CHAPTER 26
Her gaze fell on the last person she was expecting to see, her heart thud heavily. She couldn't get herself to believe that he was standing right there just a few meters away from where had fallen.
"Rian." She grimaced.
"I asked a question; going somewhere?"
She shook her head, and swallowed the lump that was trying to force its way out of her throat.
Her phone buzzed and as they both stared at it now cracked screen, Laura's call popped up.
A look of amusement crawled up on his face. "You were going to call her ain't you."
"No… I." She stuttered.
He gripped her by her shoulders and forced her to stand facing him, her heart thud heavily as she didn't know what to expect at the next minute.
"What have I done, I did nothing." She protested.
"Shut the hell up, I know you saw me."
She feigned innocence."You, I haven't come across you today."
He mutters something in disagreement to her lies, he is filled with fury and annoyance at her attempts of lying to him. If there was anything he was sure of at that minute, it was definitely the fact that she had seen him with Avril.
"You are a damn liar, that is what you are." He gave her a scornful look.
She didn't know how best to react at that moment, her mind was blinded with doubts and worry of what he was going to do.
She had to disagree - it was part of being smart - but still she felt as though she was mediocre at getting him to believe her.
I don't have a problem with you seeing me, what I have problem with is the fact that you are about to do something stupid, something I would not obviously allow you to do.
She could feel the pause and hesitation that filled the monotonous time. She wishes to herself that something could just miraculously happen that would take her away from the mess she was in.
As the conversation quieted, he loosened his grip on her, at that moment she was starting to sniff her nose as she made little cries.
Flaring his nostrils, Rian finally let go of her hand and immediately, Riley began to rub her aching arm which had become reddedn because of his strong grip.
"Don't say anything to her, keep your mouth shut. Understood?" Rian asked, glaring at her.
"Yes… yes… yes sir." She nodded, veering backwards as she tried not to think about what she had seen.
Thinking it was all over, she turned around to leave but before she could take a step, Rian with a loud voice said, "I'm not done with you yet."
At once, Riley stopped on her track and slowly, she began to turn in his direction with her head still bowed.
"Look at me." He ordered. Whisking her hair from her face, she managed to raise her head, though she was staring at his chest since she was unable to stare back at him.
"What did I say?" He asked, arms across his chest.
"I shouldn't tell Laura I saw you with another lady." She said, darting her eyes around.
"If you do, I wouldn't hesitate to hurt you in the most unimaginable way." He snapped. A few minutes later, he said, "Get out."
"Huh?" She asked with a raised brow.
"Have you gone deaf all of a sudden? I said, get out." He yelled.
Not waiting for the next second, Riley grabbed the door handle and the next minute she was running down the hallway, fear coursing through her veins.
When she left, Rian flopped on his seat and then threw his head backwards. "Dammit." He muttered, balling his hands into a fist before sending it into the air in frustration.
***
Flickering her eyes open, Laura pulled herself up and after letting out a brief yawn, rose and then started groping her way towards the bathroom.
Moments later, she returned into the ward and then returned to her son's bed side where he lay unconscious. Feeling weak and sad at the same time, she managed to lower herself on the bed and then took his hand into hers.
"Please, wake up. Mummy wants to talk to you." She mumbled, using her other hand to trace the outline of his face.
"I will be waiting okay." She said and then rose. She wanted to return to the restroom for the second time.
After barely three steps, someone sneezed and since it was only she and Alex that were the occupants of the room, she snapped her head backwards with a raised brow.
"Alex?" She called, peering at him but didn't get a response.
Thinking she was hallucinating, she decided to return to the bedside.
"Mum." Alex called weakly. Excited, Laura dashed out of the ward and on her return, a doctor and nurse were scurrying after her.
Placing the stethoscope into his ears, the doctor hurried made his way to the bed and then proceeded to check his heartbeat. Having confirmed this, he went ahead to check his vitals.
"Is he okay?" Laura asked, shifting her gaze from Alex to the doctor and then returning her gaze to him in quick succession.
She was scared and to heighten her fear, Alex was just staring at the doctor. He wasn't saying anything nor even making any effort to show he was okay.
"Sure, he is fine." The doctor replied with a smile, straightening up. "I told you our little Alexander the Great is a strong boy and he will pull through easily." He said, patting his head fondly.
"Thank you so much doc, I'm so grateful." She said, placing her hands together in gratitude.
"C'mon, I'm just doing my job." He replied, accompanying it with a wink. A few minutes later, he left with the nurse leaving Laura and Alex to themselves.
"Hey baby, mum has been so worried, you're okay right?" She asked, crouching beside him and then proceeded to plant a kiss on his forehead.
"When am I leaving here?" Alex asked, his gaze on Laura who was all smiles.
"Soon baby, soon." She replied, giving his hand a soft squeeze and at intervals, she would kiss his fist.
Two weeks later…
Alex, having fully recovered, had been discharged from the hospital and was back on his feet.
This morning, Laura was preparing to resume work when he walked up to her with his PJ's on.
"Hey, you're awake." Laura said, quickly patting his head before she resumed making breakfast.
"I hope you slept well?" She asked.
"Yes."
Not wanting to be late on the first day after being away from work for a while, Laura increased her pace and before eight am, the official time for resumption, she was in her work place with Alex.
The first person that sighted them was Riley who had just arrived at work and immediately, she scurried to their side.
Not bothering to greet Laura who was already itching to have a conversation with her, she swept Alex off his feet and then began to swirl him around while he laughed.
"Oh, my lovely Alex, it's so good to have you back." She said, grinning from ear to ear.
"You're going to make him dizzy if you don't stop." Laura said, watching them from a corner.
"Coming from a jealous mom." Riley scoffed and then resumed playing with Alex who was enjoying every bit of it.
"I'm being serious here, stop doing that." Laura said, trying to be stern but she couldn't keep up with the tone.
"Alright Alex, let's save it for another day. Your mum here is jealous." She said, rubbing her nose against his while he chuckled, still wanting to play.
Shifting her attention to Laura, she straightened up and after clearing her throat asked, "Can we talk for some moment?"
"Why the sudden seriousness, is everything alright?" Laura asked, adjusting her dress.
"Come with me." Riley said instead and together they started heading towards the hallway.
Laura, wondering what the issue was, started to rack her brain for possible reasons on why Riley became serious all of a sudden but couldn't come up with any.
Just as Riley was about to start talking, Rian walked in on them unannounced.