Two hours. It had been two hours since they took Theodore inside the OR, and every minute had passed excruciatingly slow. With every tick of the clock my heart swelled with desperation. With every nurse and doctor that emerged from the OR fueled my anxiety. I wanted nothing at this point to barge into the OR and watch the doctors working there like a hawk. But I was not a doctor, I was only a personal assistant.
"Hailey dear," Mrs. Benson's frantic voice broke through the fog of distress. I looked up to see the Bensons running over to me. I stood up and Mrs. Benson immediately enveloped me in a hug. I tried to stop the tears from flowing from my eyes but being hugged by Mrs. Benson made me feel as if my own mother was hugging me, and that made it impossible for my tears to stay confined.
"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Benson, Theodore got shot because of me, he-he was in danger and I-and I couldn't let Ian hurt him, he got shot because of me," I sobbed while holding on to Mrs. Benson, who continued to rub my back, soothing me.
"Ssh, it's not your fault, dear, what happened, happened, no need to blame yourself about it," she said softly, trying to make me feel better, but I knew she was worried about her son.
"I do blame myself, Theodore told me had everything under control and he told me not to interfere but I still did it, I interfered and now Theodore is in there fighting for his life," I muttered, pulling away from Mrs. Benson, wiping my tears with the back of my hand.
"You don't have anything to worry about, dearest, my son will be fine, he's a Benson after all, and it's not easy to get rid of us," Mr. Benson spoke up. I looked at him to see him smiling softly, but I could see the worry in his eyes. I felt guilt stab my heart at seeing Theodore's family here. They didn't deserve this. Nobody deserved this. If anyone deserved to get shot it was me, not my husband.
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Benson, if I hadn't been so stupid Theodore would've been alright," I apologized, feeling terrible about my actions.
"Nonsense, I'm sure Theodore would prefer to get shot a hundred times if it meant he could save you from harm," Mr. Benson replied, making my stomach twist at the prospect of seeing Theodore get shot a hundred times.
"How long has it been since Theodore has been in the OR?" Mrs. Benson enquired.
"Two hours and eleven minutes, you should sit down, I don't how long Theodore's surgery will take," I responded.
"Where did he get shot?" Mr. Benson asked, once Mrs. Benson sat down.
"On the shoulder, Dad," I answered, tears blurring my vision once again.
Mr. Benson nodded and sat down next to his wife, wrapping an arm around her. The little gesture made me want to bang my head against the wall at the utter anguish my heart was suffering from. What I wouldn't give to have Theodore wrap his arm around my shoulders, protecting me; loving me.
"Mom, Dad, why don't I go and get something for you guys to eat and drink?" Harry suggested.
Mr. Benson nodded. "Yeah, go and get something to eat and drink for your mother, she didn't even eat breakfast."
"Alright, Hailey, would you like to accompany me?" Harry made it sound like a question but I could tell that he wanted to talk to me alone; so I nodded and walked away with Harry, even though my heart was begging me to go back and stand directly outside the doors of the OR, as close to Theodore as possible.
We walked out of the hospital and Harry led me all the way to his car. He told me to get inside as he did the same. Then drove away from the hospital. I had no idea what was going through his mind as he had barely said anything since the moment he came to the hospital.
Throughout the ride, Harry kept silent. Not saying a word as he expertly drove us to a nearby cafe and parked the car. After instructing me to get out, Harry entered the cafe with me in tow. Leading me to a corner booth he made me sit while he went to order something.
My mind instantly went to Theodore. I wondered how he was doing? Whether the doctors were taking care of him? When would he be out of surgery? How would he feel once he woke up? Would he be in pain? Would he be happy or angry to see me?
All these questions invaded my mind. I tried my best to stay positive and believe that Theodore would be fine and he wouldn't even suffer from any long term damage. I couldn't give into despair and lose hope. Theodore deserved much more than that. I wouldn't lose hope in my husband. He was a fighter. He had destroyed Ian's company after all, and was about to ruin him for life had I not interfered. So he had to stay alive. He had to end Ian for life; if Ian was still alive that is…
A steaming cup of coffee along with a big chocolate cupcake was placed in front of me. I looked up to see Harry holding a cup of coffee in his hand. Taking a sip from his coffee, Harry pulled the chair across from me and sat down. He took a couple of sips of coffee before putting the cup on the table.
"Eat up, you need your energy," Harry stated. However, I had no room for food in my stomach; it was already churning with anxiety over Theodore.
"I'm not hungry," I said softly before pushing the cupcake and coffee away from me.
"No, you're going to eat and get some energy in yourself because if you don't then Theo's going to have my head for not feeding you in his absence, not to mention my niece and nephew are currently residing in that tummy of yours, so do us all a favor and eat," Harry responded firmly.
"I'm really not hungry, Harry; can we leave I want to be there when the doctor finishes with Theodore's surgery," I told him.
"We're not leaving until you finish that cupcake and coffee," Harry stated, leaving little room for argument.
What was up with these Benson men and being bossy?
"I'm honestly not hungry," I whined, wanting to get the hell out of here and back to the hospital-to Theodore.
"And I honestly don't care, you either finish all this soon so we can leave or you can choose to be stubborn and we can stay here all day, I honestly don't mind, however, I cannot say the same about my brother," Harry responded smoothly, crossing his arms in front of his chest, making his biceps bulge out.
I huffed and grabbed the cupcake. Giving the cupcake a stern glare I took a big bite out of it. I quickly chewed and swallowed, not tasting it, not wanting to waste my time and savor the chocolaty goodness. In five big bites I finished the cupcake.
"There all done, let's go now," I said while standing up.
"Woah woah, sit down and finish your coffee, also do tell me what exactly happened at the office, don't leave out a single detail," Harry demanded, making me slump back down.
"How much do you know?" I asked while taking a sip from my coffee.
"I knew Theo had dissolved Ian's company, that was the first step to his ultimate destruction, but I want to know what led to Theo getting shot?" Harry enquired, making me bite my lip as I cursed my stupidity.
"Well, Theodore told me not to interfere-made me promise, actually, but I obviously didn't listen. Anyways, we were at work, and I was sitting in my workplace finalizing Theodore's schedule, when Ian came in. The guard and him fought for a while until Ian shot him.
Harry listened attentively, not saying a word. He barely blinked, his sole attention was on my words.
"When the guard went down, Ian stormed inside Theodore's office and closed the door. I, being the curious woman that I am grabbed the knife that Amanda gave to me and went to stand just outside the door of Theodore's room to listen to what was being said inside. I wanted to make sure that Ian didn't hurt Theodore that's why I eavesdropped on their conversation," I told him, my voice soft.
"What did they say?" Harry questioned.
"Ian was angry that Theodore had sold his company and was threatening to kill him and me and our babies and to release the s3x video to the media if Theodore didn't give his empire to him. But Theodore didn't do anything, he simply refused."
"Ian wasn't going to release the s3x video because there is no s3x video anymore, but Ian didn't know that," Harry piped in making me frown in confusion.
"What do you mean?" I queried.
"The mole Theo sent to spy on Ian's company had deleted the video from server's hard drive, so the video has finally been wiped out of this world; but you continue," Harry answered.
"While all this was being said I called the police, because I was afraid that Ian would hurt Theodore and I couldn't let that happen. The police told me that they were on their way, but I wasn't very hopeful, because I was afraid that Ian would shoot Theodore any second and the police might be too late."
"It's alright, Hailey, you did the right thing," Harry told me softly.
"Anyways, when I saw Ian pointing the gun at Theodore all my control snapped as fear took over me. Without thinking of the consequences, I barged inside Theodore's office and demanded Ian to not hurt Theodore.
"Theodore told me to get out and all, but I didn't listen. Ian taking me as Theodore's weakness pointed the gun at me. I'm not sure what happened after that as I closed my eyes, but my best guess is that Theodore turned Ian to face him at the last moment, just before Ian pulled the trigger and got shot," I said, wiping a stray tear from my eyes.
"Hey, it's okay, I'm telling you Theo is going to be just fine," Harry reassured me, but I had a hard time believing him.
"No it's not, Theo got shot because of me, if I had just been a bit sensible I would've stayed in my place and Theodore wouldn't have had to take the bullet that was obviously meant for me," I argued, feeling miserable.
"Ian was insane and would've shot Theo anyways. Theodore wasn't going to give Ian anything, but he was going to destroy him, however, things got a little out of hand, it happens," Harry countered.
"Things got out of hand because of me," I cried out.
"Hailey, I'm not going to spend hours telling you it wasn't your fault because I understand right now you won't listen to reason. So why don't you tell me what happened after Theo got shot," Harry suggested making me nod.
"After Theodore got shot I saw Ian standing over Theodore and pointing a gun at his forehead. Theodore was clutching his shoulder but he didn't cower or beg Ian to not shoot him. I pulled out the knife I had hidden away at my back and slowly went over to where Ian was standing and stabbed him in the back. Ian fell unconscious after that and the cops arrived just as Theodore lost consciousness," I finished, taking a sip of my now cold coffee.
"Wow, I can proudly say that my sister's a bad ass," Harry commented with a wink making me chuckle softly.
"A stupid bad ass," I mumbled softly, tracing the rim of the cup with my finger.
"But a bad ass nonetheless," he confirmed.
Harry was about to say something but stopped when his phone rang. He accepted the call and after a few "yes" and a "we'll be right there" he hung up. Harry put the phone in the pocket of his jeans and stood up.
"What's wrong? Is Theodore okay?" I asked, dread sitting in my tummy like a boulder.
"Theo is more than okay, he's finally out of surgery and you can relax because he is alright. The doctors have taken him to his room and we shall go and see him," he told me with a small smile, relief evident on his face.
All the tension and strength left my body when I heard Harry tell me that Theodore was alright. My body shook as silent sobs wracked my body. My heart, all of a sudden felt so light, I was afraid it would fly out of my chest. I didn't stand up because I didn't trust my legs to support me, as relief flooded my soul.
I felt strong arms pulling me out of the chair. Harry enveloped me in his arms as I cried in relief. He rubbed my back in much the same way his mother did, soothing me. This was the moment when I felt that now I had a brother who I could share my problems and worries with, and who would fight for me.
"Ssh, Theo wouldn't want to see you cry, so get yourself together, because Theo had just gotten out of surgery and I know he would be upset if he sees that you've been crying, so stop crying…for Theo," Harry told me to which I nodded eagerly and hastily wiped the tears from my eyes.
"Let's go, I want to see Theodore." Harry only nodded at my words and together we left the cafe and drove back to the hospital.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Harry quickly asked the lady at the reception for Theodore's room number, and I all but sprinted towards Theodore's room. I didn't want my husband to wait for me.
When Harry and I stood just outside Theodore's room, I raised my fist and knocked slightly, even though my heart was telling me to forget my manners and barge inside like I owned the place.
"Come in," Mr. Benson's voice came through. Harry pushed the door open and we both entered Theodore's room.
The moment my eyes locked with Theodore's steel gray ones, new tears threatened to spill, but I forced myself to remain calm. A soft smile crept over Theodore's lips as he saw me.
"Finally, my super girl has arrvied," Theodore said happily, stretching his uninjured arm, "Come here," he ordered softly.
I didn't need to be told twice. I ran over to Theodore and wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my head in his chest. When his arm wrapped around me, I felt at peace.
I was home.