It wasn't up to an hour that he was there, that a long unpleasant sound rang in his ears. He shook his head, and it became worse. Ryan covered his left ear with his hand and pressed on it hard. But the more he did that, the more it hurts. His eyes went red and blurry, he felt suffocated.
In that unpleasant echoes, he heard distant voices
'No. No, please...'
He listened again to hear more, but it was still the same words. And that voice... That voice sounds familiar. It's... it's like his Ari's voice. He stood up from the chair and dashed out, ignoring every pain. When he opened the door of his room, what he saw made his heart ache than it has already been.
Aria was seating on the bed, her back resting on the bed head. She had hugged her legs and buried her face in it, sweating bullets and crying profusely.
"Aria..." his voice was raw with pain as he walked slowly towards her. He sat beside her and called her again. Aria lifted her head and looked at him, her face wet with tears and sweat. The next moment, she jumped on him, hugging him tightly by his neck. She shivered and wept, uncontrollably. Her body had also become hot.
"He took my mother away from me..." she sobbed "He took her away" Ryan lifted his hand and rubbed her back to stop her from hiccuping so much.
"It's okay" he told her. His eyes were red and tears misted them. He was so much in pain seeing her like this. Her tears wet his woolly robe, he could feel it touching his skin and how hot it was.
"I did nothing wrong. Why would he take her away from me? Why?" she kept on, tightening her hold on him.
"It's okay, Aria. It's just a dream" he rubbed her hair, trying so hard to stop her crying but she won't stop. No matter how hard he comforted her, no matter the words he said, she just seem to not hear any of it.
Ryan closed his eyes shut, forcing his tears back in. But a drop succeeded in escaping his eyes and it rolled down his right cheek. He didn't say a word anymore and just rubbed her hair and back.
After what seemed like forever, when her throat was dried up, she stopped crying. She buried her face in his neck, and inhaled his scent. In his arms, she found solace, and slowly she slept off. He laid her gently on the bed, afraid to wake her up, and then he covered her with the duvet. He wiped her wet face which had grown hot from the hot tears.
Why? Why are they doing this to her? Hearing her say those words, he could only think they did it. Why torture her this much? What do they want from her? Worst of, he had no ideas on how to block her mind from having those nightmares. And he doesn't know how to stop them causing the nightmares. Just what should he do?
*...*....*...*...*..*
Arianna had been sleeping for so long. Opening her eyes became a difficult thing to do. It was already almost noon, and it made Ryan worried . He had been seating by her side for hours, waiting for her to wake up.
Early in the morning, she had burned with fever until Zariel massaged her body with lukewarm water. It made him scared to a point.
Zariel knocked on the door, lightly and his pained voice came "Come in" she opened the door and walked in.
"She hasn't woken up yet?"
"No" he replied and a painful sigh left his lips.
"What's happening? She was fine just yesterday. Why don't we take her to the hospital?" she suggested.
"I'll wait for another hour. If she doesn't then I'll bring her"
Zariel sighed "Alright. I'll go make something for her, just in case." she bowed and left. Ryan placed a hand on her forehead to check her temperature. She wasn't as hot as before, but he was still so worried.
After fifteen minutes, Arianna woke up with a banging headache. Her head throbbed in pain, her eyes fluttered as they cleared and she groaned at the pain she felt.
Ryan lifted his head "Aria? Aria, you okay?"
"My head hurts" she mumbled, and tried to rise up, but Ryan pushed her gently back down.
"No, just stay and relax your head" he poured water into a glass for her and made her drink. Her dried throat moistened up, and she felt refreshed. Finally! Ryan's mind came at ease.
"How much did I sleep?" Ari asked him.
"Very much" he replied and she just stared. And then she said... "I'm hungry"
"Ms Jung would bring your food soon, alright. Be patient" he told her and she nodded. Ryan caressed her cheek and as she looked at him, she could see how messy he looked.
"I'm sorry. I must have made you too worried" she said, feeling a bit bad.
"It's okay. How do you feel now?"
"Better. My head doesn't hurt anymore" he heaved a sigh, and brushed her hair. It didn't take long before Zariel came with a tray of food.
"Oh thank goodness, you're awake. You got us so worried, Anna" she placed the tray on the bedside table.
"I'm so sorry, Ms Jung"
"How do feel now?" Zariel asked as she came to check her temperature.
"I'm fine now."
"Alright, you should eat then. I'll be out now" she said and then left. Arianna sat up, making attempts to take the tray, but Ryan took it from her.
"Give me that. I'll feed you"
"I can eat by myself" she retorted.
"I said I'll feed you. Just be a good girl and obey. Now face me" he ordered calmly, and with pursed lips, she faced him.
"Good girl" Ryan said and rubbed her hair like she was child. Her eyes blinked twice, thrice as she stared at the man. He fetched the soup and brought it forward to her mouth "Ahh... Open your mouth" she opened her mouth and he fed it to her like a doting husband.
"Hmm.... It's delicious" he kept on feeding her and she ate with a smile.
"Do you think you can go to the party again?" he suddenly asked and she frowned.
"Why can't I go? There's nothing wrong with me"
"I'm just worried, that's why"
"You wouldn't change your mind, right? There are only a few hours left" she pursed her lips, and blinked her eyes a him.
"No, I won't" he gave her a reassuring smile before she smiled again. After feeding her, he stayed by her side for a some time before calling some make-up artist to help her get ready.