did the world stop spinnin'?

rivals

It was 8:00 a.m. the next day when Frida's phone rang. She was still in bed, between the sheets, enjoying the last few minutes of peace before starting the day. Henry wasn't by her side, so she assumed he was already awake and somewhere in the kitchen or the home office, as it was his morning routine. Seeing Mona's name on the cell phone screen, she felt a start. They rarely spoke, much less at this hour of the day. Something wasn't right.

Frida sat up immediately, answering the call with a mix of alarm and curiosity. "Mona? What happened?" Frida said in a soft voice, trying to hide her nervousness.

On the other end of the phone, Mona's voice sounded broken, full of tiredness and anguish. She took a breath before starting. "Benny... Benny is in the hospital. Last night he had an anxiety episode. I couldn't control it. I couldn't. It got so bad that I had to call the emergency services. He's been admitted and will be here all day under observation."

Frida's heart sank in her chest. Benny. In the hospital. An anxiety episode. The words echoed in her head, echoing in her mind. Images of him, disoriented, fragile, flashed through her mind immediately.

"Is he okay now? What exactly happened?" She murmured, trying to process what she had just heard.

Mona took a long pause, and Frida could imagine her bringing a hand to her face, struggling to maintain her composure. "I don't know." She sighed. "He's sedated now. Last night I told him something I shouldn't have told him. I told him about Eva-Lis and Lotta... I told him they weren't with us anymore. I didn't think he would take it so badly, but he lost control. He became hysterical, started screaming, asking for you... he said he wanted to see you. Frida, I didn't know what to do. He completely broke down."

Frida felt a mix of emotions: pain, guilt, helplessness. Benny was still trapped in that broken world, that limbo where she was still his wife, where reality as it was was unbearable. "Mona, I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say. This shouldn't be happening." Frida murmured, almost in a whisper.

The line went silent for a moment. Mona, her voice shaking, broke the pause. "Frida, I can't take it anymore. I can't handle this. I love him, you know that, but I don't know how to handle it. I can't be enough for him right now. Benny is begging for you, and I don't know how to tell him no. Please... come to the clinic. Just to talk to him, to calm him down. I can't do it alone." Mona said, with a pleading tone that Frida hadn't heard before.

Frida, hearing those words, felt a weight on her chest. She knew how difficult it was for Mona to ask for help, and even though the situation was painful for all parties, Benny was still someone Frida loved deeply, even if her love had changed over time. She couldn't turn her back on him.

"I'll be there. Don't worry, Mona. I'll be at the clinic as soon as possible," Frida replied determinedly.

Mona let out a sigh, this time one of relief. "Thank you, Frida." Mona murmured. "Really, thank you."

Frida hung up the phone and sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, taking deep breaths, trying to prepare herself for what was to come. She knew that seeing Benny in that state would be difficult, but she also knew that she couldn't run away from the situation. Benny needed her, and even though she couldn't change what was happening, she could be there for him, like an anchor in the middle of his internal storm.

Henry entered the room with a relaxed smile as always, his apron lightly splattered with liquid and jam, a sign that all this time he had been busy in his favorite place, the kitchen. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and toast permeated the room, filling the air behind him. When he heard Frida's voice, he was encouraged to enter, expecting to find her rested. However, as he crossed the threshold, he noticed something different in her expression: concern, a shadow in her eyes that made him stop dead in his tracks.