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The car ride seemed to take an eternity and Toronto's traffic on a Saturday evening wasn't helping. Bradley tried his best to rush past most cars, without worrying about the consequences.
She was inconsolable tracking back to Sienna's tone and checked her phone for constant updates. Although Bradley wished to speak, he held her hand with his right, gripping it for some sense of comfort.
When arriving, he let her go, looking back at him as he sat in the waiting room before receiving his reassuring nod and proceeding to the elevator. Almost all her colleagues knew, therefore none dared to ask.
He gave Eliana the time she required to go up and check on Randolph's situation, trying his best to keep himself distracted from all the weird stares he was getting, especially from this pre-teen by his side, who he could clearly hear was talking about him to his mother, who simply ignored him over her magazine.
With all the rush, we had barely any time to change, therefore kept his basketball shorts, covering all with a large hoodie of his.
The game was the last thing on his mind, having ignored his colleague's and John's messages for the past 30 minutes. Is mind was occupied by Eliana and the terrible situation she was going through.
When she got to his room, Sienna stopped her in her tracks before going in. Through her blurry vision, she could see some of her colleagues dealing with the elder man's body and Sienna took her friend in her arms, trying to avoid her from the shock.
"He was well all night," Sienna's voice cracked "always content when speaking of you. He was so happy for you! After dinner, we gave him space to watch the game, against our recommendations. But later on, when Tyler was walking by, he noticed he was gasping for air and immediately called for help." She paused, before gulping and thinking of how to finish her speech.
The rest of the words sounded distant and vague for Eliana, as all she could put her mind into was the man who was standing in the room she was forbidden to go in to.
With the only strength left she had in her legs, her friend took her down to the waiting room, where she met Bradley. Neither exchanged a word, but instead a sympathetic smile.
"Please, stay with her." her friend begged. He nodded reassuringly, before she rushed back.
Eliana walked towards him with her red, puffy eyes. He tried his best to keep a strong facial expression and opened his arms, taking her small figure in his tall body.
They stood like this for a few seconds without questioning it. He would've stood there for hours, if needed.
He kissed the top of her head, before speaking. "We should get out of here."
"If you can take me home, Bra-"
"You are in no condition to go home by yourself, El." He caressed her hair, as she pressed against his chest. "I'll take you with me back to my place. Please."
She easily surrendered, having no strength to enter an argument at this point. He took her hand in his, guiding her down to the parking lot and helped her in every step of the way, even when placing her in the passenger seat of his car.
The whole ride was silent on both ends, he failed to find the suited words and she was too tired to speak.
They arrived to his mansion, which she paid no mind to, as he guided her inside to his guest room, sitting on the coach. She cuddled next to his large figure, as he simply took her in his large arms.
"He had a heart-attack." Were her first words.
Bradley cared not to reply, but instead let the young nurse let it out.
"He was doing fine all day. It was my fau-"
"You're not to blame, Eliana."
"It is my fault, Brad. If I had stayed, if I was by his side when he needed the most."
He caressed her hair, trying to calm her sobs. "You didn't know. It was unpredictable and it wasn't your shift to begin with."
"I should have guessed. It happens all the times, patients get an awful-ton better before their final breaths. He had been doing so good." She sighed, opening her eyes trying to stop all flooding memories that rushed in.
"This doesn't mean it's connected to any precedents. No one expected it to happen."
"And your game, Brad..." she looked up at him. "You were doing so good. You shouldn't have left, if I had just left silently. I'm terribly sorry."
"Don't worry, Eliana. I'll deal with it tomorrow. I left because I wanted to. Can't stand seeing you like this, you were such a good cheerleader. I can swear my teammates were very jealous of me tonight."
She let out a dry chuckle as he smiled down at her.
Even at this, even at her worst moment, he found her beautiful.
He pecked her forehead whilst trying to part away from the original conversation, Bradley started a whole monologue with the intent of parting Eliana's mind from the previous chaos.
It worked wonders, as soon they both fell asleep while hugging to each other, in the sofa of his guest-room.
