Miranda was completely shattered. She had no idea how to react or what to do. Everything was taking its toll on her, and it appeared that her life was taking a wrong turn.
The phone call she received the next day took everything to a whole new level. Miranda was at her desk when her phone rang from an unknown number. She was unsure whether she should take the call or not, but she answered it anyway.
"Hello."
"Miranda, this is Nancy. You must come to the Towns Hospital right away. Eric was involved in a car accident —" Miranda couldn't believe what she was hearing. Yes, she wanted to be away from him, but not at the cost of his life.
She rushed to the hospital and went straight to his room. Eric was lying on the bed, his head wrapped in a white bandage.
"Miranda," Nancy said as she approached her. "He is in critical condition. The doctor won't know if he would wake up or not."
Miranda sobbed as she ran towards Eric. "I am truly sorry, Eric. Please get up. You cannot abandon our daughter and me. I am sorry for saying I wanted to be away from you. I won't be able to leave without you. I promise to tell you everything and never to bring up the subject of divorce again. Please wake up, Eric. Please—"
"You promise?" He asked her, which made her wipe her eyes and hug him.
Eric struggled to sit up straight with her in his arms. Miranda was not leaving him, which made him feel warm.
"I promise, Miranda, I am fine. I am not going anywhere." He reassured her.
"I am truly sorry, Eric."
Eric had no idea how much of an impact this trick would have on Miranda.
"Miranda, I am perfectly fine. I was involved in a minor accident. I have actually been awake for an hour." Miranda let go of him and looked at him with teary eyes.
"So, all of this was an act?" She asked him, dumbfounded.
"Well, sort of. I couldn't make you see me any other way." He nervously scratched his neck.
"So, everything was a lie." She stated matter-of-factly.
"Not everything. I have had a concussion. I stumbled—" But she cut him off.
"You can never stop, Eric, can you? You didn't think the last time was enough. You just set a new standard for stooping low."
"—Miran—" But she slapped him across the face.
"If you really want to kill me, just give me poison; if that's too much for you, I will do it myself. You can do whatever you want. I am officially done with you." Miranda then exited the room and sat on a bench in the hospital corridor, started to cry.
After a few minutes, she was still as a statue when she felt little hands wiping her tears. She was surprised to see her daughter.
"Lizzy—" Miranda whispered.
"Mom, please don't cry."
Melissa couldn't believe what she was hearing. She clung to her daughter tightly. "I am so sorry for abandoning you, baby. I wish I could tell you everything."
"Perhaps when I am older, just don't leave us again." She informed her mother.
"I promise." Miranda kissed her on the cheeks.
"Dad told me everything. Please forgive him. He loves you. He acts childishly, but it's because he wants you back. He's been moping around for the past few days, you know."
"Lizzy—" Miranda let out a sigh. She didn't know how to explain to her how complicated things were. "Let us take things one step at a time." Lizzy was left with no choice but to nod her head.
Miranda left after a few more moments of conversation with her. She did want to stay after Lizzy explained that Eric had a minor accident where he slipped due to water on the floor, but nothing was serious. So, Miranda decided to leave the hospital without meeting Eric because she didn't know if she could face him without hitting him again after the trick he pulled on her.
Miranda was doing paperwork in the orphanage the next day in the evening when Lizzy came running towards her with Eric on her toe.
"What are you doing here, Lizzy?" She asked as she did not expect to see her daughter this soon. She was overjoyed that Lizzy had accepted her, but she didn't expect to meet her so soon.
"Sorry to disturb you, but Lizzy couldn't wait another day to meet you, so she had to come here." It shocked Miranda to see Eric in his current state.
"What happened to you?" She asked him, baffled.
"Yesterday's event was not entirely fictitious. I slipped and landed on my head, spraining my hand. There's nothing major." He explained his situation to her, dismissing his ailment. He didn't want to make too much of it. He'd already caused her enough pain.
"Oh my goodness! I know you slipped, but I didn't think it was this serious. You may have suffered a concussion. You shouldn't even get out of bed. Please tell me you didn't drive here?" Miranda asked. Eric was taken aback by her concern, which was written all over her face and could be heard in her voice.
"We took a cab. In all seriousness, I am fine." He tried to reassure her.
"It's not fine, Eric. A head injury can result in a severe concussion. You won't even notice if you lose consciousness." Eric wanted to say something, but Miranda stopped him. "Believe me, Eric. I know it better than you."
"What exactly do you mean?" He was afraid to find out the answer to his own question.
"Ignore what I said. Let me take both of you home."
Miranda was shocked when she arrived at their location and saw the state of the place.
"What in the world happened here? This place is a complete mess." She wondered aloud.
"Don't worry about it. I will clean it later on." Eric told her.
"The hell you will. Lizzy, pick your toys and put them in their proper place right now. And you, Mr., Go to your room to rest. I will cook you something and clean this place."
"You don't have to, Miranda." She, on the other hand, gave him a stern look.
"Don't test my patience, Eric. You are aware of the consequences." This made Eric go to his room. It felt good to have her back—her bossing him around felt all too familiar and comfortable.
Miranda cleaned up the entire place and prepared dinner for them.
"Food is ready." She hollered, causing both of them to rush into the kitchen to eat dinner.
"I made extra food for you both, so you should be fine for tomorrow morning. Give me a call if you need anything." Miranda informed them both.
"You are not staying for dinner?" Eric asked her.
"No."
"Please, stay, Mom." Lizzy dashed over to her.
"At the very least, Miranda, join us for dinner. This is the least I could do after all you have done for us." Eric insisted, and she reluctantly agreed.
"I miss your cooking." After a few bites of the noodles she made, he said to her. She returned his smile with a small one of her own.
Once they were done with their dinner, Miranda volunteered to clean the dishes as well. Eric tried to refuse, but after her stern look, he went to his room and allowed Miranda to clean the dishes against his will.
Miranda decided to call it a night once everything was finished. She went to Eric's room to say goodbye but instead found him attempting to unbutton his shirt.
Eric was having difficulty changing his clothes. He took fifteen minutes to change from jeans to track with one hand and had no idea how long it would take to change into another T-shirt.
He was struggling to unbutton his shirt when he noticed Miranda doing it for him. It brought back memories of simpler times for him.
"Thank you. You shouldn't have after the way I have treated you." He said it quietly to her.
"I couldn't help myself. You are still my daughter's father." She said to him, and he smiled a little. "Thank you, Eric, for not making Lizzy hate me. I shouldn't have been so hard on you. You don't know why I left, so your actions are understandable. I had no right to act in the manner that I did. Your actions were completely justified. I am really sorry. I will do whatever you want." She told him this while a few tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Mira, I don't know why you left me, but that doesn't give me the right to spike your drink or scare you about my accident." He wiped her tears with one hand, grabbed her cheek with the other, and kissed her lips, which caused her eyes to widen.
"Why did you do that?" She asked, clearly taken aback by his actions.
"I couldn't help myself. It felt natural and right to do so." He sighed and shrugged his shoulders.
"I think I should leave." She told him.
"Please don't. It's late at night, and I don't feel comfortable with you travelling home alone. Plus, you only mentioned that a concussion could be dangerous, so someone should be present in case something happens to me." He gave it a shot, and he didn't lie about her going home alone.
"You couldn't just stop, could you?" She locked her gaze on him.
"Well, a guy has to give it a shot, doesn't he? If you want, you can sleep with Lizzy. But, please do not leave. I don't feel comfortable with you leaving this late."
"All right."
Miranda had a lot of thoughts about last night when she got home from the hospital. Melissa calms her down, and she refuses to admit that Eric's actions were not entirely wrong. After all, if the roles were reversed, she might have done the same thing. What matters is that her daughter does not despise her and is eager to rekindle their relationship. And, as far as Eric is concerned, she must take things slowly because he is the one who knows nothing about her. He is just as much a victim as she is.