章 8: Once Before
Had it not been an exigent predicament, Histoire would not have disturbed Jotham at work. The city was thirty minutes away but she heard sound of the door being opened in vehemently fifteen minutes after she ended the call. She heard hurried footsteps running up the stairs before they stopped.
"I'm in here!" She yelled out when she realised Jotham might have been lost. Indeed, he was. He followed her voice and came to a halt at the doorway. Aside from breathing heavily because he was out of breath, he was stunned and approached the bed.
"I came here... as fast as I could... Histoire, what happened?" He enquired, unaware of how perturbed he sounded. She felt guilty for having bothered him, especially because the situation could have been avoided in more ways than one.
Jotham got on his knees by her foot, inspecting the ice that surrounded the injury. There was something particular about it that he could not put his finger on.
"Did someone break in? Did they do this to you?" He went on, not giving her a chance to respond between each question. She had to lean forward and reached her hand out to press her finger against his soft lips to make him stop talking. She wished he would not worry so much.
"I set my foot down the wrong way on the stairs. I guess I slipped and ended up... well, it's broken," she stated, purposely leaving out the other half of the story. He gave her leg an expression of concern and traced his fingertips on the surface of the cold ice.
The block of ice prevented him from getting an unobstructed view of her ankle. A broken bone, however, could be spotted from a considerable distance away. It was obviously more than a sprained ankle.
"You called for an ambulance, right? It should've arrived before..." he asked, and looked up at her face. Her head was tilted to the side to avoid his eyes. That was the answer to his question.
"I've given it some thought, and..." she said in a low tone before she paused.
"What if... what if an evil organisation really is targeting me? If word gets out that I'm hospitalized... No, it definitely will. When it does, they might-"
This time it was Jotham's turn to press his now cold finger against her quivering lips.
"You're letting fear take control again, Histoire. It's broken, it won't heal over time without treatment," he explained, unknowingly reciting the same words her neighbour said to her. She was distrait by fear, unable to make any rational decisions.
As a matter of fact, she was astonishingly collected on the exterior. Resilience was a quality she never relinquished when it came to holding strong to her convictions.
To Jotham, she was nothing less than precariously insecure.
She mulled over it. In a single week, her and the other students were followed back to the campus, two of them coming close to being assaulted at night had it not been for the campus' security personnel. It was too much of a coincidence for her to disregard. As far as the authorities were concerned, those girls were the only ones who reported the strange occurrences.
There were probably more cases, as in with Histoire, that are unknown to them. To begin with, moving into the Jaegers' house was not a very secure method of protection.
"And, if I do go to the hospital, won't I single-handly endanger the lives of everyone there? Patient and doctor alike?" She voiced her concerns to him to see him grit his teeth out of frustration.
"What exactly do you expect me to do? Leave you here and let your injury and possibly health deteriorate?" He said, trying the hide the anger laced in his voice. Her altruistic nature was something he loved and hated at the same time.
"If you're so worried about putting yourself and anyone else in danger, I'll come along and stay by your side for as long as-"
"I don't want to be a burden to you, Jotham. This could take months to heal. What about school and work-"
"I'll ask for immediate leave. I've been saving up all my leave days and should be good to be off for a month or so," he responded with an argument that should've automatically made him convince her to cease her stubbornness. Calling for an immediate leave would mean he would go unpaid for a whole month but he did not care enough for that at the moment.
Histoire was still unsure of what decision to make. She was pensive, before she could once again find a way to counter his argument, Jotham stood up and lifted her up in his arms with vigour. There was an objection from her, of course, however, he was already walking past the doorway.
"Jotham, take me back!" Histoire demanded, throwing her arms around his neck to avoid falling off. She was livid and embarrassed at the notion of leaving the house while she was barely dressed. Jotham noticed, but waiting for her to change would give her enough time to contend with him. He looked down at her and she was instantly silenced when she saw the stern expression.
"You say one thing but your body says another. You've been grimacing for a while now. No matter how committed your are to your principles, you cannot ignore your body's outcries for succor," Jotham countered, noticing that she groaned right at that moment to emphasize his argument. Histoire could say anything to change his mind because he changed hers. She had no choice but to be taken to the hospital.
Jotham steadily crossed the balcony and paused when he reached the top of the stairs. Histoire believed it would be an ordeal for him to carry her down, but it seemed that was not the case. She turned her head to the opened door and saw a different figure standing there. The man, holding firm to a large suitcase in hand, scanned the room for the few seconds before he noticed Jotham carrying her up the stairs.
"Miss Eloise, is it?" The stethoscope hanging around his neck gave the two no doubt on this man having an occupation as a doctor. Jotham glanced down at Histoire in confusion. As far as he was concerned, no Eloise resided in the Jaegers' mansion.
"I did not call for a doctor," Histoire said to the man who nodded as soon as he received the answer.
"I am well aware. Mr. Winters called for me. He said there's a woman with a broken ankle who needs immediate aid?" The doctor did not need an answer as he was able to see the block of ice encasing Histoire's injury. He nodded to himself and turned to talk to someone out of view. Only a second later, two nurses entered; one carrying what appeared to have been a mobile surgical light and the other pushed in a mobile surgical table.
Three more male nurses entered afterwards with all the other necessary equipment. Jotham and Histoire were confounded.
"Winters? Deus Winters?" Jotham asked Histoire, who noticed he spoke with evident exhilaration. She wondered if this Deus, Ines' husband, was illustrious enough that he was revered by Jotham.
"Are you two acquainted?" Histoire asked as one of the male nurses proceeded to climb the stairs to assist Jotham getting her down to the first floor. Because the equipment could not be brought upstairs, the nurses accompanied the doctor to find a room on the first floor that was large enough to perform the operation with precision, diligence and comfort for both the patient and the staff.
"Of course, we are. He's my boss. I was surprised when the doctor mentioned his name. You know, Deus along with his father, Machitís, are renowned investors. He's father the CEO and Deus the COO. He scouted me along with the other interns over a year ago," Jotham explained with a fanaticism that surprised Histoire. She was perfectly aware of who Machitís was. He was an éstrange worked as a Protector as well.
Histoire was quite curious, but not so much considering she didn't really take a liking to Deus.
"Well, he's a neighbour from across the street. I met him just today, no more than an hour ago," Histoire explained. The male nurse, who had climbed up carrying a patient transfer device, reached the top and asked Jotham to gently place her down on the device.
"Just today? What are you talking about, Histoire? You've known him for a while now," Jotham explained, his confusion equally matching the one she expressed. He further elaborated his point,
"We went to Íroas together. You were in the eighth grade and he in the eleventh when you two met. You even spoke to each other occasionally." If what Jotham said was true, then everything made sense. Histoire was able to come to an apprehensible inference. That included why Deus knew her name and expressed surprise at seeing her at the Jaegers' mansion. They had met, only years prior.
But the eight grade was a long time ago and it came as no surprise that Histoire did not remember Deus, even though the man had the qualities to imprint his image in a person's mind for a long time. Qualities he did not have long ago.
Deus must've cared enough for an acquaintance to feel responsible for their injury. After all, Histoire would not have hurt herself had he not entered the house uninvited.
However, Histoire was apprehensive towards Deus. He did admit that he wanted to threaten her into violence. She did not think she could take a liking to such a man.
Since the operating equipment could not be brought upstairs, the nurses accompanied the doctor to search for a room on the first floor that was large enough to perform the operation diligently and comfortably for both the patient and the staff. Once she on the device, Jotham helped the nurse to carry her to the first floor.
"But then again, it was a long time ago. I'm not surprised you don't remember his name. But he has been a friend of mine since then," Jotham said. If that was the case, Histoire was willing to give Deuce a second chance at making a first impression. She did not know how he would redeem himself of the image he imprinted in her mind of being an unfaithful man and would not dwell on the thought. In the meantime she had to get ready to through an operation.
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To Be Continued.
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