12:31 P.M.
San Miguel's Hospital.
June 6th, the year 2018. Wednesday.
When Katrina left, Carmela's alone in the room. While she was waiting for Margo, she sat down on the chair beside the bed and scrutinized Xian's body. His breath was slow, and his vital signs were fine.
Carmela thought of the one who brought him here. Why would it be Xyrelle? Is it a coincidence?
When she was deep in thought, someone opened the door. She looked into it. Carmela gasped and stood up, surprised to see him over there.
"Xyrelle?" Carmela called out. Xyrelle stood there at the front door, holding a grocery bag in the left hand. The cast in his right arm similar to Xian's. Carmela froze in her place as she saw again the man who she loved. She remembered his arm injury and how he underwent surgery for that in the United States of America.
Xyrelle's tall, standing at 6 foot and 1 inch. Muscular arms and chest that were strong enough to wrestle someone. His curly hair that's trimmed the last time Carmela saw him, and now he's still handsome. His brown eyes, prominent nose, his heart-shaped face. The mole on the bottom right side of his chin, making it his best asset. He was wearing a blue shirt, khaki shorts, and topsider white shoes.
Carmela swallowed and looked at his gorgeousness. It dazed her back to reality; she saw Xyrelle was staring at her. He smiled slightly. Xyrelle walked towards the side table beside Xian's that was across from where Carmela was sitting. He shifted his eyes again to her.
"Hi there," Xyrelle uttered with his charismatic and beautiful voice. It was so manly and gentle. If he said a few soothing words, you know he cared for you. Carmela's one factor why she fell in love with him.
"Hello," Carmela murmured and continued to stare at him. She can't believe that the one who took advantage of her was here. The biological father of Hannah was standing in front of her, only Xian's bed separating them.
"Hey, Carmela?" Xyrelle called out to her. Carmela looked at him, and she felt the electricity surging between their gazes.
"I said, 'How are you?', I felt like you were staring at me like a ghost," Xyrelle chuckled. Carmela pursed her lips, ashamed by what she did.
"I'm fine. How are you?" Carmela asked him.
"I'm perfectly fine. My arm is going to recover in the next few weeks," Xyrelle replied, then nodded at Xian.
"Maybe he is the one who is not okay," Xyrelle added. Carmela darted her eyes again at Xian. Nothing had changed since the time Katrina and she arrived earlier. Carmela asked Xyrelle about what happened to him suddenly.
"May I ask what happened to him?" Carmela asked.
Xyrelle smiled and retorted, "Why don't you ask me how I am before asking about what happened to Xian?"
Carmela furrowed her eyebrows, smiled quietly, and apologized.
Xyrelle chuckled, joked, "Just kidding. I think he may say anything to you when he wakes up."
Carmela got confused by that, squinted her eyes, and said, "Why can't you say it? Since you are the one who brought him here, maybe you know what happened?"
"I am the one who brought him here, but I don't know why his car smashed into a tree," Xyrelle said. Carmela listened attentively and waited for Xyrelle to tell what happened.
"I thought it was a complete stranger, but when I opened the car door, a lot of steam came out. I saw him, his head laying down on the driver's seat, and I saw a lot of blood," Xyrelle began. Carmela dazed again, remembering what happened to them earlier at the Kelly's Diner.
'I felt guilty. So guilty I couldn't even say that I felt sorry for him,' Carmela pondered.
"Hey, you are dazing out again," Xyrelle flicked his fingers. Carmela looked at him again and smiled as she shook her head.
"It's nothing, I remembered something." Carmela shook her head. She looked up and locked her gaze on Xyrelle.
Xyrelle nodded and glanced at Xian. While looking at him, he asked Carmela something.
"Can I ask you a question? Why are you here? I thought, the two of you had a miserable ending, yet here you are, guarding him," Xyrelle inquired. Carmela bit her lip and looked down. She was battling with herself on whether to say it.
"You got back together?" Xyrelle teased. Carmela's eyes shot up and looked sharply at him as she shook her head countless times.
"No!" Carmela cried out. Xyrelle beamed.
"Why are you so defensive?"
"No, we didn't get back together. What the hell, Xyrelle." She stifled a breath and rolled her eyes.
"Why are you rolling your eyes at me? I am just asking," Xyrelle chortled.
"Because you are so inquisitive," Carmela snapped. Xyrelle raised his hands and chuckled again. Xyrelle gave up and asked again, without the teasing part.
"Okay, serious question. Why are you here?"
Carmela scratched her head, and specified, "Do you know Margo Monteverde?"
Xyrelle's forehead creased as he heard the name.
"Margo Monteverde? In the drama with Ellis Smith?"
"Yes."
"What about her?"
"Xian is her boyfriend," Carmela shrugged. It took Xyrelle aback at his seat, widened his eyes, and gasped. Carmela nodded at his shocked face.
"What is with my question? You didn't answer it." Xyrelle narrowed his eyes.
"I'm her assistant," Carmela confessed. That made Xyrelle widen his lids.
"What? Really? Is that even true?" Xyrelle questioned.
"Yeah. I am Margo Monteverde's personal assistant," Carmela mumbled, repeating herself.
"How exciting."
"What is so exciting about it?" Carmela leered at him.
"That Margo Monteverde is a famous actress. An honorable one, and then Xian Santos, is her current boyfriend. And she didn't have a clue that her personal assistant had been with her loved one for 2 years before he even met her." Xyrelle unraveled as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"What a pleasant coincidence that you three met again in the most awkward situation I saw," he added. He laughed, and Carmela shushed him.
"You are so noisy. Margo can be here at any minute now," Carmela scolded him.
"Why? Does Margo not know about this thing?" Xyrelle asked.
"No. Why do I have to say those things to her?" Carmela retorted back.
Xyrelle shrugged and snarled, "She may know."
Carmela crossed her arms over her chest and said, "I don't have the right to say that to Margo. Xian is the one who should say it to her girlfriend. Margo will think that I applied as her assistant because of Xian."
Xyrelle felt the surge of realization and nodded. After a moment, the door opened silently and Margo entered the room. She was out of breath, beads of sweat on her forehead. She was carrying two cups of coffee in one hand, and a paper bag with the sandwiches in it in the other.
"I'm sorry. The queue in the coffee shop is really long," she exhaled an enormous amount of air. She saw that there was a man sitting on the left side of Xian's bed and got confused. Xyrelle stood up quickly from his seat and bowed.
Carmela introduced him to Margo and said that he was Xyrelle Martinez. The one who brought Xian into the hospital.
Margo said thank you to him, and they sat down on the couch. Carmela beside Xyrelle on a long couch, and Margo on one sofa. Carmela said that Katrina left earlier because she had urgent matters to do. When they were sipping their coffees, Carmela glanced at the clock on the wall above the door.
It's close to two o'clock. She needed to go home now.
"Margo, I need to go home now, can I?" Carmela asked permission. She stood up, picked up her small bag, and waited for Margo to answer.
"Why? It's early in the afternoon."
"Because…," Carmela halted on what she had to say when she realized Xyrelle was beside her.
"Because my aunt is waiting for me to go home. She texted me right now," Carmela pretended to get out her cellphone. She pressed and pressed when there was nothing.
"Well, okay. Just make sure that you are early on Friday morning, it's our script reading for the upcoming movie. And, tomorrow is your day off," Margo reminded her. Carmela nodded as Xyrelle stood up also from the couch.
"Margo, I'll be heading home too. I need to rest my arm, it's nice meeting you," Xyrelle said. Carmela looked at him and got baffled.
"Okay. It's nice meeting you, Xyrelle. And thank you." Margo beamed at them. She held out her hand, and Xyrelle reached for it. They stared into each other's eyes. Carmela looked down as a little of pain crossed her heart when she saw the glint in Xyrelle's eyes. The thoughts rumbled in Carmela's mind so that her tongue slipped out.
"I'm not jealous!" Carmela shouted suddenly. Margo and Xyrelle looked at her and got puzzled. Margo asked her if she was okay, and Carmela got beet red as she nodded. She quickly went outside as she said goodbye to Margo. A second later, Xyrelle went out of the door as well.
Carmela walked through the elevator doors without looking back. She pressed the down button. She looked up at the red light signaling the number on the floor as Xyrelle stood beside her.
"You're jealous, huh?" Xyrelle mumbled, enough for Carmela to hear. Carmela didn't look at him and entered the elevator. Xyrelle also went inside and silence succumbed for a few minutes. When it opened, Carmela walked fast. Xyrelle called out to her while she was on the way to the parking lot.
"Carmela, wait! You are leaving me behind!" He shrieked behind Carmela. When she was walking at the four-step stairs outside of the entrance door of the hospital, she slipped. When she thought she might fall onto the hard ground, someone caught him. Carmela realized it was Xyrelle. He held her close to his chest. Their eyes were full of surprise as they locked onto each other.
They stayed for a moment like that when Xyrelle pointed out, "Didn't you remember what I said? Be careful, you might fall."
That's when Carmela snapped out of reality and pushed him hard. Carmela's breath quickened, and she walked again towards the parking lot. Xyrelle was behind her again.
"Say thank you to me, right?" Xyrelle bragged but Carmela didn't want to look at him.
Xyrelle brushed his hair with his left hand, breathed, "You should say that you liked me back, then we can try it, right?"
Carmela glowered at him and bellowed, "I said, no! Why do I have to say it to you again and again?! I told you back then that I don't love you, Xyrelle!"
Xyrelle stared at her and couldn't believe what she was saying.
"Even if I say that I like you, the one you love is Celine! Just Celine, the apple of your eye." Carmela's agonizing tone made her tears resurfaced. Xyrelle shook his head and looked down.
"I'm sorry for nagging. It's nice seeing you again," Xyrelle murmured. He turned around while stooping his head down. Walking away, leaving Carmela crying in the middle of the parking lot.