They took him to the nearest hospital to get treatment. Adelia met them halfway, coming from the other side of the mall.
The doctors told them that it wasn't anything serious and he passed out mainly from exhaustion. Willow released a breath as his shoulders relaxed. Thank god this guy wasn't going to die on him.
Blondie woke up fast. Willow went in first, followed by Charlie. Adelia was outside, calling their parents.
The man was sitting up, staring out of the window.
When he heard the door open, he glanced over. His eyes shone brightly when he saw Willow. He was pretty sure that this guy would've rushed towards him had it not been for the IV drip attached to him.
"Will? Is that really you? Do you remember me? How have you been? It's been years, right?" Blondie was almost jumping in excitement. He took Willow's hands in his impatiently, clasping them tightly.
Willow was a little startled by this sudden intimate gesture. He awkwardly tried to pull his hands out of this grasp but he didn't let go, holding them even tighter.
"Um, do I know you?"
"It's me, Will. Don't you remember?"
"I kinda don't."
An awkward silence filled the room. Still, it didn't diminish blondie's excitement one bit as he laughed it off and continued, "Oh, that was quite silly of me. Of course you don't remember! You were only 5 at that time. I'm brother Claude!" He gestured to his face, hoping it would ring a bell or something.
Since Willow got here only months ago, he obviously didn't know the guys the original owner was friends with. He could act like he knew him, but one wrong answer and it'll be awkward. It's probably better to feign ignorance. "Oh, maybe that's why I don't really remember much from that time."
Claude smiled again. God, why was this guy obsessed with flashing his pearly white teeth at every chance he got like some toothpaste advertiser? So freaking bright. Blonde hair, fair skin, shining teeth...It was literally blinding.
Willow felt a murderous gaze on them. Not exactly on them, but on their clasped hands, to be exact. Instinctively, he turned to see Charlie's face red from anger. His lips were pressed in a thin line as he looked like some angry housewife who just caught her husband in bed with another woman. Claude, the other woman, felt Charlie's gaze but just smiled back at him tauntingly.
Willow, the husband who was just caught, tried to defuse the situation by prying back his hands but the other woman refused to let go, clutching them tighter.
Uh, this was awkward. At one side was Charlie looking like he's going to die of anger any second and on the other side Claude was looking at him eagerly, still refusing to let go.
There was the sound of footsteps as the door opened. Ah, saved by the door!
"Will! Are you alright?" A worried wail came from behind. Willow turned to see a very worried Robert, with Alex following close behind. Alex appeared to be indifferent but his brows were creased as he looked at him from a distance.
Robert was much more panicked. Coming closer, he examined him from head to toe. Only when he was sure that Willow was unscathed, he turned to the person who saved him. "Thank you for saving Willow-"
Robert stopped when he saw who the other person was. He was shocked for a moment but then smiled, "What a coincidence! It's you, Claude! You already arrived?"
Clade nodded, returning the smile. Nodding his head politely, he greeted Alex before continuing, "Yes, uncle Robert. I arrived some time ago."
"Why didn't you come to meet us, then? How's Louise? There wasn't any problem during the flight, right?" Turning around, he said to Alex, "See, Alex? I told you. We should've picked them up from the airport-"
"That kid's mother said it was fine," Although his answer was short, Alex was smiling so it wasn't cold at all.
Rolling his eyes at his attitude warmly, Robert muttered, "So careless."
Turning his attention back to Claude, he inquired, "Did you arrive safely?-" He was about to continue but glanced at the bandages on his hands. A horrified look covered his face. "Oh god, are you okay? You saved Will just now, right? What happened?"
Claude patiently explained the whole turn of events to them. Robert asked many questions, and he answered all of them politely.
"Will doesn't seem to remember me," Claude said, looking like an unfortunate maiden whose husband just abandoned her. Hey, other woman, why are you acting like a wife abandoned on her wedding night now?
Robert turned to Willow. "You don't remember him? Brother Claude?"
Oh for god's sake he doesn't. Stop asking that individually already. Still, as he couldn't say that aloud, he repeated for the nth time. "No I don't, dad."