Doctor Engel [A Spanish bestseller now in English!]

CHAPTER 19

I am with Cesar in my car, I'm driving on a long, straight road. I speed up more than I should, to show him how fast my new Renault is, when I see a curve warning sign ahead. I step on the brake to decrease the speed and take the corner without any problems, but the car doesn't respond.

'I can't stop!' I tell Cesar, frightened, but he only looks forward. It is like he is absent.

I continue trying to step on the brake, but the car won't stop. The curve is closer and we are going to come off the road. I'm terrified, I continue to stamp on the brakes... but that's it. The car flies over an embankment and spins around a couple of times.

Soil, stones, branches... I see all of that coming through our windows. I try to cover my face with my arms, but the inertia prevents it. My arms are so heavy that I can't lift them up.

We finally stop, I look around me and there's blood everywhere. Cesar is beside me, but he's not moving, his head is hanging low and the injuries to his body are too much. He's dead. I yell out of impotence over and over again. I cry and I feel like I'm about to faint, my body hurts.

Someone's coming. I try to get out, but I can't move my arms, I think they are broken. The silhouette of a person is getting closer and closer, but I can hardly make it out due to the dust and smoke that is still hanging in the environment. When his face is finally so close that he can almost touch my window I notice who it is.

'Mario!' he laughs out loud when he sees me.

'Well, I see that your friend could not make it,' he says still laughing.

He opens the door by my side without any effort. It is destroyed due to the impact. He grabs me by the hair and drags me out of the car. I fall to the floor and I can't get up, my legs are not okay. I cry, asking for help, but there is nobody. He is enjoying all this, I can see it on his face.

'It's your turn, doll,' he tells me and pulls a gun out of his green sweatshirt.

He puts the cold steel on my temple. I try to escape, but it's useless. Strong hands are holding my shoulders shaking me. Mario's face contorts and begins to mix with the smoke. The hands are still shaking me and Mario disappears.

'Natalia.' it's Cesar's voice, he is alive, I hear him. 'Natalia, wake up,' I feel my arms and legs come back to life. 'You're having a nightmare.'

I open my eyes quickly and I get up.

'Oh, my God!' I raise my hands to my chest.

I look at everything around me. Cesar's expression tells me he's concerned. I'm sweating and I'm very agitated, but I'm happy to see that he is fine. I try to breathe anxiously, and this causes me to feel a slight dizziness. Cesar goes to the kitchen and gets a glass of water. He offers it to me and I drink it in small sips, I'm afraid I might choke.

'Do you feel better?' he asks me.

'Yes... it was awful,' I tell him.

'Don't think too much about it, you know how far a nightmare could go,' he's right, I try to think of something else. But the nightmare won't leave.

'How are you?' I ask him looking at his hand.

'I'm fine, to be honest. Only I have a slight headache. But what hurts me most is the situation that I have put you through,' he lifts his bandaged hand and moves his fingers. 'I'm sorry,' he twitches his mouth with an empty glare.

'Don't worry,' I tell him. 'I'm glad I arrived before you could set the building on fire,' I smile and he smiles back at me.

'What time is?' I ask.

'It's about 10 PM.'

'Ten!' I yell. 'Shit! I was asleep for hours. I told my family that I would be back today,' I stand up and pick up my stuff quickly. 'They must be worried!'

I get my phone out of my purse and check to see if I have any missed calls. It seems like at the moment they are not too worried. I dial the number of my parents' house.

'Yes?' it's my mother's voice.

'Mom, it's me. I'm going to be a little late, something came up. Don't worry.'

'OK, baby, we were already thinking about calling you. We thought you were taking too long. Be careful, it's too dark and I'm afraid of the road.

'I will, Mom,' she is just being her concerned self. 'See you later.'

'Bye, sweetheart,' we hung up and I wheeze, relieving my tension.

I look for Cesar with my eyes, and when I find him he's smiling at me tenderly.

'Whether here or there, we all have made the effort to worry about you,' he says with a tilted smile.

'Don't use a jokey tone when you say that,' I pretend to I argue. 'It's the truth. You're all getting on my nerves,' I look at him over my shoulder, my arms crossed and still smiling.

'Are you going to your parents' house, now?' he asks me.

'Yes, that's where I spent last week. I don't think that Mario will go there. Although we should expect the unexpected with him.' For a second I imagine what could happen if he decides to go.

'Is it too far? I know where Toledo is, but I don't know about that particular town.'

'It's about 180 kilometers from here,' I say.

'Why don't you sleep in your old room today and hit the road tomorrow morning? It's a long road, and it's always better to do it in daylight.'

'Thank you very much, but I have to get going before is too late,' I notice that he doesn't like my answer by the way his eyebrows are furrowed. He thinks for a moment.

'Is it nice?' he asks me, with a strange glint in his eyes.

'Yes, to be honest it's amazing. Everyone who visits the town falls in love with it and wants to go back.'

'Then I'll go with you,' he says looking confident.

'What? No, I refuse,' I hear him laughing.

'I have nothing to do for a couple of days, remember that I'm on a medical leave,' he points at his injuries. 'I only have to book a room somewhere close and that is it,' I look at him for a couple of seconds before I answer.

'Definitely not. What would I say to my parents when they see me with you? And the neighbors? They all know me.'

Isn't it possible for you to show the town to a friend? -he moves his shoulders up and down.

'Oh... You're so annoying!' I say. 'You won't stop until I say yes, will you?'

'No,' he says with a wide smile on his face.

'Okay. Hurry up and get what you need, I should be on the way already.'

'OK!' he says while running from the room. 'I'll book a hotel room while we are on the way.'

Half an hour later we already have our seat-belts buckled and we're leaving the parking lot. He's surprised to the see my car. He doesn't remember that I took him to the hospital in it, just a couple of hours ago. The hope that he remembers our kiss vanishes right away...

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