Friendly Enemies

Flashing red and blue lights and an alarming siren signalled as the double doors of the emergency room burst open. Pushed by several nurses, doctors, and other medical staff, a lone hospital stretcher flew through the medical centre toward the doors to the operating room. Upon seeing the pale familiar figure being flown away, Daisy Louis stopped in her tracks, and her pupils shrank.

What the hell happened?

She stiffly turned her frozen body, and seeing the paramedics disappear into the long corridor for the OR; Daisy felt like her spirit had departed. She nearly dropped dead in that instant. Her face paled.

No, what the hell was going on?

'Why is my mum being rushed to the operating room?'

It isn't even more than ten minutes yet since Daisy left her mother's side for the restroom to empty her bladder, dwell in sorrow and spill out her tears.

Daisy turned back with wide eyes to look towards the entrance they had just wheeled her mum out from, and it wasn't any emergency ward. In fact, that has been her mum's ward since she was transferred to this hospital last week. But her mum suddenly being flown away by that team had caused a stir in her hazy mind. In the heat of the moment, the scene had looked too familiar that the blue clothes won by the paramedics backed against the low lights coming from her mum's ward had given her the light illusion. The hazy scene had tugged her mind, and seeing a familiar scene rolling out in front of her, her mind rewound down memory lane.

That fateful morning, over a month ago, when her mum suddenly collapsed in the kitchen, they had rushed her to the hospital to receive a shocker. Just like she had just been wheeled out, her mum had been wheeled immediately from the emergency room to the operating room to have her breasts removed without even giving her family room to digest the news. She had been battling breast cancer for four years without telling even her husband.

Fortunately, the surgery was successful, and her radiation therapy followed. Afterwards, they transferred her to a bigger hospital with higher technological facilities to help her recover and recuperate properly and effectively.

Mrs Louis had been saved even before they had her transferred. The woman was out of danger cause the surgery had been successful. But seeing her mum stuck in unfamiliar-looking machines making beeping sounds she only thought were unpleasant broke her heart. It's already over a week after the surgery and days after she was transferred here, but Daisy had to every day watch her mum lay there lifelessly. Even though the hospital had assured them that Mrs Louis would be out of the coma soon, it didn't in any way help the sickening emotional state Daisy was in, as the only thing she wants is to see her mum open her eyes and talk to them again.

She isn't the only one that feels that way; her father too, Mr. Louis, and her kid sister, Violet Louis, also.

Ten minutes ago, Daisy had left her dad, her boyfriend, Edward, and her friend Cindy in her mum's ward to go clear her head. Edward had wanted to accompany her, but she had stopped him, wanting to be alone for a few seconds.

After crying bitterly and begging God not to take her mum away just yet, she came back only to meet this heart-wrenching scene.

'Why is my mum suddenly being wheeled to the operating room? What the hell happened?'

When she finally snapped out of her thoughts and turned to run after the paramedics, they had disappeared into the operating room with the door shut immediately. She froze and turned back to the ward to see her dad standing just in front of the entrance with bloodshot eyes, looking extremely downcast.

Her heart squeezed.

Through her hazy vision, she could see her boyfriend and Cindy standing over there and staring at her sympathetically as if waiting for her to take in the shock before looming over.

Her knees grew weak, and just when she fell to the ground, Edward reached out and held her in his arms. Seeing his woman tremble in his arms, his chest tightened. He felt helpless cause he could do nothing to stop her pain. He could only accompany her and watch her break for her mum.

Her tears flowed while her lips trembled.

"Your mum was calm when she suddenly started to jack. We were frantic. I immediately turned on the alarm while your dad rushed out to get the doctor. The doctor pumped her chest, but they had to wheel her to the theatre. Your dad just signed up for another operation."

When Edward uttered those words, Daisy burst into tears and sobbed loudly. She let out her agony and cried in his arm.

"Noo... n.. oo... no..." were the only muffled sounds she could cry out.

'In just ten minutes, things had turned grave.'

"It's going to be okay," Cindy consoled her, patting her back.

Mr Louis standing at the ward's entrance, stared at the trio wearily, his chest heaving and his breath deep and heavy. He looked extremely downcast.

It is nobody's wish to lose one's beloved spouse and partner. He really hoped his wife would come out alive. Besides, Daisy still has a kid sister in High school.

In short, it's just too early to lose her.

Minutes passed, and the long corridor remained deserted with just the four of them. Those minutes passed as days to Daisy, tormenting her. On different occasions, she made attempts to rush toward the operating room but got stopped by Edward and Cindy.

They wouldn't let her behave rashly or turn crazy.

Soon, she grew so weak as her body couldn't take it anymore. She has had three consecutive sleepless nights. Seeing how weak and pale she had become, Edwards scooped her in his arms and took her into her mum's ward. He gently placed her on a couch, but she insisted on lying on the bed her sick mum had laid on for days.

Immediately her body touched the bed; she passed out.

Two whole hours later, Daisy sprang up from the bed with wide eyes. She flew out of bed with just one thing in her head, 'her mum.'

She could not believe she had slept off like that.

Just as her legs hit the cold marble floor, a hand grabbed her arm. Knowing who it was, she unconsciously relaxed but still struggled to get out of his hold.

She just wanted to see her mum!

She turned to look at him, her eyes widening and glimmering with tears. "I want to see my mum," she cried pleadingly.

Edward, who was already standing in front of her, held her shoulders firmly, then looking into her eyes, he breathed out, "Your mum is out of the theatre. The surgery was successful and she has been transferred to the post-anesthesia care unit."

Immediately after he said those words, Daisy stood up from the bed. With Edward still holding unto her shoulders, he stared down at his girlfriend with sad eyes. Cindy, too, looking sad and sympathetic, was already standing in front of her, trying to get her to calm down.

These two are the people in the whole world asides from her family that she considers God sent. They've always got her back and are always there for her.

"Where is my dad?" Daisy sighed wearily, and Cindy answered, "he is with the doctor."

"I want to see my mum," she heaved, and her teary eyes became red-rimmed. Edward nodded, and then he immediately scooped her in his arms before taking long strides out of the ward.

A sharp cold gaze pierced his back as he walked out of the ward with Daisy to reveal Cindy's grave and murderous face. Her eyes looked extremely dark, and a deadly murderous aura emanated from her. She smirked coldly as she watched Edward naturally carry Daisy in his arms, and then she sneered.

Just then, her phone rang.

She brought it out and, seeing the restricted number displayed on her screen, an evil smile plastered on her face.

As usual, she picked up the call, placed it against her ear, and then stayed silent, waiting for the person at the other end of the call to speak. She wouldn't be saying a word while the other end dished out her orders.

"It's done," a cold domineering voice spoke through the phone into her ear. "Mrs Louis will have a cardiac arrest in a few hours. I already arranged for your director to call you over to the movie set. You wouldn't be there when it happens."

Before the call dropped, a very important verdict was passed on to her. "Remember, you have to seduce Edward."

Cindy dropped her hand before staring at the blank screen of her phone with a cold smile. She could not help but smirk at how gullible and overly trusting Daisy was. And even though she doesn't know who this enemy of Daisy she's working for is, she does not care as long as she is making a fortune from this.

The day she had asked who this anonymous and mysterious lady is, the cold feminine voice had simply said... "I am the Lady from the Coasters."

Afterwards, the mysterious lady had eerily warned, "If you want to keep your life, don't ever ask who I am again."

Daisy Louis had met Mark Edward three years ago when she went to Collingwood for one of Melbourne's music scenes. She was only twenty-five years years old then about Edward was a little over twenty-three years of age.

Being a rich young lady of renowned business tycoons who grew up in South Yarra, a city in Melbourne, one of Victoria's richest cities, Collingwood is naturally a small city to her.

Her parents had always planned and wanted her to take over the family's business, but she had a different interest.

She wanted to become an actress as that was her passion.

She did theatre art without their knowledge and became an actress in Finn Media, the biggest entertainment media in Victoria. Its headquarters in Fitzroy is known as Melbourne's live music hot spot but is still inferior to South Yarra.

They were sad and weren't in support at first, but later decided to embrace their daughter's passion.

Besides, Daisy was doing pretty well and, in a year, had become an A-listed celebrity and the most popular actress in Australia.

She had met Cindy Auston in Finn's media the same year she joined the industry, and then they became best friends.

On that fateful night three years ago, Smith Street, which is usually packed with lively restaurants and bars, only had the gallery at the street end filled with noises of people. Something known as a music talent hunt was happening on this street in Collingwood.

Daisy was seated right in front of a VIP's boot where she could uninterruptedly view what was happening on stage. And one after the other, these untamed singers came out to perform.

Out of over a hundred groups of people performing, only five would each emerge as winners and go home with twenty million Australian dollars and a brand-new car.

Edward and Chris had also come on stage to perform and try their luck. Chris is Edward's cousin, the son of his mum's twin sister. They do music together and go by the stage name EddyChrizz. They were struggling artists at that time who really wanted recognition in Australia.

After introducing their duo name to be EddyChrizz, Edward being Star Eddy, and Chris being Chrizzy Kiss, they rapped and performed two of their best songs and captivated the audience. Unknown to them, the A-listed celebrity was enthralled throughout their performance.

Immediately they had come on stage; Daisy had fallen for Edward at first sight. She wanted him to get recognized even if he wasn't picked as the top five.

This music festival could seem like a genuine talent hunt, but it isn't. The winners all had to do with connections which means people like Edward, who came from a small town like Mungallala in Queensland, can never even get to even the top twenty.

The duo is quite popular where they came from, but then, they need to get popular throughout Australia in order to survive as pop singers.

Their performance had enthralled Daisy and swept her off her feet.

By then, she had already had her assistant look into them and had found out about them. She even discovered she is a year and a half older than the duo.

She had fallen for Edward and wanted him regardless.

Edward and Chris emerged fifth place and won the prizes, unknown to their knowledge that Daisy had pulled some strings. They even got a collaboration deal with Dave, a very popular pop singer.

Their lives changed afterwards.

Soon, the duo moved to Collingwood but kept taking care of their families in Mungallala. He would bring his family to join him when he is more capable. Things became so easy, and even though they thought they were just lucky, Daisy had pulled a lot of strings for them without their knowledge.

Six months later, seeing Edward wouldn't make a move, Daisy decided to ask him out, and they began seeing each other. And now, he isn't the small singer she picked from the dust, but an A-listed pop singer who is also head over heels in love and infatuated by her. Now her boyfriend of over two years.

*****************************

Edward took long strides down the hospital corridor with Daisy in his arms.

She urged him to drop her, but he wouldn't, so she got angry and hit him with her feminine fist, and with a sigh, he complied.

The duo got to the recovery room but were told they couldn't see her till she was transferred back to her ward as her mum would have to be managed and have her vitals closely observed, which would take about two hours.

Daisy began to cry and seeing that, Edward decided to take her out of the hospital premises. He would call Cindy so they could all go for a drive and clear their minds, as today has been really tough.

She had not seen her dad, so she knew he would be with the doctors.

Daisy suddenly thought it was a good idea to leave the premises for a while. She suddenly did not want to know what the doctors said or know what happened for a moment.

It felt like she was temporarily running away from her fears. She had been enveloped and shrouded in these fears. She just wanted to take a break.

She wasn't asking for too much anyways.

Along the hospital corridor, they saw Cindy hastily walking towards them with her bag and phone in hand. And getting to them, she stared at them guilty.

She stopped in front of the couples and sighed, looking sad, apologetic, and her eyes slightly teary.

"Daisy, I'm so sorry. I really have to leave now. I just got a call from Director Carlson. He wants me at the movie set immediately," she said solemnly and huffed.

But Daisy shook her head, with her eyes widened. "Stop being this way, Cindy. You are making me feel guilty. It's fine Cindy I'm already so grateful!"

Cindy nodded, still holding that apologetic look.

"It's okay, Cindy. It's fine, really," Daisy said lowly with a knowing look. But Cindy still sighed as she tried to stiffen out a smile.

"I'll be back soon," she said, but Daisy shook her head. "No, you should rest, Cindy."

"I'm so grateful, Cindy, you're the best friend ever. But could you not make me feel like a burden? Please go home and rest. My mum is going to be fine. I have strong fate in her will to live and her love for her family."

Cindy nodded in agreement. "I believe she would fight through."

Then with a final wave at the two, Cindy turned around and walked away.

Daisy watched Cindy walk away and couldn't help but sigh.

"You should go home and rest too, Edward," she raised her head to stare at her boyfriend, who had an arm firmly holding her waist.

"And why should I do that?" He scoffed, feeling slightly offended.

Daisy shrugged helplessly, and with that, they continued their journey. Cindy had to deal with something and has to leave, it would just be the two taking a drive.

They were initially on their way out, but Daisy suddenly said she wanted to go into her mum's ward again before leaving. Edward obliged, changed routes, and both went towards the VIP ward.

Soon, a nurse appeared in the corridor and began approaching in the opposite direction. She had the blue hospital mask on, making it difficult to mark her face.

Daisy wasn't at first bothered about who she was until their eyes met. Those eyes looked as dark and cold as an abyss, and for some unknown reason, she felt her heart skip.

Her eyes were dark grey, and they felt oddly strange but familiar like she had seen those eyes somewhere.

Dark-grey eyes...

She tried to remember but couldn't. Instead, her head hurt.

The nurse held her gaze for seconds before peeling her eyes away. Then, they passed each other wordlessly.

The nurse is blonde with fringes, with her bob gently brushing her shoulders. As hard as Daisy racked her memory, she knew no one in that description. She wondered why her presence made her feel so alarmed and anxious that her heart had raced hard when she passed by her.

Suddenly remembering she had been feeling paranoid and overreacting since her mum's sudden surgery, Daisy huffed and brushed it off.

'She was definitely overreacting,' she concluded.

Unknown to her, Edward had been frozen for a few seconds when he met those eyes, but he shrugged it off too. Anyone could have dark-grey eyes anyways, and her hair was totally unfamiliar to him.

And even though those eyes looked familiar, he did not want to admit it. Besides, he didn't want to have anything to do with the woman from his past.

He felt slightly guilty thinking about her, but things had changed now anyways.

Daisy walked warily into the ward, and Edward let go of her.

After adapting to the low lights, she stared at the cords everywhere, the unfinished IV solution hanging on a drip stand, and the sterilized tools in a tray before her gaze finally settled on the bed.

Then she took slow steps towards the bed her mum had laid on, knelt by it, and buried her face in the white sheets as her heart thumbed heavily.

She inhaled her mum's saint, now mixed with antiseptics, and her tiny drop of tears fell on the sheets.

Her shoulders began trembling, and soon, she felt a hand gently part her shoulder. Edward was now kneeling beside her as she cried silently.

The dark grey-eyed nurse walked out of the hospital building to the parking lot, her blue mask hiding a great deal of her face, her initial cold eyes showing a mix of emotions.

She unlocked her black SUV, got into it, and placed her hands on the steering wheel with a huff.

She could not believe it!

The hate she thought she had built up for him over the years could not stop her heart from skipping when she passed by them, and what is this rush of jealousy she was feeling now?

Just then, her eyes went cold again, and she scoffed.

'This is it. I am not stopping.' She gripped tightly unto the steering wheel, her gaze cold, murderous, and unyielding.

'I have started this anyways and I'm not stopping!'

"That is what he gets for thinking he can wipe off just like that. I would so mess with everyone around him and then destroy him! Anyone who messes with me will have it hard from me!" She muttered, her gaze cold and murderous.

Back at the hospital's recovery room, Mrs Louis slowly opened her eyes.

It felt like she had gone on a long journey and seen a vision. And while the nurse monitoring her went out to call the doctors, her blurry vision stared deep ahead with her heart trembling with fear. Her face was pale and white as death.

She had always prepared herself to embrace death anytime it came since she first discovered she had chronic breast cancer. But now, things have changed. She didn't want to die again.

Daisy was in trouble! She had seen it, but death was knocking. She wanted to at least warn her daughter of the scores of burning arrows she was going to pass through soon, but how could she do that when death was hovering over her like the heat of sexual pleasure?

At that, tears strayed down her eyes from the corner of her eyes down both sides of her face.

Doctors soon filed into the room, and as they fixed their gazes on the monitor and other machines connected to her. Suddenly, it made an alarming screeching noise, and she could vaguely hear the senior doctor soon exclaim, "Get the defibrillator. It's a cardiac arrest!"

Then there were footsteps, pushing of machines and equipment being pressed against her chest.

"Charge 17 joules. Shock!"

"Charge 20 joules. Shock!"

"Charge 30 joules. Shock!"

But she was slowly embracing death. As their noises faded away, the last thing she heard was the thin noise from the monitor.

She didn't want to die just yet. She wanted at least to warn her daughter.

"Daisy... b..be careful," she could only say that in her mind as two more drops of tears strayed down her face. She could not even voice a word out.

How would Daisy hear now?

Who would help her out?

Who would protect her daughter?