Chapter 13: Fainted again

In the past one week, Ayla had been living the life of her dreams. Happy and relaxed. That was because Charlotte and Aurelia were nowhere to be seen. She even went to the movie theatre with Shay to watch a movie . 

On this fine day, she had just come from having dinner with Shay when she saw the lights in her room turned on. Instantly, her heart sank. They were back! 

She knew that whatever awaited wasn't something good. She stood on the balcony for a whole hour, trying to contemplate how she was going to about it. How was she going to behave once she entered? 

After breathing in and out to drive back the panic that was about to burst out, she hesitantly reached for the doorknob and turned it, befire slowly pushing it open.

At first, as she walked in, she found no one in the room. However, as she walked further in, she was shocked by the ambiguous sounds coming from the bathroom. As she listened closely, she found that the voices were those of Aurelia and Charlotte. As if she had stumbled upon a very shocking secret, Ayla quickly threw a hand over her mouth so she wouldn't be able to gasp loudly and distract them. As she did this, she slowly turned on her heels and walked out, not forgetting to lock the door .

As she stood in the balcony, she couldn't believe it yet.

Charlotte and Aurelia swing both ways? 

After all, while in high school, the two had boyfriends.

After standing outside for two hours in a daze, Ayla walked back into the room. Fortunately, they were back in the room, but what had changed was the fact that Aurelia and Charlotte were now sharing a bed. In fact, they were cuddling. Ayla pretended she saw nothing and went to her bed. However, before she could sit on it, 

"Hey nerd, we have a job for you." Aurelia suddenly spoke, which made Ayla's heart tremble. She bit her lip and slowly turned to look at Aurelia.

"W-what job?" Ayla asked timidly as she wrung her hands nervously.

"Come closer." Aurelia smiled and said. She seemed to be in a good mood . Maybe it was because of what happened earlier .

Ayla obediently made her way towards Aurelia. 

Aurelia whispered the instructions in her ear and watched as she widened her eyes in shock. Her reaction was what she expected. 

"I'm sorry but this -" 

"You have to do it no matter what!" Aurelia knew what she was about to say, so she cut her off before she could finish her statement. 

Ayla bit her lip once again. Aurelia had just asked her to steal the gaming pads of the girls next door, as she had taken a liking to them. She even told her that she already had the master key to their room and that she had seen them leaving earlier, so they weren't around at that moment. 

After a long while of silence, Ayla, for the first time in her life, looked defiantly at Aurelia and said;

"I'm sorry, but I'm not doing it." Ayla said. She knew what the consequences were . They would expell her from campus if the disciplinary committee found out what she did. So she decided to play safe. Moreover, she had never for once stolen anything. It was so against her morals, so she definitely wouldn't do it.

"Oh?" Charlotte, who had been watching the whole show unfold, said while standing up. Ayla mover backwards with every step Charlotte took until her back hit the wall. 

"Let's see if you can still be defiant." As she said this, Charlotte yanked Ayla by the hair and made her sit down on the floor. Ayla's eyes widened when she saw the iron box that was already connected to the switch. She could guess what was going to happen to her. Her heart suddenly had a bad feeling. 

"Undress her." Aurelia ordered Charlotte, who immediately did it. Ayla couldn't struggle. Her hands and feet had already been tied by Aurelia as Charlotte was in the process of undressing her. Ayla looked at the iron box that was in Aurelia's hand in horror.

"So, are you going to do it or not?" 

Aurelia asked while approaching. 

"I - aaaaaaaaaargh!!!!" Ayla was about to answer when Aurelia placed the iron box on her back and pressed it for several minutes. The moment she removed the iron box, it left a bloody red and huge wound, and a gash could be seen. It was a horrifying sight.

"Shut her up!" Aurelia ordered. 

Instantly, Charlotte stuffed several clothes in Ayla's mouth, and Aurelia nodded in satisfaction. 

Since she was stubborn and was set on going against her, Aurelia decided to teach her a lesson she would never forget.

In the room, the smell of burnt meat/flesh could be smelt, and Ayla's muffled groans of pain could also be heard. This gave the two girls, Charlotte and Aurelia joy. Seeing her in that sorry state. By the time they were done, Ayla had already passed out on the floor, and her body except her face were filled with the red patches, which were left by the iron box. Charlotte untied Ayla's hands and left her on the floor before she went back to cuddle with Aurelia.

Ayla was woken up an hour later by the excruciating pain on her body. It took her a while to realize what was happening. She looked down on her body, and tears immediately streaked down her face. However, the pain on her body didn't allow her to remain lying on the ground. She stood up with difficulty and headed for the bathroom. As she walked, she left a trail of blood on the floor. It was horrifying to look at. 

As soon as she entered the bathroom, she drew water in the bathtub and entered before soaking herself in the water. The moment the water touched her body, she winced and hissed in pain. She felt like ants were crawling and gnawing at her wounds . Tears couldn't help streaming down her face. She hated this. Her life, her body, everything about her. Why didn't they just kill her? That would be better, as she wouldn't have to suffer under fate's cruel hands. 

Even though she was still feeling pain, she decided to stay in the water. At least it helped lessen the pain as compared to when she was on the floor. With the pain, she wondered how she was going to put on clothes when she had classes to attend the following day. She lay in the tub in a daze and listened to the pain as it crawled under her flesh until her alarm brought her out of stupor. She immediately turned on the shower and showered slowly. It was a very painful process. After showering, sir looked for some baggy clothes that wouldn't stick to her wounds during her classes. Fortunately, she found them, a baggy baby pink sweatshirt and black sweatpants. She didn't forget to take painkillers before heading to class.

On that day, it was Hayden's class that was the first lesson. The moment he spotted her, all curled up and trembling when it was summer, he sensed something amiss. He tried his best to concentrate while teaching so that students wouldn't notice his oddity. However, he would glance at the girl's fave, which was extremely pale at that moment, in worry. He didn't know exactly what was happening, but he could tell that Ayla had a problem, a very serious problem. Since that was the case, the class that was to take three hours of time was shortened to an hour that day. Before he left the classroom; he announced;

"Ayla Williams, please meet me in my office." After saying this, he left. Ayla was a bit startled, but she still picked up her book with much difficulty and followed him. She believed she hadn't done anything wrong, so there was no need to panic. As they climbed the stairs, Ayla's forehead was covered in beads of sweat. Not because she was tired but because of the pain from the burns. It was heart-wrenching.

"Come on in." The moment Hayden sensed her hesitation, he said calmly. Ayla followed him and closed the door behind her before standing before him.

She was just ablut to open her mouth and ask when he beat her to it;

"You are feeling unwell, right?" Hayden asked, with all seriousness. He could see a trace of panic flash past her eyes and disappear the next moment. 

"Of course not, sir." Ayla shook her head and said after composing herself.

"Oh really?" As he said this, he got up from his seat and walked toward her slowly.

"Of course, sir." Ayla clenched her fists nervously as she answered .

"Then, why don't you fold the sleeves of your sweatshirt? I want to make sure you are really okay?" Hayden took one more step forward, which made Ayla flinch.

"No! No! Stay away from me! Stay away! Stay away -"Like a lunatic, Ayla began shouting at the top of her lungs. This made Hayden freeze in place. He was shocked at her unusual reaction. What exactly was it? As he was still thinking;

"Please, stay away, stay aw-"

"Damn it, shut up already, I'm trying to think here." Hayden ordered coldly. 

He was getting frustrated. However, to his surprise, she stopped shouting and stared at him.

"Hey, you're bleeding!" Hayden was shocked to see her baby pink sweatshirt covered in blood. 

The moment Ayla saw the blood, she fainted!

Without thinking twice, Hayden picked her up and went through the emergency door at the back. He did so to avoid any rumours about Ayla. As soon as he placed her in his car, he sped up on the road, not before calling his best friend who was a doctor, to tell him to wait for them while ready with equipment.

Hayden's heart hammered in hus chest loudly. His heart ached when he saw how much blood was still soaking her top. It was heartbreaking. 

Fortunately, in thirty minutes, he arrived at the hospital. He didn't let the medics help carry Ayla as he took the job himself. 

"Treat her, quick!" Hayden ordered his best friend who was about to greet him with urgency in his voice. What exactly was happening? 

As he waited outside, Hayden paced back and forth anxiously. He really hoped she was fine. His heart was in so much pain that he couldn't explain it. The waiting was very torturous.

The moment the operating room opened, Hayden anxiously rushed to his best friend. 

"How is she?"