Chapter 190: Same but Different

The room was completely dark because I had closed the curtains completely. My eyes couldn’t make out anything in the darkness. The sound of my harsh breathing filled the room as I panted and struggled to recover from my shock.

"You’re as loud as always…" a low voice whispered from the foot of my bed.

"…Hayden?" I called out his name in disbelief.

It better be Hayden and not some ghost…

"Don’t scream my name when I’m already sitting so close," Hayden replied calmly.

I felt the mattress shift underneath me slightly as Hayden moved closer to me on the bed. It was dark and I couldn’t make out anything but his silhouette.

"Are you really here?" I asked just to make sure that I wasn’t seeing and hearing things.

"I’m here," he replied firmly.

He’s really here…wow.

Before I could say anything, Hayden began talking first and the first thing he asked me was…

"Did you eat dinner properly?" he asked.

Seriously, is that what he’s worried about at a time like this?

"…No…" I admitted truthfully. I didn’t eat anything at all.

"What did you do today?" Hayden asked.

"I painted a painting. It’s been a while. The studio is perfect…thank you…" I replied and my voice shook with emotion. I’m going to start crying.

Thankfully it was dark, and he probably couldn’t see my face right now; however, I was sure that he could tell by my voice that I was on the verge of crying. Regardless, Hayden continued to go through his same list of questions.

"Do you want or need anything?" Hayden asked.

"I want to talk to you…properly. Maybe we should do that when you’re feeling better," I replied softly.

"Did you sleep well last night?" he asked.

"Yes, but I can’t sleep at all tonight…" I replied truthfully.

"Is there something that you want to do?" Hayden asked.

For the future, I had no idea but for now.

"No but I want you to tell me about the car accident. Are you ok?" I asked.

The questions were the exact same ones as the days before, but I answered them differently now. I felt so different now…

"It’s not a big deal. Luka should have told you that already. I was driving a little recklessly, that’s all," Hayden replied casually.

"You should have told me that yourself. I was so worried, and I called you so many times, but you never picked up…" I complained.

"My phone got damaged a bit and doesn’t work well anymore. I’ll get it replaced," Hayden explained flawlessly.

"Why are we talking in the dark? Let me turn on the lights…" I said with sudden realization.

I probably look like a mess since I’ve been crying so much but I wanted to see Hayden. No matter what, I needed to check and see with my own eyes that he’s alright.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"No need. Just stay where you are," Hayden said, and I felt his hand on my arm to stop me from getting up from the bed.

"But it’s so dark…and I want to see you so…" I mumbled.

"There’s nothing interesting for you to see," Hayden said coldly.

I bet he just doesn’t want me to worry and that is making me worry even more. The lights are still off because he doesn’t want me to see, does he?

Although and I knew and appreciated the fact that he didn’t want me to worry, I also got the feeling that he was hiding something away from me. I yanked my arm away from his grip as my other arm reached to the bedside table where I knew the lamp was. If I can just reach the switch, then I can get some light and I’ll finally get to see him.

My fingertips reached the switch and after the lamp made a soft clicking sound, orange warm light illuminated the area around the bed. I gasped loudly after my eyes had adjusted to the sudden flood of light in the room. The sight of Hayden’s upper body covered in bandages wasn’t a sight that I was mentally prepared to see.

Hayden sighed and rolled his eyes slightly at my shocked and speechless reaction as if to say: ’I told you to keep the lights off…see?’

"Don’t worry. I think they wrapped me up a little too much. Since Harvey is gone my old man got a little freaked out this time around and pestered the doctors a lot. That’s all," Hayden said followed by a soft laugh.

"Really…?" I asked softly, not convinced with his reply.

"Really. I’m a doctor too so I know it isn’t that bad," Hayden reaffirmed.

"It’s not that bad so it is bad…right?" I asked skeptically.

"For your information, nothing is broken," Hayden replied stubbornly.

"Aha…" I mumbled in reply. Just because nothing is broken doesn’t mean that it’s all great and good, right?

I didn’t want to argue with him anymore about this. Regardless of how insignificant Hayden was making his injuries sound, the state he was in looked extremely disturbing. His right upper arm and shoulder was wrapped up. All parts of his torso from his chest down to his waist was bandaged. He had visible bruises here and there and everywhere.

"Does it hurt?" I asked although I knew that it probably did, and he wasn’t willing to admit to it.

"I’m fine," Hayden said with slight annoyance.

"You should have stayed at the hospital…" I murmured.

Sure, I was super happy to see him but now that I think about it, Hayden should be in the hospital right now.

"It’s boring there. I rather rest up at home…" Hayden said like it was no big deal.

"Luka said that you might be in the hospital for a few days. You didn’t sneak out, did you?" I asked suspiciously.

Wasn’t he supposed to be getting checkups and all that based on what Luka was telling me just a few hours ago? I started to get a very skeptical feeling about this.

I stared at Hayden as I waited for my answer. His silence was the best answer that I would ever get.

--To be continued…

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