A Chance at Love (completed)

Chapter 5

        I gained consciousness and slowly opened my eyes. I felt pain all over my body especially in my right arm. It’s very painful. I can barely move my fingers. Then I saw my mom right in front of me. “Mom!” I called her.

        “Honey, you’re finally awake!” I saw tears running down her cheeks and then she hugged me lightly. “I won’t forgive myself if you had died from that accident.”

        I remembered everything that happened. I was hurt and lost my control. I touched my mother’s cheeks with my left hand and said, “Mom, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for making you worry. It was really my fault. I wasn’t thinking. I shouldn’t have driven in my situation. What happened to me? I can’t move my arms and even my fingers because of the pain.”

        “It will be alright once it is healed. But…”

        I began to feel nervous on what I was about to hear but I insisted to know everything. “But?”

        “But the doctor said that you can’t use your right hand for a few months. Your arm still needs therapy. That means…”

        “I can’t draw for a few months. That means…I have to stop school and I’ll lose again my chances for New York.” It was the worst moment ever. I felt like everything is being taken away from me, everything that I love. I can’t help but be mad at myself and the whole world. It’s all Mico’s fault. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have refused the offer to study in New York. If it wasn’t because of him, this thing will not happen to me. I hate him.

        We heard a knock at the door. Mom opened it and a bouquet of flowers appeared in front of me. Behind it, I saw a familiar face, Carlos.

        “Carlos, thank you for coming to visit again. She needed a friend today because I haven’t told anyone even her friends of what happened to her. I’ll leave you two to talk. Please take care of her for me.”

        Carlos just nodded and placed the flowers on the table beside my bed. “Hi. I’m not going to ask if you’re okay because I know you’re not. I heard about your condition yesterday.”

        “I can’t believe this is happening to me.”

        “Don’t worry Ms. Salvador. I’ve already talked to my father and he is not backing away with his offer. He even said that you should take time to heal not just physically but emotionally. I told him everything.”

        I was speechless about what he said. He was really my friend.

        “But instead of sending you as an intern, he wanted you to finish your studies here and take the board. He’s going to send you to New York to work for our company. And instead of going there first, you will go with me.”

        “So that means I’ll have to wait till you graduate?”

        He nodded and said, “I was thinking, we are of the same year. You still have one more year to go while I still have two more years left. If you’re not attending this coming semester and you can’t take some of the major subjects you missed from the previous semester ‘til next year, then you’ll probably graduate the same time as me. And, you still need to take the board exam. What do you think?”

        “You’ve really thought about that, huh? Well, if that’s the case, I think I’ll have to file a leave of absence for the entire school year so that I will not waste my time. I could also use the time to unwind, to go somewhere far away from here.”

        “What? No. You can’t do that. You can’t leave me here.”

        “But Carlos, what do you want me to do after the therapy? It will only be a waste of time and money if I enrol for the next semester. And I’m not leaving you. I just need time to heal myself.”

        “How about your friends? They didn’t have a clue about your situation yet. Then you’ll be going somewhere far away without even telling them?” He asked me with a frustrated tone in his voice.

        “It’s okay.  They will surely understand when you explain to them…” I was about to finish what I’m saying when Carlos interrupted me.

        “Wait, what? When I explain to them? So, that means you’re not going to show yourself and just hide? What are you thinking?”

        “Carlos, I don’t want them to see me like this. And if it was my choice, I don’t want anyone to see me in this kind of situation, not even you.”

        He shook his head and after a minute of silence, he finally agreed. “Okay, Ara. I would explain to them your situation and the reason why you don’t want them to see you. But you need to promise me one thing, Arabella.” He said and his face became serious.

        “What promise?” I asked.

        “That you would tell me where you are going after the therapy.”

        “Alright.” After a few seconds, a question popped out of my head. “Uhh, Carlos, who told you I was here? Did my mom tell you?”

        “Well, actually, I was the one who called your parents after the accident happened. A random text from an unknown number texted me about your accident and the hospital you were in. We tried to find the person who texted, but the company said that the number is no longer in use and it is confidential to give out information about the owner. We can’t track it down.”