I had heard the accident over the phone when Derrek called me earlier on. I had heard the voices of the people that had come to rescue him afterwards and I had heard very clearly when one of them had said he wasn't breathing. At that point, I had dumped my phone and pulled on the first clothes I had seen before rushing out with just my car keys. I had been so worried about Derrek and had cried the entire drive to the hospital closest to where he lived. It was the first place I had checked, recalling that he had said he was on his way to me when the accident occurred. There was only one hospital along that route.
I could barely form any sentences when I walked in, I wondered how the receptionist could understand a word I said. Soon, I was informed that Derrek had been badly injured and he was rushed straight into the OR where he was being operated on. I felt slightly relieved knowing he was alive but he wasn't out of the woods yet and no one gave me any more information on his condition. The nurse had assured me that I would have been updated after the surgery was over. Soon after I had signed several forms, I was left alone with my thoughts.
I contacted Tosin from the reception desk of the hospital to inform Alex of what had happened as I had no contact information of any of his friends or family. I had forgotten to bring my phone with me and hers was the only number I knew offhand besides my family. I didn't want to worry them until I had enough information on Derrek's condition.
I had thought about Luke several times but I had no way to contact him. Derrek's family deserved to know the state he was in but there was nothing I could do about that. Hopefully, Alex could contact them.
I had spent a long time praying to God to spare Derrek's life before Tosin, Alex and Luke arrived. The couple had only arrived back in Lagos earlier this evening and they looked so exhausted as they walked into the waiting room. Tosin had wrapped her arms around me in comfort as I broke into tears on seeing them.
"He's going to be fine. Don't worry." She said as she brushed her hand over my back.
"It's all my fault!" I cried. "If I hadn't gotten so mad at him, he wouldn't have come to see me and then he wouldn't have been in an accident! It's my fault!"
"That's not true! It was an accident, okay? An accident! There's no way you could have known that this would happen."
I pulled away from her and cleaned away my tears as I turned to Luke who had tears in his eyes. He looked like he was trying so hard to be strong and I felt even worse.
"Luke." I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around him. "I'm so sorry." I sobbed and that seemed to break him because he began to sob as well. We stayed in each other's arms for a while comforting each other before pulling away.
"He's not going to die, is he?" He asked with a scared look on his face and I shook my head as I shrugged my shoulders.
"The nurse said he was really hurt. They're in surgery now." I sniffed, cleaning away my tears as Luke did the same. He informed me that he was going to call his mom to inform her of what had happened and left the room. He had been at a friend's party when Alex called him to tell him of the accident.
Tosin took a seat and gestured for me to sit beside her and we waited for news in silence. I hadn't even noticed Alex wasn't present in the room until I saw him walk in with a worried look on his face.
"Did you find out anything?" Tosin asked as he approached us and Alex gave a heavy sigh.
"They're not saying anything." He said and took a seat beside Tosin. "Oh God!" He sighed again and put his head in his hands. Seeing him caused fresh tears to well up in my eyes.
I just wanted Derrek to be okay. I didn't care if he was engaged to a million women, I just wanted him to survive. I wanted to see him smile again, I wanted to him to tease me again, I even wanted to hear him yell and tell me that his personal life was none of my business. I would have taken that over never seeing Derrek again.
The thought of Derrek dying made my heart ache and suddenly, I felt like I couldn't breathe anymore. I tried to take in deep breaths but I felt like I couldn't get enough air. I felt very hot and suffocated in the waiting room. I needed to get out.
I scrambled up to my feet and ran out of the room, ignoring Tosin's calls. I headed straight to the exit. I drew in deep, long breaths as I got outside where cool breeze blew over me. It was a cool and breezy night with the half moon up in the sky and several dark clouds covering up the twinkling stars. I took a seat on the stairs leading up into the hospital and buried my head on my knees as I cried some more. I prayed some more, pleading for God to save Derrek's life. He may have been my fake fiancé but over these few weeks I'd spent with him, I'd come to care about him a lot and I couldn't have been able to bare it if he didn't survive.
*
"Miss Digiola?"
With heavy eyes which stung from crying so much, I looked up from the floor where my eyes were focused. The doctor had finally showed up after hours of waiting. I got up to my feet and crossed my arms over my chest as I braced myself for whatever he had to say. He had a blank look on his face, so, I had no idea what to expect.
"How is Derrek?" Alex spoke up before I could. I was somewhat thankful to him for doing so because I felt so weak and my throat had become sore from crying for so long. I didn't think I could speak.
"The surgery was successful but he is not out of the woods yet. We've moved him to the ICU and we're keeping him under close observation but we can't say much until we run some more tests after he wakes up." The doctor informed and a sob escaped my lips. I pursed my lips to stop myself from crying once again but my heart ached for Derrek.
"Can we see him?" Luke asked and the doctor shook his head, telling us it wasn't the best time as he was still unconscious.
"Doctor! Doctor!" Luke's mom, Angela rushed up to us. She had stepped out to stretch her legs a few minutes ago and had only returned. She stepped away with the doctor and Alex to find out more information while the rest of us stayed back.
Luke took a seat and buried his head in his hands. I suspected he had been crying again. He and Derrek seemed very close. I couldn't imagine how he must have been feeling. I felt very guilty knowing Derrek had been on his way to see me when the accident occurred. Why did he have to come to me? He should have stayed home and continued being mad at me.
Tosin excused herself to get us some drinks but I was too tired to reply her. I was also very sleepy as I had stayed up most of the night but I couldn't bring myself to sleep, not when Derrek was fighting for his life. Instead, I prayed some more. I must have fallen asleep during the prayers because the next moment I opened my eyes, it was already bright outside.
"Morning." Tosin who was hovering over me gave me a small smile.
I sat up and glanced around to see we were still in the hospital's waiting room. Some part of me had hoped the entire incident had been a nightmare but it was not. Derrek was really in an accident and he was fighting for his life.
"Is Derrek awake now?" I asked, hurrying up to my feet. I wanted to see him. I wanted to tell him to never scare me like that again and most of all, I wanted to give him a hug. I wouldn't have felt any better until then.
"Not yet." Tosin shook her head in reply.
"The doctor hasn't said anything?" I asked again and she shook her head once again.
"Luke, Alex and I are going home to shower and grab a bite. You should come with us." She offered and I shook my head in disagreement. I wasn't leaving here until I knew Derrek was alright. "You need to rest, Tiara. You need to eat as well. It's not going to get any better if you pass out."
"I can't leave him."
"He won't be alone. Luke's mom is staying back with him. She'll call us if there's any update on Derrek."
"I can't-"
"Please, Tiara. Your family must be worried about you. You disappeared without an explanation and you left your phone at home. They shouldn't suffer too, please." I gave a sigh on hearing this and gave a nod in agreement. I hadn't informed anyone of where I was going last night. My family would have been worried. With everything that had happened, I had totally forgotten to contact them.
All three of us left the hospital in Alex's car and the entire ride home was silent. Everyone was lost in their thoughts. I thought back to my fight with Derrek wishing I had acted differently. If I hadn't reacted the way I had, there would have been no need for Derrek to come over to my house and he would have been safe and sound.
I muttered goodbyes to them as I got down from the car and Tosin assured me that everything was going to be fine before they drove off. I dragged myself into the house, hoping everyone was still asleep or had perhaps gone out for the day. It was about nine in the morning and they surely had work and other things. I just wanted a few hours of quiet to rest before I returned back to the hospital, hopefully by then, Derrek would have been awake.
"Tiaraoluwa!" Came my mother's voice as soon as I walked into the house. "Where have you been? Do you know how worried we were?" She yelled as she walked up to me and that just provoked tears to fall down my face.
I began to sob and she stopped in her tracts, staring at me in confusion.
"Tiara, are you okay? What happened? Why are you crying?" She questioned as she walked up to me.
"Derrek." Was all I could say. I was exhausted both physically and mentally and it was no surprise that my legs decided to give out on me afterwards.