Chapter 31 - Sam

I was stuck at the hospital after my surgery because my doctor didn't want to send me home yet.

There were no untoward incidents that happened during the procedure but she wanted to make sure that I was in good condition before I was discharged.

Aside from round-the-clock care from nurses, grandmother sent one of the helpers to look after me.

She visited often and spoke with my doctor to discuss my progress.

All the hospital staff were on edge whenever they see her.

If they could roll out the red carpet, they would.

I was always happy to see her.

She didn't have to come all the time but she did.

After our heart to heart talk, my grandmother was more relaxed around me.

She was still strict but I felt like the tension that followed us was now lessened.

Most of the time, I was asleep.

I had no idea about what was going on with the world.

The anesthesia wore off and I was in pain but was assured by the doctor that they were able to remove the tumor that was giving me grief.

She reminded me to be patient.

Healing takes time.

There was no rushing it.

I just came out of the washroom when I overheard the conversation between the nurse and the help.

The TV was on and they were both staring at it.

I looked up and my heart skipped a beat when I saw the office building surrounded by the police.

According to the news, there was a shooting and one of the casualties was in critical condition.

They showed the basement parking lot that was cordoned off with yellow tape.

There were plenty of onlookers who were curious to find out more.

"What's going on?"

The help grabbed the remote and quickly shut off the TV.

"Tell me what's happening or I'm going to fire you both," I threatened.

The nurse looked at the help.

They both looked torn.

After a few seconds of silence, it was the nurse who told me what happened.

She was always afraid of me.

Someone got shot and one of the victims was hanging on for dear life.

I had more questions for the nurse who looked regretful already.

"Did they catch the suspect?"

"He shot himself."

We kept walking along the empty corridor.

"Did they say who it was?"

The nurse pressed her lips tight and looked at the maid who seemed very concerned.

"They said his name was Kirk."

"Kirk? Are you sure?" The blood rushed to my head.

Surely the Kirk I know wasn't the only person with that name, right?

"That's what they said on the news."

My heart went up my throat.

Suddenly I had a bad feeling about it and felt my world spun so fast.

I took a deep breath to steady myself.

There was one more thing I needed to know.

"Did they say who the other victim was?"

"A Miss Kornkamon?" She answered, unsure.

There was a vise on my chest.

My knees buckled.

It was a good thing the nurse caught me before I fell.

***

I was very young when my parents passed away.

I have no recollection of it.

My memories of what happened were from Nueng, Song and my grandmother.

It was difficult for me to form images from second hand information.

The grief I felt from losing our parents was not as bad compared to my sisters.

I woke up one day and they were no longer there.

When I asked my grandmother about it and she said they weren't coming back.

There were no explanations.

She just wrapped me in a long and tight hug.

The warmth of her embrace and the steady beating of her heart were enough to make me cry.

I was much older when the accident that claimed Song's life happened.

Nueng and I were inconsolable.

My grandmother was heartbroken too but she put a brave face in front of us.

She blamed Song's girlfriend for what happened.

I felt terrible because the girl wasn't responsible.

She was also grieving for the love she lost.

***

When I calmed down, I called my friends.

Tee and Kate were the first one to arrive at the hospital.

Jim never had the chance to put on something nice.

Her hair was tied in a messy ponytail and there was a confused look on her face.

It was Tee who confirmed what we all feared.

We all hugged each other and cried for the tragedy that befallen the people we cared about.

Nita was at the police station when we managed to get ahold of her.

Jim was hesitant to let me talk to her but I begged her to give me the phone.

She heard snippets of Mon and Kirk's conversation.

Nita didn't feel right about it.

Instead of going straight to the hospital, she went back to the office.

What she saw made her very frightened.

There were cops and people everywhere.

Bloodied petals were on the ground.

The soft velvet tainted with the gruesome crime.

They wouldn't let her come near the crime scene.

She saw our employees huddled in a corner and that was when she learned of what happened to Mon.

Nita also found out that there were witnesses.

It was the armchair detective and the former lifeguard who were following the story on Vivre.

They found out where Mon was working and followed her to the basement parking lot.

The two said that they were there just to talk and not to harm Mon.

But then they also saw Kirk and hid behind one of the pillars to listen to the ensuing argument.

I couldn't understand what Nita was saying.

The words swam in my head.

My hands shook while talking to her so I put the phone on speaker so my friends could listen in.

"Is she going to be okay?" I could barely talk.

"I don't know, Sam. They took her to the hospital where you're at." Her voice quivered and then it was followed by crying.

"Nita, she's a fighter, our girl. She will get through this," It took all my courage to say that but my tears fell fast.

My chest heaved and it was getting harder and harder to breath.

Tee took the phone and spoke with Nita while Jim and Kate comforted me.

I don't have the words to explain what I feel.

Only that I couldn't believe everything that happened.

My heart bled for Mon and Kirk.

They were for different reasons.

But love was at the centre of it all.

I know that eventually, I should learn to forgive myself.

Tee had just hung up the phone when the door opened.

My grandmother came in.

Her expression was passive.

But in her eyes, I saw the same look when she learned of what happened to Song.

***

My head was throbbing but I begged the doctor to let me see Mon.

She was against the idea thinking it would not be good for me to be expose to such a stressful situation.

"I just can't stay here wondering what happened," My eyes welled up.

My grandmother wrapped her arms around me and ordered the doctor to let me see Mon.

She couldn't deny my grandmother's request.

***

My heart was pounding as the elevator made its way upstairs.

I was with my friends, my grandmother, the help and the nurse.

When I called Nita, she said that Mon had been operated on but hasn't woken up.

She gave me the room number and said she would wait for me.

I saw Mon's mother first.

She was looking at her daughter who had all these tubes attached to her.

When I came in, her mom ran up to hug me.

I still had the bandage from the surgery and had no hair.

We both cried.

When we calmed down, I saw Nita standing on Mon's bedside and talking to her dad.

I introduced my grandmother to them.

They looked fearful but remained polite.

It was my grandmother who asked what happened.

My body shook as I listened to the story.

Kate put a blanket over my shoulder and I gripped the edges as if summoning strength from the soft fabric.

The bullet hit Mon close to the heart.

After what he did, Kirk turned the gun on himself.

He was dead on the spot.

During the operation, Mon flatlined three times but was resuscitated.

The only thing left to do now was to wait for her to wake up.

There were no dry eyes when Mon's mother was done talking.

Nita came over and we hugged each other.

Normally calm and composed, the woman I saw that night was a big mess as I am.

Tee pushed the wheelchair closer to the bed where Mon lay sleeping.

She looked so peaceful as if she was dreaming.

I took her hand and squeezed it tight.

"Come back to us soon," I whispered.