Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Athena’s P.O.V.

It was already eight in the morning when I woke up. I felt a sudden headache and nausea. Dizziness occupied me like my head was floating—silently urging me to bury myself on the bed and continue my sleep. I touched my head and neck, even hugged myself to verify, then I found that my body was warmer than usual.

I undoubtedly had a fever. It looked like now was the time to taste my own medicine after dancing and enjoying myself in the rain yesterday. Why not? It cooled the warm day—the droplets were like a welcome shower kissing my skin.

Stupid bitch!

I opened my bedside drawer and picked up my digital thermometer. I placed it on my right ear, and after hearing its beeping sound, it confirmed that I had a high fever based on its thirty-nine-degree Celsius reading. Upon further checking on myself, I was also having a cold and cough, plus sore throat and body pains.

Daddy worriedly called Dr. Kim to come over and personally check me. Based on his findings, I was having a systemic viral illness and sore throat infection. With my ill-tempered strength, I could not believe that I would get sick. Dr. Kim prescribed paracetamol for the fever and some antibiotics to prevent more throat complications.

Sighing in defeat, I just continued resting on the headboard. One thing I hated the most was drinking medicines, but I guessed I had no other choice for now. I had to do it if I wanted to be healthy again, for me to report back to school as soon as possible.

“How are you, Athena?” Dr. Kim asked when Dad went outside my bedroom. I knew that the question was not about my illness but how I was still coping up after the accident.

“I’m o-okay, Doc.” I smiled at him while gripping the comforter in line with my neck. I lied because I wasn’t okay. In fact, I no longer knew the meaning of the word since last year.

I guessed Dr. Kim was not yet in his thirties. He could be a brother to me. I wasn’t fond of watching Korean dramas like my twin sister, but he looked like a Korean actor.

If only he knew that Athena was already dead and he should call me Helena here at home, I wondered what would be his reaction. Well, I couldn’t ask him for help. Dr. Kim was only a doctor in his profession, and he doesn’t have the right to instruct my father on what he wanted to do with me. My father was powerful enough, and he would raise hell for Helena to live.

“Okay, if you say so. I’ve got to go now. Don’t stress yourself too much and don’t forget to drink your medicines on time, okay? Lastly, I know that this will only make you feel uncomfortable, but you are not allowed to take a bath.” He smiled at me while slightly ruining my hair.

I pouted but, in the end, I nodded at him like an obedient sister. Dr. Kim gently patted my shoulder before he walked past the open door and left. And because Daddy already informed the school that I would not be able to report today, I just continued lying on my bed.

Since I didn’t have anything to do and I couldn’t sleep again no matter how hard I tried to do it, I just vacuously stared at the ceiling as if having some flashbacks. I just couldn’t help myself but think of Rivera.

Oh, I mean—Cristoff!

Since everyone was calling him Dave or David, I would call him Cristoff just to be unique from other people. And for that, I unconsciously touched my lips while remembering what he confessed to me yesterday…

“I’ve always been thinking of your soft lips for three months now. I… just can’t get enough of it,”

“I hated to admit, but what happened to us was my first kiss, and if for you, it was an accident… well, for me, it was an experience.”

What happened to us was my first kiss as well. I was having a hard time swallowing, and it felt like lumps were already piling up on my throat. Closing my eyes while trying to think straight, something unknown began to move around my stomach, and it tickled my insides.

We just stole the first kiss of each other, Cristoff! But the difference is that—you didn’t know what I truly feel. I lied to you because it wasn’t just an accident for me.

But of course, I would never admit it!

It was extraordinarily the first time I felt this kind of strange feeling. It was too foreign to me. It was creepy, but at the same time, it was captivating. It felt like my heart was pounding fast and blissfully. For months I was studying at that school, I got another reason to be excited.

But what is he doing to me?

I hated to admit but I certainly liked the feeling when he saved me again and that caused us to kiss each other. I was only fifteen, and it was indeed my first time. Well, at least, I brushed my lips with him and not with someone else… and definitely, not with those three drug addicts! I didn’t know what I would do if that happened.

The kiss lasted just for a while—barely three seconds, I guessed.

Unconsciously, I smiled. Suddenly, I transitioned from being hateful to an inspired teenager.

True to that incident, I should be thankful. Plus, the fact that I was also his first kiss made me flattered, considering that he had a girlfriend before.

It complimented me for a reason I didn’t exactly comprehend. But I was sure as hell! His being inexperienced when it came to kissing could be the main reason why his ex-girlfriend decided to hook up with someone else. She thought that Cristoff was only a nerd and boring.

Ah, no! Wrong assumption, Athena. Remember, she was already committed to that punk before hooking up with Cristoff.

That bitch only treated him as a slave, and she deserved to be caught in the act! The way those fools kissed each other and how they swerved their tongues, it looked like they were already doing more than that.

Duh, can’t they get a private room for their lascivious acts!

So back to Cristoff, I had avoided him for three months. But why does it seem like I got damnably excited when Mrs. Cheng assigned us to be the leaders of the Annual Camp project? Well, I must say that bitches would always be bitches, and for that, Athena would always be Athena!

Oh my God!

Speaking of Annual Camp, I needed to go to school now. I looked at my bedside alarm clock, and it was already ten.

Hmm, can I go to school after lunch break? I am still not feeling well at this time. I scratched my head while reasoning out in my mind.

It took me a few more minutes to just blankly gaze at the ceiling, deliberately thinking about nothing. When I got bored, I decided to drag myself away from the bed and went out of my room while still wearing my see-through sleeping blouse and pajamas.

Just by wearing these, I found it comfortable to wander around our house. It was more relaxing than staying on my bed all day long. Anyway, I was still wearing my red undergarments, and only maids were with me here, so I didn’t have to worry. The guards were also roaming outside, so they would not be able to see me.

I went straight to the garden to breathe some fresh air. Our garden was the most serene part of our mansion, and it was full of red and white roses. While I loved the red roses, Helena got fond of white. For her, white symbolizes purity while red means bloody hell for me… because I was always bleeding inside. Always full of pain, nothing or no one could ever eradicate.

Our garden was perfectly landscaped and had a beautiful fountain at the center. Despite my hard-headed attitude, nature always brought me peace and tranquility. Aside from my own Music Room, this was my second hang-out place, most especially, when Helena was still here.

We used to chase each other here, roll along with the Bermuda grasses and treat the fountain as our wishing well. That was the reason why it was almost full of different coins underneath. We had done as many wishes as we could together, but most of them would never come true anymore.

Whenever I was here, I easily forgot all my problems… but now, I almost jumped when I saw that there was an unexpected guest who was currently sitting on my favorite bench. Without doing anything, he made my heart skip a beat.