Written in the Stars

Chapter 22

He opened his eyes. The first thing that came to his vision is the white ceiling and the mint-colored walls. On the far side of the room was a tv set. Tahimik ang paligid and he can only hear the faint sound of the aircondition unit. Rays of sunlight were peeking from the blinds of the closed windows, ibig sabihin ay umaga na. Where is he?

Tumingin siya sa kaliwa niya. There was a side table holding a fruit basket. May mini ref din at table malapit doon. An IV stand was beside his bed and when he looked at his left hand ay may nakakabit nga na dextrose. Naging malinaw na sa kanya, he was in a hospital.

When he looked at his right, a big couch and a wooden cabinet was on the far side. There was another table holding the telephone and a few other things. Napansin din niya na may babae na nakadukdok sa kama niya. He can tell it was Lianne, she seemed to be sleeping.

Alden tried to refresh his memory of the recent events. A lot of things has happened yesterday. Nabaril siya, Madi was caught, he went out of the hospital then he drove for two hours to Tagaytay to see Lianne.

When he got there, nagmatigas ito na harapin siya, he waited under the cold rain for more than an hour pero hindi rin naman siya natiis nito. Then everything blacked out at hindi na niya alam ang sumunod na pangyayari.

He's guessing dinala siya nito sa ospital at hindi iniwan. His heart warmed up at the thought. Lianne cares for him, he was sure of that.

His right hand reached out and gently brushed a few strands of her hair away from her face. She made a small movement. Her eyes fluttered, shut, blinked again, then she fully opened it and their eyes met.

"Thank God you're awake" she whispered. Bakas ang pag-aalala sa ekspresyon nito.

"Hi" bungad niya. His voice sounded hoarse.

"Hi" Lianne greeted back. Nag-aalangan ito na ngumiti sa kanya but she touched his arm.

"Do you need anything? Do you want me to call the doctor?" tumayo ito pero pinigilan niya.

"No, I'm fine.. I just need to drink" pakiramdam niya kasi ay tuyong tuyo ang lalamunan niya.

Lianne got up and took the small bottled water on the table. Inalalayan siya nito sa pag-inom. He took a few sip.

"How are you feeling? May masakit ba sayo?" tanong nito ng matapos siyang uminom.

"Medyo may masakit lang dito sa ulo ko but it's bearable"

She sat back on the chair, "Your head hit the ground when you fell but the doctor assured me it's just bruises at walang major trauma"

"What happened?" he asked. Lianne's panicky voice was the last thing he could remember.

"You fainted. Buti na lang may dumaan na security guard and I asked him to help me carry you to the car. Dinala kita dito sa ospital because you were burning up with fever and you were also bleeding. The doctor said some of your stitches popped open. You've lost blood so they had to do a blood transfusion" mahabang paglalahad nito.

Wala siyang naaalala sa mga nangyari, he guess he was really unconscious. His wound still hurt a little pero hindi na ito kasing sakit tulad kagabi.

"And I called your dad last night. They were so worried about you. Your mom and your sister drove all the way here kahit sobrang gabi na. They arrived past midnight"

He groaned. He never got to explain to his parents what was going on at kung ano ang nangyari sa kanya after Raiza was freed. His sister probably have told them what happened. They must be really worried.

"Nasan sila?" he asked.

"Pinauwi ko na lang muna sila sa resthouse para makapagpahinga"

Alden noticed she's wearing the same shirt and jeans she was wearing last night. That means magdamag siyang binantayan nito. She never left him.