The Lonely Girl

Chapter 11

Sahara

I’d seen other staff members get assaulted by patients but somehow I’d managed to avoid it, until today. It just came out of nowhere. I was calling a patient through when this dishevelled guy who looked around his mid twenties just came up to me, shouted something I couldn’t make out, grabbed me in a headlock and punched me several times in the face. I pulled out of his grip somehow and fell on some chairs. I could hear all this shouting around me, a couple of hands grabbed me and pulled me behind the clinic doors. It all happened so fast. One of my colleagues was shining a torch in my eyes, there were so many questions from people, I couldn’t make out what they were saying. Out of nowhere Santi was there kneeling in front of me looking worried. He had his hand on my leg which strangely helped relax me. He said something about going to his place, I just wanted to get out of there. He helped me to the car, my head was pounding and I felt really dizzy. I finally found my voice and asked to go back to my place. Thankfully he didn’t object, I didn’t have the strength to argue. I really needed to shower, the thought of that guys hands on me made me feel dirty. I scrubbed myself raw and curled up in bed, I slept immediately with Jenna comforting me. I wanted to thank Santi for helping me. I decided I would call him when I woke up.

I’m not sure how long I slept, when I walked into the lounge area I was surprised to see Santi asleep on the couch snoring softly. He looked so peaceful I didn’t want to disturb him. He must’ve felt my eyes on him and woke up with a start. “ Hey, how are you, sorry I fell asleep, are you ok?”. “I thought you’d gone home, you didn’t need to stay, I’ll be fine “ I replied. “I wasn’t going to leave after what happened, I know you like to do things yourself but sometimes you need to let other people help”. I felt a bit guilty, it’s not like I’m ungrateful. “ Sorry, I’m not used to people wanting to help me.” I replied “No need to apologise, were you serious about considering my job offer “ Santi looked at me hopeful. Was I, it sounded like a great opportunity and the thought of going back to the clinic scared me at the moment. Besides since the accommodation was provided I could save a lot quicker for my own place. “Yes I am serious, I’ve been wanting to leave for a while and this seems like to good an opportunity to pass up”. “Great!” Santi practically jumped out of his chair, “ We can go tomorrow if that’s not too soon”. I must’ve looked a bit uncertain, “ How about my company continues to pay the rent on this place until you decide, if you change your mind then you have a place to come back to”. He was being so accommodating, I couldn’t help but think there must be an alterior motive. Although I couldn’t possibly imagine what that would be, I don’t have a lot to offer apart from my sparkling personality. “Ok tomorrow then, I’ll stay a few days and see how it fits, my cat will have to come is that ok”. The cat was a deal breaker, I wouldn’t go anywhere without her. “No problem, Jenna is welcome, there’s a big complex where you’ll stay initially until we get the cottage ready. She can stay in your room until then. “We’ll I guess I’m going with you then.”.

I can’t believe I’m actually doing this. I mean I’ve taken off into the unknown before except this time I had some kind of plan and some people around me. I spent the next morning packing up my things, I’d leave the furniture and send for it if I decided to stay. It was strange to leave this place, it’d been my sanctuary for the last 3 years. The only place I’d felt safe. A knock at the door brought me out of thoughts. To my surprise both Santi and Alana were there. I assumed Alana was coming to say goodbye. She’s probably the closest thing to a friend I’ve ever had. They helped grab my belongings and carry them to the car. To my surprise Alana got in as well. I looked at her questioningly, “I’ve decided to head back home for a while. I haven’t seen my parents for a while and thought you could use a familiar face” she said smiling. It would be nice to have a friend there. In the car there were two other people that I recognised from the bar the other night. There was a male driving and a female right in the back. She was the first to introduce herself, “ Hey, I’m Lailani, I work with Santi and up front is Trent, we all work together “. “I heard what happened, you look pretty sore, are you ok?” She enquired. “All good thanks, a bit uncomfortable but nothing I haven’t dealt with before.” She looked a bit shocked but tried to cover it up. “Oh, have you been attacked at work before “ she said. “No, I had a rough upbringing, at least this shouldn’t scar “. You’re one tough cookie “ Lailani laughed. I felt eyes on me, I turned around to see Santi switching between looking angry and concerned. Trent then piped up, “are we good to go?” This seemed to break Santi out of his mood. “Yes let’s go, it’s time to show Sahara the country life!” With that we started driving, it wasn’t long before I must’ve dosed off. I woke with a start, we’d hit a bump in the road. Looking around I could see we were in some kind of forest. It was beautiful, it looked so quiet and peaceful, I couldn’t wait to explore. “You’re awake “ Santi exclaimed, “we’re almost at the main house, we just crossed into our territory a few minutes back “. Our territory, strange term to use I thought, maybe they own large amounts of land. After a couple of minutes we rounded a bend and I saw the most enormous house I think I’ve ever seen. It looked like a resort. I must have had my mouth open and was staring. I heard Santi laugh, “welcome to my home” he said. “What is this place” I exclaimed. “It’s been in the family for generations, the territory is called Midnight Moon.