TWENTY-SIX

Johnson looked up from his phone as he heard the door open. He watched as his sister, Amanda, walked towards the woman from the night before. ,

Without a word, Johnson got up from his bed and walked towards the door. He shut it firmly behind him, leaving the two women outside.

Lyra felt her face turn red with embarrassment. She had been caught spying on Johnson, and now she was being treated like an intruder in his home.

Amanda rushed over to Lyra, her eyes filled with remorse. She reached out to inspect the bandage on Lyra's head, but Lyra jerked away at the pain.

"I'm so sorry," Amanda said, her voice full of regret. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Lyra took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. "Who are you?" she asked, looking up at Amanda.

“ I'm Amanda, but save the other questions, I'll answer all one after the other. But come with me and lay back down first,” Amanda said.

Once they entered the room, Amanda guided Lyra over to the bed and helped her to lie down. She fluffed the pillows behind Lyra's head and covered her with a blanket. "Just rest here for a bit," Amanda said. "I'll go get you some water and make sure the attendants know to take you to the hospital."

Lyra nodded, grateful for Amanda's kindness. As she lay back against the pillows, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The pain in her head was starting to fade a little, but she still felt dizzy and disoriented.

A few minutes later, Amanda returned with a glass of water and a small packet of painkillers. "Here," she said, handing the glass to Lyra. "Take these. They should help with the pain." Lyra took the pills gratefully.

She looked over at the pills Amanda had given her, and then at the glass of water on the nightstand. She hesitated for a moment, unsure of how many pills she was supposed to take, and whether they would make her feel better or worse.

Amanda noticed Lyra's hesitation and walked over to the bed. "Here, let me help you," she said, picking up the bottle of pills and reading the label. "It says to take two pills every six hours for pain. But if you feel dizzy or nauseous, just take one."

Lyra nodded and reached for the pills, feeling a wave of dizziness wash over her as she did. She swallowed the pills with a sip of water, feeling them slide down her throat and settle in her stomach.

For a few moments, Lyra sat there in silence, waiting for the pills to take effect. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the pillows, trying to breathe deeply and calm her racing heart.

"Thank you," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I really appreciate all your help."

Amanda smiled at her. "Of course. It's the least I can do after what happened. I feel terrible about hitting you."

Lyra looked at Amanda in disbelief. "You were the one who hit me?" she asked, her eyes widening in shock.

Amanda looked more sorry than ever. "I know, it was a stupid mistake. I didn't see you coming. Are you okay?"

Lyra shook her head, still in disbelief. "I can't believe you're even allowed to drive. You're so young."

Amanda chuckled. "I don't like being called underage," she said.

"I'm just eighteen. Nearly of age."

Lyra tried to relax a little, feeling a bit better now that she knew who Amanda was. "It's okay," she said. "I only remember being hit by a crazy person."

Amanda's face fell. "That was me," she said, looking even more sorry than before.

" I know right," she said, smiling

"I'm so sorry."

Lyra took a deep breath and tried to push the incident out of her mind. "It's okay," she said. "I just wish I could go to work tomorrow. I didn't take a leave."

Amanda frowned. "Unless you're being employed by monsters, they should understand your condition. You got into an unexpected accident."

Lyra couldn't help but think of Kian, Ace and Jared.

They did seem like monsters to her, but she didn't say anything out loud.

Amanda smiled at Lyra. "You should take care and feel at home here," she said. "I have to head to school now."

As Amanda walked towards the door, she turned to face Lyra one last time.

"Please, promise me you won't press any charges. Know that I'm deeply sorry, I just don't want this to get out," she said. "And don't worry, if you want, we'll give you as much money as you want to make up for it."

Lyra was taken aback. The thought of being given money intrigued her, but she didn't want to seem cheap. "No, I wasn't even planning to," she said.

Amanda smiled and walked back towards Lyra. She leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you," she said, before turning and leaving the room.

Lyra lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. She couldn't stop thinking about work, and what must be going on at that time. Amanda had tried to reassure her, saying that any reasonable employer would understand that she couldn't come into work after getting into an accident, but Lyra wasn't so sure.

Lyra couldn't help but imagine how worried Abby would be if she found out that Lyra had gotten into an accident just a few hours after they had parted ways. Abby was the kind of person who worried about everything, and Lyra didn't want to add to her stress.

Lyra sighed and closed her eyes, trying to push the thoughts out of her mind. She knew that she needed to focus on her recovery, and that meant getting some rest. She took a deep breath and tried to relax, but her mind wouldn't let her.

Her mind wandered back to the conversation she had overheard in the other room, before Amanda had arrived. She remembered the man on the phone talking about Triony and the contract.

Lyra smiled to herself as a genius idea crept through her throbbing head.