CHAPTER 145
ROBERT’S POV
~ Maybe it was truly time to leave. If leaving will bring them peace and free them from the troubles that came with me being around, then I guess it’s time to walk away for good. I don’t want them suffering because of me. ~
With my head lowered in shame, I wanted to get up and leave but Liam held my hand to stop me.
“Please don’t go, Daddy,” he pleaded with his tear-soaked eyes, holding onto my hand tight despite the pain he was experiencing as though it was a lifeline. “Don’t leave me again please…”
My heart was melting in my chest seeing him beg me like that. There was no way I could say no to him, not while he was in this state. So, I brought his fingers close to my lips, even though they were covered in a bit of dirt, and planted a deep kiss on them before rubbing them soothingly.
“What are you doing?” Lily glared at me in disgust, irked by what I was doing. “Shouldn’t you be leaving by now?”
“Please mum stop..” Liam’s voice was barely above a whisper, gentle and pleading as he placed his hand on top of her thigh. “Please don’t send him away. I want him here with me.”
Like a wildfire given a sudden rain, Lily’s expression softened, her anger subsiding. She didn’t say anything in reply, but her calmness, almost as if she was regretting showed she was torn between her emotions and what was best for Liam. There was no way she could deny him that little request, especially in his state.
“Okay love,” she mumbled with a faint smile, reaching out to caress his hair. “I won’t be sending him away.”
I twisted my lips to form a dry smile. Just because she won’t be sending me away right now doesn’t mean she won’t later. Either way, I have already made my decision and will execute it when all this is over.
The deliberate clearing of the throat attracted our attention. We turned to see one of the medics, a middle-aged man in glasses who was the oldest amongst them and probably their leader looking at us.
“Are you both the boy’s parents?” He asked.
“Yes…” Lily and I nodded quickly in unison while staring at him intently, our hearts racing as if he wanted to drop a bombshell on Liam’s wellbeing.
But then, Lily went ahead to say. “I’m his mother… Please tell me how my son is doing…Is he going to be alright?…” She said it like I wasn’t there. Like my presence didn’t matter in this situation at all.
“First of all, this isn’t the right time or place for you two to have any form of misunderstanding,” he said as if to caution us. “Your son suffered a great deal of injury. More than anything, he needs parental love and support to help him get through this. If you two can’t offer that then I see no need for you to be here.”
“We’re sorry,” I apologized on our behalf. Even though he didn’t know who we were and wasn’t meant to be the one telling Lily and me this, he was right.
“It won’t happen again,” I said and Lily shot me a look which was enough to tell me she didn’t agree with that part.
Letting out a sigh, the man went ahead to give a statement on Liam’s well-being.
“He’d suffered a tibia fracture which is a broken shinbone and knee dislocation. The school infirmary won’t be able to handle a critical case like this so we have made provision for an ambulance van that will be arriving at any minute from now to take him to the hospital. In the meantime, we have immobilized the broken limb.”
He pointed at the splint he used to hold the broken leg in place. Lily and I were so caught up in that argument we didn’t see him when he applied the splint and even cleaned the wound.
“We have cleaned the wound to stop the bleeding and will be applying a cold compress to reduce the swelling and pain. We also will be giving him something for the pain.”
A young medic who seemed like one fresh out of college came forward and administered the tablets to Liam. I helped to prop his upper body up, holding him closely to my body while Lily kept saying things to make him feel better and open his mouth wide for the pills to go through.
As the middle-aged medic applied the cold compress, even though using minimal pressure and doing it very gently, Liam was letting out a strained grunt of pain, his body tensing under my hold.
His body which was cold before was now getting hot like he came out from an oven. It was as though he’d become delirious due to the fever and pain, struggling to keep his eyes open and remain conscious. Seeing him in that state, with his shin bone sticking out awkwardly from his lower knee made me want to scream in agony. I was scared I was going to lose him.
In this state, he couldn’t be transported so we were still on the starting point of the tracks where he fell, still being watched by everyone. We’ll need a stretcher to move him which I don’t see anywhere around. Maybe the ambulance people coming will provide one.
“Please sir, is he going to be alright?” I asked, deeply worried, unable to hide the fear and alarm written all over my face. “His body is boiling, he’s shivering and struggling to keep his eyes open. Please check back with the ambulance people. Shouldn’t they be here already?… Time is of the essence….”
“Calm down sir,” he said. “They’ll be here at any moment. We just administered the pain reliever. It’s still kicking in. Give it some time, it will stop the fever and pain if that’s what you’re worried about.”
I looked back at my son who seemed like he was going to die in my arms, biting hard on my lips till I almost tasted that metallic tang of blood.
“Please don’t die on me, Liam,” I prayed silently in desperation. “Don’t die on your daddy. We still have a lot of things we haven’t done yet. So, please stay put for me and your mummy.”