They arrived at the hospital in no time, and rushed in through the doors. The sterile smell of antiseptic filled the air. Jonah rushed towards the reception desk, adrenaline pumping through him. "Please I am here for one, Mr. Hartfield." He told the woman at the desk.
"And who are you, if I may ask?" The woman said. "I am his son." Jonah replied. She looked up at him squinting through her glasses. "Any identification to prove that?" She asked. Jonah's eyes widened in more panic as he searched his pockets, hoping the wallet was there somehow. He relaxed his face once he felt the rough face of leather, he pulled out his wallet showing the woman some identification.
She looks at it and types into her keyboard. "A nurse would be here to take you to his ward." She told him. They nodded and waited impatiently, Jonah's fingers continuously drumming on the receptionists counter.
Shortly after a young petite nurse, with brunette hair and in pink scrubs walked towards them.
"Hi, Mr Hartfield. Please come with me." The nurse told them. They followed, walking fast nearly out pacing her. They went up three flights of stairs and on the last walk to the room, Elliot and Jonah's face was reddened from the short burst of the exercise. This did not seem to affect the petite nurse, the nurse stopped in front of a door and the men followed suit. They were panting heavily.
"What happened to your elevator?" Jonah asked, struggling to catch his breath.
"Here is the room, if you need anything just let me know." She said Jonah was led to a room, his mother’s figure huddled by the bedside. As he entered, his mother’s eyes, red and swollen, caught sight of Elliot waiting outside. Elliot turned to leave for the lobby as the hospital had a family only visits rule.
She glared at him, her expression filled with a mixture of grief and rage. Jonah approached his mother, his voice soft.
“Mom, what happened? How is he?” His mother sat in silence ignoring him. Jonah looked awkwardly taking a seat and looking round the room.The scent of disinfectant hung heavy in the hospital air. His mother still sitting beside the bed, her shoulders raised, her face buried in her hands.
"Mom..." Jonah began, his voice barely above a whisper, a plea. Her gaze hardened, the softness he remembered replaced by a cold, unforgiving stare.
"Don't!" She hissed, her voice trembling with suppressed anger. "Do not even think of speaking to me."
He swallowed, the lump formed in his throat making it difficult to breathe.
"Mom, please, I do not understand. What happened to Dad? How is he?" She let out a choked sob, the sound raw and painful.
"He collapsed," she said, her voice breaking. "They said, they said it was stress. Severe stress. And it is all your fault."
"My fault?" Jonah asked, his voice rising in disbelief.
"How could it be my fault?" She gestured wildly towards the bedside table, where a crumpled envelope lay, its contents scattered across the surface. "They sent us these," she said, her voice laced with venom.
"Videos and pictures... things I never thought I would get to see. Things no parent should ever have to see." He picked up a photograph, his hands shaking. The image looked back at him, a cruel mockery of his life. He dropped it as if it were burning him.
"They showed us everything," she continued, her voice now filled with disgust. "And your boss." His mother trailed off.
"My boss what?" Jonah asked getting defensive.
"He had warned us. He told us you were living a shameful and suspicious life. We did not believe him because he was just a stranger at the end of the day. We decided to trust you."
"Mom, please, you have to understand..."
"Understand what?" she interrupted, her voice rising. "Understand that my son, the boy I raised, is living a lie? That he has brought nothing but shame upon our family? That he has destroyed his father's health?"
"I did not mean to, It was not supposed to happen this way." Jonah added his voice down. "You did not mean to?" she screamed, her voice echoing through the room.
"You did not mean to destroy everything we have worked our whole life for? You did not mean to break your father's heart?" Her eyes darted towards the doorway, where Elliot stood before, a silent, worried figure.
"And as if that is not enough, you have the audacity to bring him here?" she spat. "After everything you have done, you bring your... your cursed gay lover to my husband's bedside?"
"Mom, please, he is just...."
"He is just what?" she interrupted, her voice filled with scorn. "He is just the reason my husband is lying in this bed! He is just the reason my son has turned his back on everything we believed in!"
Tears streamed down her face, she combined both sadness and annoyance.
"I curse the day you were born, Jonah." She whispered, her voice filled with a chilling intensity. "I swear, I will disown you. I never want to see you again." She looked at Jonah in a low voice adding.
"I promise you, if anything worse should happen to my husband. I will never forgive you." His mother threatened.
"What do you mean mom?" Jonah asked confused.
"You know exactly what I mean." His mother said as she resumed her wailing, this time it was louder than before. Jonah looked around the walls of the ward before looking back at his mother. His heart broken, a single tear rolled down his cheek. The same nurse approached, her expression concerned, her voice soft.
"Ma'am, please, you need to calm down." She said, placing a gentle hand on Jonah's mother's arm. "We can't have this kind of outburst in the hospital. It is not good for your husband."
"I am not going to calm down, until this traitor and devil of a thing I used to call a son, makes sure his ex father is alive and well. She turned to Jonah, her eyes filled with sympathy.
"Sir, I think it would be best if you leave. Your mother is very upset, and further confrontation will only make things worse." Jonah nodded, his throat tight, his eyes burning with unshed tears. He turned and walked towards the door, his steps heavy, his mind reeling.
He glanced back at his mother, her face filled with hatred as she looks at Jonah. He stepped into the lobby, his face pale, his eyes filled with a profound sadness. He looked at Elliot, who walked around bored and restless.