Sailing With Destiny

I Can't Live Without You

I hadn't felt so conflicted in a long time. On one hand, I had Mitchell whom I'd neglected without realizing. Our relationship was hanging by a loose string and every move I made felt crucial for us. On the other hand, I had Leo who was terribly ill and in hospital critical. I needed to be there for him but also couldn't let Mitchell down when I promised to be with him.

'The doctors are running tests right now. I don't know what happened Mila, he was fine one second, and the next he collapsed.'

Lorenzo's words rang in my ears and I grew more worried and tense. I had no idea what happened to Leo and each second away had me on edge. My heart raced and my skin prickled from anxiety and despair.

What if Leo doesn't make it? What if while having a great time with Mitchell and his family, I lose one of the most important people in my life, again?

Leo needed me more at that moment and I hoped Mitchell would've understood my predicament. I told the driver to take me to the hospital and each second on the road felt like a lifetime. If I went to Mitchell's place, I would've only been physically present but my mind and heart would've been with Leo.

Me: Leo's in the hospital and not doing so great. I'm making a quick detour to check on him and might be late. I'm sorry, love you.

I sent a brief text to Mitchell and informed him why I'd be late. I hoped he'd understand and not get mad. He hadn't read my text right up until I reached the hospital. I stopped checking the minute I got out of the car and rushed inside. My main focus was to see Leo and make sure he was alright.

I froze when I saw Lorenzo and Leo's parents. Leo's mom had tears in her eyes while his dad comforted her and Lorenzo paced back and forth. Their reaction scared me even more and I didn't know what to make of the scene.

Unable to move, I went back to the time I walked into a hospital and saw Abuela and Papa in a similar state as Leo's parents. I was terrified and couldn't stop my mind from assuming the worst.

What if I'm already too late?

"Lorenzo." I shook away my absurd thoughts and rushed down the hall. "Where is he? What happened?"

Lorenzo stopped pacing and I saw the worry on his face. His hair was disheveled and there were dark circles under his eyes. "Hi, Mila, I'm sorry if I caused panic. I didn't know what else to do. The doctors are taking forever with the tests and aren't giving us any answers."

It seemed I needed to be calm because Leo's family was on the verge of hysteria. His mom got up from her seat as soon as she saw me and immediately asked questions about Leo's condition.

"Calm down, Cara mia," Lorenzo's dad softly spoke. "Mila just got here, she doesn't know any more than we do."

I placed a comforting hand on Leo's mom's shoulder. "I'll see what I can find out."

Unfortunately, until Leo's test results were in, I couldn't find anything out. I tried to see his doctor but she was busy examining him so I was at much in the dark and anxious as Leo's family. Seconds felt like hours and minutes felt like lifetimes while we waited. I got Leo's parents to calm down but I was anything but.

Lorenzo informed me about what happened. Leo was fine all day or at least he pretended to be until he suddenly got chest pains and couldn't breathe. They called 911 but Leo passed out before they arrived.

After what felt like eons, Leo's doctor finally spoke to us. I was glad to hear that Leo was stable. The doctor informed us that Leo had pneumonia and they found a couple of clots in his lungs as well. My years of medical study and training went down the drain as each word left the doctor's mouth and my mind went blank. All I heard was that if Leo was brought in later, we could've lost him.