Accidents

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry," I said, running out of the bathroom and shutting the door behind me. Fuck, why does someone have to be this hot? God! Help me. I went back to the waiting room to meet Ruth, but I couldn't find her. I decided to confirm with the nurse at the reception, who told me that she had gone for her appointment. My only option was to wait until she was done.

God, I feel exhausted after all this drama, and I could kill for some French fries and... ketchup and... chicken and... a cup of coffee. God, if only Zane was at home or he picked up my call, I'm sure having these wouldn't be a problem. But why isn't he picking up or at least texting back?

I should call Roman and confirm if Zane is back already. Taking my phone out, he picked up on the second ring.

"Hello, Roman," I said, silently praying that he was home so that he could get me lunch.

"Yeah, hello," Roman said over the phone.

"I wanted to ask if your dad is back; I can't seem to reach him."

"Uh, nope, I haven't seen him since he left yesterday."

A wave of disappointment washed over me at Roman's response. I had hoped that Zane would be back, ready to share some stories and, more importantly, grab lunch together. "Oh, that's too bad," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady. "I was counting on him to bring back something good to eat. Any chance you know when he might be back?"

There was a brief silence on the line, and I could almost picture Roman shrugging his shoulders. "No idea, but I can shoot him a text and let you know if he replies."

"That would be great! Thanks, Roman. I owe you one," I said, feeling a little more hopeful. At least there was a chance I could still get in touch with Zane.

Okay, I guess lunch isn't going to get itself, and... (I take a look at my watch) I don't think Ruth is going to be done anytime soon. I quickly put on my jacket because it seemed like it was going to rain. Upon reaching the door, I bumped into a colleague of my husband.

"Oh hi, Max, right?"

"Oh yes, good day, ma'am," Max said, bowing appropriately.

"Oh, thank God I met you. I can't seem to reach my husband, Zane, so I don't know if you know where he is?" I said, suddenly noticing the sad lines slowly rising on his forehead, causing my heart to skip a beat. "I hope all is well with him."

"I'm sorry, but I thought you already heard about it since you're here."

"No, I... I haven't. What are you talking about?" I couldn't hold my anxiety anymore.

"There was an accident that happened, and your husband got hospitalized in this hospital. I'm so sorry..."

"Oh no! What happened? How did it happen? Where? When?" There were so many things running through my head.

"Calm down; there was a fire outbreak on 24th Street. Your husband was part of the team that had to take care of it this morning. Hold on, I thought you had already seen him?" he asked, surprised.

"What sort of shitty talk is that? No, I haven't! Where is he?"

"Uh, he's here in this hospital," he said, leading me to the room. My heart raced as I followed Max to the room.

'God, please let him be okay,' I said to myself. While in that prayer, my phone rang, and thank God it was Roman—just the person I wanted to talk to.

"Roman, darling, where are you?" I said, trying to hold my tears back. By now, I had told Max to go ahead of me; I'll follow behind him.

"Hello, Lilith. I can't seem to reach Dad, and I'm at home with Sky. Is everything okay? You sound a bit worried."

Oh no, he's with Sky. The last thing I want to do is see Sky. But Roman needs to know about his father. I'll just have to tell him tomorrow, which is also a weekend. He'll have a lot of time.

"Uh, I'm okay. I just wanted to tell you that your father is okay and that you shouldn't worry, alright? ... Great, bye," I said and hung up the phone.

I immediately went to the room to see Zane; the doctor confirmed he was in a coma.

Zane looked so pale and weak. I slowly took a seat beside him, touched his face, and silently muttered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I wasn't here for you." I held his hands, and while caressing his hand, I fell asleep.

I woke up feeling a bit tired and definitely hungry. I'll just quickly get food from a restaurant and maybe stretch a little. On my way out, I remembered that my reason for coming here in the first place was because of my friend Ruth, so I went to the receptionist to ask if she had checked out.

"Yes, she left about an hour ago," the female receptionist told me.

I stared at my watch and noticed that it was past 4:30 PM. I must have been really tired. "Okay, thank you." I guess she looked for me, and since she could not find me, she decided to leave. I'll call her later because I'm not in the mood to talk.

I spotted a restaurant directly down the street. I just hope their food is good enough. The weather didn't look good, seeing as clouds were gathering. It was going to rain, and I didn't come out with my umbrella, so I went in and ordered takeout. I was tempted to go to a bar and clear my head, but I needed to stay sober.

So I decided to take my order and head back before the rain started. Unfortunately for me, on my way to the hospital, the rain started. I got drenched, and I could not find shelter.

"Oh, just great! You chose this day of all days to fall, when my day is not going too well. Thank you..." (car horns). Startled by the horn and dropping my takeout on the floor, I realized that I was in the middle of the road.

"I'm sorry," I said, immediately moving back.

"Wait... you! You are the lady from the hospital," the guy in the car said.

"And you are..." I suddenly remembered he was the guy I accidentally met in the men's toilet, whom I mistook for the ladies...