Chapter 29: chapter 29

Chapter 29Ava's POVI kept on telling the cab driver to speed up down the road well, more like screaming at him. I didn't really know what matter was, but the phone call gave a hint.Ray's tone during that call had an underlying distress, coupled with controlled anger. Bryson didn't sound any different, if anything he was more enraged than his brother. Undeniably, something had clearly upset them, and I knew somehow I was involved.Ray had never raised his voice as he did, hell he had never commanded or ordered me around in that manner. If anything, his grim and serious tone made me want to fly and get at the designated meeting place swiftly.My mind practically was running miles trying to come up with a guess on whatever the two men were on about. My brain overworked with jumbled thoughts, trying to come up at least with a guess about whatever the boys were upto.A lot of whys and whats occupied every part of my brain. Despite all my efforts to try and understand that call, I couldn't come up with a single thing.Everything didn't make sense at the moment. Even as we zoomed past the crowded roadsides, I still came up empty.My frustrations were beginning to show as I fidgeted and squirmed on the back seat, checking time constantly. I could feel an headache begin to brew from a far.The back seat open left window allowed for polluted air to swim through. The smell was mostly a mix of different pollutants. There was however a distinct smell of petrol in the air.The particular stench had my insides churning suddenly, almost forcing bile past my trachea and out of mouth. I however managed to suppress the particular feeling.My mind drifted back to the hospital, pushing forward memories of what had happened right before the phone call, and after.EarlierThe bed was empty, the crinkled blue bed sheets however showed that someone had been occupying the bed. A pair of slippers were placed right under the bed. On the right, a simple stand painted white stood with a small black suit case placed on top.The walls were painted ordinary cream with grey floors. There were a few windows that were open only on the top. I could smell lemon bleach with an undertone of antiseptic from a far.I stared at the ceiling in boredom, ignoring my uncles attempts to start a conversation with me. I had nothing to tell him and clearly I didn't want to listen to him. I stood in the middle of the room, occasionally throwing hateful glances towards my uncle.Renata had stood by the door, besides a dispenser with rubber gloves and soap. She seemed even more nervous, lifting her feet one after the other. I could see her giving me side way glances, with her eyes moving back and forth between me and a door that was adjacent to the bed. I chose to however give a blind eye to that because I knew that no matter how many times I asked if anything was wrong, she would still say she was okay.I had already made myself comfortable on a large, padded, comfortable reclining chair with casters designed to allow patients recovering from illness and surgery, or the elderly and infirm to get out of a bed and sit comfortably while being fully supported and transported to adjoining areas within a facility. Then minutes later, I received that worry some call from my hunks. It took me only a few seconds to get out of the room.I didn't even look back to see whether mum and uncle were following me. I only heard them shouting my name and asking what the matter was. Every attempt by them to stop me from hightailing into the elevator turned futile. I was determined to leave the place. All I wanted was to get to my boys and find out what the problem was.I zoomed past the crowded hospital hallways, passing by people being wheeled off down the corridors. Some had scrubs on, I assumed they were the medical personnel. I kept on muttering apologies to the people I bumped on, my feet pushing me forward.I just wanted to see them and ascertain that they were or would be okay. Luckily, it didn't long for me to get a cab. Renata kept on calling me but I ignored the calls. It didn't sit well with me having to lie to her, hell I knew she was mad at me for stomping out just like that. I could always come back and visit this said person, right after meeting with my men.PresentThe only problem was that the old driver was clearly not a law breaker. He had refused completely to accelerate, he just ignored my screams, with his serious gaze fixed on the road. The only sign that showed that he was getting frustrated with my persistent words, was the tight grip his large palms had over the steering wheel.'Fuck' I realised I didn't have enough cash on me to pay for the taxi. I texted Bryson, telling him that I was almost at the park and that I didn't have enough bucks on me.He texted back, saying that they were already there and that he would pay. Once I got of the vehicle, I called Bryson to inform him that I was already there. I could see him approaching to where the taxi had stopped in long, calculated fast strides.After making the payment, he clutched my arm with his masculine hands and pulled me by my wrist towards Ray. The blue convertible wasn't hard to spot, especially in a park. He hurriedly opened the door for me, urging me to get in quickly.A minute passed in silence with my two men suddenly acting dumb. I observed as they had a certain silent communication between them. Ray's heavy eye brows were pulled together on his forehead, with his eyes squinting at no one in particular.His lips were set in a thin line, with his jaw muscles ticking every now and then. Bryson appeared more composed though his gunmetal eyes blazed with fury every time he looked at me. Then he would shake his head, as if trying to convince himself about something he was finding hard to comprehend.'Why did you ask me to come here if we are just going to sit inside the vehicle? ' I finally broke the tense silence, looking at the both of them in the same intensity.'We didn't really think this through before calling. ' Ray didn't even look at me, he was staring right ahead. I could tell he was mad, confused and well sad.'What's going on guys? ' I was getting restless, I needed to know what was bothering my boys.'Ava, I'm going to ask you a question, and I need you to give me a correct answer. ' Bryson's voice was overly calm, he seemed a bit under control than his brother.'What happened to your mother? ' Why was he asking me this now? of course he knew she passed away. I remember his brother telling him that day he had insulted me.'Ha ha, are you kidding me now? Ray told you she's dead, didn't he? Wait...Is this why you called me here?' What exactly was wrong with these men.'I know she's dead Ava, I mean what was the cause of her death? ' Bryson pressed.'A road accident, it was even on the news. ' I remembered seeing her damaged car, during the lunch time news on TV.I never watched the news, only when she made me watch them. The Saturday her life got claimed by the car accident was no different, I was just going through every channel hoping to come across something that was interesting.Instead, I came across a reporter who was reporting on a road tragedy that had occurred only a few minutes away from the place we stayed.When I saw the footage, I instantly recognised my mum's wrecked car. It was...'Ava. ' Ray snapped me out of my thoughts.'Huh? ' He looked at me for a while before dodging my question and opting to ask one of his many.'Did you ever see your mum's body? ' Now that I think about it, Ray's question did make sense.'No.' I answered simply.'But why Ava, you never wanted to see you..' I cut off Bryson before he could finish.'They didn't let me Bry, they said her body was in a very bad state. They actually insisted that I couldn't handle it. ' I really wanted to see her for one last time but I wanted to remain with nice and beautiful memories of her. I knew seeing her damaged body would be a source of nightmares, something that I did not want at all.'Ava your mum might be still alive, we have reason to believe that she is still very much alive. ' Ray stated, turning to look at me from the front seat. His gaze locked onto mine as he let far fetched information sink.'What do you mean? We buried her at Lang'ata cemetery. Ray we held a funeral for my mum. ' I even laughed it off, I thought they were crazy for even thinking that way.'Could you at least think about the possibility of your mother not being buried as you seem to think. ' Bryson's pleading voice was coupled up with an hint of sadness in the tone.'Take a look at this Ava, maybe you will believe us. ' Bryson handed me a photo on it's upside form. I took it skeptically and when I looked at it, I was completely shocked.I swear my free hand moved reflexively on my clothed chest. Eyes wide in utter disbelief, with a million questions running through my mind.'This is the copy that mum kept. ' I waved it in the air, pacing back and forth. 'The one that I have has the word mum written on the back, where did you find this photo? ' I stopped pacing, waiting impatiently for the answer. This picture had disappeared when she perished. Even when I went through her things trying to sort what I'd give to charity, this photo wasn't there.I remember going through her things alone trying to see whether it was there because I knew how important it was to her. Hell, I even talked to the police that dealt with her accident case. The only thing that was recovered in that damaged vehicle and on her was a wrist watch, alongside some foodstuffs and other meaningless bunch of things.'That's not all Ava. This here is an hyper-realistic face mask. Have you ever seen it before? ' Ray added, pointing at the items Bry was holding at that moment. With a nod from Ray, Bryson moved forward.Slowly with shaky hands and eyes that kept on darting everywhere around but not on me he finally stretched it for me. When I caught a glimpse of the material, a good look at it, it felt as if everything around me and in me had stopped moving.I couldn't see anything, m eyesight had suddenly become somewhat cloudy. My eyes couldn't perceive any sounds. My feet stood fixed firmly on the ground, before starting to feel as if they were supporting a very heavy upper part of my body. My chest tightened, with my mouth opening in an attempt to force down oxygen down my trachea.Everything at that time appeared frozen to me and my world. One thing though remained in my mind, the hyper realistic face mask looked everything like my late mother's face. I could feel my eye lid muscles begin to give up. My legs turned jelly and a strong wave of nausea hit me in an instant making me lose control over my own body.I fainted.