Beyond Horizon

Chapter 3: Help Me

Night shift. The hospital was quiet except for the hum of machines.

I was doing my rounds. I avoided Room 5B for hours. I told myself it was because I had other patients. It was a lie.

At 2:13 AM, his monitor alarm beeped. Not critical, just restless. I went in before the nurse could call me.

He was awake, staring at the ceiling. The street lights from Potsdam made patterns on his face.

"You should sleep," I said, checking his IV.

"I can't. Every time I close my eyes, I see the accident. And then I see you, on that floor three years ago. In my mind, you are still on that floor."

My hand froze on his chart.

He continued, voice raw. "I left because I was scared, Kelly. There are things people just cant explain but at some point i will explain and by that time i hope you will be able to understand me . And I ....I thought if I stayed, I would drag you down. So I left first, before you could leave me. Stupidest thing I ever did."

Tears burned my eyes. This was not what i wanted to hear i needed to know the main reason but he we are in a rollercoaster again .I could not think of what to make of him. It was too much for me to handle all at once.

"So you decided for me?" I whispered. "You watched me sit on that cold floor and you decided I was better off?"

"No. I watched you sit on that floor and I hated myself every day since."

Silence. The monitor beeped.

Then he said, "The car accident... I was coming to Berlin. I heard you were here. I was coming to find you. To say sorry. To see if... if there was anything beyond the horizon for us."

He looked at me, broken ribs, broken past, eyes full of hope and fear.

"Kelly, I know you are just a doctor. But tonight, can you just be Kelly? Just for two minutes?"

I stood there, Dr. Kelly, the woman who saves lives, the woman who was left on the floor, the Kenyan girl who made it to Germany.

I took off my doctor coat. Sat on the chair beside his bed. Dont ask me why i did because i dont even know either.

And for the first time in three years, I let myself cry in front of him. I honestly did not know wether i was crying from my own pain or but i just couldnt hold my tears anymore. My heart was once again in peaces. I was trying to find balance. i was mad and angry and exhausted at the same time.

Not as his doctor.

As the woman who still loved him.

To be continued...