Chapter 2 Her father died

The Next Day

At 1 pm

It was not the bed in her small room, she could tell that. Where was she? Whose bed it was?

Bellona touched the soft bed that she was sleeping on when she had her eyes closed. She felt strange, it was definitely not even the same environment she was familiar with.

'Am I dreaming?'

Suddenly opening her eyes, Bellona curled at a corner of the king-sized bed. She looked around and she was surprised.

It was a beautiful room, so big even bigger than her room back at her home. Everything was pinkish, she looked at so many teddies on the couch. Anybody could tell that it was a girl's room by just looking at it once.

Bellona could not remember any of her girlfriends' rooms to be this beautiful and big. 'Where am I? Am I kidnapped?' Bellona covered her mouth as fear was engulfing her slowly.

She crawled down the bed and looked around again. Where was the door? She couldn't find any. Strange! To understand the situation well, she pinched herself then she hissed.

'It hurts.'

As she looked at her right her eyes caught on the mirror. Letting out a sigh of relief she touched her chest. Thankfully she was wearing the same dress from the... Wait, Bellona remembered everything that happened before she fainted.

Now, she was more terrified. She started looking for the door as getting out of there was the most important for her now. She didn't even know whether she was kidnapped or not.

"Good afternoon, Bellona." Suddenly hearing an unfamiliar male voice she turned around to see who it was.

'He... Did he kidnap me?' Thinking so she quickly clenched her fists and threw a fist at him. Mathew quickly stepped back by her sudden move.

"Hey, cool down lady. I am Mathew, remember? You saw me once or twice I guess, that's why you don't remember my voice I guess." He smiled at her cheekily.

"Who's Mathew? I don't know you. Why did you kidnap me? Let me go." Showing him her clenched fist Bellona said so, more like she was warning him.

Mathew could not help but laugh. Was she the same girl who was scared of Preston? Showing her the way to the door he asserted, "You can go out from that door if you want. But ..."

"Thanks..." With that, she quickly walked out of the room. She wanted to leave as soon as possible.

But as she walked out of the room she saw another guy. As far as she could remember him, he was Henry.

"Hey, you woke up? Good afternoon."

Giving no importance to his words she asked him, "How to get out of here? You, tell me." "But why do you want to leave? Are you feeling better already?" He walked towards her. "What happened to me?" Bellona could not understand what he meant. Wasn't she fine?

To her surprise, she saw Derek and behind him, the only one she hated was standing like a cool guy.

Seeing Preston she started feeling uneasy, her 'I can fight' spirit vanished in the air.

"Good afternoon, Bellona." Derek greeted her with a smile.

Smiling half-heartedly , she greeted him back. "Afternoon."

"Are you feeling better now?"

To his question, she just nodded her head. She did not even look up, something she felt every time. Preston was like a rope to cut her spirit anyhow.

"Lunch is ready. Let's have lunch together." As she heard Derek saying so she remembered it was afternoon when she fainted the last time.

"Yeah, let's go." Mathew came out of the room.

When everybody was walking down the stairs Bellona was still standing. She was indulged in thoughts about yesterday. What happened?

"Bellona, you are joining us too," Derek informed her.

She wanted to ask something but seeing Preston look at her she couldn't do such. She just followed them.

At the lunch table, she was playing with the fork when everybody was eating.

"You don't like the food?" Hearing Preston's voice she looked up and looked down again. "Ahh, it's not... I just don't have an appetite." She replied in a low voice.

"Mat, exchange your seat with me." Getting up from his chair Preston walked towards Bellona. Mathew followed his instructions.

Bellona quickly got up as she was terrified what if she made him angry and he was going to punish her again.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that, I just..." She bowed her head and uttered.

But not only her, everybody was surprised to see what Preston did next. He touched her shoulder and said, "You didn't do anything wrong, don't be sorry." And he pushed her to sit back on her chair.

Until now, Preston was always bad with her. He loved to treat her badly. Something was off with him today. Everybody was glaring at him instead of eating.

"You guys, stop giving me that look." Everybody looked down and controlled their laughter as they heard Preston.

But Bellona was having a bad feeling. What was he going to do with her this time? She didn't even have any idea if she did anything wrong.

All her unanswered questions died deep down because of what he did next.

"Say ahh." Holding a spoonful of food Preston held the spoon in front of her mouth.

All the boys along with Bellona thought they heard wrong. Preston Adam Collymore was going to feed her? No way.

"What are you looking at? You got sick because of me so .... I'm just... Feeding you. Don't gimme that look."

Bellona nodded her head and didn't say anything anymore. Everybody gulped at the scene happening in front of their eyes. Preston was feeding her like a cute boyfriend. Henry was even recording everything.

Suddenly Bellona got up from the chair and asked, "How many days have passed since I was sick? Since I fainted?"

"One day, why?" Hearing Derek she swallowed hard. One day passed, she was away from home.

'I have to go.' She looked for her shoes and as she saw them she quickly put them on and then left in a hurry without answering anybody's inquiries.

At home

It was seven in the evening when she reached her home.

There was no light in the whole house as if it was an abandoned house. Bellona turned the lights on as she entered the house. Strange! Her father had night blindness so he always kept all the lights on. Why was tonight an exception?

"Papa, are you in the kitchen?" She put on the slippers and then walked towards the kitchen.

But she did not see him there. 'Is he asleep? This soon?' Bellona walked upstairs, towards her father's room.

In that house, only two members lived; She and her father. "Papa, are you asleep?" Walking in the room Bellona turned the lights on but she was disappointed as there was nobody.

Where was her father? "Where did he go?" Bellona walked downstairs. She was thinking about where her father could go.

"Maybe uncle Peter knows?" She touched her jeans pocket to take out her cell phone but then she let out a sigh of sadness. She forgot to take her phone with her.

"Let's search outside." She walked towards the door. Just then she stepped backward, her expression changed as she saw none other than her mother and behind her, it was her sister. 'What were they doing here?' she thought.

Since her childhood, she saw her mom only once and it was when she went on the last picnic, a family picnic. And from then on, neither her mother called nor was worried about her. Bellona wondered what made her come here tonight.

When she was still thinking why they came, her mom Ellie walked towards her and then slapped her hard without wasting a second or saying anything.

Bellona in utter shock looked at Ellie. "I wonder why I carried you all those months in my womb! How can I have such a monster as my daughter!"

"What... What do you mean?" She asked Ellie in confusion. She was habitual of her treating her like she didn't have a heart since her childhood.

"Whom are you acting like an innocent flower for? You have killed my husband and you are acting all you don't know?" Ellie spat out angrily.

As if she fell from the sky high up. Bellona asked her in utter shock, "What are you saying? Paoa, what happened to him?"

"Don't you know? Do you think you can gain our trust this way?" Eldora, her sister, looked at her with hatred in her eyes.

Bellona had no idea of this sudden behavior of them. And what were they saying? What happened to her father?

"Your father had a heart attack yesterday. He called you but you didn't receive it. He... He could be saved if you were here. He had only you, how could you do this? Huh?" Ellie covered her mouth with both her hands saying so.

Bellona nodded her head in disbelief. "No, you... You are lying. It cannot happen, no..." She stepped backward. Her whole world was crashing down under her feet. It couldn't happen, the only person in her life who loved her and who was her everything... God could not take him away from her, no...