ORION.
PREVIOUSLY ON NEMESIS: HATE AT FIRST LOVE...
My anxiety reached a boiling point when no one picked up at first, but finally, on the tenth call, it clicked.
"Baby, where are you?" I asked, my voice shaking with worry. But my body became numb when a female voice came through, asking if I knew the owner of the phone and telling me that he was involved in an accident. She introduced herself as a nurse, and my world came crashing down.
The next few seconds were a blur as I ran down the stairs of my building, my feet pounding the steps instead of waiting for the elevator. My heart was racing, and my mind was consumed with worst-case scenarios.
I don't know how I managed to hold it together, but I found myself tumbling out of the cab and sprinting into the hospital. The nurse's words echoed in my mind: "He's been taken to Mercy General." My heart was racing with only one thought: Please, please let him be okay!
I burst through the hospital doors, frantic and disheveled, asking anyone who would listen, "Where is Harro? How is he doing?" The words spilled out of me like a prayer. But my world came crashing down around me when the nurse's somber face told me the devastating truth: "He's in surgery. He sustained serious injuries to his head and body when another vehicle lost control and crashed into his. The impact was so severe that his car flipped upside down." My mind recoiled in horror as I processed the words. The other driver hadn't survived, but Harro... Harro was still fighting.
My body shook with overwhelming fear as I collapsed into the chair outside the operating theater. I waited, paralyzed with anxiety, as minutes ticked by at a glacial pace. Each time the steel doors swung open, I sprang up, hoping against hope that Harro would walk out, smiling, and tell me he was okay. But it was always just a doctor or nurse rushing in or out, their faces a blur as they ignored my desperate questions.
I felt like I was losing my mind, trapped in a never-ending nightmare. This was the longest hour of my life, and I'd prayed to every deity I knew to keep Harro safe. I just wanted him to be fine, to hold him in my arms and never let him go.
"SJ, SJ, SJ!" A loud, panicked voice echoed down the hallway, growing louder with each passing second. I sprang up from my chair, my heart racing, as I recognized Sebastian's distraught voice. He was being restrained by security guards and nurses, who were trying to calm him down, but he was having none of it.
I rushed to his side, and he turned to me, his eyes wild with fear. I wrapped my arms around him, holding him upright as he shook uncontrollably, the security guards finally releasing their grip on him. "Where is my son, Orion? Have you seen my son? Bring me my beautiful boy, please!" he pleaded, his voice cracking with desperation.
He grabbed my shirt, his fingers digging deep into the fabric, as he begged me to bring Harro to him. I hugged him tightly, trying to offer some semblance of comfort, but he was beyond consolation. He thrashed and kicked, his body racked with sobs, as he demanded to know what had happened to his son. All I could offer were empty apologies, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" as tears streamed down my face.
Sebastian's cries shattered my already broken heart, and I felt like I was drowning in his grief. We stood there, locked in a desperate embrace, as we both poured out our tears, our bodies shaking with uncontrollable sobs. It felt like an eternity before we finally ran out of tears.
When Sebastian had calmed down slightly, I explained what I had been told about Harro's accident. His face crumpled, and he broke down again, his body wracked with fresh sobs. I could only imagine the anguish he was feeling, his son lying in the operating room, fighting for his life.
As we waited, my mind was consumed by torturous thoughts of Harro's pain. Was he hurting? Was he even aware of the agony his body was enduring? The uncertainty was suffocating me.
After an eternity, the operating room doors swung open, and Sebastian and I sprang up in unison. We rushed to the doctors, our hearts racing with anticipation, as they wheeled Harro's unconscious body out. My vision blurred when I saw him, his fragile form swathed in white bandages that seemed to suffocate him. His face was invisible, hidden beneath the layers of gauze.
Sebastian's anguished cry echoed through the hallway as he dropped to his knees. "My beautiful boy!" he wailed, his body shaking with sobs. I felt my own tears well up, my heart shattering into a million pieces.
The doctor's voice was a gentle intrusion into our private hell. "Are you the patient's family?" he asked, his eyes locked on mine with a curious expression. I nodded, still trying to process the sight before me. Sebastian continued to weep, his body wracked with grief, as he took in the sight of his son.
The doctor nodded sympathetically before launching into a detailed explanation of Harro's injuries. "He sustained serious injuries all over his body, including broken ribs and arm. His head took the worst impact of the crash, but fortunately, he was brought in on time, and the surgery went well." Sebastian's anguished voice echoed my own thoughts.
"When will he wake up?" he asked, his eyes pleading for a glimmer of hope. The doctor's apologetic expression was all the answer we needed.
The doctor's words hung in the air like a death sentence. "Unfortunately, I can't say. But in most cases like this, it might take a couple of weeks." My eyes widened in horror as Sebastian's body crumpled, consumed by a fresh wave of sobs.
The doctor's sympathetic voice was gentle when he spoke again "We can only wait, as we've done all we can for him, and hope the patient's will to live is strong. I'm sorry." As the medical team began to push Harro's bed away, I felt a panic rising up, my heart screaming in silence.
Sebastian's anguished cry echoed through the hallway, "No, don't take my son away!" The doctor's explanation was a calm, rational voice amidst the chaos. "We're taking him to where he can rest after the surgery. It was a really difficult procedure. He needs to spend the night in the ICU, so we can monitor him and decide if we'll transfer him to a regular room tomorrow."
I nodded, understanding, but my heart rebelled against the separation. The doctor's reassuring words were a lifeline. "You'll be able to see him in an hour or two, but first, give us some space to make sure he's doing well, please." I held Sebastian back, my arms wrapped around him, as he tried to follow Harro's bed.
As we sat outside the ICU, I coaxed Sebastian into washing his face, reminding him that Harro wouldn't want to see him disheveled. I fetched him tea and snacks from the hospital canteen, but he refused to eat, his eyes fixed on the ICU doors, his heart silently calling out to his son. I tried to console him, but my own emotions overwhelmed me, and I felt like I was drowning in a sea of despair. And so we waited, it was the single most longest one hour of my life as I waited to be let into the ICU where my whole heart was fighting for his life.
As Sebastian and I finally stepped into the ICU, my heart was racing with anticipation. We were handed protective gloves and gowns, a harsh reminder of the fragile state Harro was in. The risk of infection was too great, and we had to be careful. We were only allowed thirty minutes with him, and I could feel the weight of those ticking minutes.
Sebastian's tears flowed uncontrollably as we stood by Harro's bedside. I had to beg the doctors to put Sabastian on a drip for the night after we came out, I was worried that his emotional pain would consume him. I felt torn, constantly shuttling between the ICU glass window, where I'd steal glances at Harro unconscious body, and the VIP room, where Sebastian lay broken.
I finally found a moment to call Athena, and her voice was a sobbing mess on the other end. She blamed herself, but I knew that was absurd. "It's not your fault, Tina" I reassured her. "If anyone's to blame, it's me. If Harro hadn't met me, none of this would have happened." I told her and Athena insisted on flying to Alderan first thing tomorrow morning, despite my protests.
I also made the difficult call to Harro's grandmother's estate in Germany, informing them of the situation. It was the least I could do, knowing Azalea and his grandmother were away on a retreat. Now, all I could do was wait. I had to hold on until my baby emerged from the ICU tomorrow. The thought of his fragile and broken body, was all that filled my mind as I weather the storm of what will be the longest night of my life.