Part
I:
The
both of them finished the book several minutes ago, and now they were eating
peanuts from the cafeteria. The seemingly harmless objects – plate and peanuts –
had taken more than 20 minutes to be approved by Pete Johnson. Again, purely
because of ‘security measures.’
Tristan
was wholeheartedly convinced that Reeya won’t hurt anyone now. She had somehow
gotten closer to him than she had to the other doctors, and vice versa. The
vice versa was really the daunting part, because it’s a rare thing that a
patient could be so special in the eyes of a doctor, albeit an in-training.
To
be overly special.
Looking
at her now, having that angelic smile, on her delicate face, he knew he was in
deep trouble. Something’s going to give, sooner or later. Most probably the
latter.
“Can
you do that thing where you throw the peanut up in the air and then catch it
with your mouth? That always frustrated me.”
He
laughed, “That actually makes two of us.” Then an idea, “We can practice ‘till
we’re both good at it, you know.”
And
so, the two inhabitants of room 572 let the children within them dominate after
a long time. Theirs was a well-deserved break from everything they’ve been
under.
Both
were blissfully unaware of the pair of eyes watching from the outside.
5
hours later
“And
then she – ”
“What?
Gave you a horse, a hectare of land, and a Porsche? Well, congratu – ”
“Gab.”
Tristan scowled at his friend. What is
wrong with him? Tristan wasn’t convinced that the attachment to her was a
hindrance to making her feel better. On the contrary, it helps quite a lot.
Gabriel is still opposed to the whole thing.
Why
couldn’t he just that everything’s amazing? Perfect, even? Tristan was utterly
confused. He’d never seen Gab disagree so much on something.
“What?”
Gab asked, his eyebrows together. The younger companion was in Doctor Redwood’s
office, lounging on the couch. But a person could easily tell by his body language
that he wasn’t relaxed – his shoulders were stiff, and his back was ramrod
straight. This was so unlike before, when he would be totally at ease whenever
and wherever they were together.
“She’s
getting better, I feel it. Even the lab result shows the exact same thing!”
Tristan countered, “I’m really sure about this. What are you against, anyway?”
For a number of seconds, they just had a
stare-off. But this one has more weight to it – one was trying to dissuade the
other; who clearly wasn’t giving in.
“Tristan…”
Gab started to say. He intentionally used his friend’s given name to let him
know that’s he’s dead serious. No nicknames this time. “Sometimes, things aren’t
always what they mean. Maybe you’re only seeing
her get better – ”
“There
is no maybe, Gab. I know she’s
getting better, and I – ”
“Who
are you to say that?” the other suddenly spat at him. Tristan was completely
taken by surprise by his burst of temper, and opened his mouth to say something,
but Gabriel was in a rant.
“You
just see what you want to see – you don’t even know what she’s thinking. You
don’t even know if she is thinking! You don’t know anything!”
He
bellowed the last sentence. Tristan remained rooted at his spot, chocked to the
core.
He
had never, ever seen his closest friend this enraged. Sad, frustrated, yes.
Even a little bit angry. But not like this. This was one side of him he had yet
to discover.
Voice
low, he said, “Listen, Gab – ”
“No,
Tristan. You listen!” he shouted
vehemently, standing up from his desk chair, with his knuckles terribly white, “You
expect too much! You don’t even know
where you’re going! She isn’t feeling better – you just feel that she is! For
all I know, you don’t even exist to her – ”
“What is your problem?” Tristan
threw his clipboard on the floor, all the papers attached scattering on the
floor of the office, “You haven’t even talked to her, okay? You don’t tell me what to do! I don’t need
you to tell me anything, so shut up!”
Breathing
hard, Tristan kept on clenching and unclenching his fists, his thoughts in a
hurricane. He can’t even look at
Gabriel. He was afraid and too angry that he’d start shouting when he tried to.
With
his heart pounding, he turned around and left, without saying another word.
Part
II:
All
friendships undergo strains. That is regarded as a universal truth; how can you
call a person your ‘friend’ in the first place if you haven’t undergone rifts
together?
Right
now though, Tristan was wondering whether this particular struggle would
somehow rip his bond with Gab. The encounter several minutes ago had seemed too
much. Too vivid and hurtful in many ways. Gabriel was the only one he had
shared everything with. Theirs was a strong friendship.
What
happened had the young man questioning the said strength.
He
looked up and saw the well-kept, pristine wall. Almost everything – 80%
probably – you see in the Macquarie hospital are white. Dull, empty white – exactly
what Tristan was feeling at the moment.
There
were nurses and a few doctors walking and rushing to where they need to be, and
he just sat on one of the chrome seats lined up along the hallway. He can’t
even summon the least of his energy to get something for his parched throat, or
his rumbling stomach. He just sat still, thinking about lots of things all at
once.
“Doctor?”
asked a familiar, worried voice. Tristan looked to his right, and as he
expected, Nika was there, standing with two clipboards – hers, which was neon
green, and an orange one, which was broken in two, with papers hastily arranged
to look presentable.
“I
have your things.” Biting her lower lip, she hesitantly handed the orange one
over to him and he received it with unfeeling fingers.
Great, I have to buy another one.
As
he heaved a mighty sigh, the nurse came to sit beside him. It was clear that
she knew what happened inside Doctor Redwood’s office, and was bothered by it.
Nika appraised Tristan up and down with a critical eye and vaguely said, “You
okay?”
“Not
really.” was his response, accompanied by a shake of his head. Things were
starting to go out of hand for him.
“I,
uhmm…” Nika tried to say something, unsure on how to proceed, “Your office was
quite, uhm – well, it took a while to clean.”
Oh yes, that one, too. My day is
just perfect, Tristan thought, his inner voice
dripping with sarcasm. He almost forgot about the unnerving scene he found just
– hours ago? He forgot the precise time already.
“Nika,
that’s only between us, okay? Just us. I don’t want anyone to worry.” More
importantly, he didn’t want anyone to investigate. The director of the hospital
would surely issue a complaint against the security agency they were currently paying,
and Tristan didn’t want to cause real trouble.
It
was crystal clear that the person who came in his office wasn’t there for a
pleasant visit.
“Tristan…I
think is totally absurd, but don’t – don’t you think you have, you know,
enemies?” She really couldn’t believe the words she said herself, but she had
to know. Nobody can be sure, and it’s general knowledge that Doctor Devon lives
alone.
He
blinked rapidly. Enemies? His brows
knitted together in confusion. I don’t
have enemies, I didn’t do anything!
“I
honestly don’t know.” He replied wearily, unable to say anything more. He was
drained.
“I
don’t like what I’m feeling. Not at all.” The nurse thought out loud, “The
moment I saw your office, I knew there was something really, really wrong. How
could they pass by the guards?”
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