After Darkness

*19. The hospital*

He had already been waiting for the result of the surgery for two hours, but he was informed that it would still take at least another five hours until the procedure ended. The drive from his home to the hospital had been one of the longest Krist had walked in his life. He couldn't quite remember how he'd managed to ration himself to the hospital. But he was there. Everything was just a blur, a memory of a movie he hadn't liked and had completely erased from his mind.

When he was updated on his mother's situation, Krist ran in a daze down the hospital hallway and called the person he trusted the most in the world: New. He needed that so familiar and uncomplicated hug because he was having trouble breathing and he felt his heart was coming out of his mouth. The last words he had said to his mother echoed like screams in his head. "I would a thousand times rather you had died than him." If his mother didn't make it out of that surgery alive, those would be his last words to her. That made him a real ingrate bastard.

It took New the blink of an eye to get to the hospital. His hair was a messy and he looked a little dazed, but he managed to take control of the situation, calming Krist with necessary words and hugs, and assuming the role of seeking information from time to time.

When he finally remembered to calm down, Krist tried to call Gawin and tell his boyfriend what had happened. At that moment, having the two people he loved the most by his side was all he needed. But Gawin didn't answer any of his calls and the messages he sent went unanswered. This was a bad time for him to disappear.

Krist didn't know how, he assumed New had told them, but Mike, Off and Gun showed up at the hospital shortly after, ready to support their friend. If the situation were different, it would be so reassuring for him to have his best friends reunited like this, after so long apart. But that wasn't the case.

Waiting is one of life's worst curses. For someone who was in a movie theater or sleeping peacefully, the hours would pass at a frightening speed, but for him, who was anxiously waiting for news, the minutes would drag on. He tried to silence the voices in his head telling him that he was the one to blame for what had happened to his mother, but he felt that he was getting weaker and weaker and a part of him started to really believe it.

It was past ten o'clock at night when New came back from the information desk, just with the same old news: "we'll let you know when the surgery is finished".

"It's going to be okay," New said, trying to calm Krist down. Tears no longer fell down the boy's face. He was so exhausted that he feared he would collapse before he knew the outcome of the surgery.

He wanted Gawin there with him. Gawin, the person who made Krist feel at ease and happy, the person he associated with hope. But from time to time he tried to talk to his boyfriend, without any success. It wasn't the first time Gawin had suddenly disappeared, but Krist had never needed him like he did now.

New sensed Krist's anxiety and tried to talk to Gawin himself, but he also hadn't any success. Finally, Krist decided to focus solely on worrying about his mother, leaving Gawin a ghost hovering in his subconscious. He was in no condition to worry to or be upset about that at the moment.

It was just after midnight when a doctor called for Mrs. Perawat' families. Krist and his friends went to meet the specialist, anxiety pulsing in the air. The doctor looked at those anxious, tired faces and said: "It was a very difficult surgery, but we are positive that she will be fine. She will be under observation and the next few hours will be critical, but I believe she will be fine. "

Krist began to cry with relief, while receiving a hug from New and Mike at the same time. But he wanted to be able to see his mother, take care of her until the woman woke up. He wanted to be beside her the moment she opened her eyes.