It was 7:30 in the morning and Alexander sipped his coffee while glancing at Eva’s door, wondering how she could oversleep. Had she forgotten they had a flight at 10 o’clock in the morning?
Last night, his mom hadn’t sent the reports to him as he had asked her to. He had the feeling she didn’t want him to know the details, but why? What had happened to his dad? He was immediately suspicious that his mom has been hiding something from him. When he expressed the wish to take the early morning flight, she had waved him off saying it wasn’t necessary. Ashton had handled it all and they would discharge his dad later in the day. He had tried calling Ashton too, but his phone was unreachable since last night. He frowned at his cup, wondering what they both were hiding from him.
Alyssa had gone to the hobby center an hour earlier to arrange for the yoga and Pilates classes they had started. His granny was busy with grandpa’s physiotherapy sessions leaving Alexander to enjoy his breakfast all by himself. Unable to take in anymore, he finished his breakfast in haste and went towards Eva’s room. He knocked purposefully, but the door gave way and opened on its own. Alexander was surprised to see that it was already unlocked. It wasn’t when he had knocked last night!
Curiosity got the better of him and he went inside the room. His eyes fell upon the empty room and bed. Where was Eva? His mind went into overdrive and he stormed towards the washroom, to check. It was strange that the bed didn’t look like she slept in and there weren’t any sounds from the washroom, either. He pushed the washroom door and found that it hadn’t been used at all.
“What the fu*k!” he swore as he stormed out to check the closet. She couldn’t have left with Lisa since he was there when his sister left. Then where could she have gone? Opening the closet, he found it was totally empty. Eva’s suitcase and handbag were missing!
He stormed out of the room, unable to think straight. When did she leave? Did she return to New York? What was the hurry when he had told her they would return today? He went to his grandpa’s room and called his granny outside. With the physiotherapist around, he didn’t want to disturb them.
“What is it, Alexander?” asked a clueless granny.
“Have you seen Eva, granny? She’s missing and so is her luggage,” said a distraught Alexander. Granny looked equally surprised and shook her head worriedly.
“She didn’t inform me. Maybe she left in the middle of the night. I’ve been awake since 4 o’clock in the morning. I would have seen her if she left,” said granny, shaking her head with dismay.
“But why would she do that when we were supposed to go home together?” Alexander paced the floor, unable to think straight. Had she gone back to his penthouse?
“Isn’t it because of your fight with Alyssa last night? You supported your parents’ behaviour towards the poor girl. It wasn’t right, Alexander. Maybe you’ve hurt her unknowingly,” said granny with a sigh. Alexander stopped and froze like a statue, realizing what he had done. His granny was right. She had been upset last night and hadn’t opened the door. It should have alerted him to her intentions, but he hadn’t given it a thought since he was too preoccupied with his dad’s illness.
“I didn’t mean it that way at all. I was just upset with Lisa for accusing mom all the time.” He pulled out his phone as a sense of dread gripped his heart. Did he unknowingly drive her out of his life with his insensitive words? He knew his parents were wrong, but at that moment, hearing Alyssa’s accusations made him lose his mind. He didn’t realize that his words could have a negative impact on his relationship with Eva.
“Who are you calling, son? I think she’s gone for good. She was telling me she wouldn’t see you after this trip. She would live on her own,” said granny, watching the agitated look in his eyes with suspicion. Her wise eyes couldn’t miss the desperation he felt after learning about Eva’s intentions. She was now sure Alexander had feelings for the girl more than he showed.
“She told you that? I should have known,” said Alexander, flailing his arms helplessly and going out to the windows to call the security guard at his condominium.
“Hello, Pete, this is Alexander Van Every from penthouse 7B, Tower 3. I just called to ask you if my guest, Eva Ann Rayner, reached home safely. I can’t reach her on her mobile phone.”
“Good morning, Mr. Van Every. I just reported to duty, so I have no information right now. Can you hold on for a minute, sir? I’ll ask the others.”
“Sure,” said Alexander, waiting anxiously for Pete’s reply as he asked the other guards around for any news on Eva.
“Mr. Van Every, your guest left with her luggage twenty minutes ago.” His heart sank knowing she had left without a forwarding address, not wanting to be found. She didn’t want to have anything to do with him. He had failed her!
His granny had left to go to his grandpa’s room, but Alexander was too restless to stay. He had to return to New York and hunt for Eva. Where could she have gone at such short notice? Maybe to one of her friend’s houses or at the hospital staff quarters. He would definitely find her and bring her back.
He was ready after an hour and left after meeting his grandparents. They were emotional, but he promised to visit them soon. After having a restless time, he, at last, reached New York in the evening. Going straight to his apartment, he had just freshened up when there was a call from Ashton. Alexander immediately accepted his call since he had been going crazy since last night to talk to him.
“Sorry, bro. Aunt Jodie strictly has asked me not to tell you, but I can’t hold back anymore,” said Ashton in a grave tone. It sent a chill down his spine. He had already guessed something was wrong.
“What happened to dad, Ashton?” he asked impatiently.
“I think he has cancer, but aunt Jodie hasn’t shown me the reports, and neither has she allowed me to talk to the doctor. I found out from the nurse,” said Ashton. Alexander slumped onto a nearby couch to support his trembling body. He hadn’t expected his dad to get cancer!
“What type of cancer does he have? Why is she hiding it from us? We can help dad if he indeed has cancer,” said Alexander.
“I don’t know the exact details, but the nurse told me he has lung cancer. Maybe, aunt Jodie doesn’t want to scare us. The hospital discharged Uncle Daniel, and I brought him home. His treatment has started with Dr. William Franklin, a senior pulmonologist at Columbia, Dr. Clark Scott, a senior radiation oncologist, and Dr. Trevor Martin, a senior thoracic surgeon. Why don’t you meet them first to discuss uncle Daniel’s case before facing your parents? I’ll reach the hospital if you’re coming,” said Ashton, and Alexander felt relieved that he wouldn’t have to do this alone. He just didn’t have the courage to face it all on his own.
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Meet me at the reception, bro,” he said with relief. After disconnecting the call, he quickly got ready and drove over to the hospital. Ashton was already waiting for him at the reception and they embraced one another and went to meet Doctor Scott. The doctor informed them that his dad had been coughing blood and suffering from chronic chest pain when he arrived.
Alexander realized why his parents rushed back to New York. His dad was in the first stage of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer(NSCLC) which was completely curable. There was nothing to panic, and they started his treatment immediately. Relieved, the two boys went to his parents’ house to talk to them.
“Oh, when did you return, Alex? You didn’t call me,” said his mom, hugging him close. Alexander noticed the stress lines on her face. It didn’t look like she slept much for the last two days. His heart went out to them. While he was enjoying himself at Grand Canyon with Eva, his parents might have gone through hell.
“Ashton, will you stay tonight?” asked Jodie Van Every, hugging him too.
“Sure, aunt Jodie. If you want me to,” he agreed.
“I can stay too,” said Alexander. They went to see their dad, who was watching a football match.
“Dad, how are you now?” asked Alexander, sitting beside him.
“I’m fine, son, fit as a fiddle.” He cheered when his favorite player scored. “So, are you boys staying the night? Let’s watch the match together.”
“Shouldn’t you be resting, dad?” scolded Alexander. His dad looked at his mom quizzically.
“No, mom hasn’t told us anything. We went to Columbia and spoke to Dr. Scott. There’s no point in hiding your illness from us, dad. Let’s work together and heal you up, quick and fast,” said Alexander. His mom, too, sat beside him with tears in her eyes.
“Will he get better, Alex? I’m so scared,” she whispered. Ashton got up and hugged her, and she broke down in his arms.
“It is curable, mom. Dad needs to listen to everything the doctor says.”
“Don’t worry, aunt Jodie, we will fight this illness together,” said Ashton.
His mom hugged the two boys. “I’m so lucky to have you both in my life.”