The Billionaires Too (#2)

35 || Back To Life

The sun rose and set, stars glistened in the sky and disappeared, and days and nights passed, but she remained limp and unconscious on her bed.

Cool air surged around the room as the fan howled heavily on the chair, pointed towards the bed; and a bowl of cold water sat on the headboard.

An older African woman with tanned skin sat at the edge of the bed with a wet cloth clutched in her hand as she glazed down at the pale figure lying on the bed.

MJ laid unconscious on the bed, with a bandage wrapped around her head. Her chest rose as she breathed steadily. She had been changed into a set of printed pyjamas, and half her body was covered in bed sheets.

"What if she never wakes up, Sandra?" A panicked voice asked. "It's been two days."

"Then we will have two funerals." Sandra Cooper answered without missing a heartbeat, and cold silence settled in the room. "I've been telling you that she will wake up; MJ is a warrior. Trust me." She sighed and stood up; her brown, Victorian styled dress cascading down to her feet.

She walked towards where Cameron sat restlessly on the couch and placed her hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. "MJ has survived worse things than this; she will be fine." She squeezed his shoulder and moved towards the headboard to take the bowl of water before she headed to the bathroom.

Cameron moved to where the said patient laid and stood by her side. He placed his palm on her forehead and drew back with a dreadful sigh; her body temperature seemed to take its peak with every hour that passed, and not even the fan, opened window or the water cooled her down.

He ran his hands through his blond hair, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration. Nothing had improved since he found her lying in a pool of blood, on the brink of death.

He had decided to come and check up on her immediately after hearing about Alastair Cooper's death and the bank robbery. Luckily, she happened to be in his apartment when he arrived. The thought of what would have happened if he had not returned, made him feel cold in this hot weather.

Thankfully, Sandra Cooper came at the same time to talk about her husband's death. If it were not for her, MJ would probably be dead; and as Sandra said, they would be having two funerals as news of Alastair Cooper's death were still circulating around.

Journalists were everywhere, in all places they associated with Alastair; the bank where the death occurred, his home, the orphanage, and Billings Corporations. Jorge Billings was trying to keep things at bay, but people were restless since they did not know what exactly happened inside the bank.

He stood next to the window and stared outside, while lost in his thoughts. They were holding a memorial service tomorrow evening, and if there was still no word from MJ, it would only fuel the rumours about her being dead too, especially since the receptionist from the bank told the media that MJ Billings was at the bank when the robbery happened.

"You shouldn't be here." A croaked voice said, he almost imagined it. He slowly turned his head to the side, and sure enough, MJ was awake and staring at him with dark eyes. "You shouldn't be here." She repeated, and Cameron moved to where she was and crouched beside to her, running his hand through her curls, as if he could not believe she was awake. "It's dangerous." She prompted, but he just smiled and ignored her.

"It's good to have you back, I thought I'd lost you." He whispered.

"W-water."

"Here." Sandra said as she brought a straw to her mouth.

MJ sipped the water, not taking her eyes away from the motherly figure. "I'm sorry." The words felt as dry as her throat had been, but strangely, she meant it.

Sandra smiled warmly and handed the glass to Cameron before turning her attention to MJ. She pulled her hands and squeezed them gently. "Me too." She said warmly. "Uhm...do you think you can make it to the memorial service tomorrow evening?" She asked and felt MJ still under her touch. The panicked look in her eyes told her that she made a mistake by bringing this up now. "Listen, sweetheart; I know you don't like crowds and you like to keep your identity a secret, but you have to do this."

MJ stared at the blank ceiling, thousands of faceless men swirling in her sight. Alastair was a people's person and played a huge role in the economy; he was known to be kind, and his name made waves around the world. A lot of people were going to be at his memorial service, and that was unavoidable; his event would probably fill half a stadium if not more.

MJ's chest started to rise frantically and her breath hitched in her throat, and she started to shake furiously as convulsions took control of her frail body.

"MJ!" Cameron shouted in panic and tried to hold her down. "Get the syringe and sedative; we need to calm her down!" Sandra did not waste time to move; she went to the bathroom and hurried back with a needle in her hand.