Loving You Too Long

Haisley started to panic. She was no match for her two schoolmates who now gripped her tightly on both sides. Then, roughly, her hands were pulled behind her, and Haisley screamed as her shoulder bones throbbed with pain. The sound of the tape being ripped off faintly reached her ears before she felt her hands tightly bound behind her back.

“Wait! What is this?!” she screamed in panic, attempting to free herself and kicking out. However, her small body was thrown onto the cold ceramic floor, face down. Her legs were tied tightly with a thick rope.

“This is a lesson for you. So there won’t be any more victims of your flirtations. You home-wrecker!” the unfamiliar student hissed. Haisley kept struggling, but instead of getting free, she felt pain all over her body.

“Help!!” she shouted loudly, hoping someone would come to her rescue. “Help!!” she tried to make her voice as loud as she could. But then her mouth was sealed shut with the same tape used to bind her hands.

“I heard you’re good at swimming. So, I know you’ll survive this pool, right?” the unfamiliar student sneered again.

Haisley struggled again but still couldn’t break free. Then her body was roughly lifted. Her two schoolmates gripped her arms again. Haisley widened her eyes in panic when she realized something was attached to the rope binding her legs. She tried to squirm, attempting to free herself. But her two schoolmates just laughed mockingly at her.

Whether they were aware or not, they were now at the deepest end of the pool. Or perhaps they assumed they were at the shallow end. Haisley grew even more panicked. The deepest end of the pool measured two and a half meters. And that depth would surely drown her. It would be different if they threw her into the shallower end, which was only one and a half meters deep. She could still stand there even though her head would almost touch the surface of the pool.

They suddenly lifted the large stone and threw it to the pool’s bottom. Haisley managed to take a deep breath through her nose before her body was thrown into the cold water, submerging her entirely.

‘Oh God, help me. Send someone to rescue me,’ Haisley prayed in her heart. She truly hoped God would work a miracle for her. Bring someone closer to the pool area so she could be saved.

Her mouth couldn’t open because it was sealed shut with tape. The only airway she had was her nose. And she couldn’t inhale or exhale while she struggled. Oh God, help me. I promise to be a devout believer if I survive.

She couldn’t hold it any longer. All the remaining air bubbled out of her nose. And now water was entering her nostrils.

Haisley choked, unable to cough because her mouth was covered. She couldn’t rise because her legs were bound. All the air in her lungs was gone, replaced by a pain so crushing. God, please…

She gasped. Numbness set in. As time passed, everything in her vision blurred. Until she couldn’t see anything anymore.

Is this my time of death? That was the only thought in her head before everything turned black.

***

Haisley’s grip on Nathan’s hand tightened. The sleeping girl seemed restless. Her head moved from left to right.

“Help!” her voice muffled beneath the oxygen mask still attached to her nose. “Help me!” she whispered again.

Nathan gently stroked Haisley’s head, tenderly kissing her forehead. “Haisley, it’s just a nightmare. Wake up,” he whispered into her right ear. But the girl still didn’t open her eyes. “Haisley… Haisley. Come back. Wake up,” he pleaded, squeezing Haisley’s right hand with his right hand while his left hand rested on top of her head. “Haisley Smith. Wake up, Darling.” Instead of waking up, Haisley appeared to be panicking in her sleep. Her head kept moving from left to right, and her breaths were shallow. The noise from the machines on the left side of the bed sounded loud. Now, Nathan tried patting her cheeks, hoping his actions would wake Haisley from her slumber.

Gilbert arrived, quickly running to the bedside. “Haisley!” Gilbert stood on the left side of the bed. “Haisley, Darling. Everything’s fine. Wake up!” he pleaded with a gentler voice into Nathan’s left ear. But the girl’s small body seemed to be convulsing, as if trying to free herself from an invisible restraint. Her lips continued to whimper, and her breaths remained shallow.

Gilbert pressed the emergency button while occasionally calling Haisley’s name. A doctor entered, followed by a nurse. They examined Haisley due to her unstable heartbeat. Soon, the male doctor injected a liquid into Haisley’s IV drip. In seconds, the girl calmed down again.

“I gave her a sedative injection. It seems the patient was having a nightmare,” the doctor said. Both Nathan and Gilbert didn’t take their eyes off Haisley.

“Can you provide a referral letter? I want to take her back to the city,” Nathan requested.

The doctor seemed to think for a moment but then nodded. Nathan followed the doctor. Shortly after, he returned to Haisley’s room.

“How about your friends?” he asked Gilbert.

Earlier, in the panic, they had forgotten about Gilbert’s group and Loretta. They were probably still at the cottage. “I’ve contacted them. They’ll be heading back as planned,” Gilbert replied. Nathan just nodded.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

Half an hour later, they were on their way back to the city. Both Nathan and Gilbert decided to follow the ambulance carrying Haisley with the car Nathan had used before, driven by Nathan’s private chauffeur.

Upon their arrival in the city, Haisley was immediately placed in a VVIP room. The girl was still deeply asleep due to the medication. About half an hour after their arrival, she finally opened her eyes.

The clock showed three in the early morning. Haisley looked around. The place seemed dark, and she didn’t recognize where she was. Until she looked to the side of the bed and saw two men she knew sleeping sitting next to each other.