“Oh my god, no!” Olivia shouted. “Don’t jinx it.”
“Where’s Eth?” Duncan asked.
“He’s inside.” I gestured to the room.
Duncan, without saying anything else, got around me and slipped into the curtain. What did he think he was doing? No. Who did he think he was? As I’d expected, he was kicked out of the room a few seconds later.
“How is he?” Nathalie quickly asked him. “Is he okay? Is he fine?”
Duncan didn’t answer Nathalie. He glared at me angrily. “What did you two do?”
“We did nothing,” Joanna answered for me.
“What happened?” Nathalie asked next.
We sat on the benches provided around the emergency department. I told them everything that had happened; from how I had decided to forgive Ethan to how we had decided to work on our assignment together. I also told them how I had ended up looking for him before I was ambushed by the bad guys. I tried to tell them as much as possible; how Ethan had gotten back on time and smashed the food he bought against one of them, how he had shielded me from harm and how he had fought back. Our neighbor had seen what happened and scared them off.
“It’s my fault,” Nathalie said and slapped herself. Her eyes filled with tears. “It’s my fault.” When Nathalie tried to slap herself again, Olivia stopped her.
“Nat, stop!” Olivia grabbed Nathalie’s hand.
“I was such a bad friend,” Nathalie admitted. “I got angry at him over such a small spat. I could have just invited them to come out with us earlier and they wouldn’t have met those bad guys. Eth… Eth wouldn’t have to—”
The curtain of Ethan’s room was suddenly opened. All of us stood up at once the moment the doctor stepped out. We quickly approached him.
“How is he, doctor?” I asked.
“Don’t worry,” the doctor told us. “He will be fine.” Then, he turned to talk to me. “Your boyfriend is lucky. The muscles he built helped him mitigate the damage he got.”
I was stunned. Joanna quickly held my hand.
“Oh,” the doctor realized. “I’m sorry. I mean your friend,” he hurriedly corrected himself. “Anyway, the wound on his head isn’t severe. The bleeding is just external. None of his injuries are fatal. We have him under control. We’re treating him now.”
I felt a great sense of relief. It looked like it wasn’t as bad as I thought.
“Hold on.” Nathalie looked at the doctor suspiciously, her eyes still wet. “Why do you look so familiar?”
“Max, you ready to go?” a familiar voice came from the direction of the corridor. We turned around to look.
Nathalie’s eyes rounded at the person approaching. “Theo?”
“Sis?” Theo’s eyes went as round as Nathalie’s, mutually surprised.
“What are you doing here?” both of them said together.
Nathalie looked at the doctor, then said, “You’re Theo’s boyfriend.”
“Yeah,” Dr. Max answered her. “And you are?”
“She’s my sister,” Theo answered as he walked to the doctor’s side. “What’s going on, Max?”
“I think I can’t go to supper with you,” Dr. Max said. “I gotta work and it’ll be till quite late. Your sister’s friend is heavily injured.”
Theo looked at all of us, his eyes scanning from the left to the right. “Don’t tell me… Ethan?”
Nathalie nodded and began crying again.
“Oh, Sis.” Theo went over to hug her.
“When can we see him?” I asked.
“Maybe in an hour or two. We still have to do some tests to make sure that there is no fracture.” As he answered, Dr. Max narrowed his eyes and eyed me from my head to toe. “Did you get beaten too?”
I’d almost forgotten that I’d also taken a few blows from the bad guys. “Yeah, but it’s nothing compared to Eth.”
“Come with me,” Dr. Max said and walked into the room next to Ethan’s.
“I’ll let him check me too, babe.” I let go of Joanna’s hand and followed Dr. Max. I had to be fine if I wanted to take care of Ethan later.
Dr. Max drew the curtain closed after I entered. “Remove your shirt.”
I did as I was told. I looked at my own body. There weren’t any bruises on my torso. Only my arms. Dr. Max checked them.
“Did anyone phone Ethan’s parents?” I heard Olivia ask outside.
“No,” Nathalie said. “Not yet. Doctor said he’s under control. Knowing Ethan, he won’t want to worry his parents. Let’s wait until he’s up, okay?”
I hissed the moment Dr. Max pressed one of the bruises on my arm.
Dr. Max sniggered. He shook his head. “What did you both do to infuriate such bad people? Yours are nothing serious, but I’ll prescribe you some pills so that you’ll feel better. Just remember to take them after meals, okay? Twice a day,” he said as he sat at the desk and began writing on a form attached to a clipboard. “If it doesn’t get better in a few days, make sure you come back, okay? We might have to do a proper check-up.”
When Dr. Max was done, he went back into Ethan’s room. I returned to my friends.
Joanna stood up from her seat and walked towards me. “Babe, you okay?”
“Yeah, no big deal,” I assured her.
Joanna took my hand. She caressed the back of my hand with her thumb. “Should we get some food? You said you’ve not eaten, right? You must be hungry.”
I had totally forgotten that I hadn’t eaten anything since lunch. I must eat. If I want to take care of Ethan later, then I must have enough strength to do it. “Yeah, babe, okay. You guys want food? We’ll get back some for you.”
“It’s okay. We’re not hungry,” Nathalie answered.
“We’ve eaten before coming,” Olivia said.
Duncan didn’t answer me when I looked at him. His face flushed in anger. I wondered if it was me or something else. We weren’t close, so I didn’t give much thought.
“Call me if there’s anything, okay?” I told Nathalie and Olivia.
Duncan’s eyes flashed at me and then closed into slits. He stood up. “He saved your life and what you’re thinking right now is eat?”
“I…” I was at a loss for words. I felt bad immediately.
Joanna stepped forward. “We’re all here waiting. We’re waiting, which means we’re doing nothing. Why not do something meaningful while waiting? Babe hasn’t eaten since lunch. Do you think it’ll make things better if he collapses from hunger? No. It’ll only make things worse. You’ll have to take care of two people instead of one. So let us eat now so that we will have the strength to take care of Ethan later. This is the best time to eat, I say.” When Joanna was done, she pulled me towards the corridor to walk out.
“Who wants to take care of him?” I heard Duncan mutter as we left the hospital.
On our way to wherever Joanna was driving us, we didn’t speak a word. I didn’t know what to talk about. I kept thinking about Ethan and what Duncan had said. What he said was true. He made sense. How could I be thinking of something else, especially eating? How could I even have the appetite to eat when my best friend, who could have died for me, was in bed in the emergency room? No. I wasn’t going to eat. Joanna was right too. Since we were waiting anyway, I had to do something. But that something was not eating.
“Babe,” I said. “Drive me to the Buvekeli’s police station.”
“W-what? Why?” Joanna asked.
What did she mean what and why? Ethan and I were both victims of a crime. I almost opened my mouth to tell her that, but I figured that she could be innocent and had never thought of it. “I’m lodging a police report. I’m not letting those bad guys get away that easily.” I clenched my fists, remembering the pain they inflicted on both Ethan and me.
“Okay, babe.” Joanna drove us there.
The police reporting didn’t go as well as I’d expected. It left me even more frustrated and angry. Not only that there was no action taken immediately but they blamed
me for failing to recall what the criminals looked like; as in, were there any marks, tattoos, or scars that could identify them? They also blamed me for not bringing up important details such as if I’d fought with someone recently and what motive might be at hand. They said that without these details, they could hardly start working. I left. I didn’t want to stay and argue further.
I was quiet when I got back into the car. Joanna was as quiet as I was, knowing that I needed the silence and time to cool down. She pulled over in front of a familiar cafe beside the driveway. I immediately recognized the place. It was the cafe where Joanna and I first met. The cafe closest to Swan Hills. I still remembered how I’d met her here. We bumped into each other when she was in a hurry. She fell but I managed to quickly catch her before she kissed the floor. Ethan was there at that time, laughing at the little romantic moment I’d had. The next day, we bumped into each other again in school. She called it fate and asked for my number.
Joanna put her hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, babe. Ethan is in good hands. Let’s eat first, okay?”
I nodded twice and got out of the car.
The cafe was almost closing. Most of the seats were already empty, but the manager recognized us and took our orders. We ordered our regulars from the menu; grilled chicken with mashed sweet potatoes and broccoli.
“You have to eat, babe. You haven’t eaten since our lunch together this afternoon,” Joanna said when she saw me not touching my food at all.
I sighed. I was still bothered by what had happened at the police station earlier. I was worried about Ethan too. Should I really be eating? “I don’t know, babe...”
“Here,” Joanna said as she cut her chicken and poked it with her fork. “Let me feed you. Ah~” She held the chicken in front of my mouth.
Usually, I liked it when she did that. But today, I was just… I was just not in the mood. But I didn’t want to disappoint her. I opened my mouth.
Joanna put the chicken in. “Good boy, babe.” She smiled satisfyingly. She worked on cutting another piece for me again and fed me.
I ate it again. I sighed, acknowledging her effort. “Sorry, babe, I’ll eat.” I began cutting the chicken on my own plate.
“That’s my boy.” She smiled again before she continued to eat. “Babe, why did you lie to me and go see Ethan?” she asked after taking a bite. “I thought we’ve talked about that.”
I got annoyed almost immediately. Ethan was still in the hospital, unconscious, and she had to ask this? I tried to control my emotions and not let it bother me. Because I knew it was my fault to begin with. I lied to her and snuck out to see Ethan when I promised her that I would be only staying at home working on my assignment.
“I’m sorry, babe,” I sighed again. “I just don’t want to lose a good friend like him.”
Joanna nodded. When she was about to say something else, I interrupted her.
“Babe,” I took a deep breath, “if it wasn’t for him, the one who would be in the hospital right now is me. So I hope you don’t see him as some sort of monster anymore, okay? He won’t do anything to me and I won’t avoid him anymore.”
Joanna at first didn’t react to what I’d just said. She kept quiet for a while. Her face looked like she was trying to think it through. Then, she nodded and said nothing else. She reached her hand across the table to hold mine.
I smiled. I was happy that she could understand.
After dinner, instead of taking us back to the hospital, Joanna took us back toward her apartment. I was annoyed.
I took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. “This way isn’t to the hospital.”
“I know, babe,” Joanna replied. “But I don’t think it’s a good idea to have so many people in the hospital. Ethan’s friends are there. Even if we’re there too, there won’t be anything much we can do. Ethan will need more space in the room to breathe. Furthermore, it’s best we rest up so that we can rotate shifts with them when they get tired, right?”
Oh. She had a point. Fuck. I felt like an asshole now when she was just being so thoughtful. She was right. If all of us were there, taking care of Ethan at the same time, then who would take care of him the next morning when all of us were tired? And Nathalie and the rest would have to go to school too. Given the reasoning, it was still hard to not think about it, especially when I was alone, showering. Ethan kept appearing in my head. His face when he was shielding me from the savage attack… I… I….
I can’t. I turned off the shower. I just can’t. How could I be so relaxed at home while he was still in the hospital? I shook my head.
I quickly got out of the shower, put on my clothes, and walked out of my room. Joanna’s apartment looked similar to my old apartment, only that the furniture was different. I guessed all rental apartments, especially for students, must be more or less the same. When I opened the front door, Joanna stopped me.
“Babe, where are you going?” Joanna asked, standing up from the couch. She was holding her cell phone, her screen indicating that she was in the middle of a call.
I turned back and walked towards her. “I gotta go, babe,” I said. “I just can’t leave him there.”
“He has friends,” Joanna argued. “His best friend is there.”
“I’m his best friend too,” I said. “I have to be there by his side when he needs me most. Sorry, babe.” I didn’t give her the chance to argue further. I left.
When I was walking out of the building, I suddenly thought of what to do in the hospital. Ethan would have to stay in the hospital because of his severity of his injuries, so I decided that I should bring my laptop to finish our assignment while I was with him. Ethan might have an excuse because of his condition but I didn’t. It would be safer to finish up our work before Professor Mark decided to penalize us—particularly me. That professor could be unreasonable sometimes and I didn’t want Ethan’s grade to be affected because of me.
I headed back to my old apartment. I was a little scared at first, thinking that the bad guys might be back and waiting. But then I decided ‘screw it,’ because it would be better if they really were. I was going to get revenge for Ethan. Initially, I thought they really were back because there was a sound in the corridor. But then from the front door, Daisy suddenly stormed out of the opened door.
She hurled a glass through the doorway. The glass shattered, hitting something inside. She pointed inside the house. “You’re breaking up with me because you want more time for your project?! Is that what you’re trying to say, Samuel Crossfield?!”
“Yes!” Samuel answered loudly. “You’re a fucking waste of my time and money!” he said harshly.
Daisy literally stomped her foot on the ground. It was my first time seeing a real girl doing that. I thought it only happened in movies. “Fine, we’re over!” She walked in my direction.
She didn’t stop to greet me. Her eyes stared into space like I wasn’t there. As she left, I tried to figure out what the heck had just happened between the two. Samuel walked out of the door. He looked left and right as if to check if Daisy had really left. He saw me and waved.
I waved back and jogged towards him. “What happened, Sam?”
“Nah.” Samuel scratched his head. “We’re just not fit to be together. Anyway,” he punched me lightly in my chest. “where’s Eth?”
“You didn’t read our text?” I said. “I texted the group.”
“You did?” He took his phone out from his pocket and checked it. The phone didn’t seem to get past even the blank screen. He made a small laugh. “No battery. So, what’s up?”
That explained why he didn’t show up in the hospital earlier. “Eth is in the hospital.”
“Oh.” Samuel scratched his head again. “Wait, what?!” He finally realized what I’d just said, his eyes big this time. “He’s in the hospital?!” He grabbed my shoulders a few seconds later as if he needed the few seconds to process the information. “Why, how, what happened?! Is he okay? Are you okay? And why are you here then?�
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“Long story,” I sighed. “Let me get my stuff and we’ll go see him together, okay? I’ll explain on the way.” I walked into the apartment.
When I got into Ethan’s room, our laptops were still where I’d left them. I closed my laptop and put it into my bag. When I wanted to shut down and put Ethan’s laptop away, I paused seeing his desktop. I was suddenly very curious, especially after what Joanna had told me about how he had kept many pictures of me on his phone. For the five years I’d known him, even though I’d used his laptop for so many times before, I’d never explored what was inside.
Ethan’s desktop wallpaper was a simple one with a scenery background. But what I was particularly interested with was the only folder on the desktop. The folder was named: My Best Moments.
I clicked on it. It was password-locked.
Ethiam. I tried the login password. It was incorrect. Liam. I guessed next and pressed enter. It got in. “No way,” I muttered to myself. “Seriously?”
Before I continued, I suddenly felt guilty. Should I really be doing this? Was it right for me to do this? It was Ethan’s privacy. But I was already inside. There were five folders sorted according to years. And the earliest year was no other than the year we met.
I clicked on it. Hundreds of pictures popped out. Joanna didn’t seem to be exaggerating anymore when she’d told me that Ethan had more than a thousand pictures of me. Because in the folder, all of the pictures were literally photos of either me and him together or only me. I understood why Joanna was so worried about me now. Because after opening these folders, Ethan seemed like a stalker. A monster dying to have me eaten like she’d suggested. In every folder, there were pictures of no one else but only him and me. Not even Nathalie. His dad. Or his mom.
I started to feel a little scared. I’d never known this side of Ethan before. Fuck it, Liam. Ethan had come out clearly to you and he is in the hospital now. He was a true friend. He knew it would be impossible for us to be together, yet he still chose to protect me. After what Ethan had done for me, he was worth every risk that Joanna was talking about.
A Monster's Love Page 6