Brother After Dark

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Blaire.

I woke up from my coma yesterday. Fear engulfed me when I saw my body wrapped in this white robe. I wanted to scream for help, but I don’t have much strength.

The male doctor jabbed my skin with analgesics, and I dozed off in seconds. He said when I woke up again, my nerves would be relaxed and I would be able to think straight.

It turned out that he was right after all since I woke up again after a few minutes. I felt light-headed but I don’t feel disoriented like yesterday.

I realized that I am alone in this ward. I rested my body against a soft pillow as the smell of antiseptics lingered in the room. I hated hospital smells, but I was grateful for the solitude.

Nobody told me anything since I woke up. In fact, the only proper interaction that I had was with the doctor who was later joined by a lanky brunette nurse.

He kept assuring me that everything would be fine.

“Where is my family?” I’d asked the doctor with concern.

“They will come to see you shortly, Miss Stewart,” he answered, a cheerful smile plastered on his face. “Oh, I forgot, your friends are here too.”

The news gave me joy and I was about to respond when I caught the familiar face of my mom peaked through the door.

“Oh! Here they are,” the doctor exclaimed and gestured her to come inside. The room was immediately filled with several voices.

Mom stepped inside, looking exhausted and worn out.

Despite my weak state, I can still feel anger towards her. She was one of the last people that I saw before the accident. However, the thought that my besties are also here calmed me bit.

After mom came in, Marie followed, closely tailed by Jessie. They both screamed at the top of their voices in excitement when they saw me.

They dashed toward me. I opened my arms for them and the three of us embraced, shedding tears of joy. We lingered on for some time until I saw Dad behind them.

When my two friends withdrew from me, I noticed my dad standing a few meters away, looking clueless. We locked eyes for a second and my resentment for him resumed that I forgot about my mom.

“Hi,” he muttered, not looking away. I held his gaze and mumbled.

“Hi...Dad.”

Marie and Jessie nervously looked at us alternately. I got tired of the staring contest and I looked away, suppressing the rage that was building inside of me.

After the tension dissipated thirty minutes later, everyone sat down, surrounding my bed. Dad and Mom sat at the head of the bed side by side. Marie and Jessie were at the foot of the bed, side by side. The doctor had excused himself a while ago.

I noticed that Zach was missing, and nobody seemed to care.

“Where is Zach?” I asked them. Mom and Dad exchanged uneasy looks. Mom took his hands and squeezed them, giving him a reassuring look. He looked unsure. He leaned toward her and whispered to her ear. She frowned, sighed, and nodded as if agreeing to whatever he told her.

She turned her attention to me and placed her hand on top of mine that was on my lap. She fidgeted.

“Where is he?” I asked again, more firmly.

He’s supposed to be here. Why is he missing now of all time?

She smiled sadly. “Blaire, there are some things that you should know,” she began. She averted my scrutinizing gaze and shifted her eyes slightly from mine. “After we brought you here to the hospital for treatment when you fell from the staircase...the doctors ran many tests on you.”

“Oookay...?” I asked with a shrug. “So?”

Her smile disappeared. “They discovered that you...were...” She hesitated and looked down at her lap instead, trembling, but she didn’t release my hand.

“You were pregnant, Blaire,” Dad helped her to complete the statement.

I stiffened and widened my eyes in shock. “Wh...what?” I exclaimed quietly.

“Yes, honey,” Mom resumed. “Unfortunately, you lost the baby.”

I blankly stared at them. Their words don’t make sense to me at all. Me? Pregnant? Lost the baby? How? When? Where? Many questions ran through my mind. I was so shocked that I could barely move.

It dawned me that I missed my period last month. But I was fine. I didn’t feel sick at all. Could my immunity to sickness be due to the excitement of being with Zach? Coupled with the stress of being in school?

And where the fuck is Zach now?

As if reading my thoughts, Dad broke through my thoughts again. “As for Zach, he’s gone.”

I looked at him sharply.

“He’s right, Blaire,” Marie chipped in for the first time since my parents started speaking to me. “He left and no one knew where he went.”

I glared at them as I felt my heart’s erratic beat against my chest.

No! It can’t be. Zach couldn’t leave. No!

I screamed in agony and slap away my mom’s hand from me. I was able to jump out of the bed despite my weakened state. I continue to squeal, kicking and punching anyone and anything that I could find. But Dad and Mom grabbed me and held me down while Jessie and Marie ran out of the room to get the doctor.