Ours After All (All Ours, #2)

Chapter 36

Joshua

''I will burn this entire hospital down if people don't start talking right the fuck now."

"Sir, you have to calm down.'' the gentle tone the nurse had used on me earlier weakened. ''I'm sorry, but all I can tell you is that they took her in for surgery.''

My heart drops. Emergency surgery?

''I need more information.'' panic laces my every word. ''I can't- You can't just...''

''Sir-''

''Can you at least tell me how long the surgery will take?''

''The doctor thinks it will take about an hour. She will come to update you and your friends as soon as they're out of surgery.''

The only thing I could muster was a nod. I understand she's just doing her job. I didn't even mean to snap at her. I've been snapping at everyone ever since we got to the hospital.

The nurse, a calming presence amid the chaos, met my eyes with a look of sympathy. She spoke softly, her tone soft but measured. ''I understand how hard it must be to see your fiancée in this state. But I promise you, our medical staff is doing everything in their power to provide the best care and ensure the best possible outcome, okay?''

My head nodded almost automatically, a reflexive response to the nurse's words, but it felt detached from the rest of my body. My limbs were heavy, and my chest was constricted, as if the weight of the world rested upon my shoulders. Worry and helplessness settled in, becoming a relentless presence that I couldn't shake.

In the background, the constant symphony of hospital noises—the beeping of machines, the hurried footsteps of medical staff, the hushed conversations of worried family members—faded into the distance. All that remained was the nurse's sympathetic gaze and the weight of her words.

I yearned to ask more questions, to delve into every intricacy of the situation, to understand each step of the ongoing surgery, as if knowledge alone could alter the outcome. But, deep down, I knew that I was powerless, that there was a limit to what I could comprehend or influence.

With a reassuring nod and a warm smile, the nurse walked away, leaving me with a glimmer of hope amid the overwhelming sense of powerlessness. Her words and her compassionate presence were a lifeline in the storm of uncertainty, and I clung to them, watching her retreat into the bustling hospital corridor.

"You told them Nara is your fiancée?" I turned to find Ivana, her gaze intense and her eyes bloodshot, a clear indication that she had been crying.

"Yeah," I began, my voice faltering as I struggled to find the right words. "I didn't have a choice. They only give out information to relatives."

Her lips quivered as she approached me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, and without exchanging a word, I reached out and pulled her into a warm, comforting hug. It was an instinctive response, an attempt to provide solace in the midst of our shared fears. Her arms clung to me as her body started shaking with silent sobs, and I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from doing the same.

''She's going to be okay, right?'' Ivana's muffled voice hiccuped.

''She is.'' I vowed.

She has to be.

🖤

In the hospital waiting room, the air was thick with tension as we all huddled together, everyone's faces etched with worry. The hallway's fluorescent lights flickered, casting an eerie glow on the group as we sat in silence, waiting for the doctor to come out and update us.