Chapter 25: Do you know how worried I was?
So, it turned out I really was dying. My fever was so high that it was dangerous to me. It was no wonder it wouldn’t go down with first aid medications.
But how did he even get me to the hospital? Was he not scared of getting caught by the people who wanted him dead?
Well, he was cladded from head to toe so maybe they wouldn’t know it was him even if they saw him.
He was wearing my favorite hoodie, a face cap, and a nose mask.
I was only able to tell it was him because it was ’my’ hoodie he was wearing and there was a familiar scent lingering from him. In the ward filled with different smells, I could catch his scent as if it was natural.
’Hm, I must be delusional from almost dying of a fever.’ I thought.
"The patient can go home now," the nurse who was checking me said, and I tore my gaze away from Noah, who was standing tall next to her, and towards her. "You just need to get the pills the doctor prescribed and take care of your diet, okay?" She said to me with a friendly smile and I nodded.
Jeez, I thought they said I was on the verge of death, but they just can’t wait to get me out of their hospital, huh?
Since it was a public ward as big and crowded as this, I guessed it was a community hospital. There was no need to pay medical bills.
"Are you okay?" Noah asked, and I raised my head to stare at his face.
"What is this? Were you worried to death about me?" I asked in an attempt to tease him but he simply threw his face away while clenching his fist.
Huh? Was he mad?
"I shouldn’t have listened to you and just taken you to the hospital as soon as I could," he said, and I narrowed my eyes. "Do you know how worried I was? I don’t think I’ve ever felt this worried, even if I don’t have my memories. And it was not for myself. It was for you. You’re so pitiful, Micheal. So pitiful that you want to run away from your problems and throw your life away that it makes me angry just thinking about it."
"And why are you bringing this up? Did I ever give you the impression that I was living a fun and fulfilling life?" I asked him. "I’m sure I made it clear that my goal was to let go of this wretched and unlucky life of mine. So why are you suddenly acting like you just found that out?"
"It’s because it’s too worrying." He snapped at me, taking me aback. "I was not going to care. I really wasn’t. I was going to act like a humble servant and earn my keep. I was going to listen to your absurd demands and leave you be, only to the point that I was sure you wouldn’t put your life in danger but do you have any idea how it feels to watch someone dying in front of you?"
"What nonsense are you saying? Do I look dead to you?" I asked.
"You stopped breathing, Micheal!" He yelled, like a roar and the entire ward went silent, staring at us and wondering what that terrifying roar was about.
But I was more confused about what he had said.
"What?"
Noah stopped talking there and then around.
"I’ll go handle the discharge papers and then we can head back."
"Hey, wait," I grabbed his arm. "You’ve gotta explain to me what you meant by that."
Noah looked back at me, his black eyes suddenly glinting gold, but it went back to normal right away as he shrugged my hand off his.
"It’s exactly what I said,"
He walked away, leaving me perplexed.
What was that about? I stopped breathing? Was that a joke?
"You shouldn’t be mad at the lad," the old lady sitting on the bed next to mine said and I turned to her. "He’s been taking such good care of you for the past few days. He was worried, you see. So he might be getting a little emotional."
"What? What do you mean?" I asked, still confused.
They weren’t telling me anything straight.
"When you arrived, you were burning at a dangerous degree, and every now and then, you would break out in cold sweat and start groaning, as if you were in pain, but you never opened your eyes. It happened for a whole week till your temperature settled down."
"The doctors advised that fella to take you to a private sect," another lady middled ahead and chipped in, "...but he said you guys didn’t have any money, and this was all you could afford. He’s been running back and forth for your sake so go easy on him."
"It must’ve been hard for him too. I don’t remember seeing that lad eating anything. He watched you 24/7 and didn’t leave your side. He’s such a considerate brother."
I was at a loss. He didn’t eat? He at least, slept, right?
"Wait, did you say I’ve been unconscious for a week?"
"Hm, a week and two days." The old lady next to me said. "You stopped breaking out in cold sweat two days ago but you’ve been unconscious for two days since then."
I was shocked. I’ve been unconscious for more than a week? How was that possible? I wasn’t in a comma or anything. I was just suffering from a fever.
But the ladies in the ward had no reason to lie. So, was that why Noah looked so restless?
But what was that about me coming back from the hands of death? Did I really stop breathing at some point?
The only way to get answers to all my numerous questions was to ask Noah.
My cart had been removed at some point, and my shoulder didn’t hurt much, but it did sting a bit. The stitches were drying up properly, so they only needed a few bandages and a little movement on my part.
We took a taxi back home and as soon as we got inside the house, Noah said as he took off his nose mask and cap,
"I used your card to pay for a few things," he said and began zipping down the hoodie. "The ambulance did not charge anything for taking you to the hospital so I didn’t use your card for that."
Ah, so he called an Ambulance. How dire was the situation?
Well, if he said my heart had stopped beating, I guess it was a pretty bad situation.
"Noah, we need to talk."
"It’s okay, you can go take a bath. You’ve not had a proper bath for more than a week. I wiped you from time to time but I don’t think that’s enough."
"Noah," I called but he ignored me and kept talking.
"I’ll order something healthy so you can eat your fill after not eating for a while and I’ll put your hoodie in the washer so it..."
I got annoyed and stomped towards him.
"Noah," I grabbed his arm, stared straight into his eyes, and demanded, "Sit down! Now!"
