Bridging the Distance

David did not spend too much time locating and seeing his mother.

As he emerged from the ward, he headed straight to the reception area, where he spotted Betty still waiting for him, her eyes fixed on him with a mix of curiosity and concern.

"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting," David apologized sincerely.

Betty's expression softened, "It's nothing. How is she?" Betty asked with worry evident in her voice.

David's eyes clouded slightly, his reply brief, "like always," David said as they walked out of the hospital building together.

Betty slipped the strap of David's bag off her shoulder and handed it to him, "here, before I forget."

David's face lit up with gratitude as he took the bag from her outstretched hand, "thank you so much, Betty. I've been searching everywhere for this. I had no idea where I left it," he said, relieved.

He slung the bag over his shoulder, his shoulders relaxing now that his belongings were safely back in his possession.

"Doctor James gave it to me to keep it for ya. Plus I didn't think that I would meet you here, since I couldn't find you last night," Betty added.

Betty's voice was laced with concern as she asked, "you were really hurt yesterday huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so," David answered calmly.

Betty's eyes narrowed slightly as she pressed on, "what would you have done if she stopped responding and never got revived?" Betty asked as she looked up at David, whose gaze remained fixed on the horizon, his expression unreadable

"I don't know," he replied curtly.

"But when the time comes, hopefully not," David added, his voice tinged with a hint of vulnerability.

Betty just smiled in response as she looked at him. she then looked down at the road ahead, her expression thoughtful.

David on the other hand, was lost in a whirlwind of thoughts, his mind racing with questions and concerns, especially about the letter from the anonymous person.

His hands were itching to open it, but he decided to wait till he got home.

Betty's eyes darted towards David, her gaze lingering on his profile for a fleeting moment before she quickly looked away, her cheeks flushing slightly.

She seemed to be struggling with something, her lips parting as if to speak, but then she hesitated, her words stuck in her throat, as she thought it might be too personal.

David caught her sneaking peeks at him and picked up on her apprehension, "Is anything the matter, Betty?" he asked softly, his tone encouraging her to open up.

Betty's response was swift, her smile awkward and forced.

"No, not really," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper, her eyes avoiding his once again.

She remembered seeing David and Vincent last night in the traffic, but it was too late to call out to him. She wondered whether Vincent was David's lover or something else.

Vincent had a very expensive car and David was penniless, but she always wondered where David got those expensive clothes and bags from.

He probably had a side job that paid extremely well, or he had sexual relations with people, and being gay wasn't a crime in Silham so Betty automatically assumed that David had a relationship with Vincent.

"I should take a cab here," Betty said with a forced smile on her face; David nodded in response and helped her stop an oncoming vehicle.

"Broadway street," she told the cab driver, "alright, get in," the man replied as he gestured for Betty to get into the car.

"Take care," Betty waved David goodbye as the cab drove past him; David decided to keep walking, when he remembered Betty had returned his bag.

He then opened the bag and saw that everything was intact, including the money he had gotten from Xavier yesterday; he decided to walk a little further before getting a cab.

It took only a couple of minutes for David to get to his run down apartment building. Just a building before his apartment he saw a black Land Rover velar, and a familiar figure standing by the side of the car.

The cab stopped him just few feets behind the car, David paid the driver off and walked towards the man standing by the side of the car.

It was Winston, his tall and slender frame carried a timeless elegance, heightened by his crisply pressed tailored suit, which perfectly matched his silver hair that was neatly combed back.

His warm, hazel eyes, engraved with lines of wisdom and experience, display a sense of compassion that instantly puts others at ease.

A smile gradually grew on Winston's face as he saw David coming closer to him.

"Good evening young master David," Winston slightly bowed to David; meanwhile a frown appeared on David's face as he furrowed his brows.

"What are you doing here and how do you even know where I live?" David demanded, as he slightly raised his voice.

Without letting Winston speak, David continued angrily, "I don't want to see you here ever again, I don't care what the reason is, never come here again!"

"My apologies young master David, I am only here on Sir marti-" David rudely cut Winston off and said, "by the way, stop calling me young master, I'm not your young master! And let your boss know that I don't want to have anything to do with him."

"I cannot stop addressing you as young master, sir. I will get in trouble if your father finds out," Winston said politely.

"I don't care, and stop calling that man my father! I needed him years ago, when I had no one to turn to, when my mother's health was deteriorating, and we were drowning in medical bills! And now he decides to show up and play the generous benefactor? That's not good enough!" David lashed out.

"Mr. David, please understand, your father knew he couldn't undo the past, but he wanted to make amends in some way.

He wanted to alleviate your financial burdens and be there for you and your mother," Winston tried to calm David down.

"Don't call that man my father!" David reminded Winston.

"Certainly sir," Winston bowed, then dipped his hand into his left blazer pocket and brought out an envelope containing a few bundles of cash.

Winston brought it out and said, "I know this is not the right time for this but, master Martin also sent me to give you this, he'd be happy if you could accept this token from him."

David looked at the loaded envelope on Winston's outstretched hand, then looked at Winston and hissed, "I don't need his money, just leave. Oh and about my mom's medical bills, I never asked him to play the Good Samaritan and clear it for us!"

"Will do, sir. I'll make sure to relay your message to my master. Perhaps someday he will find a way to bridge the emotional distance that has been created," Winston bowed slightly, then kept the money back in his blazer's pocket.

"Just make sure he knows that. And tell him that actions speak louder than anonymous gestures," David said coldly.

"I will. Do have a great week ahead," Winston said before he opened the door to the back seat and got inside the car, while David watched until they drove off.

David walked up to his apartment which was on the third floor; he opened the door and walked it, and lazily fell on his beat up couch.

David had read the letter the so called anonymous person had left for him while in the cab. He had a clear suspicion that it was Martin that cleared his debt, probably as he planned to get close to David and Laura; before even opening the letter.

David dipped his hand into his back pocket and took out a crumpled paper and stretched it carefully before dropping it on the side table; then he laidback properly to take a nap.