodded. “Do you work as a staff here?”
He smiled. “You want to pay me?”
He tea-sed.
“I didn’t mean it like that I just….I’m sorry about the way I lied earlier. I know I should have told you the truth but then I was just ashamed.”
He stared at her for a while.
“Ashamed of what?”
“Of…my br@vado towards you. My meanness and my cold attitude.”
************
Alex watched her lower her gaze while she spoke and saw that this lady was ashamed of being weak in front of people. She was ashamed of being the one to attra-ct pity to herself. The mask was gone. He could see the true Kendra. The one who built a ha-rd wall around herself so people won’t see how shaken she is inside. So people won’t pity her…or laugh at her.
“Look at me when you talk to me,Kendra.”
He said and she shook her head without looking at him.
“Kendra.” He said in a whisper. But she heard it.
“Come on. Look at me. Do it.”
She slowly raised her gaze at him and he saw tears. Real tears! He had never imagined that she was the crying one. Good God! What had her husband done to her? Their gazes locked and she couldn’t control her tears. His hand lifted and he gently gr!pp£done of her hand resting on the be-d.
“I’m sorry for breaking down like this,Alex.”
She said in a broken voice. “Thank you for saving my life.”
“Aliyah doesn’t know about it, right?”
She shook her head.
“No one knows about it. Just you.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“I couldn’t. I just couldn’t do it.”
“I thought at first that it was one of those marriage issues but then it got worse. I didn’t want to tell anyone because it was my fault. I rushed into it so fast. We got married in just three months. Everyone told me to wait and I was so in love that I couldn’t wait. What do I tell them? That I finally realised that I should have waited? It sounds funny and they will all laugh their bu-tts to the ground.”
“Kendra, this is your life. You can’t keep hiding and dying slowly. You don’t even un-derstand what happened to you last night. You were alre-ady gone. We had an xray on you and one of your ribs is fractured.”
She looked at him.
“Why did you have to carry this alone? He doesn’t deserve to have you. If he keeps hitting you like this, he’s a fool. You have to do something about it.”
“I can’t. He’s my husband. For better for worse. That’s what we said at the altar.”
“So…for better for worse, huh? And he hits the worst into you and when you die, he’ll take on the next lady and keep hitting her.”
She sniffed. He saw her close her eyes as if trying to calm down. He moved forward.
“Kendra.”
He said and she looked up at him. D–n! She looked so vulnerable, he wanted to k!ssher there. He wanted to reas-sure her that she had a friend and ally in him. A confidant. But he noticed that she was still holding back. That’s why she acted tough to everyone. Because she was scared of showing them what she was going throu-gh.
“Kendra.”
He said again. But the words couldn’t come out. He was looking at those eyes. Those soulful brown eyes that showed him her heart. Her bleeding heart.
“You can’t let him end your life like this,Kendra. You have to do something before he does it for you.”
“I can’t kill him.”
Good God! He wasn’t talking about that.
“That’s not what I meant. I won’t advice you to kill any one much less him.”
She stared at him again and lowered her gaze and he knew she was crying again. How could she have suffered this for three years?! Endured his m©l£st@t!ons and beatings for three whole years and still be alive. The more he thought of it, the more fell in love with this strong and extraordinary woman.
She kept crying and he gave her hand a light squee-ze, leaning forward, he placed a light k!sson the t©p of her head. If she felt it, she gave no sign….
.
To be continued
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