She and I moved along with the other students. I cast a last glance at the spot where I’d seen Nick’s car disappear, then headed to class.
I was a bundle of nerves. I was in my last class, I’d tried to stay calm all morning but it was inevitable to think about those two. The thought that Nick and Aaron were in the same place was driving me crazy. What if they were fighting right now? I should have gone with them. I should be right there with them, ensuring they don’t kill each other.
“Damn it,” I muttered.
Apparently a little too loudly. The students and the professor looked at me. Heat began to rise in my cheeks.
“Anything to add to the class, Miss Benson?” the professor asked.
“No, sorry,” I whispered.
“Hey, Samantha, is it true that you were dating the professor, Aaron?” I turned to my left to see Adam, the guy who lived to bother others.
Well, I guess I should start looking for another place to study. If the rumor spreads I’m sure they’ll kick me out of here. If too many people find out about this, it could discredit the university.
“Can you shut up? Samantha isn’t dating Aaron, she already has a boyfriend,” Eva answered for me.
“Who is it?” Adam asked again.
“Silence!” The professor glared at Eva. A warning not to continue. “We’re in class, not at a social event. If you want to talk, you can do so outside, how about that?”
They stayed quiet. I wanted to hide.
Ten minutes later it was time to leave. I didn’t hear a single word the professor said and I didn’t care.
I grabbed my things and looked at Eva, almost desperate.
“Can you take me to the hospital?”
“Glad you held out. I thought at any moment you were going to run out,” she smiled and took my arm.
On the way, we didn’t say a word. I know Eva wanted to talk about what happened, but I couldn’t tell her everything without getting even more nervous.
As soon as we arrived at the hospital door, I darted to the entrance.
“Hey! I’ll wait for you here,” Eva shouted.
I kept walking to the reception desk. An eighty-year-old woman crossed my path, and some nurses ran after her and gently grabbed her arms. She looked at them confused, but they whispered a bunch of things to her that I couldn’t understand, and the old woman smiled and went with them. I hate hospitals, they’re so depressing.
When I got to the reception, a fairly young woman was on the phone.
“I swear, he was so sweet. He even gave me flowers,” the woman said. The phones on her side were ringing off the hook and all the chairs were empty. Nobody was doing their job.
The woman looked at me but continued talking.
I ended her call. The stupid woman stood up, I could tell she was ready to hit me.
“What the hell did you do?” she roared in my face.
“I’m waiting here, hang up your stupid call and do your job.”
“What’s going on here?” a doctor came up to me and gently moved me away from the counter.
“She’s crazy, she hung up a really important call.”
“Sure, I imagine letting your friend know how big it was is very important,” I snorted in her face.
The girl was about to answer back when the doctor gestured for her to stop.
“Tell this girl what she wants to know and end this,” the man looked at me and made a face in the form of an apology.
She grudgingly sat down. “What do you want?”
“Did someone named Aaron Welling come in this morning?” I asked, still standing far from her.
She hit a few keys on the computer.
“Room forty-eight. Second floor.”
I ran to the elevator, got in, and hit number two. I didn’t even thank her.
The elevator doors opened again and the first thing I saw was Nick talking to a doctor.
I approached them, Nick was surprised to see me.
“What the hell are you doing here? I told you not to come,” he whispered in my ear and gently grabbed my arm.
“I wanted to make sure you two didn’t kill each other,” I broke free from his grip and looked at the doctor. “Is he okay now?”
“You care about him?” he let out a sort of growl and looked away. He looked like a child.
“I clarified a few hours ago that yes, I care,” I told him and looked back at the doctor.
“Yes, he’s fine. The most serious was the fracture of his nose. We had to do a reduction in order to put the bones back in place. Right now he’s drugged, but you can take him home. Of course, someone has to take care of him, he can’t be alone under these conditions.”
Nick and I looked at each other. His gaze was something like, “Let’s leave him here and let him fend for himself,” but I can’t do that to him.
“Are you family?” the doctor asked.
“Yes,” I answered quickly.
“No,” Nick answered quickly.
The doctor looked at us, confused.
“It’s just that…” “Think, Samantha, think” “… Aaron is my boyfriend and we live together.”
“What?!” Nick shouted at my side. I glared at him, he smiled, but it wasn’t a happy smile.
“Oh sure, your boyfriend,” he said with much sarcasm in his voice, it was evident that although he was trying to play it off as disgusted, it was bothering him from somewhere else, not from anger, but from anguish.
I didn’t look at him again, “Can I take Aaron?”
“Yes. You need to sign a few documents and then you can go,” the doctor looked suspiciously at Nick, as if he was afraid he might hit him.
I nodded my head. I signed all the documents and went to room forty-eight with the doctor.
Aaron was sitting looking at his feet. He looked up and when he saw me he smiled, his face was two colors, red and purple. His nose was covered with a gauze and a pang of guilt crossed my chest.
Aaron hugged me and kissed my cheek. I don’t understand anything. He should be extremely angry with me right now.
“Hi Samantha,” he said without detaching from me. His voice sounded weird.
“Drug effect,” the doctor indicated.
We left the room. We were about to take the elevator when someone took my hand. I stop and turn slightly.
“We’re going to take him to the apartment,” Nick determined. I got out of his grip. I looked at Aaron and he was looking at Nick.
“Seriously?” I say and he put his hand on the back of his neck, looked at his feet, and let out a sigh.
“I’m sorry, for everything, I’m an asshole. Seriously, I’m sorry Sam.”
I looked at him dubiously. He was looking at Aaron’s arm around my neck.
“Couldn’t the doctor help you?” His voice sounded neutral but the rage in his face was evident.
“I don’t need help.”
He rolled his eyes and gently took Aaron’s wrist. He put it on his neck and got into the elevator with me.
“Let’s go to his apartment,” I suggested, a little hesitant.
“Do you know where it is?”
“Yes,” I regretted as soon as I answered him.
“How?”
“She went to my house,” Aaron answered, laughing.
“Keep talking and I’m going to kill you, idiot,” he muttered under his breath.
“He’s drugged, he’s not aware of what he’s saying. Stop threatening him.” The elevator doors opened again.
I stepped out and quickly went outside.
“You haven’t answered me,” his tone was unstable and absorbing, I knew he was hitting him from all sides.
I preferred it when he sounded like a caveman, “You’re mine,” before showing me that he was hurt, by everything.
“I went to his apartment.”
“And what did you do?”
Images of Aaron and me kissing flashed in my head.
“Nothing, just…” I exited the building, “… we just talked.”
I saw Eva waving at me.
“We just talked, Samantha?” Aaron asked. I turned around quickly. Aaron’s arm was no longer on Nick’s shoulders.
He was looking at him intently, but Aaron was only looking at me.
Nick had his eyebrows knitted together and low, an enraged look and his lips narrowed.
“Nick, I’ll tell you down to the smallest detail, please. I want to end this.” I was defeated. Exhausted from all of this. I didn’t come to London for this, for God’s sake!
He looked away and then walked to his car. He took Aaron’s arm, and I uncomfortably walked towards Eva.
“I’m going with him, thanks for bringing me and I’m sorry you always have to be involved in all of this.”
“Are you kidding? This is like a damn love novel. The jealous and sexy guy versus the tender and handsome guy.”
“Shut up,” I whispered and gave her a kiss on the cheek, “I’ll call you later.”
“And I want all the details,” I nodded and turned to go to Nick’s car, “including the dirty ones!”
I got in the back seat with Aaron. Nick accelerated at full speed.