Palm Trees and White Lilies (Part Three)

Some cold air immediately breaks into the room and fills my lungs with fresh air. I step outside and I take my eyes over the fence, where the mountains reflect the setting sun in the sky. Dark gray clouds were creeping closer. The picture the horizon was beginning to form was beautiful and looked like a painting you would stare at in a museum. The lilac sky, full of life and rejoicing colors against the dark storm seething blanket.The mixture of the warm and cold air forms a weird scent and tingles at my insides, triggering a weird feeling in my gut. I truly hope that the storm is just passing by and that we will stay untroubled by it.

Coming back inside, Andrew is lying on the couch with closed eyes and an unsettling facial expression. I make my way to the bathroom to fetch some painkillers from the cabinet over the sink. My eyes get caught by the white lilies standing on the sink with almost no water to draw. As I place them back in their newly watered vase on the far right of the sink I ponder for a second before I grab the painkillers and head back to Andrew.

As the night closes in we go to bed, wanting to start a new day as fast as possible.Andrew falls asleep the second his head touches his pillow. I, on the other hand, am lying wide awake staring at the ceiling, where the shadows are dancing in the darkness. Tossing and turning my mind is replaying what has happened today, reproducing every so small moment until the car hits the palm tree. As soon as my thoughts begin to not align anymore I eventually fall asleep from exhaustion. 

I am startled awake by a big thud and the sounds of shards ricocheting on the floor. Andrew. My eyes fly wide open and I jump out of bed. There is light shining through the door gap, as it stands ajar. Slowly, I open the bathroom door to find Andrew curled up on the bathroom floor with his head between his knees. The floor is covered in broken pieces of glass and the white lilies I just freshly watered a few hours ago.

“Andrew, what happened?” I start picking up the glass shreds around him. He stutters: “I… I don’t know. I wanted to look… look for some more painkillers, but the walls started spinning… I just wanted to hold onto… and… oh I am so sorry.”I kneeled down in front of him, after I made sure there were no more shreds on the floor. I put my hand on his shoulder and put my forehead on his head to silently comfort him. “It is just a vase Andrew, no big deal. I worry about you. Please let me take you to the hospital, please…” Compelling I try to find his gaze and when our eyes meet I look into his eyes hoping he would accept my offer to help. 

We walk into the emergency room him being propped up on me with one arm slung over my shoulder. He has finally admitted to a banging headache and chest pain. The moment in the bathroom luckily scared him enough to seek help. At the front desk, they take his information and we are directly led to one of the rooms. A nurse helps me walk Andrew down the hallway, through the curtains of the booth, and onto one of the beds. I stand right next to him while a doctor examines him. My look wanders around the room.