"She will be fine, she just needs rest." Carla heard a calm male voice and for a minute she is confused.
She is about to blink her closed eyes open when she heard the voice of the last person she would want to be with on earth.
"Are you implying that I leave?" Damien's cocky voice unnerved her and gave her a headache.
Deciding then and there, she kept her eyes shut and would not bother opening it till she was sure he had left.
"Why?"
"She needs rest."
"But she is resting." He replied and held her hand tighter.
The smell of disinfectant nauseated Carla and all she wanted was to be home with her baby. Taking her mind off the overbearing presence of Damien, she allowed herself to think back to her time in the Darkwood forest. What had really happened.
'Who is he?' She questioned in her mind and found herself frowning absentmindedly.
"See, she is frowning. She would be awake soon, I was my face to be the first face she sees when she wakes up." Damien declared shamelessly.
On the bed, Carla whose attention was drawn to her frown decided it was best to keep frowning to avoid Damien's suspicion.
"She might as well be experiencing something bad in her dream." The calm voice replied again, this time, it sounded resigned.
"I'll be here with her and that's final." Damien had his authoritative voice back and the doctor gave a huge sigh.
"Let her rest." And the next thing Carla heard was the receding steps of the doctor.
"You'd have to dream about me Sweet." His deep voice intruded her thoughts and soon, he began to hum a song.
Now, her frown went deeper and she made little to no effort to control it. Without warning, she felt his finger rubbing her forehead softly till he found herself slowly falling asleep for real.
"Wake up Carla." She felt a nudge and she frowned.
"Wake up, we don't have time." The nudge came again releasing her from her subconsciousness and she frowned.
The voice was a little different but familiar at the same time and when she slowly opened her eyes to see who had nudged her, she almost got a heart attack when she saw the well carved face and deep set of black eyes staring at her.
"Who are you?" She sat up without thinking twice, her eyes filled with fear as she looked around.
For a bit, she had forgotten where she was and how she got there till it all came back to her after looking around for a bit.
When he chuckled, she turned back to look at him.
"I guess you really did not recall a thing." He tilted his head to the side while his eyes carefully roamed around her body, making her tighten her hands around herself, she felt exposed.
"Are you …?" She squinted when the familiar red eyes in the dark forest came back to her.
"What?" He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees, biting his lower lip with his upper teeth.
"The guy in the … the guy in the forest?" She asked unsure, her eyes wandering around the contour of his face.
His eyes flashed red for a nano second giving her a scare before he pushed his thin lips to the side in something she assumed to be a smirk and clicked his teeth. "Bingo."
"Now, I am here to get you out of here." He stood up and strolled lazily to the window.
Carla shifted uneasily on her bed and looked around for her purse. She found it right next to her and grabbed it like it was her life and nothing else mattered.
"Why would you want to get me out of here? What do you want?" Carla trained her eyes on his back, careful not to miss any action of his.
She watched him rub his left hand on his wild black hair and sighed like he had the entire world leaning on his shoulder for help.
"Because I have to get you out of here." He turned towards her in one move and wiped the imaginary dust off his leather jacket.
"Why?" Carla felt her heart had turned weak from the excessive shocks she had been receiving these past days.
"Why?" He lolled his head to the side and flicked his index finger against his thumb finger before focusing on her.
"Do you need him coming in to take you back home himself?" He asked her.
"At least I know him."
"Knew him, you mean?" He asked with an amused smile.
Carla frowned, feeling uncomfortable about how the strange man from the wood sounded like he had known her all her life.
"The devil I know is better than the …"
"Right, right, I know that saying. I also know that you'd do everything to make sure he isn't aware of his daughter."
At this, Carla rushed up and threw her head towards the door before looking at him in shock, her eyes questioning him.
"What?" He asked like he did not just casually expose her secret.
"Who are you?" Carla asked him, trying her best to sound bold and unafraid.
"I am Rhys." He shrugged like his name did not matter.
"He is close and would be in anytime from now and your daughter is safely tucked in bed." He casually informed, making Carla run towards him.
She grabbed the collar of his leather jacket and glared up at him not minding the possibility of him being anything but human.
"Who are you and what have you done to my daughter!?" She shook him but he acted nonchalant.
"I told you. I am Rhys and your daughter is on her bed sleeping without the care of the world."
"If you hadn't stepped into the forest or met him, I wouldn't have to be here at the time." He sounded tired and looked at her just the same way.
"He would be here in one, two, …"
"Take me!" Carla yelled.
"My pleasure." He smirked and snaked his hand around her waist.
And just like that, the environment around Carla morphed into her bedroom with Anna sleeping on the smaller bed by the other side of the room.
Looking around her, Carla felt her body shake with confusion and shock and she fell to the floor on her butt after Rhys had released her.
"Who are you?" She asked him again, sweat lining her forehead.
"You are welcome." He told her instead and with that, he morphed into nothingness, leaving her staring into the blank space and afraid to move.