The Return of Amanda (sequel to For the Last Time)

Chapter 4

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Saint's POV

I paced the living room with unsteady feet as I anxiously awaited Perth's mom's call.

I could not help cursing.

Damn! Why was Perth so jealous of Joss? If he hadn't jumped to all the wrong conclusions he would not have gotten involved in that car crash.

I grabbed my phone that was lying on the coffee table as soon as I heard the first ring. It almost fell off my grasp in my hurry to swipe the screen.

"Saint, the ambulance guys took Perth to Bangkok Community Hospital," Perth's mom informed me before I could even say hello. "I will pick you up from your unit and together we will go see him there."

"Yes, mom, thank you, mom," was all I could say as I rushed down to the front of the lobby of our building to wait for her.

"Have faith, Saint," Perth's mom told me as soon as I sat beside her on the front seat of her car. "He's going to be alright."

I nodded wordlessly, my tears starting to flow once more.

Perth's mom patted my hand before driving off toward the hospital.

Perth's mom circled every single floor of the parking building until we reached the second to the top floor where she finally found an empty parking spot. We took the elevator down to the ground floor and then walked towards the lobby of the main entrance to the hospital.

We were informed by the receptionist that Perth was in Room 315. We hurried to the elevators and took the first one that opened up.

Perth's mom took hold of my cold and clammy hand and gave it a reassuring grip as we stepped out of the elevator and walked towards Room 315.

No sooner had we stepped into the room than I heard the voice that I had dreaded to hear in my entire life.

"Mom!" Amanda rushed forward and gave Perth's mom a tight hug.

I ignored her and was about to take a step towards Perth's bed when she stopped me by holding out her arm across my way.

"Don't disturb him, please," she said in her sickly honeyed tone of voice, "let him rest. You can see his eyes are closed. Let's wait for him to regain consciousness."

"I would like to at least hold his hand," I said, stepping forward once more.

"No, no, no, Saint, please," Amanda begged once more, "can't you be a little less selfish and wait for him to wake up?"

I was about to ignore Amanda's pleas when I felt Perth's mom's hand on my shoulder.

"Saint, Amanda's right. Perhaps it would be best to let him rest for now," she said.

I nodded in defeat and sank into the small sofa in one corner of the room.

"Mom," Amanda was talking again, "would you like me to get you something to drink? A carton of orange juice maybe?"

"I'm fine, Amanda, thanks," Perth's mom replied.

"S...Saint," I heard Perth calling weakly from his bed.

I stood up from the couch but Amanda had rushed to Perth before I could reach him.

"Perth, honey, are you in pain?" Amanda was holding on to Perth's hand. "Would you like me to get the nurse for you?"

"My... my knee hurts badly," Perth replied weakly.

Amanda turned to me.

"Saint, Perth is complaining of pain in his knee. Would you kindly go get the nurse for him?"

Before I could move, Perth's mom was already walking out the door to go and get a nurse.

"S...Saint? Saint is here, Amanda?"

"Yes, Perth, but don't worry, I'm here with you, holding your hand right now," Amanda replied.

"S... Saint, please come closer. I... I can't see you," Perth could barely talk as he grimaced in pain.

I steeled my emotions. I took a deep breath before speaking.

"I won't go any closer to you until you tell Amanda to leave the room right now," I said in a firm voice.

Amanda turned to me, her face all contorted with anger and hatred.

"How could you be so heartless when you can see that he is suffering right now?" she hissed at me.

"But you are already right there beside him giving him all the comfort that he needs," I countered.

I knew that I shouldn't be fighting with Amanda in front of Perth, the helpless patient, but I couldn't stand her presence in the same room as me and Perth.

Amanda was about to open her mouth when the door opened and Perth's mom and a nurse walked in.

"Hi, Perth," said the nurse, "your mom said that you're complaining of pain in your knee."

Perth nodded weakly, grimacing once more.

"I will inject this liquid pain medicine into your IV and in a few minutes it should be able to relieve your pain," the nurse said, already setting down the small tray which carried the syringe and the cotton swab on the bedside table.

Amanda had to step aside to let the nurse get close to the IV pole.

I seized the chance to get near Perth.

Amanda glared at me as I took Perth's hand in mine. I was not going to impose on Perth to tell Amanda to leave the room until the pain medication had taken effect but I was not going to let go of Perth's hand as we waited for the pain to go away.

As soon as the nurse finished her task, she said to Perth, "I will come back in twenty minutes to assess your pain, okay?"

"Thank you, nurse," Perth said.

Just before the nurse turned away, she happened to notice that I had been holding Perth's hand. She looked at me and smiled.

And then she said to Perth, "You got a very handsome visitor here, Perth."

"He's not just a visitor," Perth replied, "he is my spouse."

"Not for long," we all heard Amanda mutter as she stormed out of the room, making sure to slam the door after her.