The Enigma Within (Thorn Under Pedals Book 2)

Days into Weeks. Weeks turned into two months. Two months of time have flown by while Elizabeth rested in a hospital bed unconsciously. She was in a coma the doctors reported to the news channels who harassed them about the patient that was a mystery to all. Isabella was worried sick for Elizabeth since the day after she was supposed to have come home not knowing that she would not return. As the days had gone by Isabella grew anxious. She could not hide it from the two guys that continuously checked up on her each day. The third day Elizabeth was missing Isabella got out of bed like normal. She turned on the tv to distract her mind from the worry and also fill the eerie silence. Her mind was groggy from just waking up but cooking some eggs and bacon before school usually woke her up enough to start her day. As the bacon was set into the pan over the stove Isabella realized she had the news on from channel 12. Her nose wrinkled with displeasure. As safely as she could Isabella adjusted the pan so it would not fall as she moved away to grab the controller. Isabella hated listening to the news the first thing in the morning as it did not help her mood to stay positive. Typically it spoiled the good moods she would wake up in. Today it just adds to her already chaotic state. “Thank you, Drew.” The redhead petite news reporter began as Isabella walked into the living room heading for the couch. The controller sat on the arm of the couch farthest from her. “I am here at the Blue Crest Hospital where pieces of Andrew Williams' body have been collected along with an unconscious teenage girl in critical condition.” Isabella frowned as her tired brain wondered why that name was ringing bells in her mind. She looked up at the screen hoping to put the name to a face which they provided to the left of the screen. Why did he seem familiar? “Several days ago on the Williams family’s cruise ship during an annual auction for charity Andrews body was torn to pieces in the water surrounding the ship. The culprit was suspected to have been this young girl employed by the Williams under the name Cassandra Johnson. However, upon further investigation the police have been tracking another lead as she has been brutally attacked as well. Some witnesses claim that Cassandra was attacked and called out for help the afternoon before both she and Andrew were found bloodied in the water. The wounds on her legs lead to believe some type of sea creature is the culprit who murdered Andrew and his bodyguard Blake. If that is so then how did all three of them end up in the water late at night without being heard? Is this a coincidence or were these three involved in some type of bond? I will answer these questions and fill you in as soon as we have more information. Back to you Drew.” The sound of the fire alarm beeping jolted Isabella out of her trance in front of the Tv set. She jumped out her skin with adrenaline pumping through her veins. “s**t s**t shit.” Isabella cursed as she ran into the kitchen. Smoke fogged the kitchen making her cough. Waving the smoke out of her face the best she could, Isabella made her way to the pan that now held her four extremely charred covered bacon. The alarm blared in her ear drums but she needed to turn off the stove and get rid of the burnt bacon before she could open the windows. Quickly she scrambled around with the tasks trying to ignore the alarm. Finally Isabella had all the windows open and a fan blowing the smoke out of the kitchen causing the alarm to become silent. Isabella slid down the wall exhausted. The adrenaline fading and her heart beat returning to normal she laid her head back against the wall to relax for a few minutes. Isabella fished out her cell phone from her pajama pants pocket. With shaky hands she dialed her school administration office. After claiming to be sick and unable to come in for the day Isabella waited for Arthur to pick up. The phone rang three times before she heard a click and then an exhausted grunting voice on the other side. “Hello?” Arthur answered not even bothering to check who the hell woke him up earlier than his alarms. He was not a morning person and slept as long as he could before his alarms woke him up twenty minutes before he had to get ready for school.The perks of having his license and car. He got to sleep in longer than the sad idiots that had to take the buses for their ride. “Arthur.” Isabella whispered, feeling hesitant all of a sudden after hearing his annoyed tone. What was she going to tell him? She closed her eyes thinking over what to do. Elizabeth had been hiding her identity and Isabella didn’t want to ruin it when it had been for her friend's safety. However, Elizabeth was now in a life or death condition that Isabella could not just wait to see what happened. She needed to go to her and reassure herself that she would be ok. Erik was out of the question for two reasons. He would not just let it go and investigate the biggest issue. The second was that Isabella felt more comfortable turning to Arthur. “Isabella?” Arthurs tone changed to concern. She was not one to call him. Ya they had texted and hung out but this was the first time she had called him especially this early in the morning. Something wasn’t right and he shot up into a sitting position. “Are you ok? What’s wrong?” Isabella bit her lip thinking over her words and trying to make up her mind. Arthur must have taken that the wrong way cause he was rambling in concern trying to get Isabella to respond. Cutting him off she took a deep breath. “It’s my sister.” Arthur frowned, confused. He never knew that Isabella had a sister. She had seemed like an only child. “What happened?” Now was not the time to question her. He would just wait later on. Isabella seemed rattled and it put him on edge. “She is in the hospital in critical condition. I…I have to go see her.” Isabella prayed that her emotions for Elizabeth came through hiding the lie of them being siblings. Before Elizabeth had left she had told Isabella that they were siblings in her work life. Isabella had to play this right and hopefully when they got to the hospital Arthur wouldn’t flat out reveal the lie to everyone. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Arthur stated as he got up getting dressed as she spoke. Her voice was weak as she thanked him. With no need to thank me, Arthur hung up the phone and was ready five minutes later. Arthur informed his father that he wouldn’t be going to school because a friend needed them. He didn’t care about the questions and scolding that came from the statement Arthur just walked out of the house in a hurry. Isabella stood up weakly. She would have to eat breakfast on the way. For now she needed to make a call to the hospital. Then she had to grab the items that she may need to prove her fake claim of being related to Cassandra Johnson. By the time things were set and Isabella was getting her shoes on Arthur was pulling up. The car ride was awkward. Neither one of them spoke. Isabella is nervous but Arthur takes the signs as worrying. Arthur was filled with questions that he was holding back. They were both glad when they reached the hospital. Isabella rushed out of the car not bothering to make sure that he was following. “Where is my sister? Where is Cassandra Johnson?” Isabella cried out to the nurse on the other side of the desk. “I’m sorry,miss, you are on the wrong side of the center. You need to go to the ICU rooms. They are down the hallway and take a right all the way down.” The nurse responded, glancing at me. Isabella nodded. With Arthur right behind her they followed the instructions. Isabella’s heart was beating unsteady as she took in the surrounding area. Arthur saw the look in her eyes of fear. He brushed his fingertips against the back of her hand. Not seeing her flinch or move away Arthur took that as a sign it was ok. He held her hand interlocking their joined hands. Isabella took a deep calming breath. A small smile that didn’t reach her eyes flashed before his eyes. The tension in her shoulders is relaxing. They stopped in front of the desk at the very end of the hall. Isabella bit her lip. “I’m here to see my sister Cassandra.” The nurse nodded and began typing on the computer before looking up at her. “Cassandra Johnson?” “Yes.” Isabella could feel Arthurs gaze on her questioningly but she ignored him. “Is she okay?” Concern and worry flooded in her tone and expression. The nurse gave her a soft pity gaze. It tore at Isabella’s gut growing more concerned. “Room 201 on the left side.” Isabella turned but stopped to look back as the nurse called out. “Only one person is permitted in there at a time.” Her eyes shot to Arthur’s. He squeezed her hand reassuringly. “I’ll be right here when you're ready.” Isabella nodded silently. Taking a few breaths Isabella walked to Elizabeth’s room. Finding the room was easy as it was the third door from the desk. The difficult part was opening the door. What awaited inside for her to see? How badly was Elizabeth injured? Tears formed behind her eyes. Her breathing was shaky with emotion. Isabella’s hand hovered over the door handle. The door creaked slightly as she opened it wide enough to enter. The tears she had been holding back fell as her eyes took in the broken unconscious form of Elizabeth. Elizabeth had wrappings around her feet up her legs, minor cuts were seen along the arm that was not in a sling. Monitors were hooked up to her in various places. There was discoloration from bruises visible on her jaw and eye. Isabella’s hand covered her mouth as a sob broke out taking in the mask helping Elizabeth breath as if she could not do it on her own. Blood bags were dangling on a metal rack on the right side pumping into her wrist Elizabeth was deathly pale and sweating dripped from her forehead. The door behind Isabella creaked, making her turn with a start. An elderly man dressed in the traditional doctor's coat gently smiled at her. Glancing at his name tag Isabella asked, “How is she Dr. Oscar.?” Dr. Oscar gestured to Isabella to sit in the chair on Elizabeth's left side. Slowly Isabella did. With his hands clasped behind his back Dr. Oscar began. “Are you her sister?” Isabella nodded, feeling her throat thickening the longer that she saw Elizabeth. She felt drawn to place her hand on Elizabeth’s upper arm in the sling gently. “Please tell me she will live.” Dr. Oscar cleared his throat and rasped out, “We did all that we could. The rest is up to her. She came in with a dangerously slow heart rate, major blood loss, ripped up legs to the bone, a fractured shoulder blade, and a deep gash on the back of her head.” The tears burned Isabella’s eyes. “Oh my god.” Isabella sobbed, bending over laying her head next to Elizabeth’s slinged up arm. Dr. Oscar gently placed a comforting hand on the young girl’s shaking shoulder. There was not much he could say to comfort her. Her sister was on the verge of death. The only thing that was stopping that line from being a flat line was the girls will. In all his years of being a doctor there were many cases of sickening injuries. This one had twisted his practiced stomach. “I am not sure when or if she will wake up. By some miracle she lives through this there are so many things that will be a struggle for her. One of the main things being physical therapy to learn to walk again. It’s very possible from her wounded head that she may not even remember anything.” He muttered hating this part of his job but knew that she would need to know. He felt her body tense and watched as her eyes reached his. “She won’t remember anything? As in everything in her life?” Isabella’s voice cracked at the end. “I am afraid that it is very likely that she will lose her memory permanently.” He confirmed. Isabella closed her eyes feeling hurt but also grateful. A part of her wished that Elizabeth would forget everything from her life even if that meant her as well. Maybe then Elizabeth could live without the memories of her family's murder hanging over her. Isabella hoped that this would be the start of a happy life for Elizabeth. In this moment Isabella promised that if, no, when Elizabeth woke up and memory loss was there Isabella would hide the past from her. Isabella would treat her like the sister Elizabeth had claimed her to be instead of the friend who had been mourning the loss of her family. “May I have s-some time alone with her please?” Isabella needed space to let her emotions out free without worrying about anyone trying to comfort her. She needed to think of how to take care of Elizabeth and lay her friend to rest where no one would question the fake death. Isabella took in Elizabeth’s features and knew that no matter how the wounds healed she would be covered in scars that made it difficult to tell that she was actually Elizabeth. “Of course. A nurse will be in a couple hours to check up on her.” He said, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly. Isabella nodded slightly. She heard him move to the door. Without looking away from Elizabeth she knew when he had left them alone. Isabella leaned forward placing a palm against one cheek. She took a deep breath. Heavy with sadness and concern her throat was thick. Isabella didn’t know what to do but she was not going to leave her friend all alone. Not after Elizabeth had saved her from her father. “You better wake up. Don’t you dare die and leave me in this world alone. You hear me?” Isabella weakly growled. “I don’t know what happened that you got like this but I will be here to help you back on your feet. You just have to wake up. You have to live.” She did not know what she had been expecting. Maybe some sign that Elizabeth heard her even in a twitch but there was no reaction to her words. Isabella tried not to let that bring her down from trying. Everyday Isabella came by and told Elizabeth about what was happening in her life. When she wasn’t at the hospital she planned a way to make Elizabeth’s fake death seem believable. Each day Erik and Arthur didn’t hear from Elizabeth they were freaking out. Isabella had to pretend to be as well. One month of a coma stated Elizabeth and Isabella set her plan in action. She hoped it worked since she wasn’t as great at this as Elizabeth was with her kills. Not that Isabella knew it.