Chapter 42 Am I a good friend?
Ava’s POV
“Ava, are you coming? Rodrigo is asking for you,” A coworker, who worked as a stripper in the club asked as I glammed my face.
I sighed deeply as I muttered an incoherent curse before I whipped my neck around to face her, “Why?”
She tied the straps of her twelve inches heels as she shrugged, “How am I supposed to know? He probably has VIP clients today, and since his precious moneymaker, Ophelia is gone. The responsibility falls on you,”
In response, I just shook my head and turned to face the mirror as I added finishing touches to my makeup. I hadn’t even called Ophelia since I left the hospital earlier today, I had been cooped up at the club, working overtime as I had some bills to offset.
And unlike Ophelia, I had no ridiculously wealthy boss who would be benevolent enough to throw money in my direction.
I sighed to myself as I hoisted myself up from the chair before I walked to my assigned closet to place my makeup supplies inside it. Then, I grabbed my phone and checked the time.
Ten minutes to eleven. Perfect, I still had enough time to place a call to my best friend.
I dialed her number and waited for her to answer the call. I was stunned when her line redirected me to another line which was an invalid phone number.
I scoffed inwardly, keyed in her number once more, with my heart tugging in uneasiness.
What was happening?
The same thing happened again. Ophelia’s number was redirected to another line.
It was at that moment I knew something was off. If at all Ophelia was busy, her phone would at least ring out, and I won’t be redirected to an illegal line.
Had something bad happened to my best friend? I thought, frantically calling her number for the third time.
And once again, I was redirected to another line. I inhaled deeply as I mindlessly stared at my phone for a split second. The time was ticking fast and I had to start work soon.
I gasped, with hope blossoming in me when my phone rang. The hope dissipated when I saw that it was an unknown caller. I thought of declining the call, thinking it was a jobless con artist or someone like that.
But something inside me argued against it, and I sighed deeply before I answered the call, and placed it against my ear, “Hello,”
“Hello, is Miss Ava Castillo, Miss Ophelia Alvarez’s guardian?” The male caller from the other end asked.
I gulped as trepidation rose inside me before I nodded to myself, even though the caller couldn’t see me, “Y-yes, I am Ava Castillo,” I stammered.
“Great, I’m calling from Texas general hospital and I have news for you. But please do not panic and try to remain calm until you get here,” The man said.
I huffed, despite my fears. How could I remain calm? I was already a second away from having an anxiety attack after hearing that he was calling from a hospital.
“What happened to her?” I inquired.
“She was rushed to the hospital by a kind stranger. She was found bleeding by the roadside and unconscious. We’ve managed to stop the bleeding but she’s still unconscious,” He answered, and if not for the vice grip I had on my phone, it would have slipped out of my hand.
My legs suddenly felt wobbly and weak so I had to hold on to a chair to support myself. I plopped down on a chair as tears pooled in my eyes.
Ophelia. My Ophelia was found bleeding by the roadside barely six hours after we parted at the hospital.
What could have happened to her in six hours? Who could have dumped her by the roadside?
Was it her boss? Instantly, I regretted not coercing her boss’ contact information from her.
I should have prodded her until she gave in. Now, she was molested and I had no idea who could have done it.
“I-I’ll be there soon. Thanks for calling,” I said before ending the call, and staring at myself in the mirror for a brief moment.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.
Then, as if possessed, I frantically peeled off my work outfit, threw it into my locker, fished out my casual clothes, and flung them on before I wiped off the loud makeup on my face.
I ran my fingers through my blonde tresses to get the glitter out and grabbed my handbag and my phone to send a quick text to Rodrigo, asking for his permission.
His reply was instant but he informed me I’d have to work throughout the rest of the week.
The greedy scum. I huffed as I exited the dressing room with my heart pounding violently in my chest and worry visibly etched on my features.
Please be okay, Ophelia. Please be safe. I inwardly hoped as I climbed into the back of a taxi.
+++
“Miss Ava Castillo, right?” The male doctor asked, ticking something off on his notepad, to which I nodded in affirmation.
I was currently in Ophelia’s hospital ward, a VIP hospital ward at that, and that was the final nail to the coffin.
I was now completely sure that Ophelia’s boss was solely responsible for what happened to my best friend because there was no way a hospital would admit a person into a VIP room just like that.
Something didn’t add up but the hospital was refusing to tell me about the “kind” stranger who assisted Ophelia. They claimed the stranger said they wanted anonymity.
Seeing Ophelia lying lifelessly, gaunt and pale caused tears to blind my vision, and I wept quietly. I couldn’t believe this was the same person I had held today, the same person I had gone to a crematorium with.
Everything suddenly seemed unreal and perplexing.
“We’ve gotten some of the test results. By the way, can I ask you a question?” He questioned.
“Sure,” I nodded.
“Did you know Miss Ophelia was sexually assaulted?” He stated.
My eyes theatrically widened in shock as I fervently shook my head, and dropped my stare from the doctor to Ophelia’s sleeping form.
“As in she was raped?” I whispered shakily.
“Yes, I’m afraid. She was raped in the anus. We found specks of dried blood there, and as you can see, she was whipped to unconsciousness by the suspect. Her entire body is completely bruised, and if the kind stranger had been just a second late, something terrible could have happened to her,” He elaborated, and I clasped my hand over my mouth in shock.
“T-this could not have been done by an incontinent old man, right?” I turned to the doctor, and he frowned for a moment before he nodded.
“Yes, whoever did this ugly act is a young man. An incontinent person can’t do something like this,” He affirmed.
“I’ll be back when I get the other test results. Excuse me,” The doctor informed, to which I nodded before he left.
Soon, I was alone with Ophelia. I plopped on the chair beside her bed, and intertwined our fingers together before I burst into bitter tears.
I was the worst friend ever. I couldn’t even notice Ophelia’s distress.
I should have paid more attention to my best friend.
“I’m sorry, Lia,” I croaked, fluttering my eyes close, and allowing the tears to freely fall.