The Space in Between

Chapter 10

Hearing someone opening the door woke me up. It's still dark in Dre's room, the sun hasn't risen yet.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you up." A guy spoke in a hushed voice. He started walking up to me and continued talking while extending his hand, "I'm Phil, Dre's friend. You must be Liv."

I reached for his hand, confused. How can this person know me? I realized I didn't say anything yet and only said, "Oh. Hi. Yeah, it's me."

He grabbed a stool and sat near me. He asked, "How's the big guy?"

I hesitated to answer because I haven't brushed my teeth yet but he's waiting for an answer. "He's doing good. His doctor said if he continues to improve, he may leave the hospital in less than 3 weeks."

"That's great! He really is a fighter. I wanted to come earlier when I heard what happened but I just got back from deployment. I rushed here as soon as I could." He explained.

Hmmm, he may want to spend time with his friend. Finally, I can get a chance to go home again. I started to speak, "Uhm, is it okay if you can stay with Dre today? Well, his mom might come later."

"Sure. You need to rest too. I can take care of him. Don't worry." He said.

Well, I'm not worried. He interrupted my thoughts. "Did the doctor say anything about his condition?"

I wasn't sure what he was talking about. The guy can even run a marathon, not even sure why he's still in the hospital.

Then, we heard Dre grunting. Both of us stood and Phil ran next to him.

A loud laughter echoed in the room. "Dude, if you can only see your face right now." Dre told his friend and laughed hard again.

Phil sighed. He looked at me and he said, "This guy is insane. I can't understand how you can stay up with this kind of immaturity."

Dre looked at me, then at Phil, and said out loud, "Why do I need to be in a room with the two most serious human beings who can't deal with a joke?"

It wasn't a good joke so I grabbed my things and told them I'm going home. I shouldn't be here in the first place. But somehow, I feel the comfort of being here.

Before leaving the hospital, I stopped by the kids' ward to check Raffy but she's still asleep.