For a person who's sister was fighting a battle with life, he looked shockingly quiet. If it had been any other person, then they might have thought that he was not feeling anything for his sister. But being a doctor furthermore having some involvement with the field of a psychiatrist, I could see all little subtleties in his conduct. Similar to how he would continue tapping his left foot, or how he kept on playing with his fingers - a clear sign of restless - but most importantly, that hidden sadness and fear behind his eyes which for a reason only I could see. One of my teachers in university was a psychologist, and in his guidance, I learned a lot about human emotions.
Sam snapped his fingers in front of my eyes to gain my attention. "Hey, back to Earth."
I put an awkward and forced smile on. "Sorry." I had not even realized he had asked me something because I had been so deep in thought about him.
He stared at me for a few moments, waiting for an answer that I could not give because I was not even sure what the question was.
"Explain..." was all he said. I sat up straighter,
"Right," I said, bobbing my head,
"Well, it all started..." I began to explain all the events of the night before. All he did was listen to me carefully, and with full attention. He never interrupted me, only sat and listened as I spoke.
I glanced at Sam after telling him everything. He stared into space, leaning on his elbows rested on his knees and has his fists tucked under his chin. He had such sharp features, which made him look older than his actual age, which made me wonder how old is he?
There were few freckles under his eye, but they were so light that a naked eye couldn't see through it without a closer look. I felt my heart sink as a lone tear falls from his left eye, he quickly wiped it as he didn't want anyone to see it, but I did. Just when I was going to console him, he suddenly stood up, leaving my hand hanging in mid-air,
"Thanks for bringing her here," He said in an emotionless voice with a curt nod. I gaped at foolishly.
He was about to leave just then Tom appeared in front of him with a phone pointing towards me,
"Tess, your mom," he said with a sympathetic look.
Sam looked at me confusingly as he saw the look of horror on my face. Sam's lips twitched a little like he is holding his smile.
How the hell did I forget?
My mom, Suzy Williams, is the sweetest person in the world, but when she's angry and upset, no one would want to face her.
I very slowly took the cell phone from him and neared it to my ears. Before I could even mutter a word, it's as if my mother knew I had been on the other line already. She began screaming into my ear.
"TESSA GRACE WILLIAMS, why are you not answering your phone?" I quickly pulled myself away from the phone before I become deaf.
"Mom, calm down listen to-" she cut me off angrily,
"No, Tessa, you listen to me. Do you have ANY idea how worried your father and I have been all night?" She asked, "We have been calling you constantly, but every time it goes straight to voice mail!"
I took out my phone from my back pocket and found it dead. I unconsciously hit my forehead with it,
"What cat got your tongue?" She asked. My mother can be so sassy sometimes.
I hate to say it but, so am I, and she's to blame.
"I am so sorry, mom," I started, "We were all in such a hurry that it completely slipped my mind," I said, hitting my head with my phone again, just for good measure.
"It won't happen again mom, please forgive me," I said in my most sincere voice. I could feel her walls breaking as she sighs.
"Tess, honey," she said softly. "Please don't ever do that to us again. We were so scared," she says as her voice cracks slightly. I felt sad to make them worry about me so much. They are the most caring parents one could ever have,
"I promise, now relax and tell dad not to stress so much. It's not good for his health," with a final goodbye. I cut the call.
Tom was still standing there, waiting for me to finish the call. Sam had moved to the corner of the corridor talking to someone on his phone,
"Here," I handed back Tom his cell phone, he tucked it in his pocket.
"Where are Shirley and John?" I asked him
"They went to pick up his car," he replied. I nodded.
Like he knew I was about to ask him something, he raised his hand.
"Don't even think about it. It's better to left some things unsaid" Tom put his hands down and motioned to me sit. I followed.
"I don't understand it, what the hell is going right now, I mean really," I opened my arms and point to the whole place.
Sam stood in the corner and ignored us completely, for which I feel grateful.
"What is this?" I asked him again,
He sat beside me, staring into my eyes.
"Curiosity kills, Tessa," he said, placing a hand on my leg. "Just leave things the way they are..." he paused for a second, "If you weren't the one who had found her, no one would have ever let you know about this,"
Confusion filled my face at his words. Sam shook his head as if he's finding our whole conversation funny,
"But why?" I frowned. "And why do you have all of this down here?"
Tom doesn't answer any of my questions and just left me drowning in my curiosity.
Why couldn't they tell me?
"Tess," Tom began. "I told you, you can't get yourself involved in all of this. Trust me, I am trying to pro-" he gets cut off as Max stormed out of the I.C.U with a grim look on his face.
Something didn't felt right, then John and Shirley too appeared. I looked inside to see the other man who was with Max inside doing a final check-up on Crystal,
"You all follow me now!!!" Max left as Sam followed him. I looked at John, who was looking back at me.
"What do you think?" I rubbed my palms to ease my nervousness.
"I don't know. Let's hope for the best." We all followed Tom, who took us to a cabin.
As we got inside, Max sat behind the desk, placed in the center of the room. Sam sat in front of him and played with his fingers nervously. We stood behind and waited for Max to tell something.
"There's bad news and good news, which one will you hear first?"
"Good news," Sam spoke in a strained voice.
"Well, the good news is that your sister is out of danger," he said, making us all feel a little relieved,
"What's the bad news, Max?"
Max sighed and got up to stand beside Sam; he put a hand on Sam's shoulder comfortingly,
"Your sister is in the coma. There was a lot of blood loss. Also, she took a pretty bad hit on her head. We can't say anything for the next 12 hours."
Sam looked down dejectedly after hearing Max's words.
Sam's poised composure shocked me; I first thought maybe he was calm because he might be feeling hopeful about her well-being. But now when we know, things are far from being subtle, he should at least show some emotion, maybe anger or anything, but not, as usual, his face is neutral.
"Can I see her?" He finally spoke after a few minutes of silence,
"Ya, you can." Max allowed him as Sam nodded and got up.
I moved to go with him, but he stopped me in my tracks by raising his hand. He had a distant look, and his eyes seemed blank, with no emotions in them. I felt as though this whole thing is so much for him to handle that he forgot to feel any emotion,
"No," he began. "I want to see Crystal alone."
I slowly took a step backward, signaling that I wouldn't follow if he didn't want me to. The last thing I wanted to do was to annoy a man who's sister was holding onto her last straw of survival.
"Listen, there's something more serious that I didn't tell in front of him," Max caught my attention, and I turned back to him, "But you guys should know this." I took the seat in front of him,
"The thing is, Crystal's condition is worse than it looks, she had got too many internal injuries, and also her head injury is too serious. " he sighed before continuing. "It's hard to tell when she will wake up," I gasped at his last words,
The feeling those words brought to me was too unnerving.
It is so unfair; that girl does not deserve such a fate.
I wiped the tears which I didn't realize started falling from my eyes on its own,
"Dad," Tom said, looking up at him. "There has to be a way to save her... right?" He had been standing behind us, and this was the first time he even showed his involvement.
I could see the sadness in his eyes, sadness that only grew when Max shook his head 'No.'
"Right now, with her current state, we cannot say anything for sure," Max said, letting his head drop. "We need to keep her under observation for the next twelve hours..."
The hole in my heart grew bigger. I began to understand why Sam had been so calm after finding out the news about Crystal. Sam was numb because slowly and steadily his hope, for her sister getting better was shrinking, and I knew this because I was feeling the same.
"I should go now. I need to check some reports," Max said, making his way out the door. The silence in the room had grown. Everyone had been frozen in their place, trying to understand everything that had been going on.
The silence was killing me, so I got up from my chair and made my way towards the I.C.U, where Crystal had been. I began to hear muffled sounds of a male voice; I realized that it had been coming from inside the room.
I know eavesdropping is a bad habit, but I can't help myself.
I opened the door and peeked inside; Sam was sitting beside Crystal's bed on a stool and was holding her hand. My heart broke at the view in front of me. Sam was crying and holding her hand tight. Outside he behaved liked he didn't care about anything, but right now, he looked like a broken soul,
"Crystal," he said with a slight crack in his voice.
"Do you remember how our mother used to tell us that we three are her strength..." he paused. "Now we are so far from her, yet so near," he said as more tears fell from his eyes.
"I know I had to fulfill my promise, but I can't do that without you, Crystal," he sobbed. "I need you, we need you," he began to cry so hard that he could barely speak. His words barely made it out.
"Plea- please," he said, letting his head fall to Crystal's hand. Seeing the pain in Sam's eyes, I so badly wanted to comfort him, but I stopped myself. I knew that he needed this. Sometimes crying is what people do to feel better, to let it all out until they had nothing else left to let out.
I had grown up an only child, so I never really got to experience the bond that Crystal and Sam had. The heartbreak in Sams's eyes was the kind I thought I would have if Crystal's current state had been with Mom or Dad. But I haven't lost them; I haven't had to lay on their bedside, unsure if they'll live to see another day. But Sam knew what that's like because his sister was in a coma, and no one knew if she would wake up.
"I know you never show it, but I know you always blame yourself for everything, but you need to know it was never your fault." he cried out. "It was just an accident, and you never meant that to happen, so stop blaming yourself. I don't even know if you are listening to me, or I am just wasting my time." he sounded hopeless and, it hurt to see someone like this.
"I just wanted you to know that please wake up, once you wake up then I will set everything straight, trust me please wake up" Sam looked down glumly and got stilled. Few minutes passed, but he still was in the same position. I found it the right time to get in. Just then, his phone rang. He jerked up and shook his head as if breaking out of a reverie. He took out his phone and looked at it. Whatever it was on the screen had made him tense as he suddenly straightened up and cursed quietly,
"Another thing which I can't handle without you," he said, looking at the phone, which kept ringing. "Now what should I tell Aiden. That silly guy doesn't even know what's happening, he thinks we both are out for some fun, but I can't hide this from him for too long." he chuckled with dry humor.
"Sooner or later, he will come to know about everything, as in everything, do you get it, Crystal?" I raised my eyebrows when he emphasized the word everything, "That's why you need to get up; he has the right to know about everything, I need you." I know I heard more than I should have, but does it matter because I couldn't understand a single word he said. He kept crying like he had no intention to stop.
I stepped inside the room to console him. I didn't know I should have or not as when he heard the door opening, his shoulder stiffened.
Oops.
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