Chapter 18 Good Night
"Fuck. Are you okay?" Dante asks. Within seconds, he's already kneeling in front of me. Wincing, I pull myself to sit as I feel pain shoot through my head and ankle. Ouch. This hurts. This is fucking embarrassing. Why did I have to fall like that in front of him?
"No," I say. A bump begins to form on my head as I rub it. Thank goodness it's not my forehead, or else I have to walk around with a huge ass bump tomorrow. That would be so fucking embarrassing. And my ankle. It hurts, too. How could I walk tomorrow? Well, we'll be going home tomorrow, but still, I need to walk out of this hotel to the car.
Dante puts his arms around me and lifts me, carrying me to my bed. He sits me down on the bed with my back against the headboard and immediately checks on me. He tells me to keep my eyes on his finger, testing my eyesight. He then checks my head, and I move away when he touches where it hurts.
"Are you dizzy or lightheaded? Or suddenly tired?" Dante asks. I shake my head as a response.
"No. It only hurts. My head and left ankle," I say.
"Let's go to the hospital. You need to-"
My hand wraps around Dante's arm, stopping him before he carries me out of the room. I look in his eyes, and all I can see is anxiety despite the serious and calm look on his face. This is the first time I've seen him so distraught. I just hit my head on the table, and it gets him to be this worried. I'm flattered that he cared about me that much. Well, that's just his job anyway; to protect me. He's probably scared that my father might kill him if something bad happened to me under his watch.
"No. I'll be fine. It'll heal on its own," I say.
"No, you-"
I squeeze his arms. The gesture is enough to stop him from talking. However, the worry still lingers in his eyes. His face can't even hide his concern anymore. He probably thinks I might have a concussion right now. Even if I do, it's definitely nothing severe. I'll live.
"I'm fine. Really. A sleep will suffice," I say. Dante continues to stare at me in silence, weighing his options. After who knows how long, Dante lets out a defeated sigh. I'm glad he finally agreed because, honestly, I'd rather sleep right now peacefully than stay in the ER all night long.
"If the pain gets worse, we're telling your father," Dante says.
My father? No. Absolutely not. If he knew about this, he might kill Dante for his lack of caution. He can be ruthless at times. As ironic as it sounds, when it comes to me and my safety, I don't think he'll be able to be patient and hold back his anger. If someone even lets me hurt myself, they'll be the one who faces the punishment, just like that time when I fell down the stairs when I was a child, probably five or six years old. A guard was watching me nearby when it happened, and yes, he's the one who ended up getting punished by my father, even though it was my own fault for falling.
"No. Don't even say a word to him," I say. Oh right. The cameras. He should already know about this by now, and the punishment would even be worse if he saw how close Dante and I were earlier.
"Fuck. Even if we don't say anything, my father probably already saw everything that just happened if he has any hidden cameras in here," I say. Dante chuckles at my speculation and then sits next to me.
"There are no hidden cameras in this room," Dante says.
"How do you know for sure?" I ask.
"I've searched every corner of the room while you were napping. It's just basic protocol. Your father even told me to do it," Dante explains.
"So, you knew it all this time? Why didn't you say anything to me?" I ask, punching his arm as I scowl at him. All those panicking earlier could've been avoided if he told me earlier about this. I also wouldn't have gotten my head and ankle hurt if Dante let me know that there are no hidden cameras in here. Damnit.
"Your fear of getting caught and accused of things you don't do is quite entertaining," Dante says with a grin. "I do wish your father planted a hidden camera in here, though. If he has one, then you can't lie about not getting hurt," Dante says. Is he serious? Well, yes, I can't lie to my father about my pain, but if he does have a hidden camera in here, he'll get an even worse punishment, considering the position we were in earlier.
"But then my father would see what you did and accuse you of hurting me instead. Hell. Even he would punish you for not keeping me safe from myself," I say.
"Damn it. You're right. However, you should let me know if you're still in pain tomorrow," Dante says.
"Fine. I will," I say. I'm sure my head and ankle will hurt less by morning, so there's no need to be worried. I still wish we had some ice or ice packs around to soothe the pain, though.
"How about some ice or maybe ice packs? It'll soothe the pain and help them heal quicker," Dante says. Did he just read my mind?
"That would be nice," I say.
"Alright," Dante says. He calls the housekeeper and then asks them for two ice packs. Thankfully, they do have some ice packs available here. After a few minutes, the ice packs arrive. He goes to the bathroom and wraps the ice packs in two separate towels, one for my head and the other for my ankle.
"Lie down. I'll hold the ice for you. You only need 20 minutes to soothe the pain," Dante says.
"Okay," I say. Dante helps me lie on the bed and then wraps the ice pack around my ankle and puts the other one over my head. The coldness of the ice packs causes me to shiver a bit, but I don't say anything about it. I watch as Dante pulls the duvet over my body, but still leaves my left ankle exposed.
"Thank you," I say. I hope he can't see how hard I'm blushing right now with how dark the room is.
"Now go to sleep," Dante says.
"Alright. Good night," I say with my eyes closed.
"Good night, princess."