Between North and South

CHAPTER 27 - PLEA

He felt nothing but agitation inside the plane he rode to Manila. He impatiently counted the time and immediately went to the parking area where Ramona waited.

It's been three days since the massive traffic accident that Azren got involved. She was inside a taxi on her way home when a Chevy pick-up appeared at the intersection and hit them. Due to the strong impact, the taxi flipped and also hit an SUV. The SUV was forced to stopped and the Vios behind it mildly hit it’s bumper. It was chaos. The Chevy’s driver—who turned out to be under the influence of alcohol—the taxi driver, and Azren were heavily injured. But it was Azren who had it worst.

As to why she decided to commute instead of calling someone to fetch her, he didn’t know. No one did. Her brothers didn’t even know that she was coming home that day.

"She'll be okay." He convinced himself in silence, struggling to brush away the scene about her suffering in coma inside the ICU.

His heart thumped as they neared the facility. He immediately saw Elvira and Logan, both looking so stressed and worried.

"Ice!" She was about to rush to him but she halted when she saw who he was with. "Melanie…" she called, acknowledging her presence.

"Elvira… how is she?"

Elvira shook her head and spoke with her cracked voice. "Still in coma. She had it badly but the doctor said that she's responding well and will possibly gain consciousness within this week."

Leaving them to privately talk, Uriah went to her room's door for a peek. A lump quickly formed in his throat as he saw her immobile and dependent on those hospital machines. Eyes closed, she's peacefully sleeping. He wiped his tears but it did nothing because in every tear that he dried, new ones followed.

"Be well, baby…" he whispered through the glass. "I'll always be here. Please, get well."

"Hush, Ice," Ramona rubbed his back. "She hates seeing her loved ones cry. Trust her. She'll get through."

He couldn’t take his eyes off her. He craved to feel her in his arms. He wanted her to know that he was there waiting for her—hoping that being of his presence will help her out.

"Why are you here?" Albert’s voice boomed as he addressed Melanie. Anger and blame were clear in his eyes. "If you'd just let the truth be concealed, this wouldn't have happened!"

"Will you please? Do you think that I wanted this to happen to her? No parent would want to see her child on a hospital bed—suffering in a coma!" Melanie exclaimed angrily.

"You should've thought of that before telling her the truth! She would’ve not gone to Mindanao and she would’ve not ridden that taxi and she should’ve not met this accident!"

"Stop being so shallow, Albert! Why do you keep depriving me of her?"

"Enough!" Elvira reproached. "Your fighting is not gonna help! Do you think she'll like seeing you like this? Grow up, people!"

Nobody spoke again. Ramona and Uriah stayed quiet but when Albert saw him, his fury resurfaced. Uriah understood that he wanted to yell at him. To also blame him for this. He looked down to avoid provoking him and decided to speak with him once he's calmed down.

With the doctor's go signal later that day, they alternately visited her inside. Uriah sat beside the bed and tenderly held one of her hands.

“I’m sorry…” he whispered brokenly. “I’m sorry for letting you go without resolving our problem. I needed time, Bee. But if I’d only known…” Tears rolling, he pressed his lips against her idle hand. “No. Even without knowing, as someone who loves you, I should’ve been more understanding. I should’ve not let my jealousy and insecurities get the better of me. Baby, I don’t intend to break up with you, okay? Please… come back to me. Come back to us. Keep fighting, Bee. I’ll wait for you to wake up. You’ll get through this. You’re strong.” He kissed her hand again. “If it’s only possible, I wouldn’t hesitate giving all my strength for you to be well, Izzy.”