close
Endymion



Chapter 9



That, I had to say, was the kiss I’ve been waiting for quite a long time.

It was a pretty good kiss, although it didn’t last very long, probably only last a couple of second. It was more like a pick, if you were really fuzzy. However, I still found I was quite enjoying it. Alex’s lip was a lot softer and gentler than I imagined (oh yes, I did imagined being kiss by this fine looking man pretty much since the first time I saw him). A slight excitement and relief shivered through my body. It’s been a while since the last time someone other than Carl kissed me, and believed me, for Carl’s kiss, the excitement and thrill effect had long gone.

A bliss.

This was an absolute bliss.

But….

When Alex’s lip left and his eye looked into mine again, I asked: “What was that?”

‘That was an awfully rude and silly question! Young lady!’ My emotional self screamed and waiving about in my mind: ‘He is, after all , interested in you. By which point you reckon that he can’t kiss you?’

I waived my thought away.

Oh! Bugger off, would you?

I had my reason, no matter how pleasant this kiss might be.

“A kiss.” He looked at me with slight amusement, as if I was really three years old.

“I know that was a kiss.” I laughed gently: “But what’s that for?”

“I believe you know.” Christ! If his eye kept looking at me one more minute, all my reasons would be out of this bloody planet.

I looked at Alex for another long couple of minutes. Finally I signed: “Yes, I think I do know.”

“So what was the problem?” Now his face looked slightly puzzled.

“But………”

“But what?”

“But this can’t be,” I said helplessly: “we can’t.”

“Why not?” Alex seemed confuse. His arm was still around me.

I started to feel this made me very hard to concentrating on reasoning with him.

“You are my patient, well, in some way.” I tried to assist him back to his wheelchair without being too obvious. Being too close to him nearly give me a heart attack: “I don’t considering the hospital will be very happy about this.”

“You won’t tell, I won’t tell.” He acted like a little child, started giggle: “We can keep this just between you and I.”

“I believe people are not going to be that stupid, you know. Secondly, you, Alex,” I pointed at him: “has a girlfriend.”

“Who told you I had a girlfriend?”

“Your girlfriend Kate.”

“I don’t believe we are still boyfriend and girlfriend anymore.” For the first time Alex showed some emotion when mentioning him and Kate: “To me it had finished while I was in coma.”

“Ayee?” Now this was the first, I thought with astonishment.

“She had clearly signalled my parents that life goes on, she had better things to do in her life than waiting for my awakening.”

“Was that why you behaved like an anti-Christ then?”

“Isabella!!” Alex laughed: “Christ! You are funny! Yes, I suppose that was part of the reason.” He looked into my eyes again: “Now don’t tell me there is other bloody reason that’s stopping you.”

“Kate seemed to think otherwise.” I signed: “And for your information,…………yes, there is one other reason.”

“What is it?” He looked at me, started getting slightly frustrated: “Now what the hell is it? It’s not because I have no leg, is it?”

I looked at him back silently.

I was a coward; I was quite ashamed to admit it.

Yes, it was because he had no leg. But as soon as I said it, I knew it wasn’t that important at all.

God knew why the hell I thought this was so goddamn important.

It was too late.

Alex stared at me for a couple of second, then his face turned red, eyes bursted with anger and heartache. I could swear he was swearing and cursing me inside him.

He got the idea.

“So it is.” He managed to squeeze those words through his teeth.

I felt I was the worst, nastiest, most heartless kind of bitches in the world. I should have turned around a walked straight into the sea and never, ever thinking about coming back. For the next few split seconds, I honestly thought he was going to shout at me, or saying something nasty. Quite frankly I was actually fully prepare for that, if that could ease him even the slightest bit.

I closed my eyes, waiting for all these to happen.

But all Alex did next was just turned his wheelchair around and said: “….It’s really getting dark now. I reckon we better hurry.”

Then he quickly left the beach, leaving me alone again and felt absolutely awful.

All the warmth and wonderful chemistry that we had just about a moment ago had suddenly disappeared.

Tears once again came back to the edge of my eyes. What have I done? I kept ask myself. I had just chosen the worst possible reason to reject this man, regardless my heart seriously warning me not to. Now he was clearly very, very hurt and I was the one to blame. Do you really care if he had no leg? Or do you really care what other people think of you being with someone who had no leg?

I slowly walked back to the house, weeping, kept asking myself again and again all those why questions.

Great! Now my mind completely stuffed with more than what I initially came to the beach earlier.

I couldn’t remember what we had for dinner (sorry Alex’s mum, I believe they were very yummy but I was just not in the mood of tasting what went into my mouth). Alex didn’t seem to be very kin on remembering what was in the dinner either. He looked a bit whiter then usual, but he managed to maintain the basic chitchat at dinner table. Luckily Nigel’s children did most of entertaining and talking, so no one seemed to notice about either of us behaved unusually dodgy.

Occasionally our eyes meet across the table, he always quickly turned away, leaving felt even more guilty and terrible.

It was all my fault.

I knew the problem he had no leg was not a major worry for me. He had no leg when I met him and it was the legless him that I fancied. I must have been completely out of my mind to pick the worst possible reason to say no to this person who also fancied me.

I was the most self absorbed, cruel, heartless person on this planet.

I felt so horrible.

For the remaining holiday, Alex’s attitude changed. He eventually talked to me, but remained polite as if we were strangers. He still smiled and joked, but only to his family members. When there were only us, the smile on his face was barely noticeable. In another words, he turned cold. The once friendly and talkative Alex was no longer existing in my life.

I finally worked out the courage to apologise to Alex right before we left. But all Alex’s reply was: “Why do you need to apologise? You did nothing wrong. You have the right to choose anybody you want to be with, of course you don’t have to choose a person who has no legs like me.”

I actually reckoned it would be all lot easier if he just kill me or beat the hell out of me.

Or perhaps I should have done it myself.



* * * *



We went back to the hospital. Immediately my attention was drown away from Alex into some chaotic busy frenzy. I had a meeting with Owen, reporting Alex’s condition during the holiday; a kidney transplant patient who had been on the operating table for hours had suddenly developed some kind of complexions and need urgent assistance from any available staff, so I was literally dragged into the operating room by two doctors; a huge pile of new patient files awaiting for me to entered; oh, plus Zoë (who seemed had nothing to do all this time) followed me almost everywhere, tried to dig out some details about Owen and me (I had just come back for Christ sake, how on earth there would be anything under this short period of time? She had got to be out of her mind).

“If you don’t want me to wrestling you on the floor and strangle you with my shoelaces, you better stay away from me. I am really not in the mood or time for any form of bloody social chitchat.” I warned her.

“………………….I will talk to you afterwards.” Zoë shouted across the corridor as I carried a trolley of blood bags down to the operating room.

That ‘afterwards’ would probably be a couple of weeks later by the looks of it, if I were lucky.

By the time I left the hospital, it was 5 o’clock Monday morning. And my final exam (oh yeah, that bloody exam) was only 3 hours away. I got only two hour to get home, had something nibble on, and rest before rushing to the bus stop like crazy for my exam. To make the matter slightly worst (because it couldn’t be any worst), it was pouring down with rain when I was waiting for the bus. I was not usually the person who would carry an umbrella around ‘just in case’.

Great.

I was so dead this time.

Well, perhaps in some way this was a good thing. At least I didn’t have any spare time to think about what a horrible thing I had done to Alex.

But it was rather a contrast, I did think about him a great deal.

I miss Alex terribly.

It was quite strange really, considered not very long ago it was Carl who took the centre stage in my mind, now Carl seemed to be stacked at the corner and Alex was everywhere.

I really didn’t know what was I going to do now. I wished I had some kind of hypnosis ability, so I could hypnosis Alex and completely wiped out this memory. The he would be happy and started talking to me like he was. But as I was only a nurse student and did not taking any bloody goddamn hypnosis degree at all, this was absolutely out of the question. I did desperately would like to talk to him, however I just could not stand his ‘freezer treatment’, which I was, partially the one to blame.

The exam lasted nearly two weeks, during these two weeks I finally had managed to take some time off to do some study (sorry! No double shift for any bloody soul this time, my beloved colleagues. And that included you, Zoë) (Also, to pay back what you have done, Zoë, you have to take all my shift during this period). I had my paper to save, after all. Anything else would have to become minority.

When I finally headed back to the hospital again, I’ve already had nearly 10 days without any proper sleep. I had a worst migraine and couldn’t even think straight two third of the time. I had to drag myself up the stairs that seemed more like Mt Everest. When I appeared at the nurse station, I believe my face must looked like a blood-craving vampire who hasn’t had any proper meal for at least a century.

“Crickey! Isabella! You look like a ghost!” Elaine spotted me as I made myself some tea.

“Oh, shut up! Elaine.” I opened the draw, tried to find some headache pill.

“Seriously, Isabella, you don’t look so good. Are you alright?” Sweet Joanne came in, seemed a bit worry.

“I am fine” I took a sip of the tea: “Just need some sleep, that’s all.”

“Are you sure?” Joanne put a couple of Panedale into my palm. I thanked her.

“Yes, all I need to do is to find some empty room to nap during my break it should be alright.” I insisted I was fine. Well, maybe I wasn’t………I didn’t know.

“You really shouldn’t come today if you don’t feel well,” Joanne still unconvinced: “You should stay at home and take some rest.”

“But I’m fine.” To prove it, I stood up and tried to swing around the table. Bad move, I nearly swung into the locker.

“…………….Alright, if you reckon you are.” Joanne wanted me to sit back into the chair: “But you really don’t look so good. Perhaps I should assign you some easy task to do before your break. And then you are going to see Doctor Pearce down the hall.”

“Ta, Joanne.” I signed.

I was assigned to change the medicine on third floor. Then I was strictly ordered to pay Doctor Pearce a visit and take some rest before anything else.

Good old Joanne.

“Hey, there you are.” Zoë managed to find and catch me before I finished my second room: “…Are you alright? You don’t look so good.” Whatever she was going to harass me with were going out of window.

“You are the third people who’s been telling me about this today. Now even I starting to convince I don’t look so good.” I smiled.

“You really don’t. When was the last time you have some proper rest?” Now she started to worry as well.

“….About 5…….no…..10 days ago I suppose……… hey! That has nothing to do with this. Besides, I was going to take some rest in empty room after.” I weakly replied.

“Are you sure?” Zoë asked.

“Now this becomes very funny indeed. A few minutes ago Joanne was asking me the same question. I am bloody sure, young lady. And stop behaving like my mum.” I joked as we entered into the third room.

I was unexpected welcome by a pair of eyes.

I had been thinking about their owner for the last two weeks.

It was Alex.

“Hi.” He greeted.

Wait a minute.

This couldn’t be Alex’s room, was it?

I headed back to the door and checked the name again.

It turned out it was indeed Alex’s room.

Now I really started to think maybe I wasn’t so good after all.

With Zoë next to me, it was rather inconvenient to talk about anything happened during the holiday (well, she hadn’t know yet and I didn’t want her to know anything at this stage). Alex still seemed as awfully polite as I saw him last time. But strangely every inched of my body started to awaken and scream. It was, to be honest, very nice to see him again.

“Oh hi, Alex.” Zoë pointed at me: “Don’t you think Isabella looked a bit pale?”

“Stop, Zoë.”

“………………..She does look a bit whiter than usual.” Surprisingly, Alex replied: “Are you alright, Isabella?”

I stared at him with disbelieve. First the first time since the holiday, he actually showed some cares about me. Not if he looked any better. His cheeks were sunk in, he had got shadow under his eyes, his face unshaven, his hair was a mess, and he looked as he haven’t been sleep for days.

“I am fine. What’s happening to you?” I checked my files: “………….lung infection? Ayee? When the hell was this happened?” I couldn’t help myself screaming, well, kind of screaming. Then I felt the scream was echoing around my head. Now something was seriously wrong. I better leave Zoë finished the rest after this and headed straight to the rest room.

“When you were away, dear.” Zoë answered: “This is actually a good day you see him today. You should have seen him about a week ago, man! That was scary.”

“Really?”

“Hey, can you two not talking about me in front of me?” I couldn’t bloody believe it! He was actually smiling! Or perhaps it was because Zoë was here as well? “I am here.”

“Sorry, dear!” Zoë ignored his complaint: “His temperature just hit straight through the roof! At one point we all thought the virus was back and he was going straight back to the Coma. You should have seen everybody’s face. Crickey! Especially when his parents arrived. They almost died of the heart attack…………..hey! Love! Are you sure you are alright? You really don’t look good now……….” Her attention turned towards me again.

“No, I am fine. But I think I will have to sit down for a couple of minutes…” I turned around, looking for some chairs or bench to sit. Now I felt dizzy. The whole room started spinning around slowly.

My leg was tipped over the medicine trolley.

Then suddenly I was drawn into the infinity of darkness.



arrow
arrow
    全站熱搜

    tankgirly 發表在 痞客邦 留言(0) 人氣()