Fifty Shades of Larry (On Hold)

THIRTY-NINE

➖THIRTY—NINE➖

Flashback

"Listen, mum, it's nothing, okay? It's just a headache. I'm fine."

But his mother wasn't having it. Her baby was thousands of miles away, alone. And sick. And he was asking her not to worry like it was possible.

"You should come home."

"For a headache?" Larry asked eyes rested on the traffic light which was on red. "That's ridiculous, Ma."

"It won't be ridiculous when I show up at your doorstep tomorrow."

"No! Don't do that. I'll go to the hospital, " he said.

21, 20, 19, 18...

"Larry, I know you."

Larry shut his eyes, massaging his fingers against his temple. His head ached like crazy. "No, no, " he groaned in pain, "I'll go."

"You would?"

He nodded. "I promise."

10, 9, 8, 7, 6...

Larwares was just on the verge of selling it's 3rd biggest game. He needed to be strong physically and mentally. As much as he hated hospitals, he couldn't play with his health at this moment.

"I don't want you stressing yourself. You're doing good already. Take it easy, baby."

"I will, mum." It was still very much early; 4:34 pm as it read on his dashboard. He could make it to the hospital and get some drugs.

"Now, go home and rest."

Paaa. Paaa. Paaa.

Larry yelped as the driver behind honked so loudly, so impatiently causing his heart cut in half and his handset dropped from his hand.

"Jesus Christ, " he mumbled to himself. The light had turned green and the cars on the other lanes had taken off. It was just him.

He waved outside his window in apology as he put his car in motion and joined the road again.

The throbbing in his head had slowly inched to his back and his joints. He suddenly felt faint and weak.

Earlier that day, he had felt fine. Great, actually. His company was skyrocketing. It had beaten down millions of other gaming companies and was slowly climbing up the ladder under the top ten best gaming companies. And Larwares was just a new comer in the industry.

Barely 2 hours ago had the sickness crept in. But at that moment, he felt like he had been run over by a truck. If he hadn't spoken to his mother, missing the moments he had spent with her in France 3 months ago and how she had taken care of—

His mother!

She was still on the phone!

"Mum?" Larry called.

He could hear her indistinct voice from the phone. Larry reached for the phone but his hands barely got to his shin.

His head felt fuzzy at that gesture. "Mum, I'll call— Wait. What's the name of the drugs you usually give me for headache?"

Her incoherent words came again. And Larry sighed in frustration.

"Hold on." He just had to be quick.

Once more, Larry's eyes darted towards the road to make sure his path ahead was clear and danger free.

Then he ducked begins the wheels and searched for his phone. At first, he couldn't feel it. Plus he felt lightheaded. He was probably going to die before he raised his head up.

He touched under his chair and felt the cold smooth screen of his phone. He quickly snatched it and put his head up.

Larry's head sank into his stomach when he looked up to a little boy running right into his car. His leg jabbed against the break. But then, evil had surely been lurking that day.

From behind, another car jammed into Larry's car, pushing him forward, causing Larry's head to bang against the steering wheel.

Also, causing a costly mistake that could have probably been averted by one of them.

When the car came to a stop, Larry quickly peeled off his seatbelt, jumping out. The pedestrians from the sidewalk had begun rushing towards his car.

Larry's hands wrapped around his head when he found what had drawn the attention of the crowd. "OH MY God," he cried. The little boy lay unconscious in his own pool of blood.

"Call an ambulance!" Someone yelled.

Larry crumbled to his knees, next to the boy. His heart thudded in his chest. Blood trickled from the boy's nostrils and his mouth.

"Please, no, " Larry cried in a whisper, cupping the kid's face. "No, no, no."

It couldn't be. How could everything just change in a matter of seconds?

"Give him space!"

"Is he dead!?"

"Where's his mother!?"

"Is he drunk?!"

"He's bleeding too!"

The voices flew around. Larry didn't care. He had killed a kid.

"Please, give him room, " a lady called. She took the boy in her arms, rocking him gently. She brought his face to her ear and waited.

Larry waited. His teeth rattled in fear. He clasped his hand over his quivering lips. He had killed a child.

She pulled him from her ear and held him to her body. She looked up at the crowd. "Call an ambulance, please, " her voice shook now.

"Is he dead?"

"How did this even happen?"

"Where are his parents?!"

"This is so sad!"

Larry wanted to melt into goo at that moment. He felt himself falling forward but he caught himself. The lady looked at him. "It wasn't your fault. We saw what happened."

"Is... Is he dead?" Larry finally managed to ask.

The lady didn't answer at first. She turned away and called for someone to call for an ambulance but the blaring of siren nearby made her hold her words.

The ambulance soon arrived and the boy was taken away. Larry followed in haste but was held back. It was the lady.

"You're bleeding, young man. You should get treated. I'll go with you to the police station as a witness to what happened. Someone hit your car from behind."

But that was the least of his concerns. "The kid... Is he going to—"

"No, " she said sadly before uttering the two words that would later come to haunt Larry for as long as he lived. "He's dead."

* * * *

Are the pieces coming together now? I hope so. Tell me what you think.