A Beautiful Paradox (COMPLETE)

Chapter 1

"What?  But we called your brother and he said that he didn't know where you were!"

"I...uhh...I actually asked him to do that for me.  I just wanted to be alone for a while."

"You could have at least let us know that you were ALIVE!  Seriously, Kit!  Do you know how scared and f'king worried everyone was?"

Kit flinched.

"I'm sorry.  I wasn't thinking straight, and I really didn't mean to worry everyone."

And Kit truly was sorry.  He really didn't realize that it had already been three days.

"Kit, I'm seriously going to punch you when I actually see you.  I'm coming to pick you up right now."

Wait, what?!

"Wait, right now?  Pha, it's pretty late.  I promise I'll call you tomorrow and we can meet then."

"No, I'm heading over right now.  I'll be there in about 30 minutes.  Be ready."

And with that, the call ended.  Okay then.  Kit was extremely sorry and yes, if he was in Pha's shoes right now, he would totally head over, even if it was just for the sole purpose of throwing deadly punches and kicks to a friend that was being an inconsiderate asshole for the past few days, but seriously?  Right now?  Kit sighed and slowly made his way to the bathroom.  If there was one thing he knew about Pha from his long friendship with him, it was that Pha was the most stubborn individual on the planet and if he said that he was heading over right now, then he was heading over.  And that was it.  No buts or ifs.

***

"Pha, why are we at the hospital?"

As announced, Pha came to pick Kit up in exactly 30 minutes.  He called Kit, demanding his friend to get his ass out to meet him, and while he impatiently waited for Kit to come out, he really did plan to punch Kit for making him worry so much (or okay, realistically, to swear at him a bit more).  But the minute he saw Kit's face, Pha just muttered some curse words under his breath, quietly opened the door and carefully shoved an unyielding Kit into the front seat of his car.  And he drove silently to his destination alongside Kit's never-ending string of questions.

Pha took a deep breath and looked at his annoyed friend, who was glaring at him and also looking quite worried given the abrupt hospital setting.  It was obvious that his friend was stuck in a living hell for the past three days.  Pha noted that Kit's eyes were terribly swollen, most likely from incessant crying, he looked like he didn't sleep and eat in forever, and judging from the raspiness of his voice, it sounded like he had a difficult time getting his voice out.  At that last thought, Pha quickly rummaged the backseat of his car and grabbed a water bottle for his friend.  Who still looked irritated and completely miserable.  Pha gestured for Kit to drink the water, which Kit, after a few glares and a couple of dramatic sighs, reluctantly did.

"Okay Pha. Seriously, tell me what's going on. You're scaring me now."

Okay, so Pha was actually stalling.  He really didn't want to tell his friend anything.  Heck, he'd rather drag Kit to the hospital and get him treated for his probable lack of nutrition and sleep for the past few days.  Pha knew his next words would devastate his friend, crush him.  And Kit already looked extremely beat up, so how could he deliver the truth that would viciously rip Kit apart?  So, Pha intentionally had delayed telling his friend over the phone, worried that Kit would lose control and get himself into an accident while driving to the hospital.  He delayed telling Kit during the car ride, more because he couldn't bring himself to hurt his friend so soon.   He delayed the moment as much as possible, but Pha knew that this was it.  He had to say it now.

"Kit.  First, take a deep breath.  I want you to hear me out all the way, okay?  Hear me out before you do anything or even think of doing anything."

"Okay."

Kit reluctantly agreed.  He was seriously getting freaked out now by Pha's weird behavior.  Kit suspected that what he was going to hear was going to shatter his heart.  Pha was his best friend, he knew his friend for so long and immediately recognized the sheer worry and agony in his friend's face.  And from that, Kit knew that someone was hurt and that someone was at the hospital in front of him right now.  Someone he knew and judging from Pha's expression, someone who was very dear to him.

"A couple of days ago, Ming got into a car accident."

The whole world stopped.  Ming.

"Fortunately, he was sent immediately to the hospital and they were able to treat him before it got too late.  The doctors said that the surgery was successful.  But he was physically injured.  He fractured three ribs on his left side, broke his arm, and got several cuts from the broken glass.  It's going to take some time for him to fully recover."

Kit took a deep breath.  Ming was alive.  Kit was seriously expecting the worst, and even though it was very far from ideal, Ming was still alive and breathing.  

"Okay, so is he resting right now?  Can I go see him?"

But words were just words.  Kit needed to see it with his own eyes.  To see that Ming was actually okay, was actually breathing.  Consumed with that thought, Kit was ready to spring out of the car, but Pha quickly grabbed him.

"Wait Kit, before you do, there's one more thing that I need to tell you."

So, there was a catch.  Of course, given his bad luck, there had to be a catch.  Kit held his breath, preparing himself for what seemed like an eternity.  Pha sighed.  There was no way to alleviate what he was about to say to Kit.

"Ming also hit his head during the accident.  The doctors said that he's suffering a concussion and they won't know the full effects of it until he wakes up."

"Until he wakes up?"  

"Ming hasn't waken up yet."

Kit couldn't breathe.