CHAPTER TWO
1837 Words
“Thank you, Principal Henry”
“It's me that should thank you, Mr. Miller”
“My pleasure then, Principal Henry” He said, exiting the principal's office. His bodyguard quickly opened the door upon his arrival.
“I thought I only ordered for 3 bodyguards? How come there are 6 of you?” He questioned the one near him. Who needs 6 bodyguards for a visit to a high school? A private one at that!
“Mr. Leonard said to double your security from now on”
“And who are you supposed to take orders from?” He was getting angry now. He understands that Leonard was acting in his best interest, still didn't justify that he was challenging his direct order. Best friend or not, he was not going to let anyone defy him.
“Sorry, sir”
“Well, your next paycheck is coming from him”
“I'm sorry, sir”
“You'll be. Let's go”
Barely five minutes later, he was hearing a crying voice sobbing and yelling “please let go of me” He wondered where the voice was coming from.
“Rick, wait” The driver halted. He made to get down from the car when a hand stopped him.
“I'll go instead, boss”
“No, it’s fine, I'll go”
“At least, let me follow you”
“No” With that, he left in search of the voice.
He turned left to the alley and the voice grew louder, more desperate.
“Please don't hurt me” The voice cried “I beg you, please”
He finally turned into the Alley to the scene of a young girl being held down by 3 boys. The girl was about to get her eyes poked by what looked like an hairpin. She was also about to get her hair shaved judging by the clipper near her beautiful black hair.
“What do you all think you're doing?”
All of them, except the girl all turned back to see where the voice came from. It was a young man that looked to be in his late twenties. He had a tall and slender build.
“What do you want?” Bella sneered, she was confident that they could easily beat this man and scare him to silence.
“Let the girl go” The girl was still not looking at him.
“No” Bella was getting interested now. “Who are you to tell me what to do?”
“You don't want to be on my bad side, little girl?“
“Little girl?”
“Who I am is none of your business”
“But it is. You are disrupting my peace so I think I should know who you think you are”
“Let the girl go and I'll spare you and your pathetic excuse of boys”
“No” Bella was getting infuriated now.
“Leave before things get ugly in here”
Jon was getting tired of all the drama and made to hit Anna when Ryan suddenly seized his hand and forced it behind his back. He took out his cell phone.
“Rick, I need three of you here”
Few seconds later, three heavily-muscled bodyguards arrived. All the bullies including Bella fled. Even Jon was able to escape Ryan's grasp.
Ryan quickly caught Anna in his arms before she hit the floor. She had fainted from all the shock and crying. He swore before barking orders to his bodyguards.
“Go after them now”
“Girl, wake up” He was trying to shake her awake all to no avail. He then proceeded to carry her in his arms.
The bodyguards were shocked to see a girl in their boss' arms but they dared not say anything.
“Where are the bullies?” He thundered.
All of them started shaking in fear of what he could do to them. They had muscles, yes, but he was the powerful one.
He gently deposited the unconscious girl in his car before turning back to the idiots that called themselves bodyguards.
“Did I stutter? Where are the bullies I sent you after?”
“Boss, they got away”
“I see” he said before proceeding to give the nearest bodyguard a resounding slap.
“You mean to tell me that 5 high school kids including a girl half your sizes got away from you? All of you? You just proved to me that you're not worth keeping around”
“We're sorry sir” Ryan remembered that he still had someone to attend to. He opened the car door and noticed that she was trying to open her eyes.
“I'm going to take you to the hospital now” was the first thing he said to her.
“No no no, I'm fine” She croaked, her voice still hoarse from all the yelling she did.
“You're clearly not fine” he rolled his eyes at her stubbornness.
“I am, I promise”
“I don't need your promise” he said, gently
“I'm responsible for you at the moment and I don't want you to be on my conscience”
“You really don't have to do that Sir, I'm grateful you even chose to help me in the first place”
“I also don't need your gratitude. I'll pay your hospital bills and let you go, hmm?”
“I cannot just shamelessly impose myself on a stranger sir; I don't want that on my conscience”
She used his words against him. He smiled.
“What's your name?”
“Anna Bliss, sir”
“Anna, why were you being bullied by your classmates?”
At the mention of the bullies, Anna burst into fresh tears.
“I can help you” Anna only sobbed harder and he stopped asking.
“Will you at least tell me where you're staying, the least I can do to ease my conscience is drive you home?”
She didn't respond because she had passed out again. Ryan sighed.
“Rick, drive us home”
Since she was strongly against the idea of hospitals, he would call his doctor to meet him at home. He gently repositioned her so she was resting against him.
The doctor was already waiting for him at home.
“Good evening, Mr. Miller”
“Evening, Doc”
“Is this the patient?” He nodded towards the girl in his arms. “Yes”
The doctor wondered what was going on. He had never had to treat anyone that wasn't Mr. Miller or his daughter. He cleared his throat and Ryan gave him a questioning look.
Ryan led the doctor into his own bedroom.
“Do you mind waiting outside while I examine the miss?”
“Yes, I do mind” Ryan wasn't sure why he had to wait outside. He wasn't going to leave the poor girl with a stranger.
“What if she suddenly wakes up? I want to be here to ease her mind”
“That makes sense, Mr. Miller”
After 20 minutes of series of test. The doctor declared Anna extremely weak.
“She should wake up soon if nothing goes wrong, sir”
“Goes wrong? What could go wrong? Didn't you say she just needed to rest?”
“Yes. She is in a state of shock and she has to be completely relaxed before opening her eyes. But if she suddenly remembers why she was in shock, she could go back to sleep and there would be no telling by then when she will wake up”
“So, it all depends on her”
“Yes, sir”
“You can go then”
“Thank you sir, Goodnight”
“Good night Doc”
He left his room to check on Adele, his five year old daughter. Judging by how calm the house was, she must be asleep. He was right. She was sleeping peacefully. He pulled the duvet over her, kissed her forehead and left for his room.
Later when Anna woke up, she was disoriented for a moment before she saw the stranger who had saved her from Bella and her gang.
“Where am I?” Anna kept looking around. “Am I in a hospital?”
“Does this look like an hospital to you?” Ryan replied.
“I guess not” she sighed before falling back on the pillow to admire the beautiful decor of the room she was in. “It's far more comfortable and better than a hospital”
“I could stay like this forever” she admitted until
Her grandma! How could she forget her grandmother?
“I want to go home” she jumped up in a rush, desperate to get to her grandmother.
“She must have worried herself to death?”
“Calm down, wait until daybreak and I'll drive you home myself”
“Daybreak! What time is it now?”
“A little past 10PM”
“Oh no, please let me go now”
“It's dangerous now”
“Then I'll walk” Anna replied stubbornly
“You're in no condition to walk. The doctor said you still need to rest”
“Doctor? I told you I was fine, now I owe you how much?”
“You don't owe me anything. I had my personal doctor look at you”
“Personal doctor” Anna snorted “Must be nice”
“Look…” Ryan started but was cut off by Anna
“I am very grateful for your help but I really can't stay any longer. I need to get home to my grandmother”
“Then call her and say you're spending the night at a friend's” Ryan said, convincingly.
He knows he had her there.
“I don't have a phone” She said, quietly. He barely heard her.
“You don't have a phone?” He repeated stupidly, as if he was trying to convince himself he heard wrong.
“Yes”
“How old are you?”
“19”
“And you don't have a phone?”
“Yes” she confirmed, ashamed.
“Ok” he relented, I'll drive you home”
“Thank you, sir”
“Ryan. My name is Ryan.”
“Yes, Ryan”
“Let me just grab my keys. I'll meet you downstairs”
Anna wore her shoes and adjusted her tie before going downstairs. She was in the middle of the staircase when she locked eyes with a tiny girl standing at the foot of the stairs.
She raised her hand to wave at the little angel when the little girl ran up to her and held her hand.
“Mom”
“Mom?” Anna asked
“Mom?” Ryan too, repeated…
- Writer
