You Need Me

Chapter 48

"She is with me. Yes. We need to turn off the phone now. Thank you." Nora hung up the phone. She turned to Viola who was sitting beside her. Viola had not said anything since they boarded the plane. Her face was pale.

"The florist was worried about you. She said she saw Leon being carried into the ambulance when she was on her way to work." Nora told her as she held Viola's hand. "You should take a rest now."

"Nora... I can go by myself. You are heavily pregnant now. It's not wise..." Viola finally spoke.

"Nonsense. I can give birth on the plane if I have to. Ugh... why is the plane not moving yet?" She grumbled impatiently.

"Stop saying stupid things, Nora." Walter interrupted from the seat behind.

The three of them took the earliest flight available to Bellfield after learning the news. Viola had not thought what she would do after they reached Bellfield. She closed her eyes. Her mind was full with Leon. Is he sick? Is there something wrong with his body? She remembered the day Leon passed out in front of her and was almost ran down by a car. The thought sent a shiver up her spine. She pulled the blanket over and tried to get some sleep.

***

The hospital's cafeteria was crowded as usual. Inside, Tom was sitting alone in a corner, staring at the chicken soup he just ordered. He was not hungry but he thought he should get some food into his body. He picked up the spoon but it soon fell onto the floor, making a loud clanking sound. It startled him. He could see his hands shaking. It looked like he had not fully recovered from the shock, he thought.

This morning, Tom went to the office directly from his house because he did not need to drive Leon from his home as usual, knowing he was staying in the office the night before. He was the first to arrive in the office. When he saw light coming out from Leon's room, he thought he would go in to ask if his boss needed him to buy breakfast. After his several knocks left unanswered, he braved himself to enter without being invited.

As he stepped into the room, he was horrified when he saw Leon lying on the floor. He called him, shook his body, but Leon did not respond. Tom panicked and quickly reached for his phone to call Dr. Gale. An ambulance soon arrived, rushing Leon to the hospital.

"Please contact his family. We will take care of him." Dr. Gale had assured him before leaving with the nurses. Tom regained his composure and quickly contacted Ian and Nadia. He was hesitant to call Viola but decided to do so anyway. He dialed her number a couple of times but the line was busy. Looking at the time, he rushed back to the company to take care of things on behalf of Leon.

And now, he finally found time to eat his breakfast, lunch and dinner together. Still, the soup in front of him looked unappetizing. He took out his phone and tried calling Viola again. The automatic voicemail played from the other side. Her phone is off. Where is she now? Tom felt distressed.

***

Viola and her two friends rushed to the hospital the minute they landed in Bellfield in the evening. Nora had offered to accompany her in the hospital but Viola politely declined the offer.

"I'll go myself. The long journey must have exhausted both of you, especially you, Nora. You are pregnant. I don't want anything happen to the baby. Take care of her, Walter."

Walter nodded. "You, too. Take care of that guy. I hope everything goes well for you and him."

"Go! Now!" Nora gave her the final push.

Viola smiled. "Thank you so much, both of you." She closed the taxi door and ran towards the hospital entrance.

"Mr. Leonard Oliver?" The receptionist asked as she scrolled through names on the monitor in front of her.

Viola nodded repeatedly. "He was rushed here this morning."

"You are right. He is here. May I know who you are?" The receptionist asked again.

"Eh?" Viola was stumped.

"Are you his family? Only family members are allowed to visit him at the moment." The receptionist added.

"I..." Viola hesitated. She WAS his wife, does that count?

"You may want to contact his family if you want to visit him." The receptionist suggested.

"Madam?" A familiar voice came from behind Viola. She turned to where the voice came from.

Tom was standing behind her. His expression equally confused as Viola's. Tom looked drained, she noticed. He looked like he had aged 10 years in her absence.

"Tom... where is Leon?" Viola asked.

Tom walked forward to the receptionist. "She is Mr. Oliver's wife. Viola Oliver. Please let her in."

The receptionist laughed. "You should have said so just now." She scribbled something on the visitor book and turned to Tom and Viola again. "You know the place, Sir. You can see him now, Mrs. Oliver."

"What happened to him? Why did he suddenly..." Viola asked as they walked together to Leon's ward.

Tom scratched his head. "Food poisoning."

"Food poison... what?? But how??" Viola was bewildered. She knew Leon would not just eat anything. His food was always carefully prepared.

"I'm not exactly sure. He wasn't eating properly recently." Tom sighed. Viola's heart sank.

"But... it might be that cake."

"Cake?" She repeated.

"I went back to the office in the afternoon and when I was cleaning his room, I saw an empty pastry box on the table. There were crumbs on the floor. He must have eaten that." Tom sighed again. "Really... who eats cake for dinner??" Tom grumbled.

Fear crept up on Viola. "Do you know which cake?"

"Oh, it was from his favorite patisserie, Mr. Lorrent's Golden Sugar. I think it was quite big. About this size." Tom drew the box in the air with his fingers.

Viola almost lost her balance but Tom pulled her hand just in time.

"Are... are you okay, Madam?? Should we sit somewhere?" Tom panicked.

"What to do..." Viola murmured softly. Her face was pale white.

"Madam? Are you alright?" Tom asked again.

"What to do, Tom?" Viola's lips were trembling.

"What..." Tom was confused.

Viola looked at him, feeling scared of what she was going to say.

"I almost killed him..."