He tried not to feel guilty.
Reeya didn’t sleep that night, and Tristan followed
her lead. Not keeping a watch on her was out of the question.
Now, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon the next day, he
had genuine problem in functioning properly. She was eating quietly in front of
him, but he couldn’t get himself to have an appetite. He just took a sip of
water every now and then, and kept up an attempt to stay awake by combing his
fingers through her hair. She didn’t mind.
This was the time when he started feeling the guilt
settle on his chest.
Tristan was seriously considering on calling either
Kate or Nika, to convince them to stay here and keep an eye on Reeya for a while,
giving him the luxury to rest in some place, or just be somewhere else with his
thoughts alone. A drink would also be welcome, if present. He needed a break.
“I think you need a break.”
Tristan blinked. Raising his tired eyes to meet
hers, he was even more taken aback to see her smile. She said, “I know you’re
tired. Go somewhere for now.”
“But I can’t leave you. Even if I can, I won’t.”
The way her gaze heightened in intensity showed how
she saw the double meaning behind his words. He didn’t know if he should be
happy or agonized by that, and was relieved when she replied, “You can call
someone, or maybe, not at all. I’ll be fine on my own – no, really. I will.” she
added in a rush when he opened his mouth in protest.
“But that’s not good. I’ll worry.”
“Trust me, I won’t block out again. The nightmare
last night – the dream – was really something. It sapped the life out of me,”
she laughed lightly. Although she made it seem as if it was nothing, he knew
that experience scarred her more than she let on. He wished more than ever that
he knew what it was she dreamt about.
In the end, they both had a compromise.
Nika was to stay here, and Tristan would be able to,
as Reeya put it, “chill” somewhere. He insisted that he won’t go, but she would
have none of it. She was determined to let him unwind, even if it’s just for a
while.
“I won’t be long,” he assured her while shrugging
into his tweed jacket. He had no idea where to go, for all he knew, he would
just end up driving aimlessly around downtown. Worse, he would probably find
himself eating in a fast-food chain. Tristan despised fast-food.
“Take your time. I’ll be fine.” Then she smiled at
him.
When Nika arrived some minutes later, Tristan waited
until she was preoccupied settling upstairs before locking Reeya in the circle
of his arms. Predictably, her shoulders tensed and her eyes widened in
surprise, seeing as the hug was abrupt and unexpected, but he made up with
being more gentle seconds later. He gave her a light kiss on the lips. Her
blush was more than enough for him to handle.
“Bye.”
“See you.”
He went out into the windy afternoon.
1 hour later
Tristan had already been to more than five places
and he lost count along the way to the others.
He first visited the local library, where he was
always welcome in the rare times that he visited. He donates books here yearly.
He found books he noted with interest, and whose titles are familiar, borrowed
a couple, and then went to Starbucks. He ordered his favorite, and stayed there
until he couldn’t take any more of the red-haired waitress’ bold approaches. A
stroll in the park cooled his mind from that.
As he hopped from one place to another, maneuvering
his car to whichever way he preferred, he attempted to steer his thought away
from Reeya. He failed in this endeavor.
When he found himself staring at a tree in the
middle of nowhere, he wondered if he could ask Gab for a favor and sleep inside
his office. Tristan was sick of anything white, but he wanted sleep, and he didn’t
want to go back home. Not right now.
That’s why he found himself inside one of the
elevator cars of the facility. People he passed by were surprised, and he
really couldn’t blame them; it wasn’t exactly mystery that he had grown most
unusually partial to patient 572, and seeing him back at the hospital – alone –
had some eyebrows raised. It was a good thing the only pair of eyebrows he
cared for right now was Gabriel’s.
“Don’t you destroy my furniture, okay? You sleep
like a devil.” The remark brought forth a chuckle from Tristan as Gab held out
the door to his office. The room reminded him about their rift several days
ago, but the memory was submerged completely as Gab steered him inside with a
friendly hand on his back.
“Oh, Gab?”
“Yeah?”
“D’you remember that day when you apologized – ”
“I didn’t.” Gabriel replied with a pout.
Tristan rolled his eyes. Never the one to say sorry. “Okay, okay. So, you didn’t. But you
were about to tell me something when they called me to the ward, right?”
They both sat on the couch right now. Gabriel seemed
to be confused, “When was that? I really can’t – oh,” his mood blackened as he
recalled, “I remember that, yes.”
“So? You gonna tell me, or...?” Tristan was unsure
on how to proceed. Gab suddenly didn’t look so jolly anymore.
Now, what the
hell is this about?
“I just wanted to point out some startling parallels
to your case right now to a fumbling trainee two years ago.”
Tristan blinked. “Come again?”
“I meant me, rainbow. I was a trainee here, too, before
they gave me my license to practice. Same as you, I was assigned to someone.
Again, same as you, it was a girl. Terra Castille, number 3624.” He paused. “We
had four numbers on the system back then.”
It slowly dawned on Tristan; how bitter Gab became the
more he got closer to Reeya. The way he was also consequently advised not to “get
attached” also shed light on how Gabriel’s story ended.
“I had no one to tell me, then. There was no one to
warn me to guard myself because she might creep up on me. Not like you. But
what the hell – nothing changed. I fell for her, all right. I fell hard. So did
you with Hamilton, I can see it clear as sunlight.” He paused again, and then, “Terra
died of brain tumor.”
Tristan’s compassion knew no bounds right then. He
wanted to offer something – words of encouragement, of sympathy, a simple hug,
maybe – but he knew what Gab needed.
Silence.
After a minute, Gab said, “Well, don’t let me keep
you.” His voice was back to its usual, merry timbre, “I thought you went for a
nap? Go on. Kids need their sleep, after all.”
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