AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My body is still running on adrenaline, and all I can think about is if he is safe. I have no phone to call and check, so I make sure I am walking as fast as I can.
I walk through the sliding door and straight into a big waiting room. Looking around I notice Marko sitting in a chair, his face in his hands. I approach him, and gently lay my hand on his shoulder. He looks up at me, tears welling in his eyes.
“Are there any updates?” I whisper, taking the seat next to him.
“No, he’s been in there for almost two hours.” Marko waves to the big glass door that leads to the operating rooms, I guess. “I am sorry I left you behind.”
“Please don’t apologize!” I squeeze his hand. “You did what any sane parent would do.”
“You walked here?” he asks and I nod. “You might get sick, you are soaked through.”
“I’ll be okay,” I say gently, wiping my eyes.
A doctor walks through the big doors, and calls Noah’s surname out. Both Marko and I spring from our seats and run up to him.
“My name is Doctor Preston. I came out to quickly inform you that we’ve finally managed to put Noah under control and stabilize him,” he says with a stern look on his face. “It might take a while for the bloodwork results to arrive, so I wouldn’t advise you on waiting here. He will not be sent up to a room in another couple of hours.”
“Thank you, sir,” Marko says, as I just stand there, tears rolling down my cheeks.
If I was there just a moment sooner…
The doctor goes back in right away, as Marko pushes me towards the exit.
“Go home and change, eat something. I’ll be here just in case he comes out earlier than planned.”
“I can’t leave him,” I say, but Marko pulls me into a hug.
“You saved his life, Ronan,” he whispers into my hair and kisses my temples. “Go home, take care of yourself and then come back here so you can tell me what happened to my son’s hair.”
I hug him back tightly, feeling like we are the only people in this world knowing what it’s like to share this scary feeling of losing someone you love.
“Okay, but I’ll be back as fast as I can.”
I walk out, and wave down a cab. In a few minutes I am unlocking the door to my apartment, and running into the shower. The whole process of me showering, eating, drying my hair feels like a blur. I walk into my room and pack a bag of Noah’s things. A few tees, a pair of pajama pants, some underwear and a toothbrush.
I use my landline to call for another cab and quickly get outside to wait for it. The sun rises behind the buildings and the snow starts slowing down. I look up at the skies, thanking the universe for granting me this one wish.
***
It’s six in the morning and Noah is finally in his room. There’s lots of stickers plastered onto his chest, showing his heartbeat on a tiny screen next to his bed. He is still asleep, and might stay that way until the doctors decide it is safe enough for his body to be awake.
“He did, in fact, overdose,” Doctor Preston says. “The bloodwork showed an extreme amount of fentanyl in his body. I have honestly never seen something like that before. It’s a miracle he survived.”
“Fentanyl?” I say, my eyes saucer-wide, as Marko curses silently.
“Yes, and it was given to him. Or should I say someone intended to kill him, but you will have to talk to the police about that, or Noah could help out once he wakes up." The doctor nears the door, but then turns back to us, waving his hand at two armchairs across the bed Noah’s lying in. “Make yourself at home, good job on saving him. A crack in the rib showed us how determined you two were to keep him alive.”
“We broke his rib?” Marko asks.
“Yes,” the doctor smiles, “I am happy you did.”
We take a seat right across Noah, and start whispering to each other, wanting the time to pass as fast as possible.
“Why did you come to the store?”
“Noah said he would come over, but he was late. He was really late and that’s not like him, so I got worried. I went to his apartment first, but he wasn’t there, so I decided to take a walk to the store.”
“A police officer asked me if I saw anyone leave the store.”
