Till Eternity

“ You’re useless Lilah! “

The cold piercing voice rang in her ears. 

“ You have finally succeeded in killing her like you killed your father! “ 

“Why didn't you die instead?” The slurry words came out broken and teary hiccups followed. 

“ N-no Mom, don't say that”

The broken words escaped her lips and Lilah’s eyes instantly snapped open to reality.

A blaring loud sound pierced into Lilah’s consciousness, waking her from the dreaming haze.

She could feel a trail of tears escape her eyelids as she tried to regain consciousness fully.

The noise persisted, and Lilah groaned, attempting to shove her head further into the pillow. Her movements were slow, and her mind was foggy. She blinked slowly, squinting at her surroundings, disoriented and disconcerted.

These weren’t her bedsheets.

Beside her, the beeping became furious, and she turned her head to look at the monitor that kept taunting her not-so-peaceful sleep.

The cold white walls and fluorescent bricks of light were an intense reminder of where she was.

Oh great, I almost forgot I was stuck here again, she sighed, throat dry as if she’d swallowed sand.

She was in the hospital. Her least favorite place.

Lilah gave a faint bitter laugh.

“It’s just three months until I finally leave this cold, lonely place,” she murmured hoarsely.

She has been at this hospital for nearly a year now.

And she hated every second she spent here, but given her health and the brain condition that puts her life in danger at every corner. She couldn’t exactly steer clear of hospitals.

Flashbacks of her dream make their way back to her mind, but she shakes them off.

Don't think about it Lilah, it won't do you any good.

She cannot afford to add to her stress, not with a brain surgery darkening over her like a shadow.

She kicked off the sheets and swung her legs over the side of the bed gingerly.

The world wobbled a tiny bit, but she steadied herself, breathing slowly.

The hospital room felt too stifling.

She needed fresh air — anything to take her mind off the horrid memories of her life.

Lilah stepped into the hallway, her sock-clad foot on the chilly floor as she began to wander aimlessly

It was usually around this time that the nurse's painful injections were planned for her to take.  But the stupid injections obviously did not do anything to change her condition all these years, so why not skip today? 

So she wandered far away from where the regular hospital rooms were, up to the “ wealthy people’s “ section, shaking her head in amazement at the luxury the rich people enjoy even in hospitals in the VIP area.

She turns a corner and sees nurse Sam from afar, she appears to have a tray of injections heading directly towards Lilah’s room.

Panic flitted in Lilah’s chest.  Not Again

She thought about returning to her room and obediently taking her injections, but her feet didn’t seem to share the same vision.

Without a thought she slipped inside the closest room nearby, hiding behind the curtains, wrapping them around her so Sam wouldn’t catch sight of her. 

The last thing she wanted at the moment was a painful injection. She held her breath as she stood frozen listening carefully not to make any sounds.

But instead of silence, she heard voices drifting toward her from the other side of the curtain.

“…I don’t care about your medical opinion,” a low, rumbling voice sliced through the air, each word cold and biting.

I entered someone's room? 

Lilah peeked through the curtain, her eyes widening at the thought of what awaited her.

And then she saw him ….

The young man in the hospital bed was glaring at a bald doctor with such intensity that it felt like he was daring him to continue talking. Like the doctor was chattering in some foreign tongue he didn’t want to listen to.

The bald doctor wiped the sweat off his forehead feeling a little anxious as he tried to explain to the bedridden young man why he would still be confined in the hospital for at least three more months.

She felt the atmosphere in the room change, and every single person was shifting around nervously on their feet in the presence of the patient. Lilah turned her attention to the person in the bed,

The guy looks no older than twenty years old,  so why do they look so intimidated by him?

Her eyes trailed over his lean, sexy form once again and she could feel a blush rise on her cheeks at her shameless gawking.

“But he is just so handsome,” she mumbled, peeking unashamedly at the young man from where she hid.

His steel grey eyes were like a raging storm. Brown hair flopped around his forehead in an unruly and clumsy manner, giving him a lazy, nonchalant look, but still, his mysterious aura was apparent.

The hospital clothes he wore did nothing to deter his attractive looks.

Lilah stared at the man as he spoke, the cold pressure of the room rising with each word he spoke. 

“Do your best to speed up this recovery, I have a lot to take care of rather than being confined in this hospital wasting time “.

His voice was low and raspy, making heat pull in her belly at how pleasing he sounded.

“Y…. yes , just take your medicines I promise you, you’ll be out of here in no time “. The doctor hastily nodded, wishing to please the young man.

The moment the Doctor exited the room, the man‘s cold gaze focused on the spot where Lilah was hiding, and their eyes met from where she was peeping from, making the tiny girl freeze in shock wondering how he could see her in the dark.

“ Come out here” he rasped, his voice carrying an edge that caused Lilah's eyes to widen in fear.

Crap, I’m doomed 

She gnawed at her lips as she felt guilty for being caught where she wasn’t supposed to be.

Lilah hesitated, but then his eyes — those cold, piercing eyes looked below the curtain directly at the spot she was squatting.

It's no use, she'd been caught red-handed.

Well, this is embarrassing, she heaved out a resigned sigh and with deliberate care, she pulled the fabric aside to shuffle out into the open, feeling very small beneath his predatory gaze.

“I … um … didn’t mean to …” Her voice faded, barely a whisper. She wrung her hands in nervousness and stared down at her sock-clad feet.

“ I mean, I was just… I was trying to avoid my injection, and I—I didn’t know anyone was in here until it was too late. I swear, I wasn’t prying!”

“Closer,” he demanded, his tone as hard as stone, motioning for her to come closer.

Lilah’s feet would not move, her body froze in fear at how intimidating he looked.  But before she could come up with an escape plan, he climbed out of bed, his tall, lean muscular frame dwarfing her petite stature.

He approached her slowly, fingers barely brushing her chin, as he tilted her face up to meet his eyes.

Her throat seized up, she could not breathe.

He was ethereal up close, his perfect skin, pale pink lips pursed in a straight, unyielding line, and cold stormy irises.

To her surprise, his eyes softened a little when they caught hers, and for the faintest second, the harshness in his gaze dissipated.

Lilah blinked, bewildered by the change in his expression.

When he walked over earlier, she could swear her heart dipped at how menacing he looked.

The man loomed over her,  as his cold eyes stared down at her 5’2 body like an ant, his blank expression gave Lilah goosebumps all over her body and made her stomach knot in pure terror.

“What’s your name?” he asked, his voice deep, but without the murderous edge it had had before.

“L-Lilah,” she stuttered, her voice almost a whisper.

“Hmmm,” he nodded, staring at her unblinking.

“What’s yours?” she asked shyly, mentally rebuking herself for being so forward.

After a pause, he replied to her with one word.

“Kayden”

She stared at him in shock, surprised that he even answered her calmly, and didn't ignore her like she had expected. 

“I-i’m 18, how old are you?

She asked genuinely curious.

Again he answered monotonously.

“Twenty”.

She immediately figured out that’s just how he is, unreadable and stoic, and since he hadn't shown any sign of animosity towards her even with his cold demeanor, she had no reason to be wary or upset.

If things go well, she might even gain a new friend today.

Just then, there was a knock on the door before Lilah could explain further.

“Who is it “… Kayden demanded, his voice echoing in the quiet room.

“It’s a nurse here”, a voice nervously replied, We are actually searching for a female patient she said making Lilah's eyes go wide.

The hospital in general had totally slipped her mind.

Realizing she had to leave soon, she blurted out the first thing that came to her head. 

“Do you wanna be friends? She declares, cringing inside, but it didn't matter, she is too desperate to find her own age to be friends with.

“I—I mean you’re not that much older than I am,” she added.

" I don't have any friends here, and I want to at least, hang out with someone during my time in the hospital,  so the days would at least go by faster"

“And well…most of the people here are old and boring, that means they go to sleep early…”

What are you going on about Lilah, you're not even making any sense right now. 

She internally berated herself but still went on.

“ It would be really nice to finally have a friend  to spend time with in this bleak place.”

Her voice grew smaller by the minute as she kept realizing how desperate she sounded. But after all, she is bloody well desperate to find solace through this loneliness.

Kayden stared at her for what seemed like forever. His cold eyes revealed nothing, but Lilah swore she found a glimpse of something there—amusement or curiosity, maybe?

“I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

Lilah watched the cold stoic human stare blankly at her for nearly twenty seconds.

When Kayden finally gave her a slight nod, Lilah did her best to hold back the squeals bubbling up her throat. But she couldn’t help bouncing lightly on her feet, smiling wide, making her dimples visible.

"I-I’ll see you later then, " she says her voice quiet and shy.

She waved goodbye to Kayden, still feeling the excitement coursing through her veins. Her feet bounced on the floor. 

People wouldn't understand how she felt, it was hard enough dealing with a disease that took most of her life away from her, leaving her stuck in a hospital without people her age to relate to or be friends with. 

This little hope she now has of finally meeting someone she could call a friend is something she had always wished for with every passing hour in these cold hospital walls.

Seeing the never-ending smile on her face, Kayden's cold expression softened — just a tad — as he offere