My Heart Is Yours

Chapter 19

Rio and Mary Anne arrived at the hospital where Alden's friends Mark, Eric, and Jeff were waiting with Mark's mother, as well as a young man looking very distraught sitting in a corner of the waiting lounge of the OR. When Mark saw them approach, he immediately stood and met them half-way. His mother and his friends followed.

"Tita Rio," he called to get their attention.

Rio immediately went to him and said, "where's my son? Tell me what happened."

Mark immediately related what happened, with Eric and Jeff adding some information that Mark missed out. Mark pointed at the man sitting in the corner as the person responsible for hitting Alden. Rio only then noticed that there was a police officer standing beside the man. She looked at him and sensing that someone was watching him, the man looked back and he looked terrified.

Mark continued to explain that the man was driving too fast for suburban driving, plus the fact that he was texting and wasn't watching the road.

The force of the impact between Alden and the SUV was really strong that Alden not only hit the hood hard but his body was tossed a few feet, landing head first. Alden was in very bad shape when the ambulance arrived and he wasn't conscious. They immediately brought him to the OR. And now, they were waiting for any news from the surgeon who was operating on him.

At the mention that her son's condition, Rio's legs grew weak that she would have fallen if Mary Anne wasn't holding her tight. She held on to her friend, drawing strength from her.

"Has anyone showed up to give you any news on what's happening to Alden?" Rio asked softly, her voice was shaking. Mary Anne held her tighter.

"No one has come out to give us any news," Jeff answered. "But I'll go check right now if there is anything they could provide."

He quickly left the group and Mark's mother led the two friends to a seat. Mark and Eric then left to get some refreshments for the new comers. When they were seated, the young man who ran Alden over slowly approached the group.

"Are you Mrs. Faulkerson?" Asked the young man. He looked very distraught and pale. Mary Anne realized that it took so much for this guy to approach the mother of the person he'd hit.

"Yes?"

"I don't really know if it would mean anything to you," he started. "But I am really sorry for hitting your son. I know I'm completely at fault. I take full responsibility. If you press charges, I will completely understand and will not fight it. I won't even pretend to think I know how you're feeling. But please know that I am truly sorry."

Rio just looked at the young man and started to cry. Mary Anne placed her arms on her shoulders and just let her. With her friend in distress, Mary Anne took it upon herself to answer the young man who clearly looked remorseful at what he had done.

"Pray that her son will recover from this," she said in a low voice as she tried to hold her anger. "I will personally see to it that you will rot in jail if Alden doesn't recover. You don't know how many lives you've affected because of your recklessness."

The man just nodded, already resolved to the fate that awaited him. As he walked away accompanied by the police officer to the nearest precinct to give his report, the operating room door opened and a female nurse emerged in surgical scrubs.

"Is Ms. Faulkerson here?" She asked Mark's mother who she had recognized when Alden was brought in.

Mark's mother nodded and brought her to Rio. Rio upon seeing the nurse approach stood up, with Mary Anne in tow.

"Mrs. Faulkerson," she started. "The doctor is still in surgery. But he wanted me to inform you that he's doing the best he can for your son. What we can say at the moment that even if his injuries are severe, his heart is strong. So there is a huge chance that the operation would be successful. The doctor will be with you as soon as the operation is done. Please stay strong for your son's sake."