Thirty eight

'When I close my eyes and try to sleep. I fall apart, and I find it hard to breathe. You're the reason, the only reason.'

-5SOS-

***

"Andre!" I shouted, patting his cheek.

The man did not respond. Like lightning in broad daylight striking my head, my eyes widened when I felt his weak pulse. I screamed for help with suffocating fear, almost draining all the oxygen in my chest, seeing him helpless and possibly dying. Luckily, it didn't take long for my stepsister to come out, and then she returned to the house. In the next second, Mother ran with Lily while my face was panicked.

"He's passed out!" I exclaimed. "Please help me carry him! Lily, you call Doctor Clark!"

"This is the result if he is stubborn," said Mother, putting Andre's left arm around her shoulder. Meanwhile, Lily returned to the house carrying orders to call a doctor.

"Not the time for nagging!" I snapped and then dragged Andre's heavy body with incredible difficulty.

My foot almost tripped over a rock. It seems that being very underweight is the worst choice. Even at times like this, my breath becomes short, as if I had been forced to run a marathon for miles. The hot sun was starting to creep up to the top of my head and sting my skin, plus the air temperature was damn hot, which seemed to add to the suffering.

Will he die?

After successfully carrying the limp body onto the living room sofa, at the same time, Lily said that she had called Doctor Clark, who had just returned from the hospital after being on duty overnight. While taking off the shirt and shoes that Andre was wearing, I told Lilly, "Please get me a basin of water and a towel behind me."

"Do you care about him now?" Lily asked as if she didn't know the situation.

I stared intently at the fourteen-year-old girl. "Don't ask that for now, Lily," I blurted out in annoyance, like pouring gasoline on burning coals.

Before Lily turned around, it turned out that my mother had come with two basins filled with water and ice cubes, as well as four towels. She put the basin on the table then took out a thermometer from his shirt pocket and inserted it into the coffee man's left ear.

"Forty-two degrees!" she exclaimed, and then we hurriedly wet Andre's body with wet towels. "I think he's having heatstroke."

"Why isn't Doctor Clark here yet?" I grumbled impatiently. "What if he gets dehydrated, Mom?"

"We kept giving him ice cubes. Luckily, he didn't have a seizure. Oh my God... his skin was all red."

The mother's face was filled with fear until it turned pale; heatstroke is indeed dangerous if not treated immediately. Even though we are not in the medical field, we know that the effects of body temperature increasing drastically due to hot weather can cause organ failure and even death. Not to mention that there are many cases in America per year, so I'm not wrong if I'm panicking right now, right? If anything happened, all the people of Manhattan would blaspheme and curse their wealthy businessman's son like this.

"Please get Will the thinnest trousers, Lily," I asked.

The girl who looked like William rushed to the room on the second floor, shouting that I should meet Andre while he wanted to apologise. However, my mother immediately denied her words so that small children would not have to get involved in adult problems. William's 'like to meddle in people's business' nature annoys me sometimes.

But... finding Andre like this, what Lily said was true. I should have wanted to meet the coffee guy, even if it was just to throw him out of the house, not let this guy with copper brown hair stand around for days carrying a damn piece of paper like a protester.

Without realising it, clear crystals were flowing freely down both cheeks. No matter how great the walls I built to not care about this man, they are all collapsing now. My inner goddess is now cursing how selfish Elizabeth Khan is who doesn't want to forgive others until she succeeds in making her suffer. How cruel Elizabeth Khan was almost to kill another person.

"I'm sorry..."

###

"How could he be like this, Mrs Hawkins?" Doctor Clark asked when Andre was finally taken to the nearest emergency room. It turned out that just compressing with ice water was not enough, said the big man, so he offered to help him go to the hospital. "He looks pretty bad," he added, pushing up the cylindrical glasses that were slightly drooping from the bridge of his nose.

Mother and I looked at each other. Honestly, there were many things I wanted to say to Doctor Clark, but all the sentences that had been neatly arranged in my head just got stuck in my throat. Not to mention looking at the condition of his car, which was like a rubbish dump when looking for Andre's wallet for administrative purposes.

A luxurious-looking black Audi from the outside but inversely proportional to the conditions inside. When I opened the car door, I almost threw up at the pungent smell that was probably from rotten food that had been stored for days. I saw a lot of rubbish, such as scattered beer bottles, cigarette butts with scattered ashes, and several packets of snacks.

What was even more painful was that he didn't eat at all for... three days, standing in front of the house. Oh God, was I that cruel to Andre? I'm sorry.

"He'll be fine, right?" said the mother.

"Yeah, lucky you gave him first aid," said Doctor Clark. "We'll wait for the laboratory results to recheck the electrolytes. This is the fifth IV I've put in, and I've slowed down the drip. Luckily, you called me quickly, Mrs. Hawkins. Otherwise... he could have experienced complications, especially with his brain and internal organs."

Hearing Doctor Clark's explanation, it felt like my legs could no longer support the weight of my body. Yes, complications can attack Mr. Johnson if not treated immediately. But... how long will he sleep like an innocent baby while we wait for him to wake up? Didn't he know I was worried that my mother even offered me a drink and I wasn't interested?

"I have ordered my nurses and residents to monitor Mr. Jhonson," said Doctor Clark. "Let's hope he recovers soon."

"Thank You."

###

Until seven o'clock in the evening, the eyelids of the man in front of me still wouldn't open. Is he so lulled by sweet dreams that he's reluctant to calm my still restless heart? But seeing the rhythm of his breathing rising and falling regularly indicated that he was still alive. Hesitantly, I tried to hold his hand, which was stuck with the IV tube in his left hand. Feels warm. Then he got up and looked down to listen to the heartbeat in his bare chest.

Loop doop loop doop...

Hearing the sound of his regular and calm heart rhythm made me smile faintly as if his chest was the most comfortable place. The sound of his heart is the most beautiful melody ever to greet the ear. I caressed Andre's broad chest gently. His body temperature was no longer as hot as it was this afternoon, but why didn't he realise it, too? Why don't those blue eyes immediately open and look at me again like yesterday? Was he tired from standing for too long? Or is he weary of fighting... for me?

Now you know how selfish you are, Elizabeth!

My tears flowed profusely again as if I was peeling away an ingrained sense of ego. It felt so stupid when I hated Andre to death while the other side screamed to make me realise that he was the only one who could make me feel appreciated as a girl.

I stared at his sleeping face, decorated with bushy sideburns, and then stroked his increasingly thin cheeks with mixed feelings. I don't know how to face Andre anymore. Forgive and allow him to hurt me more profoundly or ignore him at the risk that he could end up like this or even worse.

"You're just a crazy person who loves a crazy girl. What do you think about me?" I whispered hoarsely. Looking at his face and then kissing his forehead gently and affectionately. "I'm sorry."