The Valdez Affair

19. When Life Throws You Lemons

Sebastian's hand holding mine was all that kept me strong on the ride to the hospital which seemed to go on for eons.

I had a fight with Victor in the morning. I had been upset with him when I last saw him. I even remembered saying some mean things to him. Or maybe I didn't. I couldn't tell if they were real memories or not.

All I knew was that I was so, so scared. It was a kind of terror that I had never felt before which seemed to rule out every single moment of dislike for my brother I'd had before. If I thought of him - which was the only thing I was doing - I saw an image of him, lying on the ground, hurt and injured, his glasses snapped beside him and an open wound flowing with blood.

I didn't know if that was the case. I hadn't bothered to ask Mom exactly what had happened and neither was she in the state to tell me the details over the phone.

I stumbled out of the car as soon as it was parked, barely making it out due to my shaking legs. I was more grateful for having Sebastian than I had ever been before.

"Victor Watson?" He asked the receptionist, his thumb drawing patterns on my hand that seemed to comfort me to an extent.

"He's being operated right now," the girl answered after checking on her computer. "Second floor. Turn to the right side once you exit the left. It's at the end of the corridor."

Sebastian thanked her before we headed to the elevator. His hand shifted to wrap around my shoulders once we were inside.

"Thank you," I said, my voice soft.

"What for?"

"For being here with me."

The door of the elevator opened on the second floor and we exited it. "Of course, Ariel," Sebastian said. "Anything for you."

I stared at him for a moment, incapable of anything but blinking. Like an idiot. But I couldn't dwell on it for too long. The thought of Victor never left me and I was making my way across the corridor just a few seconds later.

I saw Mom, pale but stable, sitting on a bench next to Dad, his tie loose and his hair rumpled. Violette was sitting at another corner of the bench, closer to the side I was coming from, clutching its side as silent tear flowed down her cheeks. She was the first one to see me.

"Ariel," she breathed out before rushing over to hug me.

I reciprocated her gesture, trying to comfort her as much as possible through the single embrace. We only let go of each when I heard Mom call out to me, her voice soar.

I squeezed Violette once again before I went to sit next to my mother. "Hi," I said. "How is he?" I didn't know how I managed to speak without my voice even shaking a little. I surprised myself with the calmness I had suddenly begun to emanate, even with Violette. Mentally, I was more scared than I could ever remember being my whole life, but on the outside, I had put on a strong mask without even realizing it.

"They're operating him," Mom answered. "The doctor said he has a few broken bones and he was bleeding a lot when they found him."

Her words made me remember something else. "You didn't tell me what exactly happened." I tried to sound gentle, but there was a limit to my ability.

Mom didn't reply, turning to Dad instead, who was seated beside her, to explain. "He was coming home with Freddie and his mother," Dad said, looking tired. His forehead was wrinkled and his skin pale. "They were turning a corner and they got hit by an oncoming car. The other driver was reversing his car because he had to switch lanes and was going fast. The impact caused their car to crash against a pole at the back. All four of them have become hospitalized."