The room was completely dark because I had closed the curtains completely. My eyes couldn’t make out anything in the darkness. The sound of my harsh breathing filled the room as I panted and struggled to recover from my shock.
"You’re as loud as always..." a low voice whispered from the foot of my bed.
"...Hayden?" I called out his name in disbelief.
It better be Hayden and not some ghost...
"Don’t scream my name when I’m already sitting so close," Hayden replied calmly.
I felt the mattress shift underneath me slightly as Hayden moved closer to me on the bed. It was dark and I couldn’t make out anything but his silhouette.
"Are you really here?" I asked just to make sure that I wasn’t seeing and hearing things.
"I’m here," he replied firmly.
He’s really here...wow.
Before I could say anything, Hayden began talking first and the first thing he asked me was...
"Did you eat dinner properly?" he asked.
Seriously, is that what he’s worried about at a time like this?
"...No..." I admitted truthfully. I didn’t eat anything at all.
"What did you do today?" Hayden asked.
"I painted a painting. It’s been a while. The studio is perfect...thank you..." I replied and my voice shook with emotion. I’m going to start crying.
Thankfully it was dark, and he probably couldn’t see my face right now; however, I was sure that he could tell by my voice that I was on the verge of crying. Regardless, Hayden continued to go through his same list of questions.
"Do you want or need anything?" Hayden asked.
Hayden sighed and rolled his eyes slightly at my shocked and speechless reaction as if to say: ’I told you to keep the lights off...see?’
"Don’t worry. I think they wrapped me up a little too much. Since Harvey is gone my old man got a little freaked out this time around and pestered the doctors a lot. That’s all," Hayden said followed by a soft laugh.
"Really...?" I asked softly, not convinced with his reply.
"Really. I’m a doctor too so I know it isn’t that bad," Hayden reaffirmed.
"It’s not that bad so it is bad...right?" I asked skeptically.
"For your information, nothing is broken," Hayden replied stubbornly.
"Aha..." I mumbled in reply. Just because nothing is broken doesn’t mean that it’s all great and good, right?
I didn’t want to argue with him anymore about this. Regardless of how insignificant Hayden was making his injuries sound, the state he was in looked extremely disturbing. His right upper arm and shoulder was wrapped up. All parts of his torso from his chest down to his waist was bandaged. He had visible bruises here and there and everywhere.
"Does it hurt?" I asked although I knew that it probably did, and he wasn’t willing to admit to it.
"I’m fine," Hayden said with slight annoyance.
"You should have stayed at the hospital..." I murmured.
Sure, I was super happy to see him but now that I think about it, Hayden should be in the hospital right now.
"It’s boring there. I rather rest up at home..." Hayden said like it was no big deal.
"Luka said that you might be in the hospital for a few days. You didn’t sneak out, did you?" I asked suspiciously.
Wasn’t he supposed to be getting checkups and all that based on what Luka was telling me just a few hours ago? I started to get a very skeptical feeling about this.
I stared at Hayden as I waited for my answer. His silence was the best answer that I would ever get.
--To be continued...
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