Chapter 57: Chapter Fifty-seven

Trust no one. In this world, it’s eat or be eaten out there. Sometimes figuratively but mostly they took it literally. I should’ve been on guard ever since. If I have a time machine, I’d go back in time and redo it all over again.

“Rebecca! It’s nice… to see you here.” Mom was obviously surprised at the woman’s sudden visit. Pulling away from her embrace, she gave Mrs. Montgomery a small apologetic smile. “Sorry you had to see us like thi—”

Rebecca Montgomery shrugged her words off. “I came out of work when I heard Damon was sent here. Is he all right? What happened to him?” Seeing that the nurse was still here, she shooed her off quietly. While Mom didn’t say a single word about it, annoyance was clear in Harvey’s face. I shared the same sentiment. If only Rebecca would pay attention to us, she’d know she isn’t welcome here.

“Um, yes… he’s fine now.” she replied before gesturing towards Dr. Hill. “This is Damon’s doctor, Dr. Hill.”

Mrs. Montgomery’s gaze landed on me for a second, a smile spread across her lips until she faced Dad’s doctor. Irritation was filling me inside as the blonde woman began asking questions about Dad’s health and his allergies. They seemed innocent, her inquiries, but not to me. Why would she even ask about Dad’s allergies? Does Chad even know his mother is here right now? Did he send her to check up on us?

Thinking that it was strange, I pulled my phone out and began texting him with a slight frown.

To: Chad Your mother is here. Are you aware of this?

Once the message was sent, he instantly replied after a few seconds. My eyes widened at his response.

Chad:

I’ll be there in a few minutes.

Pocketing the gadget, I leaned on the wall and bit my lower lip as I observed the blonde woman. She was still conversing with the doctor who didn’t want to disclose any information that she considered private for the patient. Why would Chad hurry here? Was there something wrong? Shouldn’t he just call his mom?

As if Chad read my thoughts, I went still when a phone rang. It was coming from Mrs. Montgomery’s bag. Slight frustration etched her features as she paused on her sentence to take her phone. Once the ringing phone was out, she merely stared at it and declined the call. I averted my eyes away when she glanced up, sweat rolling down the side of my head in nervousness. She almost caught me staring! Was it Chad who called her? It can’t be anyone else…

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Rebecca.” Dr. Hill sighed for what seemed to be the twentieth time today. “I can’t disclose any information. Mr. Maxwell and I agreed not to give out any information to anyone else other than his family.” When her lips were about to open, Dr. Hill added for finalization. “Only his family.”

“Sis, why is she so persistent?” Harvey whispered, staying close to me. He didn’t want to be left at home, especially on a snowy night. Even if he wasn’t supposed to be inside Dad’s room— the staff was quite strict with this rule —but with a little coaxing from Mom, Harvey was allowed to come in by Dr. Hill’s orders. Patting his head, I squeezed him slightly.

“I don’t know, Harv. Maybe she’s just worried about Dad.” I mentally quote and unquote the word “maybe”, not sure of the woman’s intentions. “At least she came and visited. This is proof that Dad needs to get well since he has people that worry about him.”

The boy’s eyes brightened and nodded in agreement. “That’s right! Dad needs to get back on his feet because the world will fall if he’s gone. He still has to attend my birthday as well!”

All right…

Smiling faintly when he regained his enthusiasm, I hugged him and stroked his head. The door burst open, surprising us all only for Chad to emerge. I immediately pulled away from Harvey. The ten-year-old stared at the blond man before calling his name in attention. Chad turned towards us, concern and fear evident on his face that I couldn’t help but feel worried. Why’s he feeling that way?

“I didn’t know you were going to visit as well!” Harvey said, walking towards the tall man. “That’s kind of rude of you—”

“Harvey!” I whispered urgently, pulling him back to me. Hand over his mouth, preventing him from saying more silly words. Chad shook his head in amusement but he was soon as stiff as a stick when his mother approached him. The room was suddenly silent, the blonde woman’s aura drowning us as she smiled quite sweetly at her son.

She looks displeased.

“Chad… I didn’t know you were coming to visit as well.” she placed both of her hands on his shoulders, “You should’ve at least called! We could’ve gone here together so, you know, can save gas?”

“I could tell you the same thing.” he mumbled so softly that I had to strain my ear to hear it. Nevertheless, Rebecca didn’t like his answer. Anger was evident in those steely eyes of hers but she continued to grin at her only son.

“Why are you here, my boy?” Rebecca questioned only for her to gasp. “You must’ve heard the news and went here right away, am I right? Nobody called you to inform you that your beautiful mother is here, mhm?”

I swear she probably hates me right now for telling her son that she is here. But why would she be displeased? It’s not that I told him to bring her away.

“I’m here to visit Mr. Maxwell because he is my business partner’s father.” I swear my lips almost broke out on a huge grin at his words if it weren’t for the serious atmosphere. “And that he is the most respected businessman of Cleveland. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to him.”

“Of course, my boy! Nothing will happen to him.” She stressed out “nothing” with a smile that made Chad visibly flinch. “I’m sure Damon would wake up in a few hours. His family will be greatly happy about it.”

I quirked an eyebrow at the scene before me. Chad, obviously didn’t like drama, grabbed his mother by the wrist and gave it a pull. “We need to talk outside.”

“Just a minute, Helen!” Rebecca waved, following her son from behind. “My grown man needs to talk to me about something. It must be urgent business.” Mother didn’t seem to mind and let her friend go. Dr. Hill also left along with the two blondes. Leaving me, Harvey and Mom alone with our unconscious father. Turning to the patient, Mom sighed and brushed her palm against his cheek lovingly.

“You better wake up soon, Hon.” Mom jokingly scolds, tears forming in her eyes. “Otherwise you won’t ever go back to work. Who’s going to help me with the company? You also promised to take part in Harvey's upcoming birthday party!”

I cleared my throat and excused myself. The image in front of me urged tears to well up in my eyes as well. “Mom, I’m gonna… go and buy something to drink, okay?” She nodded softly, not taking her eyes off her husband. To Harvey, I asked. “Do you want something as well, Harv?”

The boy asked for milk, saying he needs it to sleep well tonight. Realizing that the boy still has to go to school tomorrow, I turned to my mother. “Is Harvey really sleeping here tonight? He still has school to go to tomorrow morning.” Surprisingly, Mom shook her head.

“No, he’s staying here. I don’t want him to leave until your Dad’s awake.” she sighed, looking very sad. “Because I’m fearing that…” Mom didn’t continue her words, suddenly reminded that Harvey was in the room. It piqued the interest of the boy but Mom shot down his thoughts gently. Everything was all under control now to which reason I walked out of the room.

“...that doesn’t mean you should be here!” I shut the door behind me. Eyes wide in surprise when I heard Rebecca hiss at someone—possibly her son. Why is she angry? Softly and slowly moving to peek where they were. The mother and son were talking as they stood near the vending machine. “Out of all times to foil my plans, you had to choose this time? Don’t you want me to be happy?!”

If a hospital staff were to wander and hear them or perhaps a patient who’d report the disturbance, I’m sure these two would get kicked out of here. As quietly as possible, I eavesdrop on the two a bit more, curious as to what they were raving about.

“So you just want to do whatever you want? You never asked me what I want ever since! This thing, this plan you’re setting out to do is dangerous as hell!” Chad seethed, arms on his waist. “There is no way on earth that I’m going to let you do this. Do you want to go to jail?!”

Jail? Why is he bringing that up? What was Mrs. Montgomery planning anyway?

“Do you want me to disown you?” Mrs. Montgomery countered back, completely mad as well. “Why would I even allow myself to go to jail? I would never be caught rotting myself away in that filthy place and I’m sure you don’t want to as well. So help your mother out and stop whining like a spoiled brat!”

Okay… maybe this isn’t the time to listen to such a conversation— but it’s so shocking. What does she even mean? What was she going to do? I better be on guard, even if this is Chad’s mother.

Retreating back to Dad’s quarters failed because a nurse noticed me and began inquiring if I was lost. This captured the two blondes’ attention as I entertained the hospital staff.

“Are you sure you’re not lost, Miss?” The nurse asked once more if that was annoying me. “You can ask the nurse behind the desk just right down this hall where the room—”

“No, I’m all right. I’m here for my father…” Glancing at Chad, he was silent as his mother walked towards me. I felt my palms grow sweaty. Shit, did she catch me listening to their conversation? What should I do?! Remaining calm on the surface, I bid farewell to the nurse who had other important stuff to do than assist me—she didn’t have anything to assist me with anyways. I was just going to get something to drink.

“Oh, where are you headed, my dear?” I smiled sweetly at Chad’s mother, constantly reminding myself to stay calm. Perhaps she didn’t see me or wouldn’t suspect me to have eavesdropped on their talk. She too had her own smile, as if waiting for me to explain why I was outside of Dad’s room. Clearing my throat, I began to repeat my reason why I was out here in the first place.

“Um, I’m going to go and buy some drinks,” I replied softly. “Uh, my brother wants milk and I too need a bit of… caffeine.”

Chad’s mother raised an eyebrow. “Caffeine? What do you need caffeine for? Are you planning to stay up all night?” She continued to bombard me with questions not knowing that her son was approaching us. “Staying up late isn’t good for our skin! Why stay up late when you could just ask someone to keep an eye on your father. There are nurses around for a reason.”

Help me! I mentally screamed at Chad for him to hurry the hell up. There was no way I was going to get out of Mrs. Montgomery’s interrogation alive. Quick on his feet, Chad was by my side before his mother could utter another word. I grabbed the hand he sneakily hid under the sleeve of his coat—it was quite thick and long to keep him warm—and squeezed it. My nerves were all over the place as Mrs. Montgomery stared at her son like he committed the biggest crime in the world. However, the man didn’t falter and remained.

“Chad, are you not planning to go home?”

“How about you mother? Dad’s waiting for you there. Aren’t you coming with me?”

The woman shook her head, “I’m not going home since I’ll be staying here to comfort Helen. You know friends have to stick together, right?” Her gaze landed on me which made me flinch faintly. Chad gave my hand a small squeeze, telling me alone that he was right beside me and that I wasn’t alone.

“Yeah, sure…” I responded and gestured to where the cafeteria is, below our floor level. “I’m gonna go and buy Harvey milk. Do you need something as well Mrs. Montgomery?”

“Coffee would be great, Rachel dear.” Mrs. Montgomery grinned. Maybe I should’ve just kept quiet and just bought drinks from the vending machine…

“I’ll go assist her since she’ll be needing help in bringing the beverages.” Chad didn’t offer any other openings as he pulled me away from his mother, taking the lead. “We’ll be back shortly.”

Walking down the peaceful halls, I stared at Chad from behind and began to compare him with a few men. He looks so tall and manly—

“I’m sorry about my mother…” he mumbled on the way. “I hope she isn’t bothering me with such annoying questions. Were you feeling attacked?”

“No.”

Kinda. A bit.

“That’s good to hear,” he sighed in relief. “I’m really sorry about her. Her mind goes wild at times that I wouldn’t be able to phantom what she’ll do next.”

I cocked my head at the side. “What do you mean? What was she going to do?” What if Dad said it was true? Is Mrs. Montgomery even capable of doing those harassments? Other than her weird inquiries, she appears to be quite harmless.

We rode the elevator down in silence, just enjoying it. Chad was still holding my hands in his, not caring if someone sees. I hid my blush with my free hand. Why am I even thinking about this?

Reaching the cafeteria, Chad pushed me gently to the nearest stall and I ordered quickly. They were close to shutting now and I have to wait until morning for them to reopen. “Thank you,” I mumbled as I received the drinks. Chad stuck with the hot beverages—he was the one who insisted on carrying them, close to burning his palm—I carried the cold milk Harvey wanted.

“Rachel…” I looked behind me, not knowing that Chad was walking at the back of me. Stopping on my tracks, I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“What is it, Chad?”

“I love you.”

Those three words instantly warmed my heart but the sudden statement made my face red. I was about to say the same words, they were already at the tip of my tongue when he approached me and hugged me. This set my heart racing. Beating so loudly that he could possibly feel it against his chest. “C-Chad, what’s wrong?” He never acted this way, telling me that something was wrong.

“There’s nothing wrong…” he pulled away and smiled down at me. “Is it wrong to say that I love you?”

“N-no, but it was so out of the blue!” Honestly, it was strange but at the same time it was heartwarmingly beautiful. A pout was on my lips the whole time as I contemplated whether to press him on the matter. What’s wrong with him? Should I even ask? It’s so obvious that there’s something bothering him.

“Out of the blue? Don’t worry; I’ll make sure you’ll get used to me saying that I love you every single day.”

I flushed harder, shaking my head at him. “Stop it, Chad!” My own smile faltered slightly when his expression became sad. Something was definitely bothering him and yet he won’t tell me. About to press the matter, I tapped his shoulder when we were walking back to Dad’s room. “By the way, I noticed that you’re being bothered by something. Would you like to talk about it?”

Chad was silent for a few minutes and I was beginning to think he wouldn’t utter another word when he shook his head. “It’s nothing, baby. Work is just stressing me out, that’s all. I’m more concerned for your father though.”

I licked my lower lip. “Don’t worry… Dad will get out of this phase and be well again. I’m sure of that.”

***

“Will this do?”

Staring into space was making me feel emptier, that there was nothing in this world to begin with. So when Chad’s question reached my ears, life came back to my eyes as I stared up at him tiredly. The scent of coffee invaded my nostrils, waking me up from my fantasies that will never come true. Bringing me. Dragging me back down to reality that currently is hell.

“Thank you…” I whispered and took the cup from him. His black suit matched the atmosphere that was becoming thicker every day. This was the second time in my whole lifetime I had to deal with something like this. Turning to my mother who refused to leave my father’s side ever since that day, I noticed that her eyes were more hollow. Tears no longer fell in her cheeks. Harvey wouldn’t even budge from his seat, terrified and at the same time, sorrow was all he could feel.

“I’m sorry…” I nodded at the same words visitors would say every time they saw me. Snow continued to fall outside the warm room. Tomorrow was the day Dad would finally move to another place. Six feet under the ground next to the other citizens of the graveyard.

“It’s okay, Chad… it’s not your fault he died. In fact, nobody was at fault. I guess it was just his time. Only God knows when we leave this place.”

Maybe I was just being insensitive right now due to this tragic event or I merely thought my eyes were tricking me. But even if my tears were blurring my sight, Chad looked sad and at the same time… guilty?