Jack's attention turned back to the girl. He yawned and covered his mouth with one hand while rubbing his eyes with the other, then stood up and went inside the bathroom to wash his face and came back while cleaning his face with a handkerchief which he disposed of in a trash can before sitting back on the chair.
He watched her closely for some hours making sure that she did not move her hand, before finally drifting off with his head resting on the bedside.
********
__The Next Morning__
Clara fluttered her eyes open which was met with an unfamiliar surrounding. The smell of disinfectants wafted through her nose and the white walls brought her a sense of déjà vu. 'Am I dreaming,?' she wondered.
Then, her eyes widened and she looked around expectantly but spotted Jack on a couch in the far corner working on his computer, then memories of yesterday floated into her head.
She knitted her brows and a frown settled on her face. She was inside Jack's car after agreeing with him to come to the hospital. But what happened next, why was she wearing a hospital gown and when did they come to the hospital. She tried to sit down then heard Jack's voice.
" You're up."? Jack closed his laptop then stood up and walked toward her before saying, " Good morning.".
Clara watched as he walked toward her, he was wearing a white t-shirt and grey pants which was different from the business suite she last saw him in her frown deepened, then looked up with a gasp when she heard him say good morning. " M..morning,? " she said with wide eyes.
"Yeah. . . you fainted in the car yesterday," Jack replied softly and sat on the chair, now facing her.
" I... I f..fainted.?". Clara's mouth hung open and she stared down at the drip in her hand.
" Hmmm. . . the doctor said you'll be fine but you have to be admitted for a few days, " Jack sighed and added while watching her puzzled expression.
Clara slowly nodded her head and sighed inside. " Thank you. . .," she muttered softly and looked at him with a grateful smile. She was happy that he suggested bringing her to the hospital and she agreed. If she had fainted somewhere else she couldn't imagine what would've happened.
Jack nodded at her with a smile then took out his phone and dialed his assistant's number.
Clara stared up at the IV fluid and noticed that it was about to finish while Jack was on the phone.
He put down his phone then glanced at Clara who was looking up at the fluid and pressed the button before a nurse came inside after some minutes with a tray that contained a small bag of medicines.
The nurse removed the drip and placed the medicine bag on the bedside table then gave the drug's prescription before leaving.
Clara smiled back at the nurse while nodding at her instructions and after she left, she rested back on the bed while Jack was still staring at her intently.
Some minutes later, Jack's assistant walked inside the ward while holding two nylons in both hands.
" Good morning. . .," he greeted both of them with a cheerful smile and placed the nylon that contained fruits beside the bag of medicines.
Clara watched the strange-looking man with knitted brows and greeted back softly. Thinking that he might be the person Jack had called a while ago.
Jack stood up and lifted the over-bed-table from the bedside then adjusted it closer to Clara who was now in a sitting position.
He took the other nylon bag from his assistant and retrieved two food flasks with juices then placed one on the table and walked to the couch to eat his own.
" Sir, aren't you going to the office." His assistant walked toward him and asked, seeing that he only changed into simple home clothes.
Jack nodded his head while eating and the assistant smiled knowingly before saying goodbye and left.
Clara ate her food in silence and her thoughts drifted to Carl again. She shook her head not wanting to start having another heartache early in the morning, then sighed and continued eating her food.
The hospital ward sank into silence as they both ate quietly when the door was suddenly opened with a bang.
" Clara what happened,!? were you hurt somewhere,? how are you feeling now?.". Mira ran into the ward with an anxious expression and examined Clara from head to toe.
Clara recovered from her shock and swallowed the food in her mouth then chuckled at her friend's dramatic expression. " I'm fine Mira. . . don't worry.".
Mira sighed in relief and sat on the chair. When Jack informed her this morning, she thought her friend got into an accident and was afraid she was badly injured. " Here, drink this," she said and opened the juice cap for her.
Clara took the juice with a smile and was about to drink it when Mira suddenly stopped her.
" Wait, you need to drink water first. . . lemme get you water." She stood up and quickly went to the water dispenser before coming back with a glass of water.
" Hmph. . . so noisy." Jack scoffed from the couch while his attention was still on his food.
" Hey, who is noisy. . . and how can you give her food without water?" Mira turned around and snapped at him with a glare.
Jack chuckled and ignored her then continued eating his food and Clara also smiled seeing that the gloomy Mira from a few days ago had gone.
After they finished eating, Mira cleared the table and parked the food flasks away.
" Mira, why didn't you return to the company?.. I tried your number but it was switched off. . .I was worried that you were very sick," Clara said softly as Jack went out to receive a call.
Mira looked down and fidgeted with the hem of her dress. She had switched off her phone because Zach kept calling her and the company. . .?she heaved a deep sigh.