BOOK TWO
08 the reunion
Jack had been wide awake for the past twenty minutes, his mind embroiled in a quandary. A commotion from the outside aroused him from a light sleep—a habit from his demanding career as a doctor at the hospital—and he awoke to find a small group breaking out in a fight at the alley below his balcony.
Biting his lip, guilty from looking like a cruel spectator looking at gladiators being mauled by beasts, Jack barely looked as fists were issued loosely at each other. He made out an equal four-on-four, with a female each on both sides.
Push came to shove, and his eyes instinctively closed as he anticipated a punch square at one of the woman's stomach. When he finally opened his eyes, she was slumped onto the ground, but the reed-thin man was kicking her like a disappointed boy taking his anger out on a deflated football. He let out a heavy sigh; it was time he had to do something. He had spent way too much time trying to make a decision.
"Police!" he screamed and ducked back to his room immediately, bounding down the steps and out of the house.
Jack wanted to curse his cowardice on his way down, but his fears of being confronted after raising a false alarm was unfounded. His plan out of self-protection worked; the people dissipated almost immediately, dropping poles and sticks at their wake, as well.
He only checked for the weak breathing in the woman before he picked her up quickly, running towards his car.
"Wait!" a voice called from behind. Jack didn't know if it was his fear of thugs or his doctor's creed that powered him to run forward, but he didn't stop at the command. It was a first, considering his seemingly inborn obedience. "I can take her, I'm her boyfriend!"
"I'm a doctor!" Jack counter-challenged, not bothering to look back at the hooligan. In the charged moment, he hit home the point, as if explaining to a little kid, needlessly explaining, "It's my duty to!"
He managed to fish out his key from his pocket. Handing over the body to the man, he opened the door for him. "Get in; there's no time to spare."
It was the first time Jack managed to take a close look at the guy. His eyes were cold and glinting, as if in eternal distrust and cynicism as it bore into Jack's honey-brown orbs. His bleached-blonde locks were ironed straight down his forehead and matched his sky-blue irises.
"Get in," Jack repeated impatiently as he opened the door by the driver's seat. "Your girlfriend needs immediate action."
Sawyer had to force down a gloat as the gang fled at the mere mention of the police. "Cowards!" he even wanted to hazard, but there was no time to when he saw a figure scooping Rosa up from the ground. It brought him back from an uncalled victory parade; he forgot Rosa got injured while fighting in the melee.
The little bit of fear in his rational mind surfaced and culminated into a nagging worry when he tagged the man, Rosa in his arms. The slight jealousy welling in him didn't help matters, too, and it soon threw the fear overboard altogether. That bit of jealousy did get placated when he said he was a doctor instinctively and took no interest in Rosa save her health. The fear, then crept back into him and gnawed incessantly that he had to refrain from kicking the seat in front of him—the doctor's seat.
It was helpful that he wasn't a policeman, but bringing Rosa to the hospital spelt an unnecessary risk, especially if her injury wasn't too deep. Stealing a look at Rosa—his freckles—he saw something lodged in her temples, presumably the debris of a beer bottle. Her foot lay in an odd position, too. She needed attention, but they had weathered countless battles with gangs more bloodthirsty than this before.
"You act as if you own the world," Saywer tried a snide remark—light for his standards—when the doctor stopped in front of a red light. "Bossing people around all the time, eh?"
"She needs attention," he replied tartly, and Sawyer hid a smirk when he saw how easily he bristled.
"You're going to promise me one thing, and you can't back out, unless you don't want her to receive treatment," Sawyer continued, deciding to be blunt since the doctor wasn't in any mood for play. His arms tightened around Rosa's waist and dragged her closer to him, as if a demonstration of what he was going to do if the doctor refused.
"And what is that?" he asked heavily. Sawyer could see him shaking his head.
"Only you can handle her case, noone else. Not even the nurse."
He remained quiet, but he nodded. However, the nod seemed rather non-committal, and Sawyer wasn't entirely sure he would keep to the promise.
When Jack pulled his car into the hospital, Sawyer decided to drill in what he wanted. "Remember," he said as the doctor lifted Rosa from the car. "No one else has to know this."
The doctor paused in his steps and turned around, his lips pursed. "Alright, alright! Aren't you even bothered that her life's at stake?"
Sawyer stung from his cutting comment and remained silent. The only thing he could comfort himself with was that if the doctor ever went back on his words he was at the liberty of doing nasty things on him.
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There was a sound of metals clicking, and sunlight consequently filtered into the room, tickling her eyes. Rosa winced, but was unable to do so—her forehead felt stiff. She reached to touch her temple, only to feel hard plaster knock onto each other, causing her to moan at a dull ache erupting everywhere. Flicking her eyes open, a neat shaven head popped into view.
"Good morning," he started warmly. The voice fitted the luxuriant warmth of the golden sunlight showering her face. "How are you feeling today?"
Rosa didn't understand. With a blurred vision, she made out a brown head and there was only one thought forming in her head. Mustering her breath, she asked, "Jack?"
She felt a pregnant pause amidst the bleariness. She heard the voice ask slowly and cautiously, "Is he the guy who was with you?"
Jack propped her up as she tried to focus her vision. Suddenly, her eyes widened. "No, not Sawyer. Forget what I just said," she hastily replied in crisp English, unlike Sawyer's accented one.
I know my chapter titles are really boring, but i started off without naming my chapters. I guess here's Jack's entrance, at last. Review please? thanks (:
