The Guy I Once Knew

Confessions

"Wh-what?" Violetta asked him, trembling as she slowly got off the bed.

"Can you please come?" he asked. He sounded like a little boy. Violetta's heart melted at the sadness in his voice. "Hold on," she said. She quickly pulled on a sweatshirt over her pajamas and scribbled a note to her father, and left it on her nightstand. Knowing how concerned and overprotective he was, she didn't want him to call the cops and burn the house down.

She decided to drive to the hospital. She had just gotten her drivers' license, and this was her first actual experience behind the wheel. But she didn't care. The only thing on her mind at that moment was Leon.

She finally got to the hospital, and she rushed to the reception desk.

"Which room is Mrs. Vargas in?" she asked, panting.

"Um, Let me check. Mrs. Daniela Vargas is in Room 103. Down the hall, third door to the right."

She navigated through the crowd, dodging doctors and little kids. She finally found Leon sitting outside Room 103, tapping his foot restlessly. His eyes were red and puffy. She went up to him and sat down beside him.

"Any news?" she asked him.

"Not yet," he said, breaking down. He clutched her hands and began to cry silently. After a few minutes of consoling, he wiped his tears away. Just then, a doctor walked out of Room 103 and approached them.

"Everything is fine, just another panic attack. It's a good thing you brought her here before she could do any harm to herself, Leon. With a few hours of rest, she's going to be alright." he assured them.

"Thanks doctor," said Leon, breathing a sigh of relief.

The doctor then proceeded to write something down on his clipboard before walking away.

"Where's your dad?" Vilu asked Leon.

Leon sighed. "He left. He just left."

"What?"

He turned to look at her with his sad eyes. "It all started about a month ago. My dad and my mom had been fighting a lot then. One morning, he left for work, but he never came back. We tried searching for him, but he was nowhere to be found. Ever since then, my mom's been having consecutive panic attacks. It was okay before, but now they've gotten more severe. Just before we got here, I woke up to the sound of her screaming. I went to her room, and she was gasping for air, her body was twitching with fear."

Violetta gasped. "What is she afraid of?"

"I don't know. But I'm glad she's fine now."

Violetta was staring at his tear-stained yet handsome face. She noticed a big black bruise under his eye.

"Oh my gosh, what happened?" she asked him.

Leon laughed embarrassedly. "When I heard my mom scream, I kinda rolled off the bed and fell face first on the floor." Vilu's eyes widened. "I'm fine," he added.

"No, this looks bad! We have to show someone!" she exclaimed. She took his face in her hands and examined the bruise.

"It's okay, calm down." he told her.

The two of them didn't realize that their faces were inches apart. Once they did, they turned away, blushing, and Violetta said, "We'd better get going."

"I'm going to stay." Leon told her.

"Leon, don't pressure yourself. The doctors are here to take care of her. Besides, they'll call you if something happens."

"Well- oh alright."

They drove back to her house. Everyone was still asleep. They went to her room and Vilu said, "You can take the bed, I'll sleep on the couch."

Leon shook his head. "Of course not, this is YOUR house."

"You haven't slept well in two days and you look like a zombie. Now, don't be an idiot and go to sleep. I insist." Violetta told him.

"Okay fine, Mom." Leon said sleepily as he flopped on the bed. He fell asleep soon after. Violetta brushed his hair out of his eyes and gazed at his face. His angelic face. She covered him with a blanket and turned off the lights before falling asleep on the couch.