Heart in throat, Hope hurried after Alex who almost seemed to be flying. By the time she and Val entered the hospital, Alex was already throwing questions at a nurse who seemed overwhelmed by the sudden barrage of questions.
"Alex."
Hope turned along with everyone else in the direction of the voice in time to see a man who she distantly recalled as a close friend of Raymond walking over to them, looking like he'd hurried over as well seeing as he was only wearing a singlet and pyjama bottom.
âEfe. Is he okay? Where's he?â Alex demanded, turning away from the flustered nurse to address Efe instead.
"Calm down, Alex," Efe urged, sensing how riled up he was. "I think he's fine."
"You think?" Alex asked, distrust evident at the uncertainty of the words.
"I haven't seen him yet," Efe admitted. "He's in examination right now, and has been ever since I got here. But if he's in an examination room and not the ER, that probably means whatever injuries he might have suffered are not major, right?"
Alex sighed, but it was heavy and loaded with worry. "Where?"
Efe motioned for them to follow him and they obliged as he headed back in the direction he'd come from until he finally stopped in front of the examination room.
"He's in there," Efe announced, pointing at the shut door.
Alex's gaze fell on the door and lingered. It was almost as if he was willing it to open.
"How long has he been in there?" He asked, not taking his eyes off the door.
Efe shook his head. "I don't know. He's been in there even before I got here."
Hope released a shuddered breath, clamming her hands together to suppress their shaking. She'd never felt more terrified about anything her entire life. Not even when she had been battling for her life had she been this nervous.
Please, be okay, her mind whispered and she wished there was a way she could communicate those words to Raymond.
"God, I hope he's okay," Val stated, saying out loud what everyone else was thinking.
Efe's eyes shifted to her and they were filled with curiosity about who she might be. He had an inkling to who she was but he couldn't just outrightly ask her, at least not in that situation.
"You should have a seat," Efe suggested, gesturing at one of the benches directly opposite the room which only had one occupant at the moment. "We don't know how long we'll be here."
Hope obliged, mostly because she was afraid her legs would give out if she didn't take her weight off them. Val did the same while Alex just remained staring at the door and he looked like he was somehow locked up in his own world. Hope was worried about him as well. Knowing his history, the last thing he needed was to lose another relative to a car accident. God forbid he had to go through that again.
Efe started pacing and Hope suspected he'd been going at it even before they got there. When he noticed the questioning look she was throwing at him, he shook his head and smiled, "I can't seem to sit still."
It could have been minutes or hours after, but the door finally opened and Val and Hope jumped to their feet. Raymond stepped out and Hope's eyes budged as she took him in. He looked . . . Completely fine.
He seemed taken aback as he stared at the four who were staring back at him with matching looks of confusion, disbelief and predominantly relief.
Raymond seemed to recover first as he regarded them, "What are you all doing here?"
"What are we doing here?" Alex repeated almost mechanically. The worry seemed to instantly vanish and then he just looked plain angry. It was the easiest way he could think of to deal with his turbulent feelings. "You got into an accident and you're asking us why we're here?"
"It's just â " Raymond cut himself off, sighing. "I'm fine. It wasn't much of an accident."
"Not from what I heard," Efe retorted. "I called your line only for this man to pick up and tell me that the owner of the phone had gotten into a fatal accident. Apparently, you'd hit a child and then driven straight into a tree. He said the girl died on the spot and the car driver was in critical condition."
Raymond blinked, amazed and irritated on hearing the story. "I was driving when the little girl came onto the road. I was distracted and I just barely avoided hitting her and almost ran into a tree, but luckily I wasn't speeding and I managed to hit the brakes on time. The girl fainted, probably from the shock so I brought her to the hospital and the doctor insisted I get an examination just in case. I must have dropped my phone in the middle of the whole ruckus."
"So you're fine?" Alex asked although it was clear now he was.
Raymond nodded. "I'm sorry I made you rush over here." He turned to Efe, a teasing smile tugging on his lips. "You should dress like this more often."
All the tension vanished as Efe laughed loudly. Alex chuckled before hitting Raymond hard on the back. "You should apologize to Hope and Valerie instead. I was driving them home when I got the call from Efe. You had us all worried, Raymond. What could have had you so distracted? You're one of the most careful drivers I know."
The happiness seemed to get sucked out of him as Raymond's mind trailed back to what had caused the whole situation in the first place and his heart grew heavy for the second time that day. Rose. Jason.
Hope noticed the change in him and the worry began to gnaw at her once more. He turned to her and Val but it was like he wasn't really seeing them as his mind seemed to have wandered off.
"I'm sorry I had you all worried."
"Are you okay?" Alex asked. He had also noticed the change.
Raymond nodded, avoiding everyone's now worried gazes. "It's late, you all should go back home. Alex, mum and Sophie would probably be getting worried by now."
Alex sighed, going to bring out his phone from his trouser's pocket before realizing he'd left it in the car. He turned to Hope and Val. "Let's go."
"No," Raymond shook his head. "Let me drop them."
Alex's brows raised. "You barely avoided a major accident this night. You shouldn't even be driving yourself."
Raymond rubbed his eyes and he looked really tired. "It'll be more comfortable for everyone if I take them home. It's my fault you all had to come here in the first place. Besides, you really should be getting home."
"I can't â "
"I'll drop them," Efe offered. "You go home to your wife, Alex. I'll take care of them."
Alex looked like he was about to protest again but Val cut off whatever he was about saying.
"It's okay," Val promised. "We'll be fine with them. Go home."
Alex finally conceded and he turned to Raymond. "You don't have to come to work tomorrow if you don't feel up to it."
"I'll come," Raymond countered. "I'm fine."
For a moment, it looked like Alex was about ready to initiate a shout out with him. Obviously, he wasn't fine and he hated that his brother was lying straight to his face.
"We'll talk tomorrow," Alex stated briskly before walking off.
"Now he looks pissed," Efe observed.
Raymond's gaze followed his brother until he was out of sight. He ignored Efe's comment as he turned to the others. "Let's go."
He didn't wait for their response before walking away, heading to the reception to settle things there. He paid for his medical bills and that of the girl he'd almost hit who luckily, was going to be discharged once she was off her drip as well. He learnt her mother had showed up so he really had no business there anymore.
He headed out and saw the others standing by his car, waiting for him.
"Get in," he said, addressing Val and Hope.
"No," Efe protested. "I don't think you should be driving right now."
"Please, Efe," Raymond pleaded. "Not you as well. Not right now."
"We'll go with him," Hope said, speaking for the first time since arriving at the hospital. Raymond turned to her and their eyes held for the longest second. "We'll go with you."
Hope wasn't sure why he kept insisting on taking them home, but she also wanted an opportunity to talk to him if she could.
He turned to Val and she nodded, confirming Hope's words.
"Get in then," he said, unlocking the car doors.
Efe sighed, resigned. He took a phone out of his pajama pocket and stretched it out to Raymond. "Here."
Raymond took it from him and examined it, surprise evident on his features. "My phone? How did you get it?"
Efe shrugged. "The man had a knack for cooking up stories but he must have a good heart. He brought it over, which is great considering how important that phone is to you."
"Thank you," Raymond responded with a genuine smile.
"Be careful, okay? We'll talk tomorrow?" Efe asked, and Raymond knew he was talking about a lot more than just talking.
Raymond nodded, crossing over to the driver's side. He got in and with Hope and Val already in the car, started the car.
Efe waved briefly at them and Hope and Val returned the gesture.
The ride home was filled with tensed silence as it was obvious Raymond wasn't interested in any form of conversation. Val, who was riding shotgun kept sneaking glances at him all through the ride while Hope who was in the backseat blatantly stared. He ignored them both as he kept his gaze firmly trained on the road, pretending to be unaware of both their gazes on him.
Finally, the ride was over and Val was more than eager to get off, having had enough of the awkwardness.
"Thanks for the ride, Raymond. Take care of yourself," she said before opening the door and climbing out. She turned to Hope who was still planted on the seat like she had no plans of moving. "Aren't you coming?"
"In a bit," Hope replied. She was confused as to why she was still staying as well but she just found it hard to move her butt off the seat.
Val looked hesitant at first, her eyes darting between them both before she finally decided to just let them be. She turned on her heels and walked inside.
Raymond tried to ignore her at first, but when it was obvious she wasn't getting off, he sighed and lifted his eyes so they met hers through the rearview mirror. "Are you getting out anytime today?"
"Are you okay?" Hope asked, finally getting off what was on her chest.
Raymond let out a sound that was in between a chuckle and a scoff.
"I'm fine," he replied.
"You don't look fine to me," Hope insisted. She was on any normal day not so intrusive but this stemmed out of concern for him, and it was new to even her. Something had happened to him prior to the almost accident and she wasn't sure leaving him by himself was such a good idea. "Are you going to be okay by yourself?"
"Am I a child now?" he asked and Hope was almost deceived by the teasing note his voice had taken. Almost.
"No," Hope deadpanned. "But . . . I just feel like there's something bothering you that you're not sharing and it might help if you share with someone."
He let out an obvious scoff this time. "You really think talking about it would make me feel better?"
Hope nodded as if she actually knew what she was saying.
He nodded as well. "Okay, so I'm not fine, but what about you, Hope? Are you okay?"
Hope's brows scrunched in confusion. "What do you mean?"
He turned around to face her and his jaw ticked. He was finally getting off his chest something he'd had in mind for a long time. "You're lying about the reason you're working without your family's consent. There's obviously something else going on with you that you're not sharing, and since we're on the topic of baring our hearts, you might as well start, don't you think?"
Hope knew he was only baiting her and he wasn't actually expecting her to spill. She felt so angry and frustrated with herself that she was not about to prove him wrong.
"Well?" He prompted.
Hope's mouth opened and closed repeatedly but no words emerged. Her heart picked up pace as she realized how close to home his accusation hit. In defense, she muttered heatedly, "I'm only trying to help you, you don't have to be so rude about it."
He'd gotten past a lot of feeling that night and he was now on the verge of anger. It seemed that was all he had left, and she was so close to getting the brunt of it.
"You're being quite hypocritical right now, Hope. Don't you think?"
Hope would never have imagined there'd come the day she'd see Raymond like this â so far from his usually happy, go lucky self â or that she'd feel so horrible witnessing it.
She found nothing else to say and he didn't say anything either as they stared each other down. She was hoping for a way to find answers and him . . . she wasn't sure what he was hoping to find. What she did know was that the longer their eyes held, the more the violent fluttering in her belly persisted. Talk about wrong timing.
"Get out."
It was almost as if someone poured a bucket full of ice cold water on her. "What?"
"You should learn to respect others' privacy if you are so intent on guarding yours," he concluded dismissively. "Let's talk about this when we're both really up for it."
Hope's lips trembled and she was taken aback by how much his words hurt her. He'd managed to put her in her place so calmly it made it so much worse. She blindly opened the car door as tears started brimming in her eyes.
Raymond hardened his heart against the guilt that started creeping in on seeing her trembling lips. He knew come the next morning, he was going to regret handling the situation the way he did, but after the day's events, he didn't care about much else except being left alone.
The moment she exited, he started the car and without a second thought, drove off.
Hope stood there for a long time after he left, staring at nothing as her mind filled with so many different thoughts. When had she let her guard down so much that she'd let her feelings for him get so intense?
She'd felt like she could lose her mind at the thought of Raymond being in critical condition, and even though she already had too much going on, there was still that tiny part of her, a part willing to share whatever his pains were with him if he'd let her. For the very first time, she really started to get scared of herself, and most especially her feelings for him.
Wiping frustratedly at the lone tear that had stubbornly managed to fall, she turned around and walked in. In the long run, his rude dismissal was for the best. At least now she knew better than to hold any ridiculous notion of being more important to him than she actually was. She'd needed the reminder that as far as he was concerned, she was only so much as an over privileged little sister if she could even consider herself that, and it would do well for her to keep that in mind. Plus, he was onto her and now more than ever, she needed to keep her guard up even higher around him.
â¢Â  ~  â¢Â  ~  â¢
Looks like Ray and Hope had their first sort of fight. We'll see how they settle this one.
Anyways, a huge THANK YOU! to every one of you that has been reading, sharing, voting, and commenting on this book.
Y'all are the biggest encouragement there is.