the Chasm

Chapter 2

He was in and out of the hospital that they'd moved her to for the days following the accident. He would go straight to the front desk and ask about her condition but they always told him the same thing - that she hadn't woken yet and that was all they could disclose since he wasn't a relative of hers.

Sometimes he would sit outside her room and see how the woman whom he assumed was her mother fussed about her non-stop. He had not yet had the courage to tell her that he was the one who had caused the accident. He feared that he wouldn't be able to handle the wrath of her loved ones.

He was returning for the eleventh time over the course of 3 days (the receptionist informed him of the exact number in, what he believed to be, a very unprofessional manner) when he bumped into a very verbose, fiery-tempered woman. He mumbled a quick apology but that clearly wasn't enough for her. She started screaming at the top of her lungs about how he could have injured her and how her life was bad enough as it was.

He simply stood there blinking, waiting for her to calm down. When her anger had finally subsided, he offered to buy her coffee and she, not being used to people handling her rants so well, accepted.

They walked to the cafeteria in complete silence. She was finally starting to realise how immature her behaviour had been and he was just too scared that if he said something it might spark her rage all over again. When they reached the cafeteria, she asked for a cappuccino, saying that it was a gift to the world. Finally, they sat down and drank their coffee in renewed silence.

When she could no longer stand the silence, she blurted out, "I'm sorry for screaming at you in the hallway!"

He simply smiled and apologised once again for bumping into her. She wasn't about to stop talking though.

"I've just been under a lot of stress these past few days. I'm really sorry that I snapped like that. My friend was recently in an accident and hasn't woken up yet. I think I'm just about ready to lose my mind!"

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. May I ask what happened to her?"

"She was hit by a car when she went out for a run and I feel horrible because I haven't been able to be by her side."

A terrible wave of nausea washed over him as it finally dawned on him that this must be the best friend of the woman that he had hit.

"...so my business is just starting up but is doing really well and therefore requires my constant attention. Today is the first time that I can see her but I'm so scared that Claire is going to hate me for not being here for Liz sooner."

"Who's Claire?"

"She's kind of like her mom."

"Oh."

"So what do you think I should do?"

"I think that you should tell me how Claire likes her coffee so that I can buy her one too. Then we can get her some lunch since she probably won't have eaten. I'm sure she will understand your situation."

"I seriously hope that's the case. And thanks but you really don't have to buy her coffee. I can pay for my own apology-drinks."

"Suit yourself."

The walk back to Liz's room was one filled with tales of the woman's childhood with Liz. By the time they reached Liz's room, he already felt like he had known them all his life. Only after they had reached the door did it occur to him to inquire of the lady's name.

"...and then there was the time we tried to steal the neighbour's dog because we thought..."

"Sorry to interrupt but I don't think I caught your name."

She stretched out her hand with a bright smiling face and said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Sometimes I forget to get the basic introductions out of the way first. My name is Cherise Stewarts."