Chapter 351: The Anxiety
"So what did the doctor say about you coughing blood in the morning? Is it something serious?" I asked, my voice full of worry as I leaned a little closer to the bed.
Aeri placed her hand gently on her throat and answered calmly, "They said I had some blood stuck in my mouth from a little internal bleeding. But now that it’s out, it’s okay."
"I see... that’s good then," I replied, letting out a small chuckle mixed with sarcasm. "I was scared as fuck in the morning. My heart almost stopped when I saw the blood in your hand."
Aeri looked at me and laughed softly, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "You get scared of anything so easily, always...haha such a kiddo."
"Yeah..I do...when it’s about you..." I corrected her gently, my voice turning serious.
She stopped smiling right away. A light blush crept across her cheeks, making her look even softer in the hospital light. She lowered her gaze and started playing nervously with her fingernails, twisting them around each other.
"Hmm... right... you get scared when it’s about me..." she said quietly, almost to herself.
I watched her for a moment, then decided it was time to bring up the important topic. I shifted in my chair and asked carefully, "So... can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, what is it?" she replied, looking up with casual curiosity.
"It’s about the guy I mentioned in the morning," I said slowly, choosing every word with care. I didn’t want to push her too hard.
"Ohh... that Sonny guy you were talking about?" Aeri said. She looked down again, her eyebrows pulling together as she tried to remember.
I nodded and blinked slowly, then asked the question that had been burning in my mind all day. "You seriously don’t know or remember who Sonny is...?"
Aeri didn’t reply immediately. She kept her head down, thinking hard. Her fingers stopped moving on her nails. The only sound in the room was the steady, soft beeping of the ECG machine. The silence felt heavy between us.
I waited patiently, watching her face. Her expression was a mix of confusion and effort, like she was digging deep into her memory but coming up with nothing. The evening light from the window cast a gentle glow on her tired face, making the dark circles under her eyes more noticeable.
Aeri stayed silent for a long time, her face tight with concentration. She was clearly stressing inside her own head, trying her best to pull out any memory of the name I had mentioned. Her eyebrows stayed frowned for several seconds. Then she let out a heavy, tired sigh and slowly shook her head from side to side.
"Nah..." she muttered quietly, almost like she was disappointed in herself.
She lifted her head and looked up at me, swallowing hard. Her eyes looked worried and lost.
"Hmm? You don’t remember Sonny at all?" I asked gently, watching her face closely.
"Nope!" she answered, her voice shaky. "I am trying really hard, but the name... the image... nothing is coming up in my mind. And you’re saying it all happened just yesterday?" She stammered a little as she spoke, sounding more and more confused and helpless.
Her fingers started pressing her nails hard against each other. Soon her whole body began to shiver with anxiety. Her breathing grew faster and uneven, like she was starting to panic.
"I- I don’t know what happened... where was I?" she continued, her words fumbling together. "I just remember going to buy groceries at night... after that, everything is completely blank. I don’t know what is happening to me..."
Her lips started trembling, her eyes widened in fear, and tears quickly welled up, making them shiny. She looked so scared and small in that hospital bed.
"Hey, hey, it’s okay. Calm down!" I said instantly. I jumped up from the chair and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close against my chest in a tight hug.
"Shhh... shhh... don’t say a word," I whispered softly, gently brushing her hair with my hand. "Don’t think about anything right now. Just breathe."
"E-ezra..." she managed to say, her voice cracking. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks and soaked into my shirt. Her body was still shaking slightly in my arms.
"Shhh... it’s okay... no worries," I kept repeating in a calm, soothing voice. "No need to stress your mind... relax... relax... I’m right here."
I continued brushing her hair slowly and gently, trying to comfort her as much as I could. She stayed pressed against my chest, her breathing still shaky but slowly starting to settle down.
Inside my mind, however, anger was swelling up like a storm. I realized that now I had to find that fucker at any cost. What the hell had he done to her? Aeri was never like this before — scared, confused, and breaking down in tears. She used to be strong and cheerful. But right now, I couldn’t show any of that anger. I had to stay calm and steady for her sake.
I held her a little tighter and kept whispering softly, "Just breathe slowly... everything is going to be fine. You don’t have to remember anything today. We’ll figure it out later when you feel stronger."
The ECG machine kept beeping steadily in the quiet room, the only other sound besides our breathing. The evening light from the window had grown softer, casting a gentle glow over the bed. Aeri’s tears slowly stopped flowing, but she remained buried in my chest, holding onto me like she didn’t want to let go.
For now, I decided I wouldn’t ask her any more questions about Sonny or what happened yesterday. She needed rest and peace more than anything else. Pushing her would only make things worse. I would handle the search for the truth on my own, later.
I kept stroking her hair gently, giving her all the time she needed to calm down completely.
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