DANGERIOUS LOVE

CHAPTER TWO

Vanessa urged Rosa to take a warm bath and change her clothes, but Rosa refused...” you do not want to tell me what is going on. All you did was mention Josh’s name and giving out a cry I have never seen from you before. Why not take a warm bath so we can talk about it?”

Rosa replied, now being able to speak a little bit after the outburst, she spoke but in croaky voice, with tears flowing down her cheeks, “ I do not want to disturb you with my problems, neither do I want you to be bothered. If I had been left to die on my birth bed I would be glad. Why can’t I find love like others? I see your relationship with Steven: he takes care of you and doesn’t do things that...”

“ Stop it! Stop saying that Rosa!” Vanessa responded with a gentle but fierce tone. It was a tone of assurance but at the same time judgement. “ You cannot because of a failed relationship be sad like this. I was even worried that something terrible had happened to Josh and was about making a phone call” Vanessa sat down close to her, urging her repeatedly to at least take a warm shower.

“ Noooo” Rosa stressed the negative remark as though her life depended on it. “ I don’t want to ever hear that name again. God hates me, I know it... I prayed for a genuine lover and all he has ever given me are unserious men who do not value me”. She stood up from where she was sitting initially and opened the freezer as though she was looking for something.

“ What are you looking for?” Vanessa asked, as she stood up to bring Rosa back to sit on the couch with her...

( ding-dong!)

“ Who is there?!” Vanessa asked... there was silence for few minutes.

( ding-dong!) the door bell rang again and even more annoying this time around.

“ Hello! Who is at the door?!” raising her voice even louder as she requested for the identity of the person ringing the doorbell. Obviously their voice was not loud enough...

“ Good evening mam, this is the Police... a report of terrifying screams from your apartment was made this morning at about 3am. We are here to investigate and ensure everything is under control. Kindly open the door so we can do our jobs”

Vanessa looked at Rosa for few seconds, shook her head and made her way towards the door. “ I'm coming officer!” Vanessa responded. She picked up her night coat and unlocked the door, slowly as requested.

Two officers were present, a man and a woman. Coming into the apartment, seeing Rosa lying down on the couch with drained clothes, questioned Vanessa as per what happened to her.

“ She had issues with her boyfriend... she came home drenched and burst into tears when I tried asking her why she was home by this time of the night.”

The two officers looked perplexed and seeing Rosa lying down and shivering uncontrollably and romancing Josh’s promise ring on her middle finger, could not say anymore but encouraged Vanessa to look after her friend. The officers filed a report of no cause for alarm, as the scream and tears heard, were that of a broken hearted soul and not a crime inflicted victim.

It was now 4am Saturday morning...

Josh’s plans of enjoying the weekend with Rosa, sunk in the gutter as he made his utterance. The very thing he was afraid of befell him and he could not believe it!

He made his way into his apartment, as he thought she threw away his promise ring, had been outside for ample amount of time, searching for it. He planned on picking it up and apologising when the intensity of the matter was low... he would make up for it, one way or another.

He tried calling Rosa, over and over again but she would not answer nor return his calls. “ Please Rosa, forgive me!” he said to himself. He went into the bathroom, looked at the mirror and his disappointment was the reflection before his very eyes. “ Kapow!Kapow!” he punched the mirror without thinking, shattered in three places still on the wall, with his bleeding hand he stood still as memories flooded his soul like a song he would sing.

Looking intently at the broken mirror and did not know what feeling he should express. He was angry, sad and hateful at the same time: his mind was dark towards his own for his mistakes he finally wanted to own. His fear was that Rosy was gone, “ she threw away the ring, how could she?”.... suddenly he felt dizzy. He looked at his bleeding hand and saw a puncture of glass close to his arteries.

“Rosy...Rosy...Rosy...” he spoke faintly and stumbled as he made his way out of the bathroom! “ I am sorry Rosy” he said to himself and continued to struggle to make his way into the living room. His eyes began to fold, he was already down on the floor, as darkness fell upon his soul.

“What is wrong with him? Is he gonna be alright?” Josh's mom was more concerned for her son's life than anything in the world. He was all she had... for she had raised Josh all by herself. The lover who got her pregnant didn’t want to be in their lives. Her parents had only given her little support, but she was determined for the sake of her first and only son to be the best mother she could be.

“How did this happen!?” She questioned Raymond in tears and sobs, Josh’s best friend from high school who called the local emergency number, creating the alarm of the near death state of his best friend.

“ I do not know Miss Tiana” he said, as he began to recount the series of events that led him to Josh’s apartment that early Saturday morning.

“ The doctors are doing all they can to ensure he gets better in no time. Definitely when he wakes up, he will give us full details of what happened to him. However, when I arrived at the scene of the incident, I observed that there was no forceful entry into his apartment. I didn’t have time to look into other matters because my mind was preoccupied with the fearful state I found him in”. Raymond gave his mother full details of all he knew, speculations and whispered gossip he picked up from Josh’s neighbours, as many testified of seeing him outside with his underpants late at night.

Miss Tiana became even more afraid, as she began to wonder what could possibly have made her son to be out late at night with just his underpants! She prayed genuinely in her heart for her son as he had still not woken up yet! All she could do was to pray and cry, for what use was her life if she lost what made her smile: Josh was more than a precious gem to her. He was her reason for daily living and despite him being a 35 years old man, he still remained a baby in her eyes.

Raymond alongside Josh was also a lawyer, but a criminal lawyer, who had seen several crime scenes and handled many cases. His speculations were indeed correct, that what Josh suffered was self-inflicted. He knew of Rosy's arrival for the weekend, but since Josh did not give him any further information, he assumed Rosy was clear off the board(suspects!).

It took almost an hour of waiting before the doctor who was in charge of Josh, came out with reports of his well being. “ Hmm, Miss Tiana?” he asked with a soft tone. “Yes doctor!” she answered in the midst of others who were waiting patiently for a report regarding their loved ones. The dried tears could be seen, as she and Raymond, walked briskly to get an update on Josh's health.

“ Miss Tiana, you do not have anything to worry about!” the doctor said. “ Your son was lucky he was brought to the hospital on time: when we checked his pulse, he was very weak and of course we had to give him boosters so we don’t lose him.”

She listened attentively as the doctor spoke, hanging onto his every word like her life depended on it!

“ When can I see my baby boy?” She asked desperately.

“Oh! Yes, the nurses will be out in a few, I will personally ask one of them to bring you into his room when they are done. Like I said, you behave nothing to worry about. Your son is fine but will take some time to recover. Seems to me, like this was self inflicted...” The doctor encouraged her further as she stood side by side with Raymond, who was also asking questions regarding his friend. The doctor spoke with them a few more minutes before walking away.

“ Exactly as you said Raymond!” Miss Tiana exclaimed. Now I am even more concerned. “When did Josh become suicidal?” She looked at Raymond with a troubled face, not really expecting a reply from him, since he had earlier told her that he knew nothing about what led to his present condition.

While they were still standing together, a nurse came to inform them that they could go into Josh’s room. “ One at a time” she said and “ please do not attempt to move his body or wake him up forcefully. We believe what he is going through is more than physical.” The nurse continued...” Did the doctor tell you about the strange things he was murmuring when he spoke with you?”

Perplexed by her question, Josh's mom and friend, looked at each other replied at the same time. “ What do you mean?!” both asked almost simultaneously.

The nurse was a bit skeptical as to whether she should release the information since the Doctor did not tell them. She had to excuse herself, saying she had other businesses to attend to.

She walked away quickly to avoid further questions, as she feared being queried by Doctor Mathew, who always emphasized on being the first hand informant. Yes he may seem nice and all but he was only a professional who had a character and moral deficit. Doctor Mathew was known for his escapades with new intakes: he knew his job and that was the only good thing about him. If he had not told them about the strange encounter with Josh, then she was in no position to tell them(she said to herself, as she walked away).

Josh’s mom did not really care at the moment: she saw her strong healthy son, whom she spoke with Friday afternoon, now hospitalised with his right wrist bandaged.

Beep! The heart beat monitor signified a steady heart beat. The sight of Josh made her weep silently even more. She was only encouraged by the doctor's words. Standing close to him for a few minutes, she said a silent prayer, leaving the room so Raymond could also come in to check on his friend.