Operating Room

Currently, Jonathan was sitting outside the operation theatre. The too sterile smell of the hospital was making his nose itch, the white walls were making his eyes sting, making it difficult to focus on a single thing and the nurses rushing to and fro, some carrying patients on stretchers while some carrying medicines and other tools were sending him into a state of panic. Jonathan strongly disliked hospitals they never seemed to bring good news for him. But it was not his dislike for hospitals nor was the still sobbing Alice sitting beside him in a similar small and literally a pain in the ass grey metal chair that had him worried and praying frivolously instead it was the tiny red light blinking above the door of operation chair, signifying that Liza was still in danger.

As soon as Jonathan had recovered from the devastating effects of Alice’s words, he had gone into action mode. He had thrown on a decent enough shirt and jeans, not caring whether suited each other or not, he could look like a homeless person for all he cared, the only thing on his mind was to get to the hospital as fast as possible. He drove like hell hounds were after him, flipping people off who glared and shouted at him for his reckless driving and then scared the living daylights out of the receptionist when he asked, no growled, about where was Liza. Now 30 minutes later he still had no answer to how was she doing. Every time a nurse came out of the operation theatre her face would be more gave than her previous visit and she would be in more hurry than the previous one. Jonathan felt like pulling his hair out in frustration. He was sitting outside hopelessly, there was nothing he could to save Liza except praying to god and a nearly hysterical Alice wasn’t helping him much either.

The moment he had come to the operation theatre where Liza was being operated on, he was tackled down by a sobbing Alice, after a few minutes Alice had withdrawn from the hug and had slapped him right across the face yelling at him that he was responsible for this “You asshole, had it not been for you Liza would still be with me, she would have been sleeping peacefully next to you right now, but you need to mess up everything, don’t you? You can’t even keep the best thing that has happened to you in your life” were her words to be exact. Hospital staff had to threaten to kick her out to finally get her to calm down and after that Alice had again began sobbing.

Those words had been like cold water to him, waking him up from his state of panic and then again drowning him into self-doubt. He wondered if it was really his doing. He was still confused over his feelings for Liza, one moment he felt immensely betrayed by her, and on the other, he felt like pulling her back in his arms. The few letters he had read were making the small voice in his head which was still adamant that Liza cannot betray him, stronger. He was getting whiplash from his feelings. His brain was going haywire from all the confusion and panic. It was as if someone was pulling him up and saving him from drowning only to push his head back under the water again. He was confused about everything, it felt like he was sitting on a roller coaster ride he couldn’t get off from. Everything that had happened in the past few days was whirling around him, making him sick and worried. The anger and love inside him were constantly at the battle, putting him in the middle of a war with himself. He rubbed his temples and then put his head down in his hands and let out a sigh, It was all so unclear, he was angry, hurt, and worried at the same time, his feelings were hazy and the only thing that was clear to him at the moment was that he would give anything to see Liza’s beautiful hazel eyes again.

It was almost 2 hours later when the operation theatre's light turned green signaling the end of the operation. The room to the operation theatre opened and the doctor emerged from behind the door followed by nurses and other doctors. His face was tired and he looked ready to fall any minute. However, when he came forward he inquired in a firm voice “Who is Ms. Liza’s immediate family member?” before Alice could say anything Jonathan stood up and said, “I am“.

“ Well I am pleased to inform you that Ms. Liza has survived the accident, she has a broken rib and a fractured hand. She is currently unconscious, we believe that her body is trying to cope up with the trauma and we are unable to tell when she will be waking up, it can be a few hours from now or it can also be a week later” the doctor said making Jonathan release a breath in relief, although he was still worried about Doctor’s waking up statement, he was thankful to god that Liza had survived and not even the deadly glare that Alice was giving him could stop him from sagging down in the chair from relief. “We will keep her under observation for a week after she wakes up. He will be moved to a suite Please go over to the reception and fill the paperwork, you will be receiving her prescription and bill from the reception itself” Jonathan nodded his head and thanked the tired doctor as he left.

“You are not her immediate family Jonathan, not now, not after all the damage you have done to her,” Alice said still glaring at him through her bloodshot eyes. Jonathan whose energy suddenly seemed to have sapped answered her tiredly “I am and I will remain her immediate family as long as I am her husband, neither of us has signed the divorce papers yet Alice, and till we do no one can take my right of being called Liza’s husband, away from me.” His voice was tired but his eyes were glaring back at Alice with the same intensity.

“You don’t get it, do you? It’s not about signing a bunch of stupid papers with shit written on them, you have not been a husband to her for a long time. There is much more to being a husband than some stupid certificate proclaiming you to be married, Jonathan. Ask yourself when was the last time you had done something that gave you the right to call yourself her husband and then we will talk about your rights.” Alice said coldly, her voice dripping with venom and her eyes burning with anger. With one last glare, Alice turned and walked away to see to the hospital paperwork and make arrangements for Liza. Jonathan sat there dumbfounded at his sister’s harsh words. They were confusing him more than ever. What did Alice know about him that made her hate him so much? Did she know about his sins? And more importantly, did Liza know about them?