"How is she?" Miles asks as I come strolling into the canteen.
"Passed out. They had to give her some morphine," I tell him, grabbing a sandwich and a drink from the display case and walking it to the counter.
I pay for my food and head towards the table that they're all sat at. "You guys can go if you want. I think she may be here for a while," I explain, peeling the plastic off my sandwich.
"Are you sure?" Harper asks guilty, probably not feeling great about leaving Serena.
"Yeah I'll let you know if anything changes," I assure her. They reluctantly agree, saying goodbye before filing out into the hallway.
I follow them out but turn down a different hall, heading back towards Serena's room. I stroll along the hallway, taking bites of my sandwich as I do so.
I push open the door of room number seventy, expecting to see a passed out Serena but my eyes fall on an empty bed.
Nothing seems out of place except the blanket and sheets, which are now falling off the mattress and onto the ground.
It's as if my brain stops working, all logic deserting me as I drop my food and drink onto the floor and rush back out into the hallway.
They probably just moved her to a different room, I repeat to myself as I storm towards the reception.
I come to a halt in front of an older woman, chewing loudly on a piece of gum as she plays a game on her phone.
"Excuse me," I grit, my tone anything but polite.
She looks up, an annoyed expression on her face until her eyes meet mine. "Oh Mr. Cruz how can I help you," She blurts out, dropping her phone onto her desk with a loud thud.
"Serena Verlice, I need to know what room she's been moved to," I demand, tapping my foot impatiently against the polished floors.
She hurries to do as I asked, turning her attention to her computer and tapping on the keys.
"She's in room seventy sir," She tells me.
"No we were in room seventy and now she's been moved to a different one," I try to explain. She furrows her eyebrows in confusion, her eyes drifting back down to the computer screen.
She clicks the mouse a few times before staring at the screen for a moment. "There's no record of a room swap," She mumbles, still focused on the computer.
Any hope that this could be an innocent misunderstand dwindles. My ears start to ring as my breathing picks up, my nails digging into my sweaty palms in hope that the twinge of pain will reground me.
I hear her talking but I can't understand her, the words coming out muffled and incoherent. I suck in a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.
"Get me your security," I mutter, my voice hoarse. "Pardon?" The woman questions.
"Get me your security now," I borderline yell, my worry for Serena personifying it's self in the form of my unwavering anger.
"Yes right away sir," She stutters, scrambling to her feet. "Follow me," She instructs, leading me down the hallway and into an elevator.
No matter how hard I try and regain composure I can't, my mind a jumbled mess of panic and pessimistic thoughts.
The elevator stops on the top floor. I step out into an area that looks much more professional than the rest of the hospital.
"Did you hear me?" The woman asks, breaking me out of my haze. "I said I need to return to my desk, the security office is just in there," She says, still standing in the elevator as she points to a door at the end of the hall.
I nod, my mouth dry.
The elevator dings shut, the sound echoing through the short hallway as I begin walking to the end.
I pass a large break room with numerous nurses and doctors eating within as well as multiple bathroom doors until I eventually reach the room with an icon of a security camera stuck to the door.
I don't bother knocking, pushing my way inside.
The room is small, tiny even. There's an array of computer screens all pointing towards one man in a chair, who is currently fast asleep.
He leans back on the uncomfortable looking chair, his mouth agape as he drolls on himself.
I close the door behind me and approach him, slamming my fist down on the desk. A few things tumble to the ground as he bolts upright, looking alarmed as he assesses his surroundings.
"Who the hell are you?" He practically screeches, gripping his chest as though he's about to have a heart attack.
"Pull up the security footage from room seventy on the ground floor," I order, ignoring his question.
"Excuse me? I can't just give that to a stranger," He scoffs. I lift up my shirt ever so slightly, thankful my pistol is still tucked into my waistband from yesterday.
I pull it out, pressing the cold steel barrel to his temple, my urgency to figure out what happened to Serena making my actions much more unhinged than they'd usually be.
"Pull it up," I instruct calmly, looking down at him.
He flys into action, sitting perched on the edge of his seat as he scrambles to find the footage. "What are you looking for?" He stutters out nervously as he clicks on numerous different files.
"I need to find my girlfriend, she's missing from her room," I tell him.
"Are you sure she didn't just leave on her own accord?" He asks curiously.
"She didn't." I reply bluntly, knowing she was pumped with so much morphine she wouldn't even be able to walk.
He nods, continuing to work away.
"We don't keep cameras inside of patient's rooms but I have the footage from the hallway," He says nervously, scared this revelation will anger me further.
"Play it." I tell him, lowering my pistol.
He presses play and I instruct him to fast forward to the time in which I left Serena alone.
I watch the screen in horror as I leave her room and head towards the canteen, wishing I could go back in time and scream at myself.
Not even two minutes a large nurse in scrubs walks calmly down the hall pushing a wheelchair, a surgical mask concealing his face.
My fists clench in anger, my heartbeat pounding in my ears.
He returns moments later, Serena slouched in the chair as he pushes her into the hallway, the tubes from her IV now dangling uselessly from her arm.
"Should I call the police?" The man questions, already unlocking his phone before I even have time to answer.
I grab it out of his hand, leaving him shocked. He goes to reach for it back but I lift up the pistol yet again, reminding him that he is not the one in control of this situation.
I open the phone app and type in one of the only numbers I know off by heart.
It rings over and over again, the sound almost driving me to insanity as I shift on my feet.
"Hello?" A bored sounding voice picks up.
"Lucian?" I question although I would recognise that voice anywhere. "Emilio? What happened?" He asks urgently, picking up on the desperation lacing my voice.
"Lucian she's gone."