Chapter 54
Chioma's POV.
Me: Amanda, I'm no longer at work. I took a taxi and I'm heading to the hospital to see Femi, I couldn't wait any longer. So sorry :(
I sent a text to Amanda, punching in the letters on my phone; with shaky hands. I tried so hard to calm down but still, all attempt towards calming down proved to be useless.
I exhaled, rubbing my palms together with a sad look on my face, I could tell the taxi driver was concerned but didn't want to pry. Which was, in fact, a good thing cause I wasn't in the mood to entertain questions from anyone. I couldn't think straight right now. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I'd get so concerned over Femi during circumstances, such as this.
It's crazy how things like this can put a person into such a dilemma. It only shows that no one is in control of whatever happens to them, you can be fine right now and dead in the next minute. Truth be told, I was still shocked by everything that's happened. Just a while ago, Femi was okay, happy and smile and full of energy and bubbling with laughter and chuckles - as usual - and in the next hour, he's fighting for his life and laying helplessly in a hospital bed. It could've been me, who knows? It could've been anyone, it could've been someone really dear to me, someone like Amanda...or worse, one of my family members. It could've been my father on that bed, anyone at all!
Life does cheat good people sometimes, Femi does not deserve to be in that position. Me? Yes, but Femi? Definitely not!
"We're here, ma'am" the taxi driver announced and I immediately snapped back to the reality of everything happening around me, alighted from the taxi and paid the driver his fees - I didn't even bother to collect my change, I immediately rushed into the hospital building.
That moment, when you have no idea what you'll do if something goes wrong. That moment, when you're afraid of losing someone; even thinking about it scares you - that's exactly how this moment felt like to me: the fear of the unknown. Anxiety. Sadness. Worry. My emotions were all over the place, I really can't explain them all.
"Please, I'd like to see a patient that just got admitted here a few hours ago. His name is Femi Omashola and__"
"Chioma!" I turned my head away from the receptionist I'd been talking to, as my eyes caught sight of Amanda running towards me. I was thankful she arrived and I immediately offered her a small smile.
"The patient is still in the ER, you can't seem him now. I'm afraid you'll have to wait, at the moment, his condition isn't clarified yet" the receptionist replied and I immediately nodded my head in understanding, calming down and trying so hard to think positive thoughts.
While Amanda and I headed towards the waiting room, I heard a loud wail and I whipped my head to the side and caught sight of Femi's mother; in tears. She was sitting on one of the metal waiting chairs, arms folded, hair disheveled, eyes reddened and tears streaming down her cheeks ever so freely and recklessly. She looked devastated - which was expected since Femi is her only child - just looking at her made my heart sink. I know Femi's all she has and I can only imagine the fear she's feeling, the thought of having to lose him must be killing her; that must be traumatizing.
I continued watching the troubled woman cry, her husband; nowhere to be seen. I wondered if Femi's father was aware of his accident and I contemplated going over to console her. I was just about doing that, when Kunmi ran past Amanda and I - alongside a middle-aged lady who had a striking resemblance to Kunmi - so fast that I gasped in shock. Kunmi looked like she'dΒ been crying, her eyes were all puffy and her face; blotchy, and her nose reddened as she immediately rushed over to Femi's mother's side, placing a hand over her shoulder and giving her a tight hug.
I stepped back a bit, I didn't want to create a scene cause I knew that girl hated my guts. Although I so badly wanted to go over to meet Femi's mother to console her, I figured going there will only warrant insults from Kunmi, and that's the last thing I'd want right now.
Drama, stay far away!
"He'll be fine" Amanda muttered to me, suddenly noticing my gaze on the group, as she placed a firm hand over my shoulder and led me to an empty chair at the corner, where we each took a seat, praying individually for Femi's health.
Occasionally, I'd take a glance at Femi's mother, who happened to be on the floor now, wailing uncontrollably. I felt so bad for her and my conscience kept pricking me to go over there and at least try to calm her down.
And just when I thought I've seen enough, my eyes finally came in contact with the view of my parents as they immediately rushed into the hospital, hurrying over to Mrs. Omashola's side. My heart sank the minute I saw my mother, her words replayed in my head, over and over again. Although, I was happy to see them, I was also sad because I knew they wouldn't be happy to see me here...and I didn't intend for them to see me. I turned my head to the side, lowering my head into my palms and hoping they didn't notice me.
"Chioma..." Amanda gasped, tapping my shoulder. "Your parents are here" she said and I immediately turned to her, telling her that I already knew that.
"Well, go see them. And maybe you should go comfort Mrs. Omashola too, she's really in a bad state" she said and I shook my head vehemently, that idea had a thousand things that could go awfully wrong, in it.
"Why not?" Amanda asked. I didn't want to start talking about all that, at the moment I was still worried and the last thing I wanted was to be questioned over something that'll only end up upsetting me.
"Just...let's not talk about that or them. Please, Amanda. I can't even think straight right now" I told her and she nodded her head in understanding, once again, keeping quiet.
* * *
The minute the doctor finally stepped out of the ER, Femi's mom was the first to hurry over to his side. I couldn't make out anything they were saying and I finally asked Amanda to come with me. We had to go over there, and truth be told, I was beyond scared. The last thing I wanted was more drama occuring, especially when someone is in that emergency room, fighting for his dear life. Slowly, I walked towards them, silently praying that this doesn't create a scene.
"Ch... Chioma?" My dad said the minute I approached them, his eyes wide open and surprise slapping him in the face. I smiled at him, a sad yet content smile, and I noticed his eyes began to turn glassy.
Without warning, he engulfed me in a tight hug, it'd been long since I had one of these kinds hugs from my dad. I didn't even know when I started crying, I didn't expect him to be happy to see me, I half-expected him to even want to look at me. But yet, here he is hugging me like his life depended on it.
Gradually, my scrawny hands wrapped around him as I hugged him back, the tears still streaming down my cheeks as everyone else watched, Femi's mother wasn't interested in what was going on in the slightest, her full attention was on the doctor whom she questioned with so much panic in her eyes. My eyes searched for my mom's, and when it finally did find hers, she eyed me and my heart clenched, a weight so heavy came over my chest. That same hurt I felt on the day I left the house; finally returned.
"How are you, my dear?" Dad asked the minute he let go of me. I couldn't respond cause my heart was way too heavy for me to process words and my words couldn't voice past the lump in my throat, so I nodded my head instead, slowly wiping off the tears that had betrayed me by rolling down my cheeks.
"Doctor, how is my son doing? What is going on?" Mrs. Omashola asked, the panic and hurt in her eyes causing me to slowly reach for her hand. To my surprise, she didn't object, she - in fact - leaned on my shoulder for support; still crying so hard. I ran a hand through her back soothingly, muttering the words: "it'll all be fine," and trying so hard to believe in my own words. And at the corner of my eye, I caught Kunmi shooting lasers at me with her eyes. I wondered why she's been so irritated ever since I got here, to be honest, I'd didn't really care. I don't like her, she doesn't like me, so I guess the dang feeling is mutual. But just glaring at someone like that, and at a time like this, is just plain crazy. And very immature, if I'm being honest.
What's her problem?
"For now, we've tried all we can and the rest...well, we'll leave the rest for God. During his accident, he sustained a very serious head injury and that scares us that he might have trouble remembering a few things, but luckily, it's only temporary. Probably last for a week. But we're not entirely sure yet, it's possible we're wrong...we're only saying that there's a huge possibility of that happening. We can only be sure of that only when the patient wakes up. And he also sustained a lot of injuries. And blood is needed to finally complete the treatment. We're trying our best to save him, but we urgently need a blood donor. His blood type is not available in our blood banks, he's O positive and we don't have that right now..."
"Well, I already know my blood type. I'm O positive too, I'll be happy to donate my blood" Kunmi immediately said and Mrs Omashola let out a sigh of relief, letting go of my hand and rushing towards Kunmi with a smile, as she engulfed her in a hug.
"Thank you so much, my dear. Thank you so so much. God bless you" she said, offering Kunmi a hug while Amanda came standing beside me, holding my hand reassuringly.
"Please come with me then" the doctor said, turning to leave with Kunmi who hurriedly followed behind him.
"Please, God. I'm begging you with every hope I have left on you, please save my son and husband. They're the only ones I have left, Jehovah please..." Mrs. Omashola wailed bitterly as she fell to the ground in tears, and my mom rushed over to her side, patting her back in a soothing manner. "Oluwa, please help me. God of the eleventh hour, I need your help more than ever. Baba, please come to my aid!" she cried out once again, and I immediately ran over to her side to console her.
The minute I tried touching her, my mother eyed me with so much detest in her eyes, her eyes dripping with hate venom...for her own child. What a pity!
I felt hurt by the look she gave me, but nonetheless, I still went ahead to console Mrs Omashola. The woman needs it at the moment, and if my mother thinks it's wise to start showing off hate vibes towards me, then that's her business cause at the moment, my friend's mother is devastated and needs my help. She needs all the support she can get, and that's what I'll give to her, whether my mother likes it or not.
But then again, I recalled Mrs Omashola saying something about God helping her son and husband...does that mean her husband was also met with an accident? Was he with Femi in the car?
I wanted to ask, but I realized that now won't be the best of times to ask that. The question would have to wait for later.
"They're all I have left oh! They're all I have left! Oluwa, please..." Mrs. Omashola wailed, her hand clasped around mine as the tears ran down her cheeks freely. My soul felt burdened, just looking at her made a tear roll down my cheek. I understood how she felt and I prayed that God would save them both, even though I know I'm not the best of His children, I hoped that for Mrs. Omashola's sake, He'd save them both.
"Janette, calm down. He'll be fine, the God we serve is not a small God. He giveth life and he sees everything, he won't let anything happen to Femi and your husband. Just have faith" my dad said to her, placing an encouraging hand on her shoulder while Amanda nodded her head in agreement. She hadn't said anything ever since we got here, which was unlike her, and it's not like I was expecting her to say anything now. I only realised that she really cared about her boss, so much that the entire situation brought her to a quiet phase. It did to all of us.
It took a few minutes of continuously trying to calm Mrs Omashola down, which only proved to be fruitless, before Kunmi finally returned, with a plaster on her right wrist and a troubled look on her face. She looked tired, and I figured it was because she'd given her blood to Femi.
"Kunmi!" Mrs Omashola immediately got up from the floor where she'd been sitting with me and my mom on both her sides. "What is the doctor saying? How are they doing?" She asked, her eyes reading so much worry.
Kunmi reached for her hand and immediately gave her a small smile. "Relax, Mr Omashola is finally out of danger. But as for Femi... they're still trying their best" she said and Mrs Omashola smiled, getting on her knees to thank God for saving her husband. I smiled and also thanked God in my heart, also hoping Femi would be okay too.
Kunmi held Mrs Omashola's hand as she helped her up from the floor and led her to a seat at a corner. She sat with her, putting her arms around her shoulders and rubbingΒ her arm in a soothing manner, I noticed she glared at me again, but I chose to ignore it. She's clearly a waste of my time, and not to mention the fact that she's a mad person.
Heaving a sigh, I took one last glance at my mom - who wouldn't even look at me to begin with - and took a seat next to Amanda. I knew she could tell I wanted to speak with my mom, so badly. I'm sure it was evident in my eyes, but at the moment, someone's life is on the line and trying to settle my differences with my mom while his mother is worried sick; is not the right to do. As it were - and still is - my mother isn't ready to even try to straighten things out with me. The reason for her anger was quite understandable, but being so mad at me - to the extent that she's avoiding me like a plague - is really bad and outrightly bad parenting. As my mother, I expect her to try talking to me; to advice me like every normal mother, who loves her child, would. Apparently, her love for me died the minute I left that house that day.
Why try to fix anything with her anyways? The woman despises me now!
But still, every single time I look at her, my heart shatters into pieces. It's horrible that I'm so worried about Femi and it's even more horrible that my mother is also in the picture and doesn't even want to see my face, let alone start a conversation with me. For now? It's best I focus only on Femi getting better. As for my mom? She'll have to get over whatever is bugging her and face the fact that she can't always ignore her problems. She'll have to face me at some point, I just know it.
Two more excruciating hours of anxiety and unbearable heartache went by like it'd taken all eternity, before the doctor finally got out of the emergency room once again, a look I couldn't really decipher, on his face.
"Doctor, how's my son doing? Is he okay?" Femi's mother was the first to ask, her eyes all puffy and reddened, face reddened and blotchy and masked with streaks of tears.
The doctor heaved a sigh before replying her. "He's..." The doctor took an ominous caesura before he spoke up again. "He's finally out of danger. But he did sustain a serious head injury and would need sometime to fully heal. We're talking weeks" the doctor informed with a small yet encouraging smile on his face.
Mrs. Omashola smiled and danced all around, it looked like a mixture of both Makosa and a dance move I couldn't really fathom. Much to my surprise, I chuckled so happily, a big smile on my face as I joined my hands in thanks to God.
He really DOES answer prayers.
To my surprise, I actually got on my knees and thanked God in my heart. I was aware of all the surprised stares I was being given by the rest of the sympathizers, including my mom, but I didn't care at this point.
"Can we go see him now? And his father too?" She said and the doctor gave a gentle nod and with a smile and a sprint, she was long gone - finding her way into Femi's room.
I got up from the floor, about hurrying into Femi's room when I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. Firm, yet gentle. A familiar scent of expensive cologne invaded my nostrils and without being told twice, I turned to stare at my father who stood with a smile I couldn't really understand, on his face. A mixture of happiness and anxiety filled me as I stared at my father, with a of my own glued to my face, as I tried so hard to find the right words to say to him.
And like the speed of lightening, his face morphed into a terrifyingly serious one, a frown marring that ever handsome face of his. My smile immediately fell off my face and a confused look veiled my entire smile.
"We need to talk" that was all it took to rip my heart out, for fear of what he wanted to discuss with me. With that look on his face? I wasn't sure I was so happy anymore. I shut my eyes and gulped, nodding my head in understanding, my heart drumming an erratic beat within my chest as I sluggishly followed behind, drained by all the inevitable drama for one day.
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So there you have it for chapter 54!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, hope you can sense the drama too, cause I'm going to be mean nowπ€ Call police, I'm in my houseπ
Anyways, I look forward to reading your comments. Please vote if you liked the chapter and please leave a comment if you can.
Thank you guys so much for bringing this book this far, I can't thank y'all enough. God bless you all and grant your heart desires...(cue the Amen!)β€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈ
Love you guysβ€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈ
Till my next update,
Bye...
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