CHAPTER 19 – BACKTRACK

AT THE HOSPITAL

Sakura arrived to the emergency ward and asked for Syaoran. She was all out of breath and wanted to cry so badly but she contained herself so they would let her see him. The nurse in shift told her that he was under intervention.

'Intervention? What happened?'
'That patient arrived with stab wounds and he will be under intensive care after the procedure'
'What?! S-stab wounds…'
'Are you also here to see his companion?'
'Companion?'
'He was brought in at the same time with another young man'
'Oh my God, Yamato-san!'
'He only suffered from a mild concussion. He will be under observation for a few days but there are no severe injuries'
'Please could you give me his room number?'
'203. He is currently resting so try to be very quiet'
'Thank you so much'

(Stabbed?! What is going on? Syaoran, I need to see you)

She went to the second floor and found Yamato-san's room. She looked from the outside and he was sleeping.

(I am so nervous! I can't keep still…) She decided to wait in the waiting area until Syaoran was moved to a room. It was already 11:45 pm and all she could think about was how much she wanted to see his face and hear his voice again.

'Kinomoto-san? What are you doing here?'
She lifted her face and saw Tanaka standing in front of her. Sakura couldn't hold her tears any longer and started to cry uncontrollably. Tanaka rushed to her side and hugged her.

'What's wrong?' Why are you here?'
'It is…my boyfriend. He was in an accident of some sort. I haven't been able to see him yet'
'Oh you poor thing…let me find out about his condition for you'
'How…how can you?'
'Dr. Shen is doing his rounds this weekend in the emergency ward. He will surely grant me access. I will grab you some water, just wait here ok?'

Sakura dried up her eyes with her hands, she was shaking a bit.

After a few minutes, Tanaka got back and told her Syaoran was being moved into room 210 soon.

'Now, you will only be able to see him if you are extremely quiet. I have spoken with his doctor. You can go now'
'Thank you, thanks Tanaka-san'

She got up with such haste that the water bottle Tanaka had given her fell on the floor and spilled all over.

Sakura got to the room and saw him all covered in bandages. He also had many bruises around his face and he was hooked up to a respiratory machine. It broke her heart to see him like this. She reached out for the door knob with her shaky hands and walked inside.

'Syaoran…'

She caressed his face and swept his hair to the side. She started crying, trying to be as quiet as possible but it was impossible to keep calm. She brought a chair closer to his bed and sat down.

(Who could have done this to him?! Why? I am going crazy just thinking about this, I need to calm down. I need to find out what happened)

NEXT MORNING

Syaoran opened his eyes, his vision was very blurry and all he could see was a very high and white ceiling. He soon realised he couldn't move his arms properly, his head felt so heavy and his chest really hurt when breathing. His eyes looked to the side and he saw Sakura sleeping with her head on his bed but sitting on a chair.

He wanted to speak but his voice just didn't come out. Sakura woke up suddenly and saw him struggling.

'Please do not move Syaoran' – (Thank God, he woke up)

He looked at her, she had very red and puffy eyes. Syaoran was still confused, he couldn't remember what had happened exactly.

'I will go get the doctor and tell him you are awake'

She left the room and went to look for the doctor or a nurse. She waited outside while they were performing checks on him.

'Kinomoto-san, he is in a stable condition right now. He will just need lots of rest and good food to get his strength back'
'Thank you doctor'
'The only thing we need to watch out for is a potential infection due to the multiple lacerations. We will do our best to minimise the risks. You are a member of this hospital right?'
'Y-yes. I work at the children's ward'
'Well, then in that case I will allow you to visit him after hours'
'Thank you! I am so thankful'
'No problem, please try not to agitate him. The first few days are critical for his recovery'

Sakura walked back into the room. They had completely disconnected the respiratory machine which was a good sign.

'Sa-Saku…ra…'
'Everything is ok. Try not to talk' – her eyes became teary but she got herself together
'I will be with you every day, just rest for now' – she gave him a kiss on the forehead and stroke his hair repeatedly until he fell asleep.

(I will go check on Yamato-san, he will surely provide me with some information)

ROOM 203

'Excuse me, may I come in?'
'Miss Kinomoto!'
'Hi Yamato-san, sorry to arrive like this. I know you must be tired and in pain but I am such a mess and have so many questions'
'I will tell you anything you want, miss – he looked down at his hands – 'it happened just after I had picked him up from the airport. We were on our way to your apartment, when the back tire of the car exploded. Thankfully, I managed to get the car under control and it ended up just by the sidewalk'
'Just like that?'
'Yes. I was going to exchange the destroyed tire with the spare one we keep in the trunk, so I was at the back of the car. Master Li was by the car hood, he lighted up a cigarette and was about to call you I think, when three cars pulled up just beside us. Some men came out and asked him some questions I couldn't really understand…'
'What do you mean? What sort of questions?'
'I can't remember exactly. It was hard for me to hear everything but I do remember they said something about a woman because they raised their voices quite a bit. I decided to go to him in case he needed me but suddenly a man punched him on the face. So I stopped in shock, I saw him throwing his cigarette on the ground and stepping on it. He returned the punch and that man went down really hard. After that, four men came after him they held him and starting hitting him. I am embarrassed to say that I was really useless, I tried running to him but I got hit on the back of my head by someone. The last thing I remember was lying with my face on the ground, just seeing their feet and lots of blood on the ground. I lost consciousness and I woke up here'

Sakura couldn't move after hearing this, she was so scared and frantic

'I am sorry miss Kinomoto, sorry I couldn't help him. Please don't cry'

'I just can't imagine…why him? – she kept on crying – 'don't worry it is not your fault. Thank you for telling me Yamato-san. I will come to visit you as well ok?'

She smiled slightly and left the room. Suddenly a friendly voice

'Saku-chan! Dear God! Are you alright? Tanaka-san told me everything. I can't believe this actually happened'
'Me neither, thanks for coming Aoi'
'Don't worry about it, come let's get you a coffee and something to eat'
'I really just want to stay by his side for now'
'That's fine. I will get you something then, you go on ahead'
'Thank you'

She got back into Syaoran's room and just stared at him. She wanted to hug him so badly, to see his smile and his beautiful amber eyes.

'Here lovely, at least eat this sandwich'
'I am not really that hungry…I will take the coffee though'
'Don't be like that. You don't want to make him worry, right? Eat properly so he can see you looking great when he wakes up. He is young and strong, he will definitely get through this'
'…thanks…I will then…'
'I don't mean to make things worse but I have bad feeling about all of this. There have been some weirds things going on recently. I mean, your apartment gets broken into, that man you told me about, the one at the camera shop and now this happens?'
'I don't see the relation, sorry…'
'It might be best for you to stay at Syaoran's place for a while. I would offer you my apartment but as you know I have a guest who is a bit of a handful at the moment'
'Yeah… I might do that'
'You are talking like a zombie! Are you even listening to me?'
'Sorry Aoi. I can't think about anything right now. This feels like a nightmare and I can't wake up'
Aoi hugged her friend: 'Just don't worry too much, you can file a police report later to find out who did this. But all you can do right now is to look after him and make sure you are well too'

Sakura remained at the hospital for the rest of the day. Finally, at 10pm, she decided to go home. She was waiting for a cab downstairs when Tanaka approached her.

'How's things Kinomoto-san?'
'Not great but…at least he is alive'
'That's…the most important thing'
'Do you want a lift home?'
'I have already ordered a taxi'
'That's ok, you can just cancel it'
'Sorry Tanaka-san, I just don't feel like being with company right now. Thanks for everything you have done so far. It is because of you that I got to see him last night'
'It is alright. You can count on me'

The cab arrived and Sakura got in. The taxi started driving away and she looked back at Tanaka who was waving at her. Then, it was just for a second but she caught a glimpse of him smiling as he walked back into the hospital. She was so exhausted that wondered if she had imagined it all…

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