The two men finally arrived at a car that had been waiting for them. Luka opened the door and got in with Hayden. He wanted to say something to Hayden, but he wasn’t sure if he should; however, it wasn’t like he had anything to lose…


    "Hayden boy, I don’t think what happened was your fault…" Luka whispered, his words were for Hayden’s ears only.


    "Thanks…but it was my fault…" Hayden whispered back without hesitation before he smiled a little sadly at Luka.


    Their conversation died there with Luka unable toe back with a reply to convince Hayden otherwise. The old man sighed once again, leaned his head back and closed his eyes. This job was getting to be too much for his aging mind.


    …


    The ride to the hospital was silent as I sat in the backseat of arge limousine with two men in ck on either side of me. I felt like a prisoner being delivered to court to go on trial. They treated me like I was going to run away any moment now; I guess since I did just try to run away from Hayden, what they were doing wasn’tpletely crazy nuts.


    As expected, no matter how many times I asked about Hayden and where he was headed, the men never answered my questions at all. Finally, I just gave up and sat there in the car and began anxiously ying with a strand of my hair. Checking the time on my phone, I guessed it was about half an hour before we arrived at a hospital.


    "You know…I’m fine, I don’t need to go to a hospital," I said honestly. I wasn’t trying to be stubborn or anything, I just had a few scratches here and there. None of them were seriously hurting because the scratches were so shallow. There was nothing on my body that simple antiseptic and bandages couldn’t fix.


    "Young boss wanted us to take you to a hospital so that is exactly what we are doing," one of the men replied without even looking my way.


    So, they’ll take someone who doesn’t need medical attention to a hospital because they were ordered to, but they won’t take Hayden, who is in clear need of medical attention to a hospital…


    Oh…what the hell am I dealing with…


    When we arrived at the hospital, I was taken by the men straight to the ER like I had some serious condition. The doctors were clearly confused but didn’t want to get involved with the men in ck and began inspecting my wounds right away.


    "The scratches are minor. I will get a nurse to help sterilize and apply some medicine and bandages. Then everything should be ok," the doctor said what I had been trying to tell the men in the car. I red at them trying to say ’see? I told you so!’


    "Not good enough, doctor. I want her whole body scanned, x-rayed or whatever. Please check for any damages internally or to her bones. Anything…" one of the men said insistently.


    "That’s not necessary. I’m fine!" I protested loudly.


    This is all getting out of hand. The doctor looked at me and then the men in ck in shock as he seemed hesitant about what to do next.


    "This is private hospital, isn’t it? You should offer all the services that we asked for because you’ll make more money that way, right?" the man said, his voice getting louder and more intimidating.


    I saw the doctor struggling to control the situation and I couldn’t help but pity the man. With a sigh, I told the doctor to just do whatever the gang wanted. For the next hour, I was wheeled around in a wheelchair from one room to another to get unnecessary checks for my body. Then I waited some more while they analyzed the results.


    In the end, just as I had expected, everything proved to be aplete waste of time and money. My body waspletely fine but the whole tiresome process almost left me insane at the end of it. I sat with one of the men in ck as we waited for the limousine toe pick us up in front of the hospital lobby.


    Suddenly, the man’s phone began ringing. In one swift motion, he answered the call and ced his phone next to his ear.


    "Yes, sir…" I heard the man say.


    Without thinking and without having any options left. I screamed as loud as I could to make sure that whoever was on the other side of the line could hear me.


    "Where is Hayden! He’s hurt! He should be in the hospital!!!"


    The man turned to me in shock and for a moment, I was convinced that he was going to kill me. His eyes were round and wide as he stared at me. I guess this is the time when my life was supposed to sh in front of my eyes…


    The loud sound ofughter from the other end of the line broke the tense atmosphere around us. The man bit his lower lip in annoyance as he ced the phone back to the side of his face.


    "Yes, Boss…" the man said before the line disconnected.


    "That was the boss, right? Is Hayden…with him?" I asked in a hurry.


    "Let’s go. The car’s here…" the man said without replying to my question.


    I hated being ignored and I was being ignored so much by these mentely. However, this time, I had a sense that I was right. Hayden was with the boss and if my hunch is correct, I’m on my way to see them right now…


    …


    "Boss, Hayden is here…" a man announced as he opened the door to the room.


    "Drag him in…" the boss said, his brows in a knot.


    The man bowed low, sensing that his boss wasn’t in the best of moods. Hayden walked in with two men escorting him and the boss eyes narrowed into thin slits as he eyed his son. With the dismissive wave of his hand, the two men exited the room, closing the door behind them and locking it.


    --To be continued…