Chapter 9

  Brent Moore 34 Years old

  Brent didn’t want to say anything. He chose to close his eyes and pretend to be asleep. The argument had plagued his mind all night long. Why was she acting this way? It was a question that Brent had asked himself, even though he knew the answer already. This whole thing was all his fault. He wondered if he had just resisted the urge to talk to Nat, He wouldn’t be having problems. He couldn’t help his curiosity though.The closer he’d gotten to his wedding, the more he thought about it. He couldn’t help but wish for a sign that she was the one he was meant to be with. If she wasn’t, He could picture himself older and struggling more to keep up. The world and all the people in it are ever growing and changing. He knew that the older he got, the more he would struggle to keep up with this ever changing society. Thought of it scared him like nothing else.

  Brent had thought about it all morning.It was as if a ward was raging in his mind. A War that would see no peace.Guilt nipped at him, while he was getting himself groomed and ready for the day. He felt like he needed to do something to make up for all of it, but he couldn’t think of anything creative, no matter how hard he tried to put his imagination to work. The only thing that came to mind was a teddy bear and green balloons. Katie’s favorite color was green, so Brent knew it would make her happy. Once he was fully dressed, he’d finally worked up the courage to run to the store.

  Brent pulled into the parking lot of the hospital and got out of his car. He grabbed the bear and Balloons and tied the string to his wrist so he wouldn’t lose them. Brent had figured after he’d purchased them, that she might like a surprise visit from him at work, and decided to deliver his apology in person. Brent hated trying to find his way around the hospital. He could never remember where anything was. He followed the marble floor walkway until he couldn’t remember seeing that part of the hospital before. He facepalmed and turned around heading the opposite direction. The whole thing had left him feeling a little dumb. He shook his head, finally pressing the button to call the Elevator.

  The Elevator door sounded and slid open when it reached her floor. Brent held the bear tightly and made a beeline straight for the nurse’s desk, eagerly looking for his Fiance. When he reached the desk, he found no one there. He had only waited around a little, before heard a familiar voice. “If you’re looking for her, she’s in with Mr. Martinez getting him ready for a shower.” Brent’s gaze shifted in the direction of the woman’s voice, only to meet the eyes of a short blonde woman in grey scrubs.”Katie hasn’t been much of herself at all today. Those better be for her if you know what’s good for you.” She said with a smirk, gesturing toward the stuffed bear and balloons.

  “Oh yeah I know.” he paused for a second.”Thank you Dani. I’ll go find her.” Brent said wasting no time in taking off down the hallway. He wasn’t all that eager to chat with Dani, especially given the situation at hand. Dani had always been very protective of Katie and Brent knew what the rest of that conversation would have been about. Brent stepped lightly through the corridors, listening carefully for the familiar sound of his fiance’s voice. He wanted to keep the element of surprise so he tried to keep silent, sidling along the walls.

  “Well if it isn’t my favorite nurse.” came a voice that Brent couldn’t recognize. He decided to wait to hear the Nurse’s response, pressing up against the wall to stay out of sight. “Trouble in paradise? You seem a little different today.” the voice continued as Brent stood there listening with intent.

  “A little,” Came the sound of Katie’s voice. Brent could hear her just outside the room. She was fiddling with something in her hand. “I went to surprise my fiance at the club after work the other day and found him sharing a booth with some strange, Gorgeous redhead named Nat and her friend Luci.”

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  “So you found him with two girls at a club?” the man’s voice replied. “Were they even doing anything? Were they Dancing or grinding on each other?”

  “Well no.” Katie replied, grabbing what sounded like a bottle of some sort. “They were just talking, but they seemed a little close. I really wouldn’t have minded, but they ran into each other at the mall the other day while his friend was out getting some game. Then they had dinner together.” she continued, reaching over to turn on what sounded like a faucet.”Brent and I have been together for a few years, but he’s never shown any interest in any other girl but me.”

  Brent was too wrapped up in the conversation to even think about taking another step. “Do you think he’s up to something suspicious?” the voice replied with what Brent could detect as an air of confusion.

  “I don’t know, Mr. Martinez,” She replied with a sigh. Brent could hear a very faint sound as if a needle had been jabbed into skin. He heard the sound of shuffling in the hospital bed. “I brought up the idea of seeking counseling and he got really defensive about it. If there’s a chance to fix things especially so close to the wedding. I went in to see the hospital’s new counselor and all he gave me were these pills and told me to call him in the morning.” Brent could hear the jingling sound of what could only be a bottle of pills.

  A slight feeling of dread began to wash over him. His mind didn’t seem to like where the conversion seemed to be going. “Do you think he’s getting cold feet?” Mr. Martinez asked.

  Katie had let out a sigh. “I think he might be,” she replied with an air of disappointment in her voice.

  “Do you think the two of you need to talk about it?” The man asked, shuffling under the hospital blankets in his bed.

  “I’ve been racking my brain all day with how to approach it with him. Even when I talk about it in my head, I don’t see it going over well.” she replied,peeling off what sounded like a pair of latex gloves. “The problem is, I've been thinking about it too. I mean what if something goes wrong? My parents divorced before I even turned seven. What if there’s someone else out there that’s better for me? There’s no way to know if we’re truly meant to be. There’s no Road signs. . there’s nothing. All there is is a feeling.”

  “So you’ve been talking to yourself?” Katie giggled and her patient chuckled. Katie’s words simmered in Brent’s head. The more they repeated the more they started to cut. “So you’ve been thinking about it too? Interesting. . Does that mean you’d consider. . “

  Katie responded with what sounded like a giggle. “You Sir, haven’t even been discharged yet. Talk to me when the Doctors figure out what’s going on with your wound first.” Katie laughed, turning to walk out of the room.

  “That wasn’t exactly a no. I will personally request you right after I talk to the doctor tomorrow.” Mr. Martinez shouted after her.

  “Good Night Mr. Martinez. . “ Katie shouted, closing the door behind her. She was taken back at the sight of her fiance who had sunk down against the wall just outside the door. “Brent? When did you get here? How much of that did you hear?”

  “All of it.” Brent hadn’t even made eye contact with her. His glare was cold and quiet.The light reflected a single tear stream that ran down his cheek. His arms hung over his folded knees. “So you don’t think i’m the one?”

  “Brent it’s not like that. . . “ Katie was at a lost for words. The situation had caught her completely off guard. She surveyed the silent hallway and tried to buy herself sometime. “Brent this isn’t the place for this. Can we please just. . “

  “I came here to apologize.” he interrupted shifting his gaze from the teddy bear to the balloons.”I thought I’d surprise you. . . Didn’t expect a surprise like that. . “ He finally brought himself to his feet and grabbed the bear.

  “I’m sorry. . can we talk about this at. . “ before she could finish her question, her fiance stormed off. Dani made an attempt to stop him, but to no avail. His legs carried him faster than she could move. The sound of the Elevator rang and Brent wasted no time just hitting whatever floor keys his depressed fingers could get. He glanced around the Elevator floor and found a small name tag on the floor next to him. The Elevator began to move and the doors had closed, leaving Brent in there by himself. His fingers held up the tip of the needle, staring at it. His eyes closed once more, just trying to get his mind around the whole thing. Her words cut deep. Without thinking about it, he jabbed the needle point into the teddy bear and carved a hole in the fabric of the stuffed animal. Tears rolled down his face as he stared silently at the Elevator walls.