After the Sun Sets (18+)

CHAPTER 6a - Lamentations pt.2

Lora tiptoed quickly out of the kids' room, worried that the sound of her vibrating phone will wake up Aiden and Siena.

It hadn't been easy getting them to sleep tonight. They had questions she couldn't answer. Aiden was worried. Siena was curious. Together, they were a calamity. Lora felt horrible. Siena wanted to see her father that very instant and Lora had to explain why children weren't allowed in the ICU. Aiden tried to help her. He put on a brave face for his little sister and cuddled her to sleep.

Once in her own bedroom, Lora saw her brother's name on the screen before answering.

"Hey, Sis," Wayne said, his voice so low it was almost a whisper. "Ma told us about Jonathan."

She sighed heavily. "He's not good, Wayne. He's in the ICU, completely out of it. I don't think he'll be out of there any time soon."

There was a long pause before he spoke. "What did the doctor tell you?"

The doctor.

The doctor told her a lot of things but very few were about Jonathan. His gesture of taking her for coffee had been the nicest, simplest thing anyone had done for her in a long time. She was usually the one who took care of people and couldn't really remember the last time someone had taken care of her.

They went to a swanky café which had special intricate coffees and a surprisingly varied menu. She was hungrier than she thought and the minute she bit into her chicken wrap, she let out a genuine groan of pleasure, causing Dr Shaw to smirk so mischievously it made her cheeks go red.

They talked about everything. Everything that had nothing to do with hospitals. Music. Books. Aiden and Siena. Politics. He laughed at her passionate debates and she told him off. Religion. He raised a brow at her strong beliefs. She left her money on the table and left him sitting there only to remember they had come with his car. He came out a few minutes later, a cocky, dimpled smile on his face. "Come on, Lora. I'll take you home."

She wanted him to take her back to her car but they were closer to her house. He promised he'll pick her up first thing and take her to the hospital himself the next day. Soon afterwards, Jess and Krista came over with an anxious Aiden and Siena. She made Jess's favourite. Bolognese. Lora herself didn't eat. She wasn't hungry. She felt uneasy and no one questioned her. Her husband had just been admitted to the ICU, after all.

But her mind was elsewhere, all the time scurrying off to vast, green eyes and a lopsided, dimpled smile.

Lora shook her head free of him. It was just a crazy day from start to finish. Tomorrow, things will go back to normal. Dr Shaw will pick her up and help her get into the ICU. She'll spend the day next to Jonathan, holding his hand, caring for him and praying for him and then she'll come home. She will go through his work emails. Settle the payments. Push items that needed to be sold. Jona would kill her if she let his business go south. He worked so hard to set it up so that they can be comfortable. Jess and Krista won't want for anything thanks to him. Neither will Aiden and Siena. And neither will she. All she needed was a good, dreamless sleep.

#

The door of room number seventeen opened again at five p.m. on the dot.

"Did you eat?" Dr Shaw asked as he checked Jona's monitor.

A million thoughts raced through Lora's head. What was he doing here? Why was he so obsessed with her eating habits?

And yet she also felt something warm glow inside her chest, the unease that seemed to make her jumpy all day settling ever so slightly.

As she looked up at him, she realised he seemed upset. His jaw was tight, his fingers trembling slightly as he flipped the charts on Jona's bed. Lora's eyes wandered down his arms.