A Tale of Hearts

Chapter Fifty Six

Rubab's POV:

The hospital room felt suffocating, a sterile cocoon of white walls and beeping machines, as I sat on the edge of the bed. As a doctor, I was used to this environment but at this point, it made me nauseous. A nurse was patching up my shoulder and injecting a painkiller into my I.V. We had arrived at a local city hospital in the emergency ward since Fahad fainted at the shore. I should have paid more attention to him.

An elderly doctor stood beside me, his expression a mix of concern and professionalism. He was the first to rush towards us when he saw our state in the ward. I was grateful to him and the kind man who I had come across my pathetic state when I finally hiked to the road and collapsed there a few hours ago. He was driving home with his wife who was wearing a hijab. He had given me his waist coat to cover my chest because Zohaib had ripped my shirt into pieces.

Everything was a haze. I could remember his wife telling me that they will take me to the hospital to get my wounds treated as she tried to give me something to drink to calm my trembling hands. All I remember is nodding my head like a robot as my eyes stared into the distance. I was lost until my eyes fell on the back of a man who made my heart drop.

The road here was evenly meeting the shore so I could see clearly. I could recognise that back and messy jet black hair anywhere. I thought I was imagining it since I missed him so much right now but it really was him. Since we were wearing the matching tracksuits that we had bought from Lahore, I recognised his outfit immediately. It was tattered but it was the same black and navy blue stripped tracksuit that I was wearing. I was still in a state of shock but then I heard his piercing scream. I quickly urged the couple to stop so I could run to him before he did something stupid. It definitely looked like he was about to.

I just couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him at the edge of the shore screaming my name out loud. He was crawling towards the river as if he was going to jump in and try to find me. I thought he would have stayed on the cliff but when I saw him, bruised, drenched and looking like a disaster struck him, I had figured he had jumped after me.

At that moment, my heart had melted. I couldn't believe that fact that he was crazy enough to do something like this but he was. I wanted to hug him, bawl my eyes out about what had happened a while ago but I just couldn't feel anything. My fear had numbed all my emotions. I was scared of meeting his eyes. He had the ability to read my expressions. Fahad always did. I just couldn't face him anymore. What would Fahad think of me?

I shook my head to snap out of my destructive thoughts to focus on the doctor's words.

"Rubab, I need to tell you about Fahad's condition," he began, his voice measured yet gentle. My heart clenched at the mention of Fahad's name.

"How is he?" I pleaded, my voice barely above a whisper.

"He suffered a head injury, a broken ankle, and a rock punctured his back. We've stitched the wound, bandaged his head, fortunately there is no long term issue with his head," the doctor explained, his words landing like heavy blows. My breath hitched, a rush of panic gripping my chest. 

"And you, Rubab, you have a fractured kneecap that we have added a splint to, four broken teeth needing implants, and a muscle tear in your shoulder," he continued, his voice compassionate. The amount of injuries felt like unbelievable, as though I was detached from my own body. How did I not feel any of this before?

"Will Fahad be okay?" My voice quivered, trying to make sense of everything.

"Yes, but can you tell me what happened to the two of you?" The doctor pressed in a soft tone.

The memories surged back, fragmented and hazy—a fall, rushing waters, and then darkness before I reached the shore. "I fell," I murmured, my voice strained with emotion. "I fell from the cliff into the river. And then I believe my husband jumped after me."