Always You

2

Arthit's POV

I woke up in an unfamiliar room. The overwhelming smell of bleach hitting me instantly. My eyes squinted at the unusually bright light. I looked around and saw a middle aged nurse adjusting an IV stand next to me and that's when I realised I was in a hospital ward with a saline tube injected in my wrist. She gave me a kind smile as she saw the look of confusion on my face.

"Good morning. Did I wake you up?"

"No, it's fine." I said as I attempted to sit up on the bed.

"Careful there. Here, let me help you."

"Thanks. Um, what happened to me? Why am I here? I remember going out for a stroll and the next thing I know, I am lying on a hospital bed."

"The guys who brought you here last night said they saw you faint on the road and immediately rushed you here. You, my dear, were severely dehydrated and fainted from hypoglycemia. We had to apply IV fluids immediately. When was the last time you ate?"

"It's.. It's been a couple of days since I've had anything other than a piece of gum or a slice of apple now and then."

" You need to take better care of your health."

"Yeah, office has been exhaustive lately", I lied.

"Tsk. All these career obsessed youths I tell you! Such habits are noxious in the long run dear. The doctor will be here in a short while to check up on you."

 "When can you discharge me? I feel pretty fit now and I also have to return to work soon"

"I suggest you take more rest for recovery, but other than that, you seem good enough to be let off by the end of the day. Let's see what the doctor has to say" 

I returned her smile. " By the way, I had my phone on me yesterday. Do you happen to know where it might be?"

She pointed at the drawer next to me. "You only had your wallet with you when you were brought in here." Great. Just great. I must've left it on the park bench last night. 

She left the room , leaving me to look back upon the events that had unfolded in the past few days. It was a nightmarish period, with the loan sharks keeping after me , hospital bills piling on, and not to mention the laborious hours I spent at work. The professional pressure could have been a whole lot better if it wasn't for the boss from hell, Kongpob. The guy made sure to make each day a living hell for me. He was just so determined to driving me nuts, that he had lost all his sense of reason. I could hand him a faultless report and he would be able to pinpoint the the most trivial error. He had gone as far as to reproaching me for a wrong FONT size, the last time I had submitted a near perfect work piece. He then proceeded on to lecturing me for about an hour, regarding the ill effects a non-ideal font brings about. I was mentally rolling my eyeballs to the back of my head the whole while. I didn't know what the deal with him was. I seemed to rub him in the wrongest of ways as he was always really polite and nice with all the other employees. But he goes out of his way to torment me.There wasn't much I could do about the situation anyways. I desperately needed the job and facing the devil incarnate was a small price I had to pay for dealing with graver issues. It's a shame, because I really admired him for his work and capabilities. He is the reason the company is in the place it is today. He joined as an accounting manager and worked his way up the corporate ladder with sheer efforts and brilliance. If only we could be on amicable terms with other. 

I didn't have much time to ponder about it. I needed to inform him that I won't be coming to office today. I borrowed a cell from a passing nurse and called Jennie. She is Em's secretary and my closest friend in the company. I don't think I would have ever survived the dreadful encounters with Kongpob,  if it weren't for Jen lending a patient ear to all my tirades. I asked her to inform my boss about the reasons for my absence. She got all worried and only calmed down when I told her that it wasn't serious and that I would be allowed to leave in a few hours. 

I also called my mother and spoke to her for some time , asking about her health, my sister's whereabouts and also if the money I had transferred last night had been credited.

After stretching my legs for a bit, I was about to doze off, when I heard the sound of curtains being roughly pulled open. My eyes snapped open, only for them to bulge out the instant I saw the person standing in front of me. 

" What are you doing here?!"

Kongpob seemed disheveled as if he had sprinted up the stairs while coming here. But what surprised me was the rare expression that coated his face. He seemed...worried? "I uh- I was just um- I was around the area when I heard about you. So I decided I might as well check up on you."

Why was he stammering? Kongpob Suthiluk never stammers. He is the epitome of composure. "So you have some acquaintance admitted in here too?"

He seemed puzzled at the question and furrowed his brows. "No. Why?"

"Because Khun Kongpob, this 'area' that you were around, is a hospital. You really want me to believe that you decided to take a saunter, during office hours, around ailing crowds?" Does he take me for a gullible 5 year old?

His expression, appeared like that of a priest being caught committing a sin. I thought he might even run out of the room. But he quickly recovered, took a deep breath, and said,

"Fine. I wasn't in the area as I said earlier. I have come solely to see you"