Alejandra was sitting on the plastic chair next to Pilar's bed and dozed off. She placed her head on the little space on Pilar's bed. Judy had gone to the canteen to buy a bottle of water for herself. She unscrewed the top and drank to her satisfaction. It quenched her thirst. She screwed the top back and went back to the ward.
Pilar was transferred to another ward. The accident and emergency ward were for patients who arrived at the hospital in terrible conditions and needed room for more incoming patients. Judy saw her sister sleeping next to Pilar and tapped her gently on the forearm. Alejandra woke up with hair in her face.
"Hey, Sleeping Beauty!" Judy teased.
"Oh, Judy!" Alejandra replied with a yawn,
"It's you!"
"I figured you might be thirsty and brought you this." Judy said and gave her the bottle of water.
She had drank the water halfway and gave the rest to Alejandra.
"Thanks!" Alejandra said and collected the bottle from her.
She unscrewed it and quickly drank the water in it.
"That's better! I really needed it." Alejandra said and heaved calmly.
"How long are we going to be?" Judy asked as she collected the empty plastic bottle from her.
"What do you mean by that? Mum is still unconscious and she needs our assistance." Alejandra said and stood up from the chair.
"I'm not talking about Mum. I know her condition is critical and I pray she comes out of this alive. But what about us? Where are we going to stay? We got evicted from the flat, remember?" Judy asked worriedly.
Alejandra had completely forgotten about their homelessness. She had been preoccupied with Pilar's health.
"We can't stay in the hospital forever, can we? And if Mum wakes up and is probably discharged from her, where will we take her?" Judy continued.
"Obviously Judy, I don't know what to do? I don't know where we will live or stay. The whole situation has left me blank. I can't think straight. It feels like my brain is heated and I'm-." Alejandra explained calmly despite being in a complicated situation.
"Um, what if we stay at Maurice's place? He is your boyfriend, isn't he?" Judy asked.
"Maurice and I aren't dating. We are simply good friends. And he is in Darwin, taking care of his grandfather. I don't want to add to his worries. He might lose focus over there and may decide to come back here. I don't want that to be on my conscience." Alejandra pointed,
"Let's just have faith in the Lord and hope everything turns out fine."
Judy glanced at Alejandra, Pilar, who was still unconscious and sighed. She remembered the plastic bottle she was still holding.
"I will go and throw this in the recycle bin in the canteen. I'll be right back." Judy said as she tapped on the top of the bottle with her finger.
The nurse, who was in the same room with them and was checking on the other patients, other than Pilar, shhed Judy to stop tapping on the bottle.
"Sorry!" Judy lip-synced and waved at the nurse.
Judy walked out of the room, almost leaving the ward entirely and saw Nicolas coming. She quickly went back and Alejandra furrowed her brow at her. She was curious how sister had returned quickly.
"What's wrong? Did you see a ghost or something?" Alejandra asked curiously.
"No! I think you've a visitor." Judy said, trying hard to hid her excitement.
"Who?" Alejandra asked.
"Your-." Judy paused.
Before she could complete her sentence, Nicolas came in and was behind her. Alejandra was surprised to see him at the hospital again. It was then she remembered he had told her he would be coming back.
"Mr Gonzalez!" Alejandra muttered.
"I'll be going now." Judy said and walked out of the room.
She stood at the door and waved her hand to get Alejandra's attention. She did. Alejandra looked at her and lip-read,
"Your prince charming!"
Alejandra quickly shook her head and Nicolas noticed the message the two were passing. He turned his head around to see Judy but she had left. He returned his gaze to Alejandra and adjusted his glasses.
"Ready to go?" Nicolas asked and hid his hands in the pocket of his trousers.
"Um, actually, I-I-." Alejandra stuttered nervously.
"I've made reservations where you and your sister will sleep tonight." Nicolas revealed.
"Reservations?" She muttered surprisingly.
"You and your sister will sleep in a hotel tonight. I've already made reservations for you two and am here to take you to the hotel." He said and glanced at unconscious Pilar.
Alejandra couldn't believe her ears. Her prayers had been answered.
"Thank you, Mr Gonzalez!" She appreciated.
"Again, don't thank me!" He replied curtly,
"I don't like being thanked."
Alejandra didn't mind and was happy. Her happiness soon faded when she looked at Pilar who was still unconscious. Her mother was still in the hospital.
"But I can't leave my mum alone." Alejandra said.
"She is in the hospital and has people to take care of her. The nurses are available and are doing their jobs. Besides, you need to rest. It looks to me like you have been here all day." Nicolas said.
She was mute and didn't reply. Her silence confirmed his suspicion. Judy came back to the room and looked at the duo.
"What did I miss?" Judy asked and wore her hair behind her ear.
"Get your bag! We are leaving!" Nicolas said flatly.
"Leaving? Where are we going?" Judy asked curiously.
Nicolas didn't respond and simply ignored her.
"Alejandra?" Judy asked, looking at her sister.
"I'll explain on the way." Alejandra replied.
"But, but who is going to take care of Mum?" Judy asked.
"The nurse can do that. This is a hospital and not a party house." Nicolas replied coolly.
Judy started to have second thoughts about Nicolas. He didn't seem like the perfect prince charming for her sister. She walked to Pilar's bed and kisses her on the forehead. She picked up her backpack which was on the chair Alejandra had sat down on earlier. She gave Nicolas an aggressive glance and stood beside her sister.
Nicolas was the first to leave the room and the sisters followed him. They were two metres behind him. Alejandra explained why they were following him and how they would have a place to sleep in.
"He really said all that?" Judy asked in disbelief and Alejandra nodded.
"How do you know him? Does he work with you?"
"He is my colleague at work. Didn't I tell you earlier?" Alejandra said nervously.
"You did but he doesn't look like one who has a minor position like you. It's either he owns a company or has a better position. Then I'll believe he isn't a trafficker." Judy said and shot an aggressive glance at Nicolas.
"You watch a lot of movies and read a lot of crime fiction. Can't you find another genre?" Alejandra said jokingly.
"Until you learn to stop trusting strangers. Until then, I'll stick with my mystery novel." Judy said proudly with a grin.
They left the building and went to Nicolas' car. Nicolas unlocked the door and they all entered. He turned on the ignition and looked at Alejandra.
"Seatbelt!" Nicolas hinted.
"Huh?" Alejandra said, confused at what he said.
She looked at the warning sign which kept blinking on the dashboard and took note of his message. She put it on and they left the hospital. The usual silence made Alejandra think more about her problems and made her uncomfortable. Judy didn't notice. She had her headphones on.
Alejandra wanted to go back to her flat and check if Ms. Diana had thrown their belongings outside. She fidgeted her fingers and summoned courage to talk to Nicolas.
"Mr Nicolas?" Alejandra called nervously.
Nicolas didn't reply and had his eyes on the road. The street lights reflected on the windscreen and his glasses as they drove under it.
"Do you mind stopping at my flat for a few minutes? I want to pick a few things before we go to the hotel. That's if you don't mind." Alejandra asked.
Nicolas still didn't reply and heard what she said.
"Was that a yes or no? It's hard to tell when he is mute. He should learn to make it easy by using a nod or shake his head." Alejandra said inwardly.
Nicolas stepped on the brake pedal slowly and stopped in front of the traffic light. He waited for the light to turn green. He looked at the rearview and saw Judy nodding her head to the beat of the music she was listening to. The lights turned green and he released his foot from the brake pedal. He drove at a moderate speed.
He pulled over at her building, like Alejandra had requested and was surprised to see her things out on the street. They were scattered all over the pavement. He parked along the pavement and took off his seatbelt.
"Why are we stopping?" Judy asked, removing her headphones from her ear,
"Are we at the hotel?"
"No! I want to get a few things from the flat." Alejandra replied, unstrapping herself.
"Oh, no!" Judy exclaimed as she looked outside through the car window,
"They threw our stuff outside."
She could see their belongings clearly. She quickly dropped her phone and headphones on the seat and got out of the car.
"They didn't have the guts to continue after they caused Mum's heart attack. They ran out like the cowards they are." Judy said angrily,
"They are lucky I didn't set my eyes on them again."
She wasn't pleased with the way their belongings were lying carelessly on the ground.
"Come, let's just pick what we need and come for the rest tomorrow." Alejandra said as squatted down.
She selected some clothes, hers and Pilar's, her school certificate and Pilar's Medical reports and arranged the rest in a pile. She made the pile behind some shrubs close to the building.
"Do you have all you need?" Alejandra asked Judy.
"Yes! How about you?" Just said and wore the strap of the holdall she was holding across her body.
"Yes! Hold this for me for a moment." Alejandra said and gave her a small suitcase,
"I want to go in and talk to Oscar. I need someone to watch over our belongings while we are at the hotel."
"Okay!" Judy replied in a nod.
Alejandra went into the building. Nicolas watched her pull the door open and enter.
"Where is your sister going?" He asked, looking at Judy through the wing mirror.
"She is going to the building to talk to the doorman." Judy replied and kept their bags in the car.
"What for?" Nicolas asked flatly.
"So that he can watch over our belongings while we stay at the hotel tonight." Judy replied, adjusting the bags so that she sit down.
Judy picked up her phone along with the headphones to avoid her from sitting on it. Alejandra left the building and came back to the car. She opened the door and got in. She strapped herself in.
"Do you have everything you need?" Nicolas asked her as he turned on the ignition.
"Yes, we...do!" Judy said while texting her friend.
He put it in drive and drove away from the building.