Chapter 24

Leon ( part 1)

I wake up and realize that it is already night. I sit up in bed quickly and end up making noise. Vanessa looks at me startled.

- Hi," she says.

- Hi. Was I out of the area for a long time?

- A little - she says, sad.

- No luck finding Duda?

- Not a thing.

- Vane, please call the doctor who attended me.

- She has already left, and another doctor took her place - thank God for that.

- No problem, I want to talk to him.

I look at my cell phone and see a bunch of missed calls, among them from Laura, my mother and Vanessa.

- Leon, what do you intend to do?

- What I should have done before they dope me, I'm going after my girlfriend," she agrees and leaves the room.

I notice that I'm already out of those serum wires, and in their place, a round bandage. I roll my eyes as I feel a slight stabbing sensation when I bend my arm. I slowly get down from the gurney and hold on. I go to the bathroom, wash my face, and am shocked at how I look.

- Damn it, Leon, the guy's finished with you! - I grumble, seeing that I have bandages on my head. I hear someone calling me and I come out of the bathroom, bumping into a doctor who was looking at me with a bit of suspicion.

- So, Mr. Vitorino, how are you now?

I feel like saying that I was not doing well at all, because of my girlfriend, and that he should be fucked for wasting my time with nonsense.

- I'm fine, doctor...?

- Oh, excuse me! My name is Lucas Leão - he greets me by extending his hand, and I see that Vanessa blushes. Then I find out that you're her boyfriend.

- So you're the boyfriend of my secretary and sister-in-law?

- Oh, yes, she told me that you had been admitted to the same unit where I work.

- And she also told you that I want to leave to find my girlfriend?

- Yes, she told me, but I can't release you yet.

- Why not? - I ask, dying to strangle the little doctor, even though he is my future brother-in-law.

- I need you to take two tests to release you.

- And these tests take a long time?

- Leon... - Vane warns me.

- Leon... I can call you that, can't I? - I nod, and he continues: I can't release you without doing these tests, because we don't want you to faint.

- OK, let's get these damn tests done, and the sooner you do, the sooner I'm out of here! - I grumble, and see the relief on Vanessa's face. I understand your concern.

- So let's go, I'll take you for some X-rays and then we'll do a CAT scan, just to clear my conscience.

I take my cell phone, my wallet, and my car keys and hand them to Vanessa, asking her:

- If my mother calls, let her know and I'll be in touch.

- I will," she says, and walks me to the exam room.

It doesn't take long, I do both, the good thing about having a known doctor is that I can do the exams right away.

Then we go back to my room, and he says:

- Well, you can see that you haven't had any fractures and there are no spots on the scans, and that's very good!

- So can I go?

- Leon, I want you to sit on the bed just to check your eyes, and then you can go - I sit up quickly on the bed, and he starts to examine me and ask questions, and I answer that everything was fine.

- Now it is!

- So, am I really free now?

- Yes, you are," I breathe a sigh of relief.

- Good, now I can leave.

- Leon, be careful, OK?

- I will, doctor, I will," I thank him, and he writes something on a clipboard and hands it to me.

- This is your discharge paper. And you won't be able to drive.

- Why not?

- Because you've had a blow to the head and it's not good to drive.

But that's no good to me.

- All right, I'll call an Uber.

- That's better.

I hold out my hand and thank you:

- Thank you, doctor, for releasing me!

- If I hadn't done that, you would have run away?

I answer without blinking:

- Yes, for sure.

- I wondered. And now, what are you going to do?

- I'll go to the college and see if I can get Pedro's address.

- And don't you think the police have already been there?

- If they have, I don't know, I only know that I'm going to go there and do everything I can to find out the address of that son of a bitch!

- So you think he did it?

- Oh, yes, he seemed crazy this morning. I'm going to make sure I put him out of his misery.

- So, my friend, good luck! Get my sister-in-law back!

- Even if it is the last thing I do in this life!

- Leon, I want to go with you! - Vanessa looks at me.

- Vane, I'd rather you stay here with your boyfriend, or even go to your house.

- She's my sister! - she insists.

- I know that, it's just that I'll be more comfortable with you being safe.

- Bring my little sister, Leon! - she asks, almost in tears.

- I'll bring her, Vane!

I take my things, put my wallet in my pants pocket, unlock my cell phone and call an Uber, putting the address of the college. I say goodbye to both of them and head out of the hospital, handing my discharge to the reception desk.

The Uber was already waiting for me, and I didn't want to linger. The driver greets me and asks if I would like to guide him or if he could follow the app.

- He can follow the app.

- OK, we'll be there soon.

I couldn't wait to meet my queen. I miss her so much! Of one thing I was sure: she was with that Pedro. Why did he do this to my queen? Did he really have something to do with the rape case?

I will kill that bastard if he did this to my queen! He will pay so dearly! Now the most important thing was to find my Duda, and only then would I get revenge on that bastard.

My God, bring my queen to me, I never asked for anything! I just want her by my side so that we can start a family one day. After all, she is the only woman who could hold me, and I'll die if she doesn't show up. So I will do whatever it takes to bring her back.

I want her more than anything in my life! I am no longer a boy who doesn't know what he wants.

- My queen, I will find you! - I speak to myself.

- Did you say something? - the driver asks.

- Yes, I spoke to myself.

As he said, we don't take long and arrive at the college.

- Thank you! - I thank him and get out of the car.

As I walk to the door, I remember my queen in my arms, and at this moment I swear:

- I will bring you back, my queen!

I enter the building and ask where the reception is. There, I meet a lady, who answers me immediately:

- Yes?

- Good evening, my name is Leon Vitorino and I would like to know how to get the address of a student - she looks at me suspiciously, at least finding it strange to see a man with bandages on his head in the college.

- Sir, we are not allowed to give out any student's address.

- Ma'am, my girlfriend was kidnapped by one of your students!

- Even so, sir. We can't give out any information.

- Ma'am, this is my girlfriend, and she was kidnapped by one of your students, and you can't give me a fucking address?

- We can't, I'm sorry.

- What if I ask the police to come here?

- Even then, we could only give it to them, not to you. I'm sorry.

- Ma'am, this is a matter of life and death!

- I'm sorry, sir, but without an order we can't.

- Thank you, I will ask the police to come here, then - I warn them and say goodbye. I was desperate to find my queen, and the fear of not finding her alive horrified me.

I leave the college wondering if there is any other way to find her. I hear footsteps behind me and turn around, finding the same lady.

- Mr. Vitorino, I will give you the address, but I ask you not to tell anyone that I gave it to you," she asks nervously.

- Of course not! - I thank her and call the Uber again. As soon as it arrives, I head in the direction of Pedro's house, thinking of various ways to control myself.

- Thank you! - I thank her and run to the house where Pedro lived.

I follow the gate, which is open, and enter quietly. I go to the entrance door and check to see if it is open. No. I try to look inside, and everything was dark, I even think that my Duda was not inside.

I don't give up and go to see if there is another entrance. I keep looking until I find a door on the side of the yard. It was leaning against it, and I am relieved, at the very least he must have forgotten to lock it. That was my luck.

I check to see if there were any dogs, and I didn't see any. I open the door carefully and enter without making any noise. I keep looking to see if Pedro would show up, but I don't see him.

I find a corridor and walk down, seeing that there are more doors. I am curious and open them slowly, but nothing. The strangest thing is that the house seems so small on the outside, and inside it is huge.

I hear a noise that seems to be coming from the floor above and I go towards it. When I get there, I hear two voices, and one of them I knew was from my queen.