NUMB

25 - There's no surety for safety

!W! Mention of blood and violence.

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Everything stilled around Alec as his eyes kept fixated on the demonic glowing red ball of the emergency room. His heartbeats drummed in his ears, hands trembled, barely holding on to the metal rod he tried to grip onto, tasting the saltiness from his sweat and tears. He still couldn't believe the events that just unfolded, his mother, the one he longed for, the one he loved the most, was still alive. She was alive.

There were so many questions that came with her, where was she? Who did this to her? Was she too subjected to salad? Does she know of the enemy who was responsible for their misery? The biggest question, who was behind all this, behind the night ghosters mafia? But none of it mattered right now. The only thing that mattered was her safety. If anything happened to her, Alec's world will fall apart. It wasn't in him to take that kind of pain anymore.

"What's happening? Why are we at the hospital? Alec... oh goodness... what the hell happened?" Jace kept asking while being guided by Elijah towards him, mismatched eyes searching his with a deep frown. "W...why you have that look, Alec? D...Dad.. I..Izz-"

"Mom," Alec said in a low voice, "It's... it's mom Jace. She... she's a...alive. She's in... in there." Tears soaked his cheek as he noticed how his brother's eyes widened, and he tried to form words that didn't come out. "She's alive."

"M..mom is... a..alive?" Tears brimmed in Jace's eyes while his other friends approached them, except for Luke, who was nowhere to be seen. With the crowd that surrounded Alec, he presumed that Elijah or Emmanuel must've contacted everyone to let them know of the situation.

"Elijh, what happened? Why you called us here urgently?" Victoria asked, her head darting in every person's direction.

The silence that followed after sent shivers down Alec's body. The sympathetic looks, the pity in everyone's eyes as they learned of the events, including Jace's, that's what he hated the most.

"Our mom... she's inside?" Izzy asked in a low, soft voice, her gaze reaching out to look through the circular glass placed on the door. Doctors were hustling inside, frantically reaching out for their tools, working on her fragile body. "Those bastards... what have we done to them? Why....?"

"We want to know the same thing, Izzy." Jace said, slowly reaching out, and rubbing her back while Alec stood on his spot, tears rolling down his face, unable to stop.

"Son..." A familiar voice said, and his eyes locked with concerned green ones, and soon he was enclosed in the only parental figure he managed to make in his miserable life.

"V...Val... m...my mother... s..she's..."

"Shh.. son, it's alright, let it out, we're all here for you."

.....

*A few hours later*

The elevator door pinged for the billionth time as Alec squeezed his clasped hand, nails digging into his skin, but he was unhinged. Footsteps echoed across the hall, followed by a wail of a woman that disappeared into a room far away, wheels of a wheelchair screeched as someone stupidly tried to make it a means of enjoyment, followed by an argument that Alec wasn't interested in listening.

It had been hours since his mother was inside the emergency room and doctors hadn't said a single word about her health. God forbid if she doesn't survive... NO! He can't let those thoughts root in his mind. She will get better, she had to get better. He won't be able to bear the pain of losing his mother all over again.

"Son...." Valreen placed his palm over his knee, rubbing it in small, gentle rubs. "Everything will be alright. She'll be fine. Have some faith."

"Faith?" Alec said bitterly, "Faith means nothing to me, Val, and you know it well."