FERRY-LOVE-BOAT

Chapter 9

For the last three hours I had been the inconvenient person who kept coughing in the waiting room but telling one of the nurses what had happened would only get me stuck in the hospital for hours, at the risk of Carina coming back, not find me in the waiting room and think I was gone and losing my chance to see her again.

-Are you okay? - She asked, one hand outstretched toward me, but she didn't touch me.

-Smoke inhalation. - I shrugged when the coughing stopped.

-You took off your mask to give it to her. - She commented, now remembering the information I had given her earlier. - You should be on oxygen therapy.

-I know, but I didn't want to have to admit myself. - I rubbed the back of one hand against my nose.

-Come on. - She rolled her eyes at me and started walking.

I followed her because I had no other option.

Carina opened one of the curtains on one of the emergency beds and pointed for me to sit on the bed, went to the side of the bed and grabbed an oxygen mask and slipped the elastic behind my head before placing the silicone mask on my face.

-Thank you. - I spoke, my breath causing the air inside the mask to condense, my voice came out a little muffled.

-Don't talk. - She said back.

She leaned back on the bed, her arms crossed over her chest, making her perfectly round breasts, which were certainly and definitely delicious, press against the pink scrub she was wearing.

Stop staring at her breasts, Maya!

I turned my face away so abruptly that my gesture caught her attention, and she turned her face to me.

-Is something wrong? - She asked, and I shook my head.

We continued in silence, not looking at each other, but it was nice to have her there.

Did this mean that she cared about me a little?

Well, she is a doctor. Maybe she was just doing her job. But I wanted to believe that she was taking care of me.

-Carina... - I started to speak, I had to try to apologize one more time.

-I told you not to talk. - She said back, interrupting me. - Or did my accent not allow you to understand what I said?

Her words affected me, it pained me to know that she was still so upset by what I so recklessly said, and I just didn't know how to turn this situation around because apologizing was all I could think to do.

Well, there was one other thing, but it was a long shot.

She didn't show an ounce of emotion, she had distanced herself and it was my fault. I had hurt her feelings before I even had the privilege of seeing her smile again.

After a few more minutes - minutes that she kept herself quiet by my side, occasionally glancing at her cell phone and texting - she said that I was free to go home.

-Thank you. - I repeated, and she just shrugged. - I'll be there tomorrow morning. Same time.

That was the last thing I said before I turned and headed for the exit. It was time to take that long shot.