Unrequited II F4 Thailand

Tolerance

"Nova! Come here, my baby!"

I was outside, it looked like I was at a park with a familiar copper, rusted bridge, sitting under an oak tree. I looked down at my hands and saw that it shrink a considerable size than I remembered. Footsteps scrunched on the grass as I sensed someone coming behind me. My head turns with the sun blinded my eyes, I covered them with my forearm.

The person kneels to the ground in front of me and I realized it was Dad. "Dad!" I instantly hugged him tightly, and his arms took me in. We stayed like this for what felt like an eternity, I didn't want to let him go.

Dad breaks away, holding my cheeks in his hands. I stare at his features, his smile, his nose, and his greying hair. The way his eyes shined brighter than any star could, and the way he only focused on me, as I focused on him. He looked ageless.

He sighs, brushing my skin with his thumb as he kept his gaze on me. Dad placed a lingering kiss on top of my forehead, a sensation I missed greatly. I took a breath as I savored this moment, I didn't care if it was a dream. He met my eyes again as he says softly, "Wake up."

"Wake up."

"Wake up."

"Wake up, babe."

My eyes open and I discover, I was in a car. I looked down at my hands and saw it was no longer small and soft. Instead, my hands were dry and dirty, dirt settling in the ridges of my palms.

"Babe," a voice I recognized to be Ren's, snuffed me out of my daze. He touched my neck and glided to my shoulder as I looked at him. His brows furrows, "Are you okay?" I blinked but could only nod in response.

Ren's jaw clenched as he opened the door wider. "Help me put her in the wheelchair please."

The male nurse sets up the wheelchair in front of me as I offer Ren my hand and stepped out.

"Careful," he says as he holds my waist with one hand and my arm in the other, helping me sit on the rubbery wheelchair. My skirts pooled towards the front as I cursed at myself, why did I wear such big skirts? The nurse sneaks passed him and closed the door. Ren's hand leaves mine as he takes the handles, "Thank you for helping." The male nurse bows his head, "No problem Sir Aira. I'm nurse Nelly, I'll lead you to the room, we made sure to protect your utmost privacy. We closed a portion of the hospital in advance so, please follow me."

Ren nods as he follows Nelly into the hospital. I felt heat and pain radiating from my ankle as Ren gently pushed me into the entrance of the hospital that connected from the parking garage. He asked, "How are you feeling?"

I simply croaked, "I'm okay." I looked at my wrist, the rope imprinted it–turning pink. It hurt to move my hand, it hurt to speak from my parched throat. I didn't know what to say...I was far from fine but if I was honest...Ren wouldn't be able to wipe off the guilt from his face.

He didn't ask any more questions as he wheeled me inside the hospital. It looked vacant, which would be peculiar to a regular hospital. The wheels glided on the polished white floors, the white lights illuminating from modern fixtures, and the rows of black seating were all empty as we went toward the grey elevators. Nelly dressed in all white scrubs–though, it didn't seem like the normal navy ones I'd seen from the other nurses. He pressed the button for us, and the doors immediately slid open. He let us through first and Ren entered, pushing the wheelchair toward the center. He stood next to me, his side leaning slightly on the brown wall. Nelly entered after us and pressed a button, facing forward, not really meeting eye contact or striking up a conversation–which I appreciated.