Rhezi couldn’t explain what she was feeling at the moment. She was in tears and her heart was throbbing so hard. Until now, the lady still couldn’t believe what just happened. It was so fast and her gut was even right, so no matter how hard she tried to convince herself, she can’t help but to blame herself and her negligence.
“It’s okay. Dos will be fine,” Jericho muttered as he held her hand.
“How could you say that?” Rhezi turned to him. “I told you. . .” Rhezi stopped and sighed, it’s useless to point fingers at each other now.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, looking sincere.
Rhezi nodded her head. They were currently sat on the backseat of the car as they drove the long road. They brought one bodyguard with them to maneuver the car because they both couldn’t manage to drive safely. The car was following Kraius which was obviously driving fast to the nearest hospital.
When the car stopped, Rhezi immediately got out of it, Jericho following suit. They saw Kraius’ figure carrying Dos, striding fast to enter the hospital despite him not wearing any top.
“Jericho,” Rhezi called the guy beside her before glancing at him.
“Why?” he asked with a creased forehead, also looking at the woman.
“Strip. Give me your polo. Quickly!”
“What the–”
He couldn’t finish what he was saying as Rhezi unceremoniously pushed him to the car. She unbutton Jericho’s Maya blue polo shirt and let him took it off fast and agitatedly. The latter couldn’t do anything but to pout and let the lady do whatever she wanted.
“Go back to the beach and take care of the kids, okay?” Rhezi ordered after successfully stripping his clothes. “I will call you later, Dada.”
Rhezi didn’t wait for a reply. She turned her back at him and started walking fast. She merely smiled when the guy yelled as an agreement using his manly voice. Regardless of that, the lady didn’t bother to glance back at him and stormed her way inside the hospital.
“Fuck! That child needs me! Don’t you understand?!”
It was the scene that greeted Rhezi. She roamed her eyes and saw Kraius being surrounded by the staff and even the security guard. He was obviously pissed and undeniably mad in his furrowed eyebrows, not even bothered if his body was being feasted on.
“But Sir, you can’t enter the emergency room without wearing clothes, The doctors were already examining your child. No need to panic.”
“What?! He is not my–” Kraius stopped. “Fuck!” he cursed. He disheveled his hair frustratingly which made the staff confused. Kraius looked around and when his eyes darted to Rhezi and shook his head at her.
Rhezi didn’t know how to calm the man down. The fear inside her chest doubled because of the current situation, especially since she knew that Kraius was smart. Sooner or later, he would probably find out about the truth.
“Kraius, calm down,” Rhezi uttered when the emotion in his eyes changed. She even walked towards him and handed the polo shirt. “Don’t make a scene here,” the lady added, despite her chest beating in a deafening intensity.
When Kraius accepted the polo, Rhezi only sighed. She watched him put the shirt on and fixed himself. While the man did so, the hospital staff surrounding him slowly dispersed and went back to their respective places. Albeit, there were still some that kept on glancing at his direction secretly, making Rhezi raise her brow.
“Thank you,” Rhezi cut the silence between them. They were both standing by the hospital corridors with people passing by them occasionally, both staring at each other and both trying to read the room.
Kraius shifted his gaze and looked at where he left Dos. He sighed as he muttered, “I need to talk to you.”
“About what?” Rhezi asked, trying to be innocent. She wanted to keep quiet because she believed that less, talk less mistake.
“I just want to–”
“I’m sorry for butting in, but can I talk to the parents or the guardians of the child?” A doctor came to interrupt. “Are you the father?” He turned towards Kraius’ direction.
“No! He is not the father.” Rhezi immediately stole the doctor’s attention. “I am the mother,” she added. Kraius furrowed his eyebrows at the lady’s action.
“Oh, can we talk about your child’s condition? I’m afraid it is very serious and it needs privacy. Follow me,” the doctor informed.
Rhezi nodded at the doctor as the latter started to walk, the woman planning to follow subsequently. She took a deep breath and began to stride, however, she only took a few steps when Kraius held her shoulder to stop her. Rhezi instantly turned to look at the man, her face was contorted into a frown, trying to hide her nervousness.
“Are you hiding something from me?” Kraius asked.
“And what is that?” the woman asked back. She tried hard to fight the man’s blazing and firm stares. “Please, can we talk about it later? I need to go to the doctor first,” she pleaded.
Kraius sighed heavily. He released her from his grip and looked at her intently. “You know how I punish, Rhezi. Don’t you dare to lie to me,” he said.
“I-I know,” Rhezi stuttered. She abruptly turned her back to Kraius, failing to see the man shaking his head while clenching his jaw.
Rhezi quickly walked towards the doctor’s office. She didn’t have a hard time finding it as the doctor was already waiting for her by the threshold of the door. She smiled faintly at the woman who was looking professional in her white doctor’s gown.
“Have a seat Mrs. Montreal–”
“Excuse me. It’s Mrs. Bailey,” Rhezi corrected.
The doctor was confused as she glanced at the paper she was holding before shaking her head. “I’m sorry. It was what’s written in the child’s records,” she informed.
“It was a wrong information. Sorry,” the woman apologized.
The doctor only nodded. “Anyways, I’m afraid that your son has a serious case of Leukemia. We need to confine him for more tests.”
Rhezi felt like she became deaf after hearing the words uttered by the professional woman in front of her. Her chest tightened as her tears slowly cascaded down her cheeks.
She couldn’t accept it. She wasn’t prepared for it, either. The womam knew that her son was sick but she didnʼt expect it to be a severe condition like this. She didn’t know what to do. Rhezi shook her head while wiping her tears away, forcing herself to calm down from the contraction of her heart.
“What should we do, Doc?”
“Test. As soon as possible. Better if we do bone marrow transplant after the result,” she quickly answered while looking at the woman.
Rhezi nodded. After a while, she walked out of the office and went to the information desk of the hospital. She asked for Dos’ room number and later she found herself crying again while walking along the corridor. Rhezi doesn’t want her son to see her weakness. She wanted him to see that it was all fine-that there wasn’t a problem.
When Rhezi finally stood by the closed door of the room, she tried to calm down. She embraced herself tight and sighed heavily, combing her hair using her hand to fix herself. Later on, her trembling hands turned to knob to open the door.
The familiar smell of the hospital greeted her with its white interior and the hospital apparatus. The room was wide and air-conditioned, in the middle of it was the bed where her son lies. Although he wasn’t alone. Kraius was with Dos and he was looking at the kid intently, not even noticing the woman’s presence as she walked towards them.
“Ehem,” Rhezi cleared her throat to catch his attention. “You can go home now. I can manage from here,” the woman stated.
Kraius shifted his gaze to her. Rhezi immediately the rush of anxiety running through her body when she saw his eyes. It was bloodshot, swollen and seemingly looking like it just finished shedding tears. However, the stare he was giving her was beyond just that, it also contained a look of accusation.
“Is Dos my son?” he asked. “Are they my son? Don’t lie to me.”