Veronica-It has been six hours since Andrew has been stable, yet there weren’t any signs of him waking up. Lily had left already, which left me alone to wait. Lyrek has come and gone a few times, only saying that they were still looking for a solution.The longer I waited, the more frustrated I became. At least I haven’t had a chance to think much about Lyrek, although I was glad, he was back to help with Andrew. He didn’t appear to want to talk to me right now, so I didn’t press him to do so.I figured if he didn’t want to talk, I wouldn’t make him, at least not right now. Just being able to see him was more than enough for me. For now, I was just going to focus on Andrew.Sitting next to him, I have been holding his hand. This wasn’t the first time I saw him with a tube down his through, but it was just as scary as the first time. Thinking back to when he was first diagnosed, I had been terrified that he was never going to wake up.When he had fallen ill, he had gone into a month-l
Lyrek-With Andrew now awake and being, things were looking better for him. It has been twelve hours since he woke up now, but Veronica still hasn’t slept. My concern was now for her, regardless of how much I tried not to worry about her.We broke up, or rather I broke up with her. I shouldn’t be concerning myself with what she does or doesn’t do. Yet, as I stood near the room to keep an eye on things, I couldn’t help but worry.Every time I left the hospital to go to the hotel I was staying at, I returned to see that it was obvious she hadn’t eaten or slept much since Andrew had come out of surgery. No matter how much I pushed her away, I was still in love with her. I couldn’t tell her to leave the hospital to get some rest since I didn’t really have the right.Seeing that Lily was returning, I decided to use her help. She might not like me much right now, but I doubted she would argue with me. Rushing to catch her down the hall, before she reached the room, I blocked her path.“What
Lyrek-“I take it you found out that I ended things with Veronica?” I asked, even though I already suspected the answer.“It is big news all over the hospital. Even reporters have been contacting me trying to find out if the rumors were true. Lucky for you I was able to put a stop to them from leaking anything. I have half a mind to take your inheritance and give it to her.”“I don’t care about the money. This has nothing to do with it. If you want to give it to her then I will agree to it.”The words barely left my lips before my grandfather grabbed his cane that was leaning against the bed and hit me in the arm with it. I won’t lie, it hurt like hell, but I didn’t show him any weakness. It may have something to do with the fact that I felt like I deserved to be hit.“You damn well know she won’t take the money and that is the problem. I already told you that I offered her money, but she refused. If you thought she only stayed with you because of what you were offering, then you are
Veronica-Since waking up, I have been trying to figure out how I got home and who made the food for me. I remember leaving the hospital and walking a little, but the rest was blank. I didn’t think it was Lily, considering I knew she was going to stay with Andrew.My thoughts went to Lyrek, except I quickly disregarded the possibility. Out of all the people it could have been, I doubted it was him. Maybe Rick had seen me walking and helped me home. That was the only other option I could think of.No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t remember anything from the night before. Sighing, I cleaned up the few dishes I used to eat breakfast then went back to the bedroom to grab my phone off the charger. I slept longer than I wanted, but I was feeling more refreshed.Having slept for about ten hours, getting a shower and food in me, I almost felt like a completely new person. I checked my phone but didn’t see any messages or missed calls. Grabbing my keys, I headed out of the penth
Veronica-With Andrew now on the mend, he was moved out of the ICU and placed back in his room. Now that he wasn’t at risk for infection and he was steadily improving, things were looking better by the day. He had to stay another week in the ICU after having the ventilator removed, but that was only a small price to pay for everything we have endured thus far.The only downside to being back on the pediatric floor was that I wouldn’t be able to see Lyrek as often. He was avoiding me from what I could tell. When he came to check on Andrew, he kept the visit short and didn’t talk about anything other than Andrew’s recovery.I had wanted to give it more time until I told Andrew that we broke up, but my hand was forced when Lyrek acted as if I wasn’t anything more than a family member of a patient. At least the relationship between Andrew and Lyrek seemed to be okay. I had caught them playing a game together one day after returning from taking a shower at home.As soon as Lyrek realized I
Veronica-“Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.” I told Dr. Hendrix when I sat on the sofa across from her.As always, she sat in a chair that looked rather uncomfortable. She had a pen and pad in her hand. Everything about her screamed therapist, from her appearance down to the way she sat in the chair. Even the glasses she wore, low on her nose, looked more for aesthetics rather than because she needed them.“I am glad you called, to be honest. After our last session, I was a little concerned about how you might be dealing with things. Have things improved since the last time you were here?” With the way she spoke, it seemed more formal than comfortable.It did make me a little nervous. Unlike talking to someone I know, like Lily, it felt as if I was being examined under a microscope. Perhaps this was why I wasn’t too keen on coming here to talk about my problems.“In some aspects they have. I was just told that my brother is officially cancer free and will be released from
Veronica-“I already said I wasn’t hungry!” Lyrek’s grandfather roared from his bed.From his outburst, it was clear he didn’t know it was me at the door. Standing just inside his hospital room, I thought about backing out. Trying to talk to him when he was in an obvious sour mood might not be the best approach.I didn’t even know what I was going to say to him. Before I could make up my mind and back out, his gaze shot up and a look of surprise fell over him. Knowing it was too late to back out now, I took another few steps forward.“Hello, Mr. Cole.” I gave a slight bow to him, folding my hands together in front of me.“Come in, come in.” He gestured with a wave of his hand as he set aside the newspaper he had been reading.Feeling nervous, I hesitated briefly before moving further into the room. My mind suddenly went blank as I stood at the foot of his bed. No longer knowing why I wanted to talk to him in the first place, I shifted from one foot to the other.“I have been hoping to
Veronica-When I reached the doors that would lead me outside, I noticed it was raining hard. For only a split second did I hesitate and considered returning upstairs to grab an umbrella. In the end, I chose to not worry about it, because I needed to get to Lyrek to try to save our relationship.“Miss! It is pouring outside!” I heard someone yell out, but I ignored them as I ran out into the rain.As the water from the sky pelted down on me, I shivered slightly from the chill in the air. As fast as my legs could carry me, I ran towards the bar. Very few people were outside roaming around.At least they had enough sense to hold an umbrella, unlike me. The distance from the penthouse to the bar felt like it would never end. At least that was how it seemed until the entrance to the bar was within sight.Just as I was about to come to a stop outside the bar, someone opened the door and I skidded to a stop. To my relief, it was Lyrek that had stepped outside, which meant I hadn’t missed my
Veronica- Ten years later “Hurry up mom and dad! We are going to be late!” My nine-year-old daughter Lexi yelled as she ran ahead to the bar, where we were meeting everyone. It was now Christmas, and we had a tradition to meet at the bar every year. Rick still managed the bar, but he now did so with his husband, whom he met while he was in Europe. This year it was a little different from our usual get-together because this year Lily couldn’t join us. She was in Africa working with Doctors Without Borders. I was really proud of everything she has accomplished these last few years since graduating from medical school. The main person that I was looking forward to seeing was Andrew. He was in college now, studying to be a medical researcher. His life was relatively normal now, having been cancer free for ten years. I never thought he would have made it this far, but I was thankful every day that his illness was a thing of the past. I haven’t seen him since the school year started, b
Veronica-It wasn’t easy, but with the help of Lily, a team of wedding planners, and a lot of money, we managed to get the wedding I have been planning for the last few months up and going. It took us only forty-eight hours. The best part of it all, Lyrek’s grandfather was able to hold on.I had a feeling that the wedding was giving him the desire to live because I could tell by looking at him that he was fighting to stay alive. When I told him my plan it was a light flipped on in him and he now had the will to live. Lyrek tried to argue with me about rushing the wedding.He wanted me to have the wedding of my dreams, but I managed to win him over to my way of thinking after I told him that it wouldn’t be the wedding of my dreams without his grandfather here to celebrate it with us. After all, it had been because of his grandfather that we were together.I thought it over and concluded that even if he would have pursued me, I wouldn’t have been as willing to be with him at the time. I
Veronica-Waking up in Lyrek’s arms was the best thing in the world at this moment. After the last twenty-four hours, I have been more grateful to have him by my side. I wish he would have let me know what he was doing, but I understood why he kept me in the dark.Rolling over in bed to face him, I saw he was still sleeping. Taking a moment to admire his features, I smiled at how relaxed he looked. Moving my gaze to the other side of his body, I noticed Andrew was lying in bed next to him.I must have slept like a rock if I hadn’t noticed Andrew joining us in bed. Reaching over, I gently caressed the side of his face. His features weren’t as relaxed as Lyrek’s, yet he didn’t seem to be nearly as influenced by past events as I expected him to be.“Good morning.” Lyrek’s sleepy voice pulled me from getting too far into my thoughts.Tilting my head back, I looked up to see him smiling at me. “Good morning.” I repeated his words.“Are you hungry?” He asked, his tone soft and low.Instead
Veronica-I was beyond worried right now. As many times as I called Lyrek, it went straight to voicemail. I didn’t know what to do and even the police had to call in the FBI because they were getting nowhere.With nothing better to do, I have been pacing the lobby of the theater, trying to reach Lyrek. My nerves were a wreck. I didn’t think Lyrek would up and abandon me, so I couldn’t help but feel that something was very wrong.The Chief of Police also thought something was wrong and has been trying to track him down. He had one of his officers try calling every hospital in the area, including different police units. I wanted to call his lawyer, but I didn’t have the number.I couldn’t call his grandfather, because he wasn’t doing very well, and I didn’t want him to worry. Pacing back and forth was all I was good at right now. It wasn’t helping anything, aside from helping hold on to the little bit of calmness I had left.Finally, my phone rang, and I quickly looked at the screen. A
Lyrek-With no choice but to wait until their attention was away from Andrew, I kept myself hidden. The minutes were ticking by slower than I wanted. The men guarding Andrew were getting impatient, but I couldn’t move without putting him in danger.Looking across the room, I tried looking for Snake, but I couldn’t spot him. My hand tightened around the hilt of the dagger until my knuckles turned white. One of the men returned to the computer, while the other was pacing.If I was going to get Andrew out of here, I needed to do it soon. The moment I thought about it, there was a loud explosion coming from the other side of the factory. Both men moved in the direction of the explosion.“What the hell was that?” One of them asked.“Sounded like a bomb going off. This is an old factory so it could be just nothing, but I am going to go check it out. Stay here with the kid and keep trying to fix whatever is going on with the computer.” One of the men took off running and the other returned
Lyrek-“Found them.” Snake said a bit later.Pushing away from the table I was leaning against, I moved to stand behind my friend. Looking over his shoulder, I saw a map on one of the computer monitors with a blinking red dot. We weren’t very far from the location.Pulling out my cell phone, I dialed Veronica’s number. Thanks to Snake, he made it so I could use my phone, but it was now a secure line, and it couldn’t be hacked or traced. I had to hand it to him, he really knew what he was doing.“Did you get the money?” She asked the moment she answered the phone.“I need a little more time, but I am getting closer. Have they contacted you again?” I asked my wife while I watched Snake type like a madman on the computer.“They called once since you left and told us that you better have the money soon or they were going to start hurting Andrew.” The fear in her voice was as clear as day and I knew we were running out of time.“I promised you that we will get him back. I am going to do ev
Lyrek-“Where is my son?” Veronica asked the man that was on the phone.“Don’t worry about that right now. What is important is how you are going to come up with five hundred million dollars to get him back. If you don’t want him hurt or worse, I suggest you start calling the banks and get me my money.” The man said.With that amount of money, it was going to be difficult to produce. It wasn’t that I couldn’t get it, but it wasn’t like I had that kind of money laying around. Even if I went to the bank to withdraw it from my personal account and even take it from the foundation funds, it would take a long time.“I don’t have that kind of money!” Veronica was starting to become hysterical, which only fueled my anger.Stepping closer to her, I wrapped my arm around her in an attempt to comfort her. I knew it wasn’t going to do much, but I wanted to remind her that she wasn’t alone. My thoughts were racing with who the caller might be.We thought it was her parents, but the man’s voice wa
Veronica-It didn’t take long for the police officers to show up. Every second of waiting had felt like an eternity. I couldn’t breathe without feeling like I was going to have a panic attack. If it weren’t for Lyrek, I would have broken down the moment he told me.There was a lot of chaos going on currently as everyone in the theater was being questioned. While giving my statement to the police officers, Lyrek and I had to separate so he could also talk to them. I hated that in this situation everyone was a suspect, but I also didn’t care as long as Andrew was found.“Do you know of anyone that would have done this?” The police officer assigned to question me asked.“I was attacked a few months ago because the mugger was wanting money from me. I don’t know if it is related or not, but that is the only thing I can think of.” I admitted, even though I didn’t feel like it was relative to the current situation.“We have already investigated that. Is there anyone else that would have done
Veronica-Three months later“Come on! The movie is about to start!” Andrew yelled as he raced ahead.I couldn’t help but laugh as Lyrek and I followed him into the theater. While I knew he was excited to be able to see the movie he had been waiting for, I didn’t know why he was in such a hurry. It wasn’t like there weren’t going to be any seats, being that Lyrek reserved the entire theater room for us.Over the past few months, things have been a little weird. Not in a bad way, but in a way that was still taking me some time to get used to. When Lyrek did anything for us, he did it in a big way.Every time we went out, he made it obvious that he had money to spend. I wasn’t a huge fan that he was spending money so elaborately, but I couldn’t fault him either. His excuse was that he wanted us to enjoy everything life had to offer.No matter how much money he spent on me or Andrew, I was still not used to having someone take care of me to this degree. On the plus side, it has allowed m