Matters Of The Heart ✔

21. PEACE AMIDST CHAOS

Hey, hope you all are doing well. Here's another update, a short one though but much needed. I hope you all like it.
Stay Safe. 💕

The hour hand of the clock is pointing in the direction of eight while the minute hand is standing still on exactly eleven. The seconds ticked by and my eyes are beginning to burn as I stare at the clock on the wall, unblinkingly.

Nine pm indicates the end of visiting hours and in about four minutes, a nurse would enter the room and politely ask me to leave. I felt like I have been trapped in the same day ever since the first visit at the hospital eleven days ago. Every day, I come to the hospital right after school, eat my lunch, take a power nap, complete mine and Nick's assignments, copy my notes in his notebook, talk to him and go back home.

I stare at his face, the face that had been extremely calm and passive ever since we brought him in that God awful day. A white gauze is wrapped around his forehead due to the severe hit he took, his left cheek and chin has cuts and scratches, two of his ribs on the left side also suffered a great impact and he had been in this sleeping state ever since. His vitals has been stable from the past three days but he is still not waking up.

Ezra flew right back along with Elijah as soon as they heard news of his accident. I was so out of my wits that day, I did not even think of informing his parents. Had it not been for Anwyll, they would have been waiting for him to come home, unaware of the circumstances.

The door clicks open and my head whips in the direction to find Ezra standing there with a small smile and not the male nurse whose name I have come to know as Marcus.

"Hey, princess." He greets softly and close the door behind him.

I give him a half- hearted smile as he walks closer to the bed where his younger brother was lying nearly lifeless.

"You should wake up now, Nick. Making a girl wait is not polite, especially if that girl is my princess." He speaks to him in a gentle tone while caressing his hair.

Tears well up in my eyes as I look at his shattered state, tiredness is casting a shadow over his features as his shoulders sag in defeat.

"Ezra." I call his name, my voice coming out weak.

He looks at me with a sad smile, "Can't he just wake up? What would it take for him to open his eyes? I'd give up the world for it."

I finally break down in tears as I hear his broken voice and rush to hug him. He embraces me tightly and cries in my shoulder.

It was the first time that I was witnessing him cry like that. He has been so calm and composed since day one but even he can be so much strong so it was bound to happen. His love for Nick knew no bounds, we all were well aware of that.

"Can I stay here with you tonight, please?" I ask in vain.

He pulls away and shakes his head while running a hand down his tear stained face, "No, princess, go home." He denies my request once again.

"Ezra, please. You have been turning me away since the first day. I want to stay here, I need to stay here with Nick." I plead.

He sighs and shakes his head once, "Tomorrow night, you can stay. I promise. It's just that tonight's school night and you already have been going home late. Come on now, Savannah is waiting for you at the reception." He tells me and points at the door.

My shoulders sag in defeat as I look at him with nothing but utter irritation at the moment and walk out without bidding him goodbye.

They need to stop treating me like a child.

As I walk to the reception, I see mom sitting patiently on a chair waiting for me.

"Mom." I address her to take her attention of her phone.

She looks at me and stands up from the chair before enveloping me in a hug. I welcome her warmth and smile at her as we both pull away.

"Let's go home, yeah?" she asks placing a hand on my forearm.

I nod my head and follow her out to the car parking area. My mind takes me back to the day when the accident happened. Five minutes after we reached the hospital, they took Nick in the OT and Anwyll called his parents. Needless to say, Antonia and David, both, were so devastated to hear the news.

The police investigation concluded that the other man was drunk out of his mind and died at the spot. His wife and son came to the hospital to apologize for what had happened despite the fact that they, themselves, looked like their whole was turned upside down and torn to shreds. I sympathized with them. After all, it was not their fault.

Mom turns in her seat to face me and I secure my seatbelt before looking at her soft, gentle features.

"Eliza, I know it is extremely hard to cope with but I want you to know that it will all go away. Bad times never stay for too long, every cloud has a silver lining. Nick is a fighter, you should be strong for him, too. Life is not always about rainbows and happiness, in fact, sometimes it takes you to the darkest of places without guiding you the way back. You have to find your own way and when you do, you know in your heart that you are survivor as well as pre prepared for the next time it throws you in the deep well. You know when your uncle Nate died, I felt cold and alone and it didn't matter who was there for me instead what mattered was that Nate wasn't there and he will never be. Your dad told me that day how much he loved me and you know what I did? I left him. I left him for my sake and for my sanity. I needed space, Liza and I knew I have had enough so I took my time to heal. Nate's death was an eye opener for me, I realized that no one was going to defend me anymore and that I didn't have that one person I would run to whenever I faced problems. You know what that taught me? That taught me to stand up for myself, to look after myself, to take care of myself, my mental health and make myself a priority. Nate fought my battles for me but that didn't mean that I was any less of a soldier. I fought after he left and I have him to thank for that. If you are strong with Nick, you need to be stronger for him, princess. That's what a relationship is about, you have to be each other's anchor so you can learn to love and support each other under all circumstances." Mom advises.

I gulp as I digest all that she has said to me as her hand come to wipe the tears I didn't even realize had fallen.

I lean forward and hug her as tightly as I could. My mother is my idol, my role model, my support system and everything. How does she always manage to say the right things and at the right time is beyond me. She knows how to comfort a person because she learned how to comfort herself first.

"Ice cream?" she asks caressing my hair.

I nod and settle back in my seat before taking out a tissue to wipe my face, "Yes, please." I say in a hoarse voice.

She chuckles and starts the engine, "It always helps." She winks at me.

I grin and nod my head in agreement, "Indeed, it does." I say and turn to look out the window.

Sometimes, that's all you need in the toughest of times; your mother, the right advice, a long drive and ice cream. For the first time in eleven days, my heart felt a little at ease.