MADAM SATAN [18+]

FOUR

Lola slowly opens her eyes, and then closes it back as the brightness in the room forces her eyes shut. Her head pounding like a heavy brick was used to hit her head. The surrounding silent only the sound of her uneven breaths filled the room and an unknown tapping.

She tries to open her eyes again, squinting, in an attempt to sharpen the blur images before her, at that moment everything came back to her. Why she is here, who she saw before she passed out and how she should play her game right to become the victor in this.

Lola notices a drip fixed on her hand, she tries not to roll her eyes at how dramatic it is, she has suffered worse and didn’t need to go to the hospital. Fort heart skips a beat when he notices moving from the bed.

She is alive.

“Hey,” Fort stands up from the chair he has been sitting on for over 5 hours when he is not pacing around and checking if she is still breathing.

He walks up to the bed as Lola sits up painfully, muttering some cuss words. Fort takes a pillow from the side of the king-sized bed and places it at her back so she can be comfortable sitting.

Lola feels like s**t but it’s worth it, she has made contact.

“Where am I?” Lola looks around the spacious bedroom maintained with the neutral color of black and white, chandeliers hanging from the ceiling producing the bright light Lola hates. She pretends to be scared of the place she is in and she puts on quite a show.

“Hmmm, my place,” Fort nervously said. Five hours is not enough time to get over the shock that the woman he has been looking for ever since that horrific day is finally here. “I would have taken you to the hospital but you hate hospitals.”

Fort remembers, to be fair Fort remembers every detail from that day. From Lola’s laugh, nickname, her tears, how she stood up for him and how he couldn’t for anything to help her and just made it worse. He still has nightmares about it, so the detail is little amongst the things he remembers.

“F-fort” Lola feigns surprise.

“HI, Lola.” He greets her with a bright smile, the best he has given in years.

Too bad he knows not what is to come.

“I made soup,” Fort announces after minutes of silence from both parties. “Probably cold now but I can warm it up.” Fort standing up clumsily, ready to rush to the kitchen to get the soup or maybe it’s because he is nervous. They didn’t exactly part ways in the best way.  

“No, thanks,” Lola tries to carry herself up again, not as painful as she makes it seem. She lets out a loud groan, falling on the bed again willingly. Fort comes rushing over trying to help her sit up.

His hands meet with hers making Lola freeze up, and for the first time, she does what isn’t planned. She lets go like she touched a fire, anger radiating in her veins. She hates his guts and being close to him without turning on her killer instincts is literally killing her.

The plan is to gain his trust, make him fall head over heels but she didn’t realize how hard it’s going to be until she touched him. It is hard to put it at the back of her head, that he is part of the people that ruined her life.

“I am so sorry,” Fort drops his hands, mentally scolding himself for his sudden move. He just made things more awkward

“No, it’s okay.” Lola gives a fake smile, sitting up herself to prevent him from having to put his hands on her again. “I am just a little bit shaken up, that’s all.”

“I am sorry.” He has a lot of questions for her, like where has she been. Fort has tried tracking her down for years because he just couldn’t forget but he is not going to tell her that. He wants to know who got her beaten up, he will arrest his ass.

“Hmm, should I get you water?” Fort rushed to the comer of the table to where he placed a jug of water earlier.

“I think I should go.” Lola removes her blanket, dramatically whimpering in pain in the process. She tried not to smirk as he comes rushing back to her like a dog to a bone.

“You can’t go, you are still healing.” He covers her with the blanket, looking at her with pleading eyes.

She might still be healing but Lola knows she can still take him anytime, any day. But there is going to be a time for that, not now.

“I don’t want to be an inconvenience.” Lola looks away like she is shy.

“Not be rude, I don’t think you have anywhere to go?” She didn’t have anything on her when he found her and it will make her look homeless.

She was probably living in the streets but why couldn’t Fort find her?

Lola's silence is the answer he needs. She doesn’t have a place to go.

“You can stay here as long as you want.” Fort hopes she takes him on his offer. He wants to help her, that’s the least he can do.

Madam Satan has 3 houses, one in New York which she shares with Jaime, her home town and in Miami. But Lola this has nothing.

“I- I…” Fort interrupts her before she can reject his offer. “This place is boring alone, you will be doing me a favour gracing me with your presence.” He jokes.

Lola lets out a low laugh. Fort thinking it is because of his words that brought out that beautiful laugh. But she is laughing because she got him exactly where she wants him.

 6 YEARS AGO

Lola has no idea how she walked home but she did. Her body numb, her eyes dry, tears have refused to come out, her face bleeding, she is also bleeding underneath her gown.

She is in front of the trailer contemplating walking inside and having to tell her sick mum everything. She slowly opens the door. Just immediately, she spots her mum on the floor looking lifeless, the wooden table flipped over, and a glass cup in her hand its content spilled on the floor.

"Mum!" She rushes over, dropping on her knees trying to lift her. “Not you too, mum!” She shakes her mum a couple of times, yelling on top of her voice.

This has to be a nightmare and Lola Blanco will like to wake up now.

Lola lifts her mum’s hand, checking her pulse but she feels nothing. Lola didn’t think she can feel more pain after all of that has happened but she feels her heart shatter into pieces.

"Mum!" She chocks out, placing her head on her mum’s chest.

She's not breathing.

Lola picks up her phone with her shaky hands, trying to calm she calls for an ambulance. Deep down she knows it’s no use but she needs her mum to be alive desperately.

 She drops Rachel’s cold and motionless body on the floor. Lola can’t move or think all she did is to stare at the dead body.

All she knows is when its morning, everything will change and she dreads the next few hours.