Time

Time
Arthur's point of view

A heavy feeling like a rock settled in my stomach, each muscle in me going cold, numbing each part of me.
That was unmistakably the sound of a gunshot—a fucking gunshot, which was followed by a deafening silence.
I froze to the ground for a good few seconds __waiting for the door to open __expecting her to walk out of there.
But she didn't; my breath caught in my throat, restricting my lungs from working.
This has to be some sort of misunderstanding, and all I'm hoping is to walk into that room and find Evelyn holding the gun to Priscar's head or her body lying lifeless on the ground in a pool of blood.
With a heavy heart, I toddled to the ward entrance. Sucking a sharp breath, I wrapped my long fingers over the steel doorknob, feeling its slight coldness on my skin. With one click, I flung the door open.
I froze at the scene that welcomed me. My breath stopped completely for a few breaths before it started racing again, barely audible.
She lay on the ground lifeless in a pool of blood; Priscar sat on the wheelchair, her head dangling behind it, blood dripping from her head.
My mind refused to process the scene before me. This couldn't happen—not when I'd thought I had gotten my Evelyn back. It can't be a reality. Maybe it was a dream and someone is going to wake me up, but no one did.
It was the worst reality of my life, more like a never-ending nightmare.
Time turned into a blur since Evelyn and Priscar were taken into the ward, and I found myself in the same position, my gaze never leaving the entrance.
Red lights flickered at the entrance, and nurses rushed in and out of the operating room.
I'm holding my breath; something deep within me is telling me that this was the last time I'd see her face. I tried to chase the feeling away and gave myself hope, that she'd come out of there alive but
Just when I thought the door to the operating room was never going to open again, it flung open and a group of doctors and nurses stepped out, making their way to me.
I found myself rotten to the ground; I couldn't move a muscle.
“We tried everything we could, Mister Madison, but we couldn't save her…”
I stumbled a step back, my breath now coming in short gasps.
“What—”I sucked in another sharp breath, trying to keep my emotions under. “What do you mean, doctor?”
“Unfortunately, Priscar has lost her life… We tried the best we could to save her life, but we lost her.”
I shut my eyes close, my shaking hands clutching to my chest. For a second I thought she was referring to Evelyn.
I snap them open again, turning my attention to the doctor. “What about my wife?”
My voice is barely above a whisper. The feeling didn't want to go away even when the doctor confirmed she wasn't talking about her.
One of the doctors let out a sigh. “We tried everything we could, Mister Madison, but—”
The sound of my heavy heart echoed right in my eyes. Loud, sharp, almost too painful to listen to… “But what, Doctor?”
Mister Madison, please calm down.”
“But what, Doctor?”
Beads of sweat formed on my forehead, dripping down to my face.
“She has fallen into a coma, and we can only keep her alive for 24 hours with the support of the defibrillator machine, but if she doesn't wake up, then unfortunately we'd have to switch them off because there is nothing we'd be able to do then!”
My breath is restricted, making it difficult for me to even breathe freely. The sound of the doctor's words kept on ringing in my ears more than they should, like terrible music on repeat, and I was forced to listen to it.
Obviously this has to be a joke—a fucking cruel joke—and there's no way I'm going to believe it. I can't.
Not with my Evelyn.
“Doctor __” I swallowed the huge lump forming in my throat. “Do what you have to do to make sure my wife comes out of that ward alive, or else no one else is coming out of this hospital alive.”
There's no way I'm going to lose her. ___ I can't imagine even breathing without her. How would I live if she were to lose her life?
No!
That can't happen—it can't fucking happen, I won't allow it.
“Mister Madison, please try to understand __”
I didn't even allow the doctor to finish her sentence.
“If my life does not come out of there alive, then be ready to accompany her to her grave… All of us in this hospital will…”
Each muscle in my stomach turned into a rock.
Hard. Painful. Unbearable.
This is the reality I'm not willing to accept; I'd never do it.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway, but I didn't even bother to turn and see who it was; I had no strength to even do it. My eyelids were heavier with unshed tears, and my heart seemed to have stopped beating completely.
“Arthur, please tell me my Evelyn is fine!”
Melinda choked on her words, her voice breaking with emotions.
The doctor filled her in on Evelyn's condition, and Melinda’s sobs echoed in the quiet space.
As brave as I wanted to make myself, I couldn't. I felt them, warm, raw, and unstoppable. They streamed down my cheeks at the possibility of never seeing her again.
I can't even start to imagine a life without her; if I were to lose her, then I'd have no reason to live at all.
Jad tried to calm Melinda down, but she was hysterical, her sobs echoing louder.
I covered my face with my hands, trying hard to pull myself together. The feeling kept on clinging to my chest, not wanting to go.