A love that hurts

Chris returned from the bathroom and saw Rose waiting for him as she sat on the bench quietly. She felt his presence and looked up. Chris could see the worry and hurt in her every gaze.

"Any news?" He asked as he sat down.

"Not yet," Rose replied.

At that moment, the operating room door opened, and doctor Daniel came out. He wore a smile on his face, and when Rose saw his joyful expression, she felt a glance of hope.

"Doctor, please tell me something good." Rose cried.

Dr. Daniel held on to her hands and smiled. He then nodded his head as a sign of yes.

"All his surgeries were successful, and we are taking him to the intensive care unit. But his chance of survival is now seventy-thirty. We can allow only one person at a time to see him since his condition is still unstable." Dr. Daniel explained.

Rose turned to Chris, and he could see the light slowly glowing in her eye. She suddenly hugged him and began to sob, but Chris knew her tears were falling because she felt a bit of relief and joy.

At that moment, the operating room door opened again, and the medical teams came out. Three of the doctors were gently pushing the gurney with Jackson on it.

Rose pitifully stares at her baby boy with all the equipment on him and bandages wrapped around his body. She let go of Chris and approached the gurney.

"You can go ahead with them, and I will call Steven." Chris gently said.

"Thank you," Rose replied before walking alongside the doctors.

A few minutes later, Chris was outside the hospital. He took out his phone and dialed Steven's number.

Julie's eyes open as the loud noise vibrated into her ear. She gazes at Steven's sleeping face before withdrawing herself from his arm and getting out of the bed.

She sleepily approached the draw, and when she reached for his phone, Julie picked it up the moment she saw Chris name blinking on the screen.

"Hello, Chris. Is there any news?" Julie hastily said.

In that instant, Steven turned over to the left, opened his tired eyes, and stared at her.

"Who is it?"' He mumbled.

"Julie, can you please tell Steven that Jackson is out of surgery and he's being taken to the intensive care unit. Also, his survival rate is seventy to thirty. Rose is there with him since he can only have one visitor at a time." Chris explained.

"Babe, Jackson is out of the operating room." Julie happily announced.

The moment Steven heard those words, he jumped from the bed and rushed towards the closet.

"Babe, what are you doing?" Julie asked as she watched her boyfriend struggle to put his pants on.

"We've got to go. Hurry up and get dressed." Steven uttered.

"Thank you, Chris. We will soon be there." Julie said before cutting the phone off.

Chris put his phone back into his pocket. He was about to head into the hospital when a familiar voice caught his attention.

"Lucas, I am done with my treatment," Miya announced.

Her husband's back remains turned to her, but Miya could smell the intoxicating aroma of cigarettes on him.

"Great! Now that you have gotten what you want, I can get out of this God forsaking place." He said as he dropped his cigarette nub to the ground and stepped on it.

"You are a monster! Do you have a heart?" Miya screamed.

Lucas did not reply. He walked to his car and got in. Then he stared at Miya from the windshield of the vehicle.

"Are you not getting inside?" He screamed out to her.

Miya did not move or answer. She felt angry, not because he did not want to be supportive of their unborn child. But her frustration was about the fact that he did not care to ask if the treatment was successful or not.

"Miya, I swear if you don't get in this damn car after I count to three, I will leave you here." Lucas angrily declares.

"One!" He screamed, but Miya stubbornly stood still.

"Two!" Lucas yelled in frustration, yet his wife stood put.

"God! Miya, three!"

After Lucas' third count, he turned the keys and started the automobile. Before Miya could realize that her husband was serious, Lucas had driven off in his car, leaving her on the sidewalk.

Miya was not shocked about her husband's behavior since it wasn't his first time doing something like this. Miya wiped her tears and went to the bus stop.

She sat on the bench and frustratingly bent her head, knowing that it was going to be an hour plus before the bus arrived at this stop.

"Excuse me, miss. Do you need a ride?"

Miya left her head and stared at the green Lamborghini pack in front of her. Her eyes then stared back at the handsome guy who was gazing at her from the windshield.

"Excuse me, are you talking to me?" Miya confusedly asked.

"Yes, I am. Do you need a ride? It will be an hour or two before the bus arrives here." Chris uttered.

Miya looked around before she looked back at Chris. Her mom's warning about her not talking to strangers was repeatedly playing in her head. Even though it was a piece of childhood advice, it was something she had held unto until now.

"No, thanks." Miya mumbles.

"Okay, that's your choice, and I will respect it," Chris replied.

He started his car and reversed it until it got safely positioned in the previous spot.

Chris then got out of the vehicle. He intended to head into the hospital, but then he noticed Miya running toward him.

"Pardon me. Are you the guy who was standing on the coffee line behind my husband and me this morning?" Miya asked when she reached him.

"Yes!" Chris answered, feeling a bit confused about where their conversation was heading.

"Why are you at the hospital? I mean, you look well, so what reason brought you here?" She shyly asked.

These words were not specifically why Miya ran after Chris. She decided to accept his offer, but now that she had his attention, it felt embarrassing that she had rejected his generous offer, and then she wants it back.

"Someone I know got involved in an accident," Chris replied with a gentle smile.

"Oh! I am sorry." Miya said as she bent her head, wondering how to ask him.

"What is this really about, young miss?" Chris inquired when he noticed that there was more on her mind than what she was saying.

"Is your invitation still open?" Miya mumbled.

"What?" Chris asked.

He had heard exactly what she had said. But Chris wanted her to speak it clearly, so he could confirm what he had heard.

"Can you please drop me home, if you don't mind." Miya hastily uttered in a soft tone.

"Of course. Let's go." Chris answered.

He walked to the driver's door and unlocked it. Once Miya heard the click, she opened the front seat door and got in.

"Thank you for taking the time to drive me to my residence," Miya stated when Chris was seated in the car.

"It's not a problem. I am Chris." He responded.

"I'm Miya." She replied with a smile.

"Nice to meet you, Miya," Chris said before he started the car engine and drove off on the broad road.

Steven and Julie arrived at the hospital, and the moment they were about to push open the hospital door, Steven noticed Jennie approaching them.

When she saw him, Jennie rushed to him and embraced Steven. They remained like that for a minute or two before Jennie let go of him.

"Hey Jennie." Julie friendly said.

"Oh, I am sorry. How are you doing, Julie?" Jennie replied.

"I am well."

"Oh, that's good."

After Jennie and Julie's brief chat, Jennie turns to Steven, looking worried and depressed.

"What happened to my husband?" Jennie asked.

"He got into an accident shortly after he returned from England. What happened on that end?" Steven intoned.

"Can we talk about that another time? Right now, I want to see my husband." Jennie cried.

What had happened in England was not a story she felt prepared to talk about at such a moment, especially not with Steven. Jennie could literally tell anyone, but if Jackson reacted in such a manner, she could only imagine what his best friend would do and say if he knew the truth.

"Oh, yeah. This way, please." Steven replied before he opened the door for both the ladies, then he walked in after them.

"What happened to your foot?" Steven asked Jennie when he noticed her hopping a bit on her leg and the bandages around her ankle.

"It's also a story for later." Jennie replied and Steven did not ask anymore questions.

When Steven, Julie, and Jennie arrived inside the intensive care unit, they were lucky to meet Rose in the hallway. Jennie rushed into her mother-in-law's arms, and the two women wept bitterly.

After Rose and Jennie pulled their emotions together, they all went to Jackson's room and stood outside.

There was a huge transparent glass window, and they could see Jackson through it. None of them spoke for a while since seeing someone they love in such a condition was the hardest thing for all of them.

"The doctor said the accident injured his head, waist, and leg. It is a miracle that he will walk after he fully recovers." Rose announces.

The stitches on Jackson's body and bandages wrapped against his skin were a sight that broke Jennie down slowly. She choked back her cry, but she couldn't stop her tears from falling.

"He must be in so much pain right now." Jennie murmurs, fighting to hold back her tears.

"Jackson, you told me that you are perfect at driving when you are drunk. How could you lie to me? I can't believe you are this big of a liar! Get yourself up and explain to me why you had to deceive everyone!" Julie screamed, and Steven pulled her away from the glass.

She had not seen Jackson since the accident, and now watching him in such a state was tearing down all the methods she had put in place to suppress her sad emotions.

"Babe, let's get some hot chocolate, okay." Steven said with a forceful smile.

All that was going on at that moment was hard on Steven, but he knew he needed to be a man because these women were having a breakdown, and he had to be tough to console them.

After Steven and Julie left, Jennie stood in silence, blaming herself for all of this, and every time she gazes at her husband's face, it only reminded her of how broken he was when he found out the truth.

"Do you want to go inside?" Rose sweetly asked.

Julie turned to face Rose and nodded her head slowly before she headed into the room.

A few seconds later, Jennie was standing over Jackson's motionless body, and in that instant, she allowed herself to stop choking on her cry and let it all out.

It took her close to five minutes before Jennie could settle down. She pulled the chair closer to his bed and sat down.

"I have no right to be by your side, but I want to be here for you. You should not be in this state, yet you are in it because of me. The only wrong you did in life was to fall in love with me. Your heart is so beautiful like a heavenly garden, I can't believe that I am the one that set that garden on fire." Jennie said as every single one of her and Jackson's happy memories came rushing to her mind.

Jennie bent over and rested her head on his bed. She then bitterly cried until she couldn't hear her voice anymore.

"This is your home?" Chris asked Miya as she signaled to him to stop the car.

He looked toward the porch of the house. His sight remains focused in that direction after seeing a man smoking with a bottle of beer in his hand.

"Yes, and thank you again for bringing me here," Miya said with a dull smile.

She did not wait for Chris to reply. Miya hurriedly pushed the car door open, got out, and shut it.

Chris watches as Lucas strolls up to Miya and kisses her passionately before putting his hand around her waist and walking her into their home.