CHAPTER 22
Two hours ago…
For the umpteenth time that day, she headed toward the entrance and back again at her watch, she had a frown on her face when her gaze filled the entire base ball yard.
Alex’s one of the twins was playing the pitcher for his baseball team and already he pulled two negative throws.
At the next water break, he races over to where his mother was with a look of concern on his face.
“Where is daddy? I thought he was going to be here for the game?”
A purely puzzled Mother looked back at her son, her mind void of the right excuses to give to him at that moment. If only the boy knew how irresponsible his father could be.
Not wanting to dampen the boy’s game spirit even more, she had a smile broadly on her face.
“He would be here, he stopped by the mall to get some ice cream.”
The boy ran excitedly halfway the field for another throw, this time pulling a home run looking again in the direction of his mother.
Completely fed up, Laura wandered off, ostensibly to make a phone call, while the game was still very much on. She stared furiously at the phone in her hands when she dialed twice and he didn’t pick
An intuition played in the back of her mind, sending a wave of anger through her-
Her heart itched, hoping to herself that her thoughts weren’t made of fact, before she could stop herself she sent Christian a text.
Laura: Have you forgotten about the game, he is expecting you to show up.
He responded a minute later.
Christian: WTF, It completely slipped my mind.
Immediately he said that she felt totally annoyed about the entire situation wondering why a man would forget about something that had to do with his child.
Christian: Alright, I would be there … It might take a while but I would be there most definitely.
Laura: You sure? I don’t want you to disappoint any of them.
Christian: Why would I lie about any of that?
While still texting him her phone rang in her hand, and she was quick to answer it.
“Try to understand, I do want the best for them as well.”
“You wouldn’t act in this manner if you truly care about them.”
“What’s the matter with you?” He asked with a bit of annoyance and concern. “Do you really think that I wouldn’t want to be there with the boys, I am just caught up with work.”
“Fine then, please just make sure you are here … I don’t want him disappointed.”
“Giving you my word, I would.”
The word settled over her head with an unsurprising awareness.
“Thank you, That’s all I needed to know,”
She was walking back to the stand when it all happened in a bit of a rush, the next moment all that filled the field was a loud scream, she looked round as everything felt all dizzy.
Laura rushes at her son that was lying on the floor with blood gushing out of his head from where the ball had just struck.
She screams –
******
The drive is so quick he didn’t have much time to process everything that’s happening, on other days when he stepped out of his car he would have taken in the view of everything from the crisp air to the lush scenery.
However, this time was absolutely different. He would worry gnawing at his stomach as he was bursting through the door in the next seconds.
Christian stood there for what seemed like a long while, he stared at the long hallway that had several doors not knowing which to pick.
The door to a room swings open, and a tall man with a white lab coat walks through them. He gives him a puzzling look and his nerves race faster.
“I am Christian… ” he was about to introduce himself when the doctor held out his hand.
“I know who you are.” He shook his hand.
” I am here to see one of your patients that was brought in earlier today.”
” Come with me.”
The doctor led the way to one of the wards, as soon as he walked in. He saw Laura look up from where she was. Her nerves dissipate. She stands up made way towards him.
Her frown grew wider, her light green eyes crinkling at the corners as she stared straight at him.
“Laura,” he says. “I’m sorry, I don’t want any of this to happen. I am sorry that any of this happened, I was on my way to the game when it all happened. ”
“I’m so sorry-”
” I don’t want to speak to you, I just want to be alone right now … leave.”she says, giving him the meanest look she could at that moment
His eyes flick to the body on the bed breathing heavily on the and be, his smile fades, as his gaze fell on the boy …A look of concern was dawning on his face.
“Oh. Maybe it wasn’t clear in our communications. I told you that I was caught up with work, trust me …”
“Leave, I don’t want you around them…”
He thought about what to say and how to convince her that what had happened was partially his fault and he didn’t want it to happen the way it did.
The silence is uncomfortably long. Christian tries to find the right Words to say or how to apologize as he stands awkwardly, fighting to keep the horror from his voice or mind
Only if he could change back the hands of time, he most definitely would change this.
It was going to be unheard of, not to
mention reckless- it was going to be crazy if anything happened to him right under his watch.
“That’s fine,” she insists quickly. “For now, I just need you to stay away.”
He took steps back, in his mind everything was turning berserk in his mind and he couldn’t stop it.
The air felt warm against his face as he stepped out, his heart beating heavily.