The Accidental Construction Superhero

Chapter 4: The confrontation

After reading that letter, Dave did not feel as peaceful as he thought he would. He has known Eva for a long time, shared laughter with her, seen her in pain, and shared his dreams. He felt something was off in the letter. Somehow he could not trust the emotional words Eva wrote for him after the nightmare he had seen in daylight. Her heartfelt words felt to him like hollows, her emotions empty. Her words did not match the actions she had made before. He folds the letter with his tremulous hands, puts it back in his pocket, and continues to walk towards his destination.

Dave went back to Eva's apartment in an early evening. Dave stood out on the concrete floor looking up at the apartment he used to love with his beloved. His chest felt heavy; he took gritty steps as it felt like gravity was pulling down on him harder. He took out his spare key, and the door felt taller than it used to be.

To collect himself from this confusion," Dave stated. “I need to sort things out; I need to know some answers.”

Eva was not there for the moment, but her current boyfriend, Micheal, was. Micheal laughed easily and greeted Dave, “Hey dude, what brings you here? Did you leave something?”

Dave did not reply to his question and asked, “Where is Eva?” “I think you should forget her at this point. She is not with you anymore.” “That will not be your concern; I will talk to her and leave.” Dave growled. “Isn't this still clear to you? You are a nobody. You are weak. You don't even have your own house, you poor bastard. Why would a lovely girl like Eva spend her life with you?”. Dave was about to hit Micheal and suddenly Eva enters. “What the hell is going on? Why are you here Dave. How are you even standing after that accident.?” Eva asks. Daves looks at Eva , his heart shattering, eyes pouring he asked, “what's all this, you are happy with him? Have you already moved on?”. Eva replies, “ I had moved on months ago. I had no feelings for you for a long time. I cannot waste my potential on a construction worker like you.” Eva continued in that shrewd tone, “I am with micheal now. He comes from a big family and also he built up his own legacy. He is a state level boxing champion and running multiple businesses. He is both strong and successful.”

Micheal puts his hands on Eva's shoulders and says, grinning, “And for the past few weeks, whenever you went for work, I spent cozy time with Eva in your bed.” Dave's heart smashed. He murmurs in agony, “But I thought you loved me. I have been working so hard to get us a house in the near future. You know that.” Eva replied with annoyance. “Near future—when? And even if you do, with your little savings and lots of debt on your shoulders, I have to struggle all my life and make compromises. I don't want that anymore.”

“So, you have been cheating on me for that long. What about the letter in the hospital?” Dave asked sharply.

“You know, Dave, To be honest, I thought you would never wake up again. So that might be the last time I'm seeing you. And I went there to brush off my guilt before starting a new life with Micheal.”

Dave did not expect all of this from Eva after living with her for 3 years. He was working and saving money only to provide Eva with a house in a good place. He could not take it anymore and said with hatred mixed with pain in his eyes, “You will regret this.”

“You wish.” Eva shrugged.

He whispered, “You will regret hurting someone who lived for you and did everything to make you happy.”

Micheal shrugged turning away from Dave casually saying, “A week man like you can only curse but do nothing in reality.”

Eva with her arms crossed, watched dave suffering from inside and said, “I don’t expect your forgiveness, nor do I wish for it. I just hope someday you understand your own situation and do something about it. ”

“Goodbye, Eva, I really gave you my all. Looked like I shouldn’t have.”

She looked at him for one last time and said, “Your all wasn’t much for me anyways.” She came forward and closed the door in Dave's face. Dave dropped the spare key in the door and touched the plaster on his arm. His mental pain was way sharper than the physical one. In his mind raced the accident, the hospital, and the fear of losing everything. His dream, his hope, and his love were all shattered now. The quiet promise of rebuilding a home with her now felt like a lie he told to himself.

Dave went away thinking about a lot of things, and whenever he looked up, something felt odd. He could see those red spots again. “This is not normal red paint. They seem like moving. Why can I hear the spots humming?” with confusion dave muttered. He noticed again, “Some of the spots are looking less red than others. Am I on drugs? I am hallucinating in the daylight. AHH! The hospital must have given me anesthesia, and the effect is still going on,” Dave gasped. He put his earpods on, rock music playing. He looked around, still seeing those spots, took a deep breath, and moved on.