The next day, in Sumdem city, the air was quiet, carrying a strange calmness that lingered between the two boys as they stood together.
Damien see's Alex lost in thoughts and playfully throw's a stone at him. If your missing her that badly then we can go find her you know.
Alex scoffs. I'm just a little worried, she's pregnant and she's also dealing with the death of—
Don't stress yourself dude, Damien cuts in. She's fine I mean were talking about Zanu here.
A brief silence passes before Alex speaks again. So.... What's next? What plan's do you have now that everything is over?
Damien shrugs lightly, a careless grin on his face. Well I planned on being a professor you know making some girl's go crazy for me and stuff, What about you? I'm so jealous dude you really are lucky, What would you do with all the inheritance Mrs bello left for you?
Alex hesitates slightly. Before Zanu left—
Damien hisses.
She said something strange about my kingdom awaiting me and if I arrived late then—
Common give me a break now,Were still talking about Zanu? That girl say's stuff without thinking.
Alex exhales. I still have a feeling that I shouldn't take her word's for granted.
Damien glares at him, and suddenly, both of them burst into laughter, the tension breaking as easily as it came.
I don't know what I would do without you bro, Alex says.
Yeah? Me to, Damien replies. Now stop acting gay and—
His words stop abruptly.
He clutches his chest tight as he strugles to breathe. No, why now? A, Alex—
He coughs out blood as he fall's to the ground.
Alex freezes for a split second before rushing to him. Damien, what? Look at me nothing is going to happen okay?
Without wasting another moment, he lifts him, carrying him down the cliff. His driver rushes forward to help as they quickly put Damien in the car, the urgency thick in the air as they drive up to the hospital.
At the hospital, everything moves in a blur. Damien is put onto the stretcher with the help of the nurses and taken straight to the ER.
Hours pass.
The doctor finally comes out shorlty and confront's Alex.
Are you his guardian? Jeremiah asks.
Alex nodds.
Please let's talk in my office.
They exits to the office. The doctor gestures Alex to sit down, removing his glasses before taking a seat himself.
Well he's stable for now, Seriously that boy is a real idiot, Jeremiah says, wiping the sweat off his face as Alex stares at him confused.
He didn't tell you about his sickness did he?
Sickness? What sickness?
Jeremiah sighs. He came here years ago with some boys all beaten up, According to him he said he ran away from the orphanage and they were caught by some men but escaped.
While treating them I learnt of Damien illness he had this rare disease, Have you ever heard of Pulmonary embolism before?
He continues.
Well it's basically a blood clot formed somewhere else in the body and travelled through the lungs the blockage is what causes chest pains and coughing of blood you see when the lungs don't have enough oxygen into the blood, the brain is affected, and that's why they may suddenly loose consciousness.
Most people develop it because of things like long period of immobility, surgery, smoking, or certain illnesses, With fast treatments like bloodthinners, oxygen and sometimes emergency medication people can recover for the mean time but without treatment it can be very dangerous.
Your friend here refused treatment even with the counselling and with that stubborn nature of his the clotting stayed from weeks to months and unfortunatelly it has strained the heart now he just have couple of day's to live.
Alex stares at him, shaken. But why? Why did he refuse treatment?
He said he couldn't wait, Jeremiah replies. He said there would be someone who would come looking for him and he can't disaapoint that person cause he owe's them so much.
His condition has gotten so much worse, If only he listened to me from the start then I could have—
Sorry to intrude but another emergency just came in, a nurse says as she barges in.
Jeremiah carries his glasses and quickly stand up. You can still meet him, he has left the ER now, please excuse me.
He exits with the nurse.
Alex sit's there, lost in thoughts.
He remembered his first encounter with damien in the orphanage.