MAFIALOGY

BREATHE OF FRESH AIR

"We took care of her injuries already but she inhaled a lot of smoke from the fire and that has affected her breathing. We have to place her on oxygen for now and just see how it goes" The doctor said
"When is she going to wake up?"
"We can only wait" He said as he walked away
I sat gently beside Joan as I stared at her lost in thoughts. She was gone for so long and now that I had a chance to be with her she was lying in this state. I wondered if I was the bad luck in her life, one thing or the other always happened whenever I was around her. So I made a hard decision to leave, she was happy without me for the past years, it was better that way. Joan would always end up in trouble with me, I couldn't bear losing her forever, I'd rather not be with her. For the first time in a long while, tears dropped from my eye. The door opened as I quickly wiped my tears. It was the barista at the coffee shop.
"You?" I said as I wondered how she was here
"Yes, Joan and I are friends.She's been staying  at my place since the incident with Greg."
"I'm glad she has someone like you in her life. "I'm Kelvin"
"Alice"We both stretched our hands for a shake
"Erm.. I was wondering if you could just drop me a text when she wakes up"
"You are leaving?"
"Yes.... I should"
"Leaving for good?" Alice asked again
"I figured it's what's best for Joan. She will be fine if she stays far away from me. I always end up bringing her into trouble one way or the other"
"Far away from you? Do you think what happened with Greg would have happened if you were in her life. What is wrong with you both? One is too stubborn and wouldn't swallow her pride or forgive herself, the other keeps leaving. Do you have a withdrawal syndrome when it comes to relationships? Why do you want to keep leaving? Joan has been miserable for the past years without you in her life, she struggled with depression, the two most important people in her life weren't with her and you think she was happy? I won't deny that Greg really did help her but what's the point if she's lying in this state now. Joan needs you, Willow needs you. They both do"
"Willow?" I asked trying to get who that was
"You don't know?"
"Know what?"
"It's really not in my place to tell you, if you don't know then wait till she wakes up. She will be the one to tell you not me. Until then you had better not leave if you don't want to regret it for the rest of your life. I need to get to the cafe, I just came to drop few toiletries. Stay with her! What's the point of being a mafia if you are so slow" Alice mumbled to herself as she walked out of the private ward.My phone rang, it was one of the boys I had asked to take care of Greg.
"Tell me"
"Yes boss, it's a third degree burn and the doctor said he might not survive it"
I closed my eyes and took a deep sigh upon hearing the news. I couldn't believe Greg ended up this way. Never in a hundred years would I have imagined he had so much bad intention and resentment against me.
"I'll be out of office for sometime. With Greg gone you are next in line now. Let me know if there's anything"
"Yes boss! I won't disappoint you boss!" He shouted over the phone. After Greg, Simon was the next person I could hand over business to, he wasn't as smart as Greg when it came to  dealing with the business but he was a reliable person.

                      *A week later*
It had been a week since Joan was admitted. I had stayed with her for the past one week with Alice dropping by when she closed from the cafe. I had fell asleep briefly when I felt a light squeeze on my hand. I woke up to see if what I felt was real, there was another squeeze, it was tighter than the first one. I quickly stood up to see.
"Joan?" I called as she opened her eyes slowly. I took a deep sigh of relief
"Are you okay? Can you see me?"
She gently took off the oxygen mask and whispered
"Kelvin?"
"Yes it's me. I'm glad you are awake, let me get the doctor" I ran out briefly and came back in with the doctor. He ran a few check up on her as I stood behind him. He nodded as he turned to me.
"She's more stable now, as you can see she's breathing on her own now. We should be able to discharge her in a few days"
"Thank you so much doctor" I said as the doctor left the ward. I sat close to Joan who was now sitting up on the bed
"Do you need anything?Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. How are you here? What about Greg? What happened to him?" Joan asked as she suddenly remembered she was in the car with him
"He suffered a third degree burn. The doctor said he might not make it"
"Oh my God, what did I do? It's my fault, I shouldn't have struggled with him" Joan bursted into tears
"Hey,hey it's not your fault. Greg was wrong from the beginning. It just happened that way" I said as I held her tightly in my arms
"There's something I need to tell you" Joan said as she moved away from my arms and rested back
"What's that?"
"What happened just made me realize how things could change at anytime so it's best if I just let you know. Despite our differences, I didn't have the right to hide it from you, I should have told you."
"What are you talking about?" I tried to hide my nervousness, guessing a hundred things she could possibly want to say to me. I didn't think I could handle another big news at the moment but I was still ready to listen, I wasn't going to leave or run anymore.
"We .... we have a daughter, you have a daughter. After the incident with Rose, I found out I was pregnant but hid from you cause I was angry at you and scared something bad might happen to us, everything that happened was too much for me to handle, I just wanted to run as far as I could."
I expected a big news but definitely didn't expect it to be this big.
"Is she ...is she Wi...Willow?" I stuttered as I stared blankly into space. I stood up from my seat and my legs seemed to have failed, I gripped the side table as I struggled to stay on my feet.