We Were There

Chapter 92: I, Too

I woke up to the strong aroma of coffee. For a moment, I thought it was me, brought back to this world as an intangible form. A ghost. But somehow, I still felt warm. I still have a lot things to do in this world and none of them was death. For some reason, I felt alive; making me think God gave me a chance to do things right this time. To live life to the fullest, as what they always say. 

I slowly opened my eyes. The light slowly entered my eyelids and I squinted. The burning pain in my abdomen has somehow subsided and it became bearable to the point that I was able to move. I found myself in a hospital bed. Confined. 

I slowly looked around, absorbing the scenery. Kim was sipping a fresh cup of coffee on a sofa in one of the corners of the room, her back on me. I could tell she was reading a book. Yhan's head was lying at the edge of my bed, her hand holding mine. I tried to call out for them, but words did not come out from my mouth. I was thirsty. Very, very thirsty. My lips were dry and so was my throat. Every part of my body felt heavy and I struggled to move. There was a nasal cannula attached to my nostrils. And some medical equipment beside me that showed my pulse rate, my blood pressure and so on. It wasn't long to figure out everything. I just woke up from a very deep sleep. I didn't know how deep it was but I was grateful I managed to. 

Finally, after so much struggle and effort, I was able to move my fingers. Even a little twitch. Yhan slowly opened her eyes and looked at my hand, oblivious and then looked at me. When she saw my eyes open and with a weary smile, she almost broke down into tears. She called out to Kim, who was also oblivious, and turned to me again. I knew deep inside that she wanted to hug me. But she was cautious. She held back the urge. Kim went beside me, with tears in her eyes. She was holding them back but failed to do so. I watched her as tears fell down her cheeks, relieved. For the first time, we finally felt safe. They gently placed their arms around me and we cried in each other's arms. 

I lived.

After moments of weeping out our relief, the three of us had finally calmed down. Looking around the room, I wearily asked, " How long was I out?" 

Kim and Yhan looked at each other, their faces, hesitant. My brows furrowed as I stared at their worried expressions. Something tells me the revelation won't be that welcoming, I thought to myself. 

" You were out for..." Yhan looked at Kim and back at me and continued, " ... at least two weeks."  

My eyes widened. What? Did I just hear that right? Two weeks? 

Kim sensed how uneasy I got and decided to take it slow. " You lost a lot of blood. A lot." Ah yes, I remember now. I got stabbed by Mac. " I panicked... I cried... I thought I had lost you." Yhan patted Kim on the back to comfort the traumatic memory. " Yhan... miraculously arrived at the house, with officials... she practically brought an army...". I looked at Yhan, who was already wearing a smile and I mouthed the words thank you at her. She gently shook her head. 

" How did you know where we were?" I asked in a whisper. 

" It was the most obvious place one could think of." Yhan smiled.

" How about your... wound? I thought you were confined at the hospital by that time." 

" I feel a whole lot better than what you're feeling right now, that's for sure." Yhan quickly replied. " Don't worry about me. Focus on your recovery." 

" What happened?" My mind was out of sync and I needed answers right away. I mean, being out cold for two weeks wasn't my idea of a total vacation. 

" You lost a lot of blood. Believe me, you were already in death's grip. I heard police sirens surrounding the house, I always thanked God for that and police started storming around the place. There was this female police... What was her name again? You know, that same woman we met from Thomas Garner's house... I remember now! REYES! Officer Reyes! She found us and called for medical assistance. Yhan was just behind her. Everything happened so fast. I got separated from you. They pushed me away, trying to save you and all that. You got rushed to the hospital. Yhan was in the ambulance with you. I got a ride from Officer Reyes's car. It happened all too fast!" Kim exclaimed. 

" There was an emergency operation and they needed blood. Like, they needed it right away! Otherwise, we would have to buy one from the blood bank and who knows, what would've happened by then. We would have lost you. Forever. When the doctor informed us that you were B+, and..." Kim looked at Yhan. Her words trailed off for a moment, and then turned to me again. " ... and we both were, we stepped up and donated our blood." 

I was in for a surprise there. I didn't know if it was fate or destiny, but I knew they were B+ for a reason. I actually didn't believe in a vague term like "coincidence", but that was different. The three of us met by chance? Became friends by chance? All of us got B+ blood by chance? I didn't think so. I didn't want to think that it was all a coincidence. We were there for each other. It was fated. 

" The case was closed, you know." Yhan muttered. 

" Case? What case?" I repeated. 

" The case of the missing persons. Also, Alfred's and Thomas's killer." Kim quickly replied. 

By the mention of Alfred's name, I thought Kim and I was treading on thin ice. Kim had to mention Yhan's dead fiance'. My eyes quickly darted towards Yhan, who was already wearing a smile. 

" Guys, don't worry about me. I'm really okay." Yhan assured. " We avenged his spirit.... That's important." 

I had to give her one point for that. She was right. We absolutely won. None of us died but there were indeed sacrifices. And then a surge of pain and realization hit me. Yes, indeed we avenged Alfred's spirit by ending Mac's life. For some reason, this had hurt me. I knew we had had our ups and downs  but it was still painful knowing that you wouldn't be able to see him anymore. Now, I knew what Yhan felt when she lost Alfred. It was an unbearable and excruciating heartache. 

I, too, lost someone. 

I lost Mac.