Chapter 37
I didn’t move from the bed, and time ticked by when someone knocked on my door. Tala was quiet in my head, which was weird as she would usually be around talking to me. Letting out a breath as I sat up. “Come in,” I shouted. I watched the door open to reveal a man who grinned. “Hey,” he said. “I’m Zain. I’m Carson’s friend. I got some things from your mum.” Zain pushed the door wider and placed two bags on the floor. I kept my eyes on him as he moved further inside. He looks around and then looks at me. “You okay?” he asked. I gave him a nod. “I’m fine,” I said. “I just—” “You feel overwhelmed,” he muttered, arching his eyebrow up at me. I gave him a small smile. “Yeah,” I said. “I don’t know what to think at the moment.” Zain nodded. “It’s understandable,” he said. “You have been through so much over the last few days and haven’t had enough time to process it.” Well, at least someone understands how I feel. 1 I looked at the bags he placed down and moved up from the bed. I went over and picked them. Carrying them over to the bed and rummaged through it. I quickly grabbed a hoodie and placed it on. Making sure the hoodie was in place, I glanced toward one bag and noticed a photo frame. I moved it out and stared at it. It was of my father and me. My heart sank. I heard movement and someone standing next to me. “Is that your father?” Zain whispered. I nod as I kept my eyes on the photo. “It is,” I said. “This was the last one we took before he passed away. I won a football match, and they even made me the player of the match.” 1 “Wow,” he said. “I didn’t think you were into sports.” Frowning, I looked at him. His hands went up in surrender. “Sorry,” he murmured with a cocky grin. “I didn’t mean it by anything. I just meant I didn’t realize you were into anything like that. We have a football team here. Maybe we can get you a tryout on the team or something?” I smiled. “Maybe,” I said. “I don’t know yet. I only did it as my father was a big football fan, and it brought us closer together when I played.” Zain nodded, and his eyes went to the photo. “Maybe sticking to it,” he said, looking up at me and smiling. “It will be something between you and him.” Zain had a point. Maybe keeping to some things that dad did with me will help me slowly heal. “Maybe,” I murmured, moving toward the bedside table and placing it down. I looked over at Zain and sighed. Zain looked around and then came back to me. “How about I show you around the place?” he asked. I cocked my head to the side. “Cassie showed me around some parts yesterday, but she had to leave to do something,” I said. Zain grinned. “Well, you have me as your tour guide,” he said. “I can show everywhere, and then maybe we could watch a film or something.” “Sounds like a plan,” I murmured. Zain grinned. “Great,” he said. “Come on then. The sooner you see the place, the sooner we can watch a film. They are showing Willow.” I said nothing. Zain moved toward the door, with me following behind him. We headed out of the room, but my eyes went to the door opposite. Carson. I felt movement in my head as Tala sighed loudly. “Sorry,” she murmured. “I fell asleep. What are we doing?” “Zain, Carson’s friend, is showing us around the place,” I said. “And then we plan to watch a film.” Tala was quiet for a moment. “Maybe that cute guy from earlier can join us,” she said, but I said nothing. I moved away, but as I looked to see what Zain was doing, his eyes were on me, and a mischievous grin appeared. “He is working,” he said as he came in step with me. “We can pop by later at the office and see if he wants to join us for a movie.” I felt my heart rate spike at the mere thought of seeing Carson again. Why was he affecting me so much? For the next hour, Zain showed me all around the hotel. There was a games room and a cinema room. It was massive. I had never heard of a hotel doing such a thing—not back home at last. Zain opened the back door as we walked past the kitchen for the fourth time on the tour. He walked outside and headed over to a gate on the other side. “This is the garden,” he said, looking over at me. “Few people go here, but it is beautiful with all the wildflowers.” I nodded as Zain looked back toward the gate and opened it. He stepped inside, and I followed but came to a halt. My eyes scanned the whole garden, and my mouth fell open as I took in all the different colours of the flowers. Someone clearly knew their way around the garden. I looked around but couldn’t help but glance up at the hotel building till my eyes landed on a window. A woman stood there, staring out into the distance. “She seems sad,” Tala whispered as I kept my eyes on the woman. I couldn’t see her features, but she was completely oblivious to us in the garden. “Who is she?” I asked Zain, keeping my eyes on the woman. Zain moved closer to me and sighed. “Carson and Cassie’s mum,” he whispered, which made me look at him, shocked. “Their mum,” I murmured. “What’s wrong with her?” Zain looked at me. His eyes were full of concern and sadness. His eyes move back up to her before he spoke again. “She lost her ma—husband a while back and has never recovered from it.” My eyes went back to the woman. “What happened?” I asked. “Wolves killed him,” he said, making me look at him. Wolves? Then the conversation with Cason earlier flooded my head. His rules stated I needed to be inside at all times as they have had a wolf problem, but he never mentioned that they took his father. 1 My heart ached for Carson and Cassie. “So, who looks after her?” I whispered as I look around. “She hasn’t left her room in a long time,” Zain murmured, making me look at him. My heart ached for the woman to lose someone so tragic as in an animal attack. It had to hurt more. “She stares out of the window. The flowers were her thing when her husband was alive, but when he died, she avoids it.” My eyes went to a purple flower, and walked toward it, but stopped. “What flower is this?” I asked, looking back at Zain, who now joined me. He smiled. “It’s called a balloon flower. Why?” I smiled. “I was just wondering,” I said, looking at him with caution. “How did you know what it was?” Zain laughed. “I ordered them in for the gardener to place here a few months ago,” he said. “Only now they have bloomed—first time, too.” I nodded. “Do you think we could pick some and have Cassie place them in her mum’s room?” I asked, looking at him. Zain stilled as his eyes searched mine. “Sure,” he said as the corners of his mouth curled up. “That’s so nice of you.” I nodded. “I remember when a friend of my father’s lost someone she cared about a few years ago,” I said, remembering Dani and Lucy when they lost their uncle to cancer. “I knew they liked daisies, and I bought them some. Even though it wasn’t the best time, at least they knew I cared about them.” Zain’s eyes softened. “I will get some ready for her,” he said. “Some people have been sending gift baskets or flowers, but none from her garden.” “Well, maybe picking some from here will help,” I said. “It might even help get her to see some people care about her besides her children.” Zain nodded. We carried on looking around, and I picked out a few other purple flowers for the bunch of Carson and Cassie’s mum. I know how it feels to lose someone you care about deeply, but to lose someone who you thought you would spend the rest of your life with is a hard pill to swallow. I felt it with my father being gone. I miss him so much. Once we gathered some flowers, Zain sent them up with the nurse. They took her aback but agreed to place them in the vase in the room. Once the nurse was out of sight, Zain smiled at me. “Come on, film time,” he said. “Carson said he will meet us there.” My heart spiked slightly, but I didn’t see Zain text or use his phone. How the hell did he know where Carson was? Zain dragged me toward the theatre room and found a few people there. When I stepped inside, everyone looked at us—mainly me. Great, this again. I ignored everyone and headed to a chair while Zain grabbed popcorn. I sat down in the middle as others scattered around. Zain came up and sat next to me. He handed me a box of popcorn. The room got dark, and the screen came on, but I felt movement by the side of me. Glancing to the other side of me, there he was—Carson. He looked at me and smiled, leaning into my ear. Heat rises through to my cheeks as I felt his breath fan my cheek before he spoke. “How did it go?” he whispered. “Okay,” I whispered, keeping my gaze on the screen. “You should have joined us.” Carson moved back slightly but spoke again. “Maybe after this film, we can do something.” I said nothing as my insides did somersaults. What the hell was this damn man doing to me?