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The room is suddenly silent, the only sound being Adonis' labored breathing. His eyes are wide, and he stares up at me in confusion, searching for an explanation.
But there is none. Tim acted in a moment of anger, with no regard for the consequences of his actions.
A few tense moments pass before anyone speaks.
Finally, Tim speaks, his voice soft and hesitant. "I'm sorry," he says, his words heavy with remorse.
I look away, unable to forgive him. How the hell can I? Crazy or not, he shot someone.
In the silence that follows, I take a moment to appreciate the fragility of life and our limitations as human beings. We can never take back what has been done, only hope that we learn from our mistakes.
"This is why I got a second chance. To save you from him."
Tears stumble down my cheeks as the sirens stop outside and we hear shouting.
"Come out with your hands above your head," a man's voice comes over a loudspeaker.
All eyes are on Tim now. He doesn't move.
"He is going to die if we don't get him to a hospital. If you can do one good thing in your life, let him live," I beg him.
His eyes search mine, and he hangs his head. "I'm so sorry, Raven."
Tim bolts from the diner, out the back, leaving us behind in a desperate attempt to save himself.
He won't get far, and in that moment I am grateful for his cowardice. This gives us an opportunity to get Adonis out and to the hospital to receive medical attention.
Adonis lays on the floor, unconscious and bleeding profusely. His breathing is shallow and his skin pale as death creeps closer by the second. Judy braves it and opens the front door with her hands above her head.
"He got away but Adonis is inside! He needs to get to the hospital now!"
For once, I am happy to be living in a small town, because once we are loaded into the ambulance it takes all over five minutes before we are at the hospital and being unloaded. Every second can make the difference between life or death.
I can't remember when I started crying, but the tears won't stop. Sitting in the waiting room, alone with my heart in my throat, a part of me has been taken away. The clock seems to tick slower and slower and I realize how absurdly precious time is, moments slipping by like grains of sand through my fingers.
I hear his name being called, faintly, from a million miles away, and my heart drops. I rush to the nurses' station, but they barely have time to tell me what is going on.
"There's more damage than we anticipated so it'll be another hour or so. I'll update you as soon as I can."
Time passes, excruciatingly slow, as I sit in that waiting room, desperate for news of Adonis' fate. No matter how hard I try to distract myself, my thoughts and fears keep coming back to him. I am filled with a deep sense of dread and worry, and I can't help but feel responsible for what happened to him.
The hours seem to stretch on for days until finally, finally, I hear the doctor's voice telling me that Adonis has made it through surgery and is in stable condition. I can feel the weight leaving my body and a wave of relief washing over me as I realize that he is going to be okay.
I'm still shaking when I reach his room; his face is pale and he looks so fragile and vulnerable.
I step into Adonis' hospital room with trepidation, not sure of what I will find. Machines beep, their noises a reminder of the last time we were here, when Adonis had almost lost his life the first time. This time, however, there is hope in the air, a kind of somber optimism that only comes from those who have known sadness.
The room is dimly lit, and I can make out his frail figure lying motionless in the bed. He is connected to a complex network of beeping machines and other monitoring equipment, all of which are watching over him and making sure he is safe. A wave of sadness and helplessness wash over me as I watch him, so vulnerable and unaware of all that is going on around him.
Adonis believes that he has been given a second chance to save all of us in that diner. He says this to me and I break down in tears. So, when he survives, what is the reason for his third chance?
Maybe God realizes that after everything else, Adonis deserves to be loved. He has risked his life twice for those he cares about without hesitation.
My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Doctor Stevenson steps into the room, carrying a clipboard and a look of concern on his face. He smiles at me as he takes a seat at the edge of the bed and opens his clipboard to read over Adonis' records.
After a few moments of silence, Doctor Stevenson looks up from the clipboard and sighs. "It's likely Adonis won't be awake for at least a couple of hours due to the sedation. They plan on keeping him for three days minimum to make sure he doesn't get an infection from the surgery."
I nod, not daring to speak as the tears well up in my eyes. Doctor Stevenson pats my shoulder.
