Chapter Three:
(Please, note: Chapter three is not completed. I will update this page when it is done.)
“Hello?” A voice called from beside me.
I blinked.
“Hello?” The voiced called once more.
I blinked again.
“Hey, wake up,” The voice said sternly.
I opened my eyes and came face to face with a white haired woman. I did not recognize her at first and wondered briefly if I should. She was pretty. I closed my eyes for it was too much to keep them open.
“Where am I, beautiful?” I asked as I relaxed into the softness of the darkness that engulfed my brain. How oddly shaped it felt.
“You’re outside of Café Royale. That’s not important now.” She said, “What happened to you? Why are you injured and lying out here?”
I opened my eyes and saw that it was true. I carefully looked behind me and learned that a crowd had gathered. I groaned unable to move and closed my eyes. Weakly, I told her to give me a moment and then I would gladly open the café.
She slipped her hands beneath my shoulders and carefully hoisted me to my feet. Apparently, she was not willing to wait. She glared at me as she carefully guided me towards the door. Once at the door, I fumbled in my pocket for my keys, and unlocked the door. She propped me against the doorframe and I opened the door. She slung her arm around my waist and moved my arm so that it was around her shoulders. She carried/walked me inside and placed me on the first stool at the counter. I groaned unhappily, as I sank down and tried to open my eyes. I managed to open them partially.
“Thank you.” I moaned, “I didn’t mean to involve you.”
“Well, you best thank me, later.” She responded.
“I am grateful to you, Bella.” I wheezed and closed my eyes.
Belladonna touched my shoulder softly before she set herself to helping my customers.
Completely aware of how I must have appeared to the customers, I struggled to stand, and once I managed to do so, I pried my eyes open once more. The café swirled around me dangerously and my stomach threatened to reintroduce me to my previous meal. I closed my eyes and decided to go by feel. The first step was hardest since my head was now spinning and my orientation was off. Was I facing toward the back of the café or the front? Which side was the counter on? I reached my hand out to one side and touched the counter briefly. It was on my right, which meant that I was indeed facing the back of the café, and this was good since the door to the second floor was in that direction.
I took a step forward, bumped into a stool and frowned. I took a step or two to the left and stepped forward again. Nothing prevented me from proceeding forward, so I did so. Eventually, I found the back wall and somehow missed knocking into one of the many tables that ran along it. I braved a peek and saw that I was standing in between two occupied tables. I cursed my luck and sighed.
A wall mirror horizontally ran the breadth of the back wall and my quick peek had revealed more than my location. Considering the amount of damage I had taken, a shot in the heart might have been an act of mercy. The long gagged gash was still there, but looked less ugly than before. The sheer violence, directed so personally at me, was more than enough to leave me emotionally stunned. Why it had happened was a total blank and overwhelmingly disturbing on every level. My eyes were blood shot, my hair plastered to my forehead with sweat and the smell was intense. I needed to clean myself and patched the wound, so that I could relieve Belladonna.
I reached my hand downward, felt for the back of the chair, and then risked another peek. The young man sitting in the chair was looking at me aghast; he was not the only one. I frowned. I hated opening my eyes. Not only did it induce nausea but also brought bad news along for the ride. I smiled weakly at the man, before I turned around to face the café, my stomach swirled and I closed my eyes.
“You need a hand, man?” The man asked worriedly as I stepped forward blindly. “Are you going to be okay?”
“I’m fine. No problem,” I lied before tripping over the man’s feet and landing hard on the floor. Whether or not, he had tripped me did not register until later. I lifted my head, opened my eyes and found his offered hand. I frowned, weighed the alternatives and then accepted it. With the man’s help and some minor adjustments to my bearings, I found the door to the second floor. I opened it, thanked the man fully for his assistance and then carefully climbed the steps. I did not worry about him following me for I had locked the door behind myself.
Once I had climbed the stairs, and fumbled my way into the bathroom, I stripped out of my clothing, piled them near the door and made a mental note to burn them. They were not worth cleaning or explaining. With some luck and minor calculations, I managed to locate the tub and proceeded to turn the hot water on. Once the bathroom was full of steam, I slipped into the spray and began to wash the blood and sweat from my body. After several attempts to open my eyes, I finally managed to do so without inducing vomit and was able to examine the wound.
A six-inch wide cut lay across the lower portion of my abdomen and appeared to be superficial. The cut was maybe an inch deep and pink around the edges. The reason I was still bleeding was that I kept ripping it open every time I moved. It had been partially scabbed over when Belladonna found me but my moving only made it open wider. I opened the medicine chest, found the gauze and proper bandages and carefully wrapped my stomach. Once wrapped, I brushed my hair and wandered into my bedroom to get dressed.
Newly dressed and clean, I hurriedly returned to the café.
“Nice of you to return to the living,” Belladonna remarked when she noticed me. She tossed me an order for food and I easily slipped into the routine of cooking. After several hours of cooking, brewing coffee and playing waiter, the café settled enough for me to release Belladonna and take over management of the café.
I was wiping down the counter when Zoë entered.
(Please, note: Chapter three is not completed. I will update this page when it is done.)
“Hello?” A voice called from beside me.
I blinked.
“Hello?” The voiced called once more.
I blinked again.
“Hey, wake up,” The voice said sternly.
I opened my eyes and came face to face with a white haired woman. I did not recognize her at first and wondered briefly if I should. She was pretty. I closed my eyes for it was too much to keep them open.
“Where am I, beautiful?” I asked as I relaxed into the softness of the darkness that engulfed my brain. How oddly shaped it felt.
“You’re outside of Café Royale. That’s not important now.” She said, “What happened to you? Why are you injured and lying out here?”
I opened my eyes and saw that it was true. I carefully looked behind me and learned that a crowd had gathered. I groaned unable to move and closed my eyes. Weakly, I told her to give me a moment and then I would gladly open the café.
She slipped her hands beneath my shoulders and carefully hoisted me to my feet. Apparently, she was not willing to wait. She glared at me as she carefully guided me towards the door. Once at the door, I fumbled in my pocket for my keys, and unlocked the door. She propped me against the doorframe and I opened the door. She slung her arm around my waist and moved my arm so that it was around her shoulders. She carried/walked me inside and placed me on the first stool at the counter. I groaned unhappily, as I sank down and tried to open my eyes. I managed to open them partially.
“Thank you.” I moaned, “I didn’t mean to involve you.”
“Well, you best thank me, later.” She responded.
“I am grateful to you, Bella.” I wheezed and closed my eyes.
Belladonna touched my shoulder softly before she set herself to helping my customers.
Completely aware of how I must have appeared to the customers, I struggled to stand, and once I managed to do so, I pried my eyes open once more. The café swirled around me dangerously and my stomach threatened to reintroduce me to my previous meal. I closed my eyes and decided to go by feel. The first step was hardest since my head was now spinning and my orientation was off. Was I facing toward the back of the café or the front? Which side was the counter on? I reached my hand out to one side and touched the counter briefly. It was on my right, which meant that I was indeed facing the back of the café, and this was good since the door to the second floor was in that direction.
I took a step forward, bumped into a stool and frowned. I took a step or two to the left and stepped forward again. Nothing prevented me from proceeding forward, so I did so. Eventually, I found the back wall and somehow missed knocking into one of the many tables that ran along it. I braved a peek and saw that I was standing in between two occupied tables. I cursed my luck and sighed.
A wall mirror horizontally ran the breadth of the back wall and my quick peek had revealed more than my location. Considering the amount of damage I had taken, a shot in the heart might have been an act of mercy. The long gagged gash was still there, but looked less ugly than before. The sheer violence, directed so personally at me, was more than enough to leave me emotionally stunned. Why it had happened was a total blank and overwhelmingly disturbing on every level. My eyes were blood shot, my hair plastered to my forehead with sweat and the smell was intense. I needed to clean myself and patched the wound, so that I could relieve Belladonna.
I reached my hand downward, felt for the back of the chair, and then risked another peek. The young man sitting in the chair was looking at me aghast; he was not the only one. I frowned. I hated opening my eyes. Not only did it induce nausea but also brought bad news along for the ride. I smiled weakly at the man, before I turned around to face the café, my stomach swirled and I closed my eyes.
“You need a hand, man?” The man asked worriedly as I stepped forward blindly. “Are you going to be okay?”
“I’m fine. No problem,” I lied before tripping over the man’s feet and landing hard on the floor. Whether or not, he had tripped me did not register until later. I lifted my head, opened my eyes and found his offered hand. I frowned, weighed the alternatives and then accepted it. With the man’s help and some minor adjustments to my bearings, I found the door to the second floor. I opened it, thanked the man fully for his assistance and then carefully climbed the steps. I did not worry about him following me for I had locked the door behind myself.
Once I had climbed the stairs, and fumbled my way into the bathroom, I stripped out of my clothing, piled them near the door and made a mental note to burn them. They were not worth cleaning or explaining. With some luck and minor calculations, I managed to locate the tub and proceeded to turn the hot water on. Once the bathroom was full of steam, I slipped into the spray and began to wash the blood and sweat from my body. After several attempts to open my eyes, I finally managed to do so without inducing vomit and was able to examine the wound.
A six-inch wide cut lay across the lower portion of my abdomen and appeared to be superficial. The cut was maybe an inch deep and pink around the edges. The reason I was still bleeding was that I kept ripping it open every time I moved. It had been partially scabbed over when Belladonna found me but my moving only made it open wider. I opened the medicine chest, found the gauze and proper bandages and carefully wrapped my stomach. Once wrapped, I brushed my hair and wandered into my bedroom to get dressed.
Newly dressed and clean, I hurriedly returned to the café.
“Nice of you to return to the living,” Belladonna remarked when she noticed me. She tossed me an order for food and I easily slipped into the routine of cooking. After several hours of cooking, brewing coffee and playing waiter, the café settled enough for me to release Belladonna and take over management of the café.
I was wiping down the counter when Zoë entered.
