TAINTED LOVE (Racer×CEO)

T H I R T Y F I V E

THIRTY FIVE: HOSPITAL LIGHTS AND BARBIE DOLLS

"Sir, I have been trying to look into this Campbell's report but it's just not making any sense to me," I admitted huffing out loudly. I have literally spent three hours, trying to figure out what the heck this file was about.

Currently, I was standing in front of his desk when he nodded and took the file from me, doing his famous electronic scanning with his eyes. He didn't even slide any nasty comments or shouted at me.

 It has been a few days since the incident at the restaurant and he has been behaving quite well with me; less of an asshole but still he remained distant and would reply with curt nods without looking over at me. 

"This-"

Just as he opened his mouth, my phone rang and it was from Mrs. Smith from the NGO.

"Just a second." I pinched  my eyesbrows.

"Hello?" 

"Ms. Hargrave?" Her voice sounded weared off and husky as if she had been crying for hours. 

"What happened? Tell me." Something felt wrong.

"Can you come to the hospital? Ar-Aria—she… she's not good. Please come. The doctors said that she was having complications while going through chemo th-therapy." Then she broke out into a fit of sobs but I couldn't hear her voice clearly anymore. 

I stood there perplexed as time froze. As the wheel of time turned I could hear the loud thumping against my chest but my legs weren't moving. My breaths were short and plenty. 

I was pulled out of the daze when a pair of arms turned me. It felt as if the symmetry of my body had been rearranged. "Huh?" I breathed out looking at a worrying pair of grey orbs. His lips were moving but I couldn't hear it. Why?

Then he started shaking me vigorously, snapping me out from a lost forest of numbness, perplexion and fear of reacting to the situation.

"What happened? Who was on the other end?" He was tensed, I noticed.

"Tell me Lia!"

"Ah..." I gulped because my throat was burning. "Aria- she's- her condition is not good. Hospital. Now!" I pleaded with my eyes but my mouth was whimpering as my heart shrank after each passing second when her face came in front of me. Aria's happy, giggly face with her ponytails swaying as she jumped up and down. 

"Come," he prodded and that's when I realized that he has been rubbing my arms all that time but now they were gone.

We exited the room in a rush as I tried to calm my breaths by trying to halt between an inhale and exhale for four seconds but I was failing. In vain did the yoga classes go. I always fail at everything I do. I'm such a bloody wimp.

"Get in the elevator."

"No-no." I was going to have a panic attack if I didn't avoid the usage of closed spaces. Running towards the stairs, I climbed them down to the first one. I was definitely out of breath and now I couldn't breathe.

Theodore was running towards me, he stooped to say to the receptionist, "Cancel all the meeting, all the appointments, everything." His voice was echoing in the massive room and a few eyes shot towards us.

"Yes, sir." 

We settled in the car and the driver pulled out towards the hospital. My hands were badly shaking as I remembered the caring little girl that she would be and bring me flowers from the garden out of nowhere and then leave without a word. She was so innocent, she didn't deserve it.