Missing

Kayla's Lament

On that day Carlos was having trouble eating and drinking. Even though Kayla didn't like that her father ate meat or that he would do this in front of her, she was worried that something was wrong. After hours of her father not eating it got to the point where he could barely walk, he could even fly either. By the time night fell and Kayla was getting ready to sleep she heard a loud thud hit the floor below. Kayla ran down the stairs to see what had happened. In the living room, she found her father sprawled on the floor not moving an inch.

"Daddy?!" she ran over to her father's side and knelt down, "What's wrong? Wake up."

Carlos moaned something that she couldn't understand. Kayla went back upstairs and dialed 911 on her phone. The paramedics said that they would be over at their house in a manner of minutes. They told her to try and stay calm and tell them what had exactly happened. She tells him that her father just collapsed on the floor and was breathing shallowly.

"I already lost my mom when I was a baby. I don't want to lose my dad! Hurry up and come here!" Kayla shouts into the phone.

"The ambulance should be on its way," the dispatcher says on the other end of the line, "Calm down honey."

There's a knock on the door and Kayla gets up to answer in. The monster paramedics rush inside the living room. Two of the paramedics lift Carlos onto the stretcher they brought inside with them and carry him out to the ambulance. They tell Kayla that she can either follow them in her car or ride with her father, so she decides to ride with them and stay by her father's side.

All along the way to the hospital, Carlos has random, short moments of lucidity. He calls out the mother of Kayla's name, confusing the two of them. His daughter corrects him, "No daddy. I'm Kayla." She then asks the paramedic by her side if her father will be alright.

"We will do all we can. We won't leave a young girl as you orphaned. Okay?" the paramedic gently says, "We're almost at the hospital now. We should be there in a few minutes."

They arrive at the hospital's emergency room and run Carlos inside and place him on an old gurney. Kayla was having a hard time keeping up with the running paramedics since she was dressed in her pajamas and pink fuzzy slippers. A few times she almost slipped and fell onto the slick, tile floor. Finally, they placed him in a room at the end of the emergency room hall.

Nurses came in and out checking his blood, his pulse, the air in his lungs. Different nurses told Kayla that they would have a doctor come in to check out if this is anything more serious. They told her that she might want to wait outside since the tests they had to do next would make her squeamish. So she went outside and tried to find a coffee machine. She went down one hall and then another before she finally found the coffee machine. The coffee was black and bitter since the hospital hadn't restocked its supply of creamer.

"At least this will keep me up though," Kayla thought to herself as she walked back to where her father's room was.

Along the way, she heard footsteps behind her. She stopped and turned around in front of a defibrillator and saw who it was. Coming up to her was her evil ex-boyfriend Valentine.

"What are you doing here?" she asks.

"For the past few weeks, I've trained to be a doctor. Now I'm doing my residency at this hospital." Valentine says, "What brings you here sweet fang?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Kayla angrily says crossing her arms in disgust, "My dad's sick so I brought him here."

"So sorry but I'm surprised that the mutt of a boyfriend isn't here to support you. Why is that?"

"It's late, he's asleep. Now leave me alone you jerk!"

Valentine leans closer to Kayla to the point where their faces are almost touching.

"A pretty girl like you deserves someone here with you. How about I be that person?" Valentine says in a seductive voice.

He tilts Kayla's chin up and presses his lips to hers. Kayla tries to push Valentine away but She is too tired and too weak, so she waits until Valentine pulls away and stops kissing her. When he does he winks at her and walks away in the opposite direction of the hall. Kayla just wants to vomit from what Valentine just did to her.

The school bell rings, forcing Kayla out of her memory. She rushes to her class that she is already late to. What she doesn't know though is that L was already planning something else underhanded.