Chapter 13: Chapter XIII: Midnight
The driver was pacing in front of the Emergency Room. George was sitting beside Amy, opposite of Reginald, who was standing with his back to the wall. About half an hour passed by. Elmer and Spencer arrived just as a doctor came out of the Emergency Room's door. The doctor held the image of a wise old man: white hair, glasses, wrinkles and all. While he was slow in motion, each stroke of action was firm.
"How is Emma?" Elmer almost automatically asked the doctor. Put beside him, the doctor was only as tall as Elmer's shoulders. The other also started to crowd around the doctor.
"You are?" the doctor asked Elmer. He saw the doctor's name plate: Dr. Solomon Sarmiento.
"I'm her brother," came the answer.
"I see," the doctor said. "Anyway, about Ms. Clarkson. After the tests and procedures, aside from slight bruises and abrasions, she's alright. No broken bones or concussions whatsoever. She could be discharged after few days. You could visit her at the Recovery Room later."
The driver heavily sighed out loud. "Thank goodness!" He exclaimed. Then facing Elmer, the driver said, "I know words won't suffice but I still would like to apologize for the incident. Please be assured that I'll try my best to handle the hospital bills."
Elmer didn't reply immediately. After a while, he told the driver, "You know, I'm really thinking of suing you and taking this to the courts." At this, the driver's eyes widened in worry and fear. "But I have to talk with my family about this first. So tell me: who are you and where were you these past hours and what were you doing?"
"My name is Art Cruz," the driver replied. "I work as a draftsman in one of the construction companies here in the city. Since we have an urgent project this time, I'm working overtime these past couple of weeks. I stepped off the office at seven this morning and just sent off my daughter to school about thirty minutes ago. I'm on my way back home when… this happened. I must have lost focus while driving."
"Thank you for your honesty, Mr. Reyes," Elmer said. "Could we talk somewhere in private? I'll call my parent about this matter."
When the two got out of earshot, Reginald said. "This is my fault. I should have been more careful."
"Don't blame yourself," Spencer comforted him. "I mean, nobody could have known this would happen, right?"
"But, still –," Reginald started, but Spencer cut him off.
"Hey! What has already happened. Let's focus on the present." Spencer faced George and Amy. "You two need to go. It's almost time for your classes. Tell your instructors that Emma might be absent for some time."
"How about you?" Amy asked.
"Reginald and I will stay with Elmer," Spencer replied. "The police might need some statements from us, so we'll try to handle things from here. We're free for the rest of the day, unlike you two."
"Alright, we'll take our leave then," George said.
With that, George and Amy bade goodbye.
That night, Emma woke up from her sleep. What time is it? she thought. She tried to get up, to no avail. Her body is sore but she wasn't sure if there was major damage to her body.
"Trying to sit up?" an aged voice asked out of view.
Emma suddenly remembered the beach incident. Her body stiffened.
When the voice's owner came to view, Emma saw that it was an elderly man wearing a medical gown.
"Hello, Ms. Emma," the doctor said. "I'm Dr. Solomon Sarmiento."
Emma was relieved. "Are my bones broken? Is there something wrong with me?"
Dr. Sarmiento chuckled. "Don't fret, Ms. Clarkson," he replied. "Nothing's broken. Your body just had a few abrasions and some bruises. I'm personally quite surprised with your current condition. After a few days, you'll feel no more pains. At least the ones related to your accident. You can be discharged after a day or two."
"Oh… That's good right?" Emma asked; doubt appearing because of the overwhelming good news she just heard.
"Why of course!" Dr. Sarmiento confirmed. "So rest up. We'll be monitoring your progress through tests."
"Thanks, Doc," Emma said, with a smile.
Dr. Sarmiento then left the room after exchanging a few more pleasantries with Emma.
The next day, George and Elmer came to visit.
After the greetings, Emma, who was sitting up in bed, asked the boys where Amy was.
"She had to buy materials for a project," George replied. "I think it's for English class."
"I see," Emma said.
"So, you're sitting up already," Elmer commented. "Nice!"
"Well," his sister said, sticking out her tongue and quickly withdrawing it. "Maybe I'm not human after all."
"Yeah right," Elmer shot back, eyes rolling. "I'm your brother, you know. Maybe we're aliens after all."
The three of them laughed, after which Elmer asked Emma. "Any update?"
"Yeah," came the answer. "Dr. Sarmiento told me I might be 'discharged after a day or two'." Emma motioned some air quotes, repeating what the doctor said to her. "That's good news to me since I don't like spending nights at hospitals, especially alone."
"We know that, sis," Elmer affirmed. He then gestured to the bags they brought with them. "We brought some fruits, so eat something. There are also toiletries and some change of clothes in there."
After thanking her visitors, Emma ate. All the while, the three of them swapped stories and new. Just then, George's phone rang. He excused himself to answer the call. He call lasted for about three minutes.
"Uh oh…" George trailed off.
"What?" The Clarkson siblings chorused.
"It's almost time for class," George answered. "And it's almost time for your monthly College Departmental Meeting, Governor Clarkson."
At that, Elmer's mouth went agape. "I totally forgot!" He exclaimed. "Well, we better get going. I'll return later after the meeting."
As boys walked to the door, Elmer turned and said. "Oh yeah, I called Mom and Dad. They said they'll be coming in three days."
"Got it," Emma replied.
With that, the girl was alone… again. Emma sighed.
Well, I better rest up some more, she told herself.
She found Spencer reading a book near the door when she woke up. It was around four in the afternoon.
"Oh, you're awake," Spencer said, upon seeing Emma rubbing her eyes. "Elmer's still in the meeting. So he asked me to watch over you." He smiled charmingly. "I actually suspect he sent me so you wouldn't get bored."
Emma sighed. She shook her head, saying. "He knows I'm old enough already, but he still treats me like a ten-year old."
"What can you expect?" Spencer asked, grabbing a chair and a sat a bit closer to Emma's bedside. "At the end of the day, you're family. You have each other's back." Spencer paused. "Same could be said with George."
"What do you mean?" Emma queried.
"You know what I mean," Spencer decided to go through his confession. "You trust him, he trusts you. You got each other's back. I haven't been around much you two, but I could sense your closeness. When we bumped into each other during enrollment, you could say I… have been love-struck."
Spencer paused, cleared his throat and continued. "Then I learned of George. I was first under the impression that you two are a couple. Of course I asked about you two. And since you two aren't officially a couple, I was hoping I could court you and have the honor of being your first love."
Emma didn't reply immediately. She directed her beautiful gaze to Spencer's nervous eyes. After a while, she spoke. "You're being unfair, you know."
Spencer was surprised. "What?"
"I mean, I just woke up and you're trying to court me. I haven't even sat up yet. And I just had an accident."
Spencer inhaled deeply. "I… I'm sorry," he stammered. "It's just… I don't know. Well, actually I know the timing's weird. It just came out of my mouth, but I know I'm sure deep within my heart, there's something."
"I see…" Emma smiled. She sat up, a bit quicker than yesterday. She was feeling much better now. "Thank you for being honest." Spencer looked at her with expectation. "But… right now, I would like to focus on my studies first. I just started college. Maybe someday, I'll think about getting into a relationship. So… I'm very sorry. I can't accept your invitation for now."
An uncomfortable silence followed. A few moments later, Spencer scratched the back of his head. He said, "I understand. It's kind of awkward, but… we're still friends, right?"
"You bet we are!" Emma exclaimed, grinning.
An hour passed by. Despite the prior events, the two were still able to talk and laugh at jokes. The awkwardness faded, even for just a bit. Elmer still hasn't arrived.
"I guess, they're still at the Descartes Building," Spencer commented. "Maybe – "
Spencer's statement was cut short when George entered with a take-out paper bag from a nearby fast food restaurant. Reginald came in after him. George's forehead was creased while Reginald's eyes were red. The two seemed to have exchanged heated words before coming in.
"Your brother can't come today and tomorrow," George said, addressing Emma. "He's on his way to the airport to fetch your parents. I'll be taking tonight's watch. And this –" He lifted the paper bag. "– is our dinner for tonight. Also, he told me to tell that he'll hold on to your phone so that you won't stay up too late."
"See what I mean earlier?" Emma told Spencer, rolling her eyes.
The two of them laughed.
"Well then," Spencer said, standing up. He addressed everyone in the room. "I got to go home."
"Oh, alright," Emma replied. "Thanks for the visit."
As Spencer passed by George, the older collegian smiled and spoke to the junior. "Take care of her, okay?"
George grunted in response. Spencer then stepped out of the room.
"Let me guess," George whispered to Emma. "Spencer tried courting you but failed to do so."
Emma sat up in surprise. "How did you know that?" she whispered back.
"Easy," George replied. "His face was a bit war-weathered and something was off with his parting words."
Emma sighed. "You never cease to amaze me, you know."
At this, George simply smiled. Just then, his phone rang.
"I have to take this," he said. "Excuse me."
Reginald, silent since arriving, went near Emma and said. "This is going to be weird, but listen to me." His voice was surprisingly firm. "Listen to my every word. Something bad is going to happen tonight. I'm begging you. Stay in your room. Do you understand?"
Taken aback, Emma said. "Wait, what? Why?"
"I can't say," Came Reginald's frantic reply. "You just have to trust me."
"Why should I do that when I don't even clue about what you're talking about?"
"That's because –"
Just then Amy arrived. She had a bag with her.
"Whew!" She breathed out. "This bag sure is heavy." Noticing the tension in the air, she added. "What's up guys?"
"What's inside the bag?" Emma asked, ignoring the question.
"Clothes, toiletries and notes," Amy replied while sitting down. Meanwhile, Reginald stepped away from Emma's bedside. He went to the chair near the door, where Spencer sat when Emma woke up.
"Notes?" Emma asked.
"I have to update you on the lessons you missed," Amy replied.
"Oh, I see," Emma said.
"I have to go," Reginald suddenly said. "See you later."
He then got up and went out of the room.
"What's his problem?" Amy asked.
"Just ignore him," Emma answered.
About five minutes later, George came back. They exchanged stories and went over their previous lessons, as the exams were getting nearer. This went on until George spoke.
"You better rest. Your brother would talk our ears off when he learned we let you stay up until the wee hours of the day."
At that, the three friends went to sleep. Amy stretched on the long bench while George sat down on a chair near Emma's bedside. Midnight came.
It was supposed to be a peaceful time.
But it wasn't.
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