Chapter 112 - Lengthy Goodbyes
"You are so excited you can't seem to hide it. It is making me feel like I did not do a good job taking care of you," Leah said standing by Rose's bed.
"I am definitely going to miss you. I would have lost my mind if I did not get to meet you. When I return, I will use most of your free time to disturb you. I will definitely berate Eric for keeping you from me," Rose said sincerely.
"Are you sure you will disturb me? I could use a lot of disturbance around here," Leah told her with a warm laughter.
"I could pull Eric along whenever you want," Rose suggested.
Leah glanced at Liam and sighed when she did not feel any negative energy coming from him over what Rose said. "Sure but I hope I won't occupy your studying time."
"Definitely not," Rose replied excitedly.
Liam cleared his throat when he got tired of listening to this doctor stealing away his woman right in front of him.
"I will get back to the hospital. You can ask Eric for my phone number," Leah said prepared to leave when she took notice of the dark aura surrounding Liam.
"Thank you for everything," Rose said hugging Leah sadly. She was happy she was going home but she was not happy that she had to leave Leah. Leah was the first older female she felt motherly love from since her mother died.
"I should be the person saying that. Thank you for keeping me company," Leah appreciated jovially.
Liam had to clear his throat once again when the ladies' goodbyes began getting so lengthy as though neither of them wanted to be the person to say the last goodbye. "Aren't you coming back soon?" Liam asked to ease the two females.
"Well then, bye. Take care of yourself. You know fully well what you are not allowed eat. Don't skip your meals either," Leah continued the lengthy goodbye speech despite the cold gaze she felt from behind.
"I won't you should also rest more. Patients need the doctors to be healthy enough to help them," Rose continued from where Leah stopped.
"Your family just arrived. I will be leaving too," Liam said before Rose could pass the baton of the goodbye speech to Leah. He gave Rose a slight nod and a small smile before leaving the room.
"Bye," Leah said with an energized wave at Rose before also walking out of the room.
Rose looked down at her fingers. She sighed sadly and glanced at the now closed door of her room. Her low spirit immediately elevated when she heard a soft knock on the door. Before she could invite the person in, the door slide open and Anna walked in looking around until her eyes fell on Rose.
"Rose!" Anna called out as soon as she saw Rose. She ran and hugged Rose who was sitting on her bed. "I am so happy," she said sincerely as her eyes could not hold back their tears and tears ran down freely smearing the eye makeup she wore to hide the dark circles around her eyes caused by lack of adequate sleep.
"I missed you so much," Rose said as tears began running down her own cheeks.
"I missed you more. I was so scared I thought you died in the fire," Anna said still hugging Rose tightly unwilling to let go.
"Aren't you hugging her too tightly?" Valerie asked feeling very happy to see Rose.
"I am sorry. Are you hurt?" Anna asked pulling away from the hug immediately as she looked all over Rose.
"I am fine. I got stabbed in my abdomen," Rose said when Anna stopped searching for where she got hurt.
"Are you okay now?" Valerie asked worriedly.
"Yes, I am fine now although I need to be very careful," Rose said with a smile. She might have not been close to her foster parent but she liked Anna a lot. Seeing her foster sister again after a long time, made her feel glad.
"I will talk to the doctor in charge," Justin said walking out of the room.
"Who stabbed you?" Valerie asked walking towards Rose.
"I don't know. I woke up in the hospital. I have no idea who did it but I was told by the doctor that I got stabbed in my abdomen and they had to do a liver transplant. According to them, I was in coma for three weeks. I only narrowly escaped death," Rose narrated with a lot of lies blending with the truth.
"I am happy that you are fine now," Valerie said hugging Rose with a smile. "I heard you will be able to go home with us," Valerie asked when she stopped hugging Rose.
"Yes. The doctor spoke to me earlier. I just need to rest and watch what I eat," Rose told them. She really wanted to leave the hospital now. The smell of disinfectant that did not seem to bother her before began making her feel uncomfortable.
"Did you really have a new liver in you?" Anna asked baffled she have heard of organ transplants but she have been close to someone who got an organ transplant.
"It is not a new liver, it was not mine until a month ago," Rose corrected her sister who was obviously letting her imagination run wild.
"What if they grew it in a lab?" Anna asked curiously.
"I don't know anything about the liver in my abdomen, okay? I was unconscious weeks after the surgery and the doctor did not tell me anything about it," Rose replied tired of her sister's questions.
"Did you leave the restaurant through the front door?" Anna asked when she remembered what Noah told her.
"No, I didn't. I passed out in the restroom," Rose replied wondering why Anna was curious about that.
"Noah said she saw someone in your dress run out of the restaurant. I was really angry with her when she said it because it made me believe for a while that you got out. I was also angry with you because you ran out without caring to look for me," Anna narrated.
Rose smiled but she remembered the sad feeling she felt when she waited for someone to come looking for her in the restroom but no one did.
"When the fire started, I completely lost my mind in the chaos. I wanted to go back into the restaurant to find you when Noah could not confirm that she really saw you but they stopped me. Noah broke up with Wayne and returned home," Anna continued her narration.
"Why?" Rose asked. She missed a lot staying in the hospital.
"As usual, it seems I played a major role by antagonizing her. Wayne says it is not my fault but I know I made sure to make her feel very uncomfortable in the house."
"That's not nice."
"I know but I needed to vent my anger. She gave me hope that you were okay at that moment when I needed it most but it was only a fruitless hope. I was also feeling really guilty about everything. I should have looked for you as soon as I heard the alarm but I was too busy escaping with someone's hand on my wrist. I broke up with him," Anna narrated with a hateful expression.
"You . . . Why? I am sure he was only trying to save you," Rose asked unable to understand her sister's twisted mentality.
"I did not fight with Debby and Wayne I think that's what's important," Anna replied her with a pout.
"You have a boyfriend?" Valerie asked.
"Had, I had a boyfriend," Anna replied forgetting that she wanted to keep it a secret from her parents until she graduated from high school.
"Oh," Valerie said nodding her head thoughtfully at the revelation. "And who is the young man?" Valerie asked.
"Oh," it was Anna's turn to say that word. "I don't have a boyfriend," Anna said shaking her head biting her lower lip.
"You just said it. Is it someone you don't want me to know about?" Valerie asked when she noticed Anna was trying to keep it from her.
"No, I just . . . He is no longer my boyfriend. There is no need to know. When I get a new boyfriend, I will let you know," Anna replied. She did not want to disappoint Valerie with the fact that she was dating her teacher. It won't end well if her dad found out.
"You have a boyfriend?" Justin asked walking in.
"Oh no," Anna said looking at Rose for help. Her foster father have always been strict and since she spoke to him in a very wrong way days ago, he will most likely take this matter more seriously.
Rose got up slowly from the bed.
"Let's talk when we get back home," Valerie said softly.
"Oh sure," Justin agreed nodding Valerie's words doing a good job of making him calm.
"Thank you," Anna mouthed to her mum.
"We will find more about your boyfriend when we get back home," Valerie did a good job of busting her daughter's bubble as she told Anna aloud.
Anna pouted with puppy eyes but Valerie ignored her. The more Anna was trying to hide the identity of her boyfriend, the more serious her curiousity got.
Seeing none of her parents were backing out from the issue of her boyfriend, she hugged Rose arm to seek refuge.