Chapter 159: Left Out
I heard someone crying beside me, but I couldn’t move my body and I wasn’t able to look at them. ’Where am I?’
"My Ellie. Oh my goodness." It was my mom’s voice. My mom was safe.
A doctor came into the room and checked on me, while the doctor does that, I saw how my dad hugged my mom while she was crying in his arms. They’re both having tears in their eyes, and I don’t know what to do.
I couldn’t move that well, and I can’t talk either despite wanting to call them.
"The patient is miraculously in a very good condition." The doctor said. "She still needs rest and she might not be able to talk and move a lot for now."
I couldn’t react as I stared at my fingernails. They look so pale and thin. Unlike the one I remember, it feels like I became a different person.
"I think we should talk outside for now." The doctor told my parents. My mom squeezed my hand as she wiped her tears and went out of the room with the doctor and my dad.
I took a deep breath as I leaned back on the bed. My body feels so weak and my mind’s blank despite seeing my mother’s crying face.
I stayed staring at the ceiling like that for minutes and I didn’t know what to think. My memories are a little blurry, and I can’t remember how I ended up being in this hospital. All I remember was being pushed off the cliff by Night—
Night!
I need to know where Night is.
When I tried to move out of the bed, my knees were too weak to support me and I fell on the floor while holding onto the bedsheet so that it wouldn’t hurt me that much.
That’s exactly when the door opened and I looked up to see who it was. His melancholic eyes stared at me as he slowly closed the door from behind. "What are you doing?" He has this sweet and soft voice as he walked towards me and helped me up.
"You can’t walk yet. You just woke up." He said as he carried me in his arms and let me sit back on the top of the bed. Sweats were visible coming out of his temples and he couldn’t hide how he was panting as if he ran.
I opened my mouth, but words wouldn’t come out and I couldn’t say anything. My eyes just followed him as he pulled a chair near the bed and sat on it. He held my hand and looked down.
"You know I don’t even believe in god." He said. "But thank god you woke up. I have been waiting for you." Night said without looking at me as he placed the back of my hand on his forehead.
"I have been waiting."
I felt something dripping on my hand, and I soon realized that Night was crying. He’s hiding his face from me by looking down. ’I can’t even say something to comfort him.’
How will I ask him how I ended up here and how he escaped from Junichiro’s grasp? I have tons of questions inside my head, but none of them will be answered if I can’t speak.
Despite not being able to speak, Night tended to my needs even without me asking him. He stayed by my side all the time, and he told my parents that they could leave me to him for a little while. Although my dad was reluctant, my mom looks like she needed rest so dad didn’t have a choice.
It must have been hard for my mommy. First, it was daddy, and then me. We both got into an accident and it must have hurt mommy’s heart.
"I have good news." Night said while peeling the apple he brought. It must have been a hectic day for him today since he was a little late.
That reminds me, I wonder what’s going on in the Yamaguchi-gumi now? Did they catch Junichiro? What happened after I fell into the water? ’I want to be able to talk again.’
After I woke up, the doctors have been busy preparing my rehabilitation regimen so that I could walk again and might as well regain my memories and my voice.
I tapped Night’s hand and made him look at me. "Oh, the good news?" He asked and I nodded. "My father woke up."
My eyes widened in surprise. That’s really good news! How come Night’s here instead of being with his father?
"The reason why I wasn’t here when you woke up was that my father just woke an hour before you did." He said. "I was called to the mansion and Shiho was there too. She was crying her eyes out, while father comforted her."
How long have I been asleep?
"My father remembered everything, and he felt sorry for Shiho and me. He apologized almost as soon as he opened his eyes. It was chaotic."
I smiled after hearing Night talk about what happened. He’s been talking a lot even if I couldn’t respond to him. It’s nice to hear his voice like this.
The next day, Ace and Andy arrived with tearful eyes. "Ellie," Andy called my nickname as he rushed to my bed. "You don’t know how worried we were about you." He said while sobbing.
When I looked at Ace, tears were falling out of her eyes stunning me. It was the first time I saw Ace shed tears in front of me.
"How could you do that to us?" Andy sobbed again while hugging me, and Ace went to me and hugged me too.
"I was terrified." Ace muttered. "Please, stop being reckless with yourself." She added.
What about the swimming competition? And the graduation? Did they all graduate without me?
Andy made me look at him. "I’ll come back later after my class. I promise you." He said. After class?
I looked at Ace to see if she was going to class too. "Oh, Candace doesn’t have a class today." Hearing that made my forehead crease.
Ace and Andy looked at each other as if something was wrong. "A-Actually, Ellie..." Andy hesitated. "We’re both in college now."
My eyes widened. I couldn’t even say anything as I was just surprised. So they all graduated without me? Am I bound to repeat my last year in high school because I couldn’t compete in the finals? Now I feel somewhat... left out.
"So did Night." Ace said. "He’s studying to become a doctor." She added.
Doctor? Night is? How come he didn’t tell me that?
"H-How..." I tried to speak, but I couldn’t form a complete sentence and I keep stuttering.
Ace suddenly gave me a pen and her notebook. "You can control your hands right?" She asked and I nodded. "Andrei, go to your class," Candace told Andy which caused Andy to leave despite not wanting to.
"Ask all your questions. I’ll answer it the best I can." Ace smiled.
And that’s how I started asking her question about the school. It turns out that the school was aware of the accident that happened, and Miss Valencia already passed me the moment I won the semifinals. I got a diploma but wasn’t able to receive it because I was in the hospital.
Guess who received it for me? It was Night. I don’t know if that was possible, but since Ace told it, it must have been the truth.
"Night then revealed that he’s your suitor to the whole school." She smiled. "You were asleep for 7 months, and today’s the 15th of September."
The 15th of September? Only a few days left before my birthday and I just woke up now.
"To be honest, I don’t know if I should tell you this but..." I stared at Ace as I saw the hesitation in her eyes. "Your father was against it. I meant your marriage with Night."
I blinked lots of times after hearing that.
"Night wasn’t even allowed to visit you for the first two months you stayed here. I saw how he continued begging and waited outside this room just to see you, but your father doesn’t want him to." Ace looked away. "Your father blames Night for what happened to you."
Because Night pushed me off the cliff? But it was the only way for me to survive. Knowing dad, he wouldn’t let such a thing go.
"I heard what your father told Night in exchange for letting him see you." Ace grabbed my hand. "Your father wanted Night to get out of your life the moment you woke up. That’s why your father gave him a week to see you."
What?
My father did that? To Night? But Night visited me the other day, and he told me he’ll keep visiting me. Were all that lies?
"I don’t want you to resent your father for his decision, but I don’t want to leave you in the dark either." Ace smiled. "Even though I don’t know if it was the best decision, most especially right now that you still haven’t recovered."
I smiled as I squeezed Ace’s hand, trying to tell her that everything was alright.
That’s what I initially thought.
