11

"We don't know yet how long the surgery will last, Debbie." Uncle James said. He was talking to Aunt Debbie over the phone.

Sarah was getting agitated. Her uncle has been talking to her aunt for over fifteen minutes. The noise was getting to her. She knew they were scared as well, she wanted to find out as much as they did too. But the noise, coupled with the confusion of her sister's situation was getting to her. She went out of the waiting area and walked towards where the operation room was located. She won't be able to go inside, that she knew, but she wanted to be near her sister. She didn't want her alone.

Tears were already forming in her eyes when she reached the operating room. It looked like she wasn't the only one there. She immediately wiped her tears off of her face and tried not looking at the other person. She wasn't in the mood for small talk. There must be two operating rooms, she thought.

"Sarah?" The other person asked.

Sarah was surprised she knew her. She looked up and recognized who it was. "Kalinda?" She was confused.

"What are you doing here?" Kalinda asked.

"I'm—uh, my sister." She said as she pointed towards the operating room.

Kalinda stared at her in disbelief. She was still trying to process what she had just said. "Your sister?", hoping she heard her wrong.

Sarah meekly nodded her head.

Kalinda was almost hesitant to ask, "Lana?".

Sarah, with confusion in her eyes, asked, "How—?" She couldn't even finish her sentence.

Kalinda let out a sigh and leaned on the wall. "You're her sister." She said, more to herself than to Sarah.

"How—how do you know each other?" Sarah asked.

Kalinda wasn't sure if she was to tell her. Or how much she should tell her. Wouldn't that be awkward? Her dating Sarah now, after she went out with Lana. And in the most unexpected situation at that, both of them waiting outside the operating room.

"From work. I worked with her in a case once." Kalinda said, which was true.

"Oh." Sarah just stared at the operating room door. It sure was a small world. "How'd you find out about her?" She asked Kalinda. And then it hit her. The message she received at the bar. Could that be it?

Kalinda was debating inside her head whether she should tell Sarah the truth, that the message she received earlier wasn't for work, but was one that asked her to go to her car, which led to her finding Lana slumped on her car tire all bloodied and beaten up.

She wanted to be honest as much as possible. She thought of the consequences, the most that could happen was that she'd be investigated, like how she's related to Lana and who the text message was from. And then there was the bar. It wasn't exactly illegal, but it wasn't legal either. The only legitimate business there was the coffee shop. And the cops might look further into her past.

But at this moment, all that mattered was Lana.

Sarah noticed Kalinda was trying to think things through. She wanted to know so bad. "Kalinda.", she said sternly. "How did you find out about this?". It reminded her so much of Lana, Sarah acting tough.

Kalinda looked into her eyes. There was pain and confusion, she could tell. She deeply inhaled and said, "Remember the text message I got earlier?"

Sarah's mouth was gaping, her arms were crossed. "Oh my god.", was all she could say. "I was there."

"I could've—I would've..." She couldn't continue. Kalinda didn't know what to do, or say.

All of a sudden, the operating room door burst open, a nurse ran outside towards the ER. Another guy, who looked like the doctor, went outside as well.

Sarah turned to him and asked, "What's happening? What's wrong?"

The doctor turned to her and said, "Ma'am, it would be best if you stay inside the waiting area." And as he finished his sentence, a nurse came running back inside the operating room followed by two other doctors.

"We're doing the best we can." He continued. His face was calm, but there was a certain gloominess to it.

Sarah started breathing heavily and was about to cry. All the things she was learning now, that she was with Kalinda when she got the text, whatever the message was. And then the doctors and nurses suddenly running outside then hurrying back. It was all too much.

It wasn't like Kalinda, but the moment called for it. She embraced Sarah as tight as she could and whispered, "Everything's gonna be alright." She fought hard to stop her tears from falling. The thought of Lana dyi—she stopped herself from thinking it.

And then her phone rings. "Oh my god." Sarah exclaimed as she moved away from Kalinda. "Haven't you noticed, everytime we have something intimate, your phone rings." She said with a soft chuckle.

Kalinda smiled. She looked at her phone, it was Will, and answered, "Hello?"

"Kalinda. Where are you?" Will asked.

"I'm at Mercy hospital."

"Why? Are you alright?"

"Yeah- I'm just attending to a friend. Why?"

"Oh, I hope your friend's alright. We're meeting with a possible client at lunch time. We need you to be here."

"Why? I don't usually join client meetings."

"He asked for an investigator to be present. And—just be here. Would that be okay?"

"Yeah-of course. I will."

Sarah just looked at her and then remembered the conversation they were having before the operating doors opened. Her emotions were gathered now, she was more calm. "What exactly did the text message say?"

Might as well tell her everything, Kalinda thought. "It was from an unknown number asking me to go to my car."

"Your car. Outside the bar?"

"Yes. Remember, you went out the front door. I went out the back door. I checked my car and she was there."

Sarah just stared at her in shock.

"She was all bloody. Her—her face..." She paused as she tried to drag the painful memory in her mind. She described how she found her slumped. How her clothing was all bloody, the wounds that she saw. She told her about the 911 call and riding with the ambulance to the hospital.

"But why you?" Sarah asked quietly. "I mean, if you worked with her once. Why would some unknown person tell you to go outside. I don't understand." She was confused.

"I don't know, Sarah. Believe me, I've tried thinking about that myself."

"It obviously wasn't a random attack. I mean, they contacted you."

Kalinda looked at Sarah. She was right, they contacted her. They, who ever did this, knew her.

They just stood there for a while, quietly. Sarah was thinking about how this happened and why it happened. Kalinda was thinking of who did it.

"Let's get out of here. It's suffocating me," Sarah said. "Let's get some coffee."

They walked towards the ER when they noticed 2 policemen talking to the nurses at their station. One of the nurses saw them and pointed to Kalinda. Both policemen walked towards her.

"Good morning ma'am. We understand you were the companion of the person attacked earlier, a person named Lana Delaney, according to your 911 call." One of them asked.

"Yes. I made the 911 call, but I wasn't with her when she was attacked. I went to my car and she was there, bleeding and unconscious." Kalinda answered.

"Alright, would you mind releasing a statement?" he asked.

Kalinda agreed on making a statement about what happened. Sarah stayed by her side the whole time.

"And where were you between 1am to 4:30am?" The policeman asked.

Sarah butted in, "She was with me."

"And you are?"

"I'm Sarah Delaney. The patient you're referring to is my sister."

Sarah was asked to make a statement after that as well. Both of them went outside afterwards and found a coffee vending machine. Kalinda didn't drink coffee, instead, she thought of what she should do next. She had to go back and get her car, check the area for clues and then head to the office. A part of her wanted to stay at the hospital, she wanted to be there when Lana woke up. But she knew she could do nothing here. She'd be more useful outside.

"Hey, I—uh, I have to go." Kalinda said.

"Oh, okay. Of course,"

"I'd like to drop by again later this afternoon. After work?"

"Sure. That would be—yeah, sure."

Sarah felt Kalinda wanted to drop by to be with her, but realized later on, that may not be the case.