Maria sat beside Kai in the waiting room, tapping her foot nervously.
He could tell she was desperate to get out of there—this was supposed to be a short dinner date with the family, not an hours-long stay in the hospital—but she was too embarrassed to say anything, and he was thankful for that. He probably should have told her it was okay and that she could leave, but he didn't want to be alone with his sister… he didn't want to be alone, period.
Emi paced back and forth in the waiting room, talking to her husband on her phone, her heels knocking against the floor. When the ambulance had arrived, only one of them could go with the old man, and Kai was with Maria, so there was no option but for her to go with him.
It's not enough you killed Mom, his sister had wept as she rose to sit in the ambulance. Now you killed Dad too.
He had no response, so he stood there, watching the vehicle drive off, then staring at the empty road until Maria touched his shoulder, waking him from his shock. They had taken a cab to the hospital and had been sitting in the waiting room ever since, watching the hours go by.
Kai opened his phone absently, feeling numb and jaded. It was past midnight already—there was no way he was going to work tomorrow.
He sent Catherine an apologetic text explaining the situation, and his phone rang a couple of minutes later.
"Sorry," he told his girlfriend and got up to take the call. "Hello?"
"Hey, I read your text. How's your father doing?"
"I don't know… they don't tell us anything… and the wait is—"
"I can imagine…" she sighed. "Listen, I know this is not a good time, and I was planning to talk to you tomorrow, along with Mason—"
"How is Mason? I heard he got hurt in the Gloomglade Fire… haven't seen him in the office."
"He has recovered; he will probably come tomorrow… Which is why I'd appreciate it if you kept what I'm about to tell you between us, at least until after tomorrow."
"Okay…"
"As you might have heard, our company has released a new product recently, and many of our customer base has transitioned from the old version to the new."
"You meanValkyrie Warz 2?"
"Yes. The success of the new product makes the maintenance of the old a redundant and costly venture; to compensate, the company has decided—"
Kai let out a desperate scoff. "You're firing me."
She fell silent for a moment. "No, Kai, not just you. The entire department is being laid off. Only a small number of management personnel and veterans are being carried over."
His blood ran cold. It seemed almost funny. Ironic. He was being fired from the job he had fought with his father to keep—a fight that had brought his father to the hospital.
"There's a silver lining to all this, I hope you can see that."
"Silver lining?!" His voice cracked.
"Everyone who's being laid off is also getting a generous severance package, regardless of how long they've been with the company. You'll have at least a couple of months before you have to worry about work again. That's time you can use to be there for your family." She explained, her tone sincere and apologetic, but the Oathless wasn't listening.
"So, you are doing me a favor? Is that what you're saying?"
"No, I'm—Kai, this wasn't my decision."
"Hey," Maria tugged on his sleeve. "The doctor is here," she gestured to a tired-looking, redheaded doctor.
"And if you ever need any reference," Catherine continued. "I'd be happy to—"
He hung up and shoved the phone back in his pocket—resisting the urge to shatter it against the wall—then steadied his breath to force his emotions back down.
"Your father is stable. It really wasn't as bad as it looked," Dr. Clarkson said as Kai and his sister approached, and they both let out a sigh of relief. "But we'd like to keep him here at least for a couple more days, just in case."
"Can we see him?" Emi asked.
The doctor hesitated. "It will be better if you come back tomorrow. We have your numbers. We'll let you know if there's any change in his condition."
"Thank you," Emi said.
The doctor nodded, forcing a smile, and left.
Emi turned away too, ignoring Kai completely and returning to her phone, making her way out of the hospital.
Maria rubbed the Oathless's shoulder comfortingly. "We should head off, too."
Her gentle touch almost made him break, but he held his feelings in, repressing them, containing them.
Share the burden, she had told him before, and he wanted to, but not here, not now.
"I…" he grabbed her hand. "I don't want to be alone tonight."
She withdrew. "I get it, but… I have work tomorrow, and so do you—"
"No, I don't!" he snapped, startling her. "Sorry, I'm…" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can't you take a day off?"
"I already took enough this year… I can't—"
"Tell them it's an emergency."
She bit her lip. It was all too overwhelming. She just wanted to get out of there, to get away from him, at least for a while.
"Please, Mari…" He took her hands again. "I need you."
She shut her eyes. As overwhelming as it had been for her, it must have been so much worse for him. She knew that… and she knew she couldn't leave him. "Alright," she sighed, and took out her phone. "I'll call us a cab."
***
Kai sat on his bed, his mind racing through the events of the day and his stomach twisting in a turmoil of emotions.
Maria was in the bathroom, taking off her dress and putting on one of Kai's T-shirts. He heard the light flick off, the door close, and her soft, bare footsteps approach from behind him.
"I was sick," he began. "On the day she died… I had an exam, and I studied all night for it. Woke up with a terrible cough and nausea that gave me headaches, but I powered through it and ended up doing okay… I didn't know that at the time; I actually thought I failed, and all I wanted was to get home and lie down…" Maria sat down next to him as he continued. "I usually take the bus… but I was feeling so bad… I couldn't be bothered, so…" he choked on the lump rising in his throat as he tried to get the words out. "I called my mom."
Maria put her arms around him and drew him into her embrace. "Kai, that's not your fault."
"I know," he let himself sink into her, her warmth thawing through all of his barriers. "But my sister doesn't think so… and though he'll never admit it, I think my dad blames me too…" Tears rose in his eyes, and he wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her shoulder. "If I were stronger, I would have sucked it up and taken the bus; I wouldn't have called her…" he sniffed. "She died because I was weak."
"That's not true," she ran her hand through his hair. "Her death had nothing to do with you."
"I know, I know…" His lips quivered, and his shoulder jerked as he cried. "I know…"
She held him, stroking his hair, pity in her eyes. She promised she'd make it up to him, told him that she'd share his burden, but this was getting to be too much, and slowly, the image she had of him was fading. The changed man she had met in the park, the one who made something out of himself, who got in shape, and found a good job. The one who took her on that wonderful date and with whom she spent the night. That man was vanishing. And in his place was the boy she had known back in high-school. The one who worshiped her and whom she could never see as more than a friend. No matter how much she tried to resist it, her perception of him was changing.
"Is that why you don't want to be a lawyer anymore? Because of the exam… and how your mom died?" she asked to distract herself.
"Huh?" He lifted his head from her shoulder and wiped his face with his hands, sniffling. "Ah… No…" He considered it for a moment; the thought that the two were related had never occurred to him. "I don't think so." He took out a pack of tissues from beside the bed and blew his nose. "My grandfather was a lawyer, my dad's a lawyer, I am supposed to continue the family legacy, take over the company, but I was never that into it… though, now… I don't know anymore."
"If you like your current job and you are making good money, I don't see why—"
"I don't have a job," he said. "They're going to lay off the whole department. I just found out about it."
"What? When?"
"In the hospital. Remember the call I took? It was my boss."
She hugged him. "Oh, Kai, I'm so sorry."
He hugged her back. "I keep losing things, Mari. My family, my job, my friends…" He released her and cupped her face in his hands, leaning his forehead against hers. He let out a sigh. It felt cleansing after his cry, and his body felt lighter. "I'm so lucky to still have you."
Her lips parted, and her heart broke for him. No, she kissed him out of pity—for the first time. You don't. She fell with him onto the mattress. I will give him tonight, she bargained with herself, and her fingers searched for the hem of his shirt while their lips were locked. But this will be it… she rolled on top of him and took off his shirt.
Our last night together.