Ava jolted awake. She sat up on the bed and looked around wildly, her eyes nearly popping out of her head when she took in the sight of where she was.
'Where am I?' She wondered in a daze, her head still somewhat murky. She shifted slightly, feeling the bouncy mattress beneath her.
She flinched. 'The bed's way too soft…'
For some reason, she felt strangely refreshed. Maybe it was because of the clean, fresh air coming through the windows, or the lack of moss or damp on the walls in the room she was in.
She felt light… and breezy. She unconsciously looked down at herself, taking a look at the clothes she was wearing, she froze.
Ava sprang up from the bed, arms wrapped around herself as her heart beat wildly. 'What's this? Why are my clothes different?!'
She backed into a corner of the room, trying her best to calm her mind. She took in a deep breath, thinking deeply. Eitan! Right, she had come to see Eitan… and if she was remembering right, she had fainted at his doorstep.
Ava swallowed. 'Am I in his room now? Was he the one who changed me out of my clothes?' She asked herself, trying to feel if anything was off with her. 'He didn't… do anything to me, did he?'
She shook her head, convinced that was not the case. She didn't feel violated and according to what she had heard somewhere, if someone assaulted you while you were unconscious, you would wake up with pains all over.
But she was perfectly alright. Strangely, she felt like she'd had a good, long nap instead of collapsing.
Ava let out a relieved breath. 'Looks like I'm alright… for now. He didn't seem like someone who'd do something like that anyway… he did save me once, even if it was for his own benefit…'
Now that her mind was relatively settled, Ava had the leisure of taking a good look at her surroundings. Everything around her was in good condition… the few furniture in the room looked expensive too.
The room was medium sized and so was the bed she had just stood up from. The walls were plain and white, though she was expecting to see a few paintings on them. The windows were so large that she was afraid she'd fall out if she got too close.
'Is he a minimalist?' She wondered.
Still, the view of the quiet district from the room was peaceful. Ava couldn't help but be tempted to walk toward the window, admiring the view below as she unconsciously placed her hand on the glass.
She blinked, a little taken aback. "My fingers are bandaged?" She muttered. "Why?"
Soon after she had that thought, she heard the light clicking of a door and froze. Seconds passed before she heard the solid thumping of footsteps coming towards her.
'Someone's coming!' She shrieked inwardly as she ran toward the bed.
Her intention was to pretend she was still unconscious, but before she could pull open the covers to go under, the door creaked open.
Ava stiffened and so did the man at the door, who had apparently caught her in her tracks.
'It's… it's Mr. Berger!' Ava flinched, clutching the blanket tighter, her eyes never leaving his even though she was wary.
Eitan stood at the door for a long time… he almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. Her small frame… the way she seemed to want to enter into herself the moment she saw him, her large, blue doe-like gaze that refused to leave his even as she was on her guard…
For someone he felt was supposedly dangerous, she looked incredibly fragile.
Eitan frowned. 'This woman tried to kill Evie…?' He mused. 'I find that almost impossible to believe…'
Still, he wasn't stupid enough to let down his guard just because of the way she seemed. It could all be an act.
But something at the back of his mind nagged him otherwise.
"You're awake." Eitan voiced, shattering the silence between them.
Ava's brain seemed to lag for a minute before she flinched, realizing that she'd been quiet for too long. "Oh… Ye–yes." She nodded. "H–hello…"
Eitan watched her quietly for a moment. "You're not going to faint here again, are you?" He asked. "I don't quite have the resources to take care of you… again."
Ava stiffened, then pursed her lips. 'What does he mean by he doesn't have the resources …? He's rich. There's no way he wouldn't have resources… Is he just being stingy?'
She looked away from him. "I'm… I'm not sure why I fainted either. But–but I can assure you it won't happen again…"
"I see…" Eitan answered, moving towards her leisurely. His hand tightened around the packet of medicine before handing it to her. "Take this. It's what the doctor prescribed."
Ava held out both hands and let the item fall into it, her brows furrowed as she examined it. "Doctor? Medication?" She echoed.
Eitan remained silent, only the thumping of his shoe against the ground could be heard as he walked over to a couch beside the bed and sat down.
Ava blinked. 'Did he call a doctor… for me? Is that what he meant by resources?'
Eitan leaned into his chair and watched her for a long time. The silence between them was heavy and tense, like it could be cut apart with a knife and Ava couldn't help the unfamiliar feeling settling at the base of her stomach.
"Why have you come to see me?" Eitan finally asked but his question nearly sent her head spinning.
"What… do you mean by that?" She asked, taken aback. "You… you said I should come to see you once I've made up my mind…!"
Eitan raised a brow. "And have you?"
Ava chewed on her lower lip, squeezing her eyes shut before she responded. "...Yes."
There was another round of silence.
"I don't believe you." Eitan said curtly.
Ava's eyes snapped open. "What?! But I really have made up my mind–!"
"Three days ago, you confessed that you almost murdered Evie." Eitan started, a frown wrinkling the space between his brows. "Now, you show up half conscious on my doorstep claiming loyalty? Even if I threatened you, I'm not so stupid to believe you've switched sides so quickly."