Time is the ultimate truth teller

"Hello, this is a social worker from Crest Medical Hospital. Are you related to Mr. Viggo Hayden Slade?" "He’s in critical condition—" At the same time, a message from a girl popped up, which I assumed was the mother of the child he had told me about earlier. "Are you Hayden’s girlfriend?" "—we’re not just friends—" I couldn’t even process everything that I’m hearing and reading right now… /5 hours ago/ It’s been 2 days since I started ignoring his messages. I don’t know what to think anymore and what to do. I felt betrayed, hurt, and sad. "Are you okay?" I snapped out of my mind when Kael spoke. We’re at the restaurant right now, eating dinner with her father, the Mayor. "Uh, y-yes, just not feeling well a bit," she suddenly touched my forehead, worriedly, and looked at my stomach. "I’m fine, really," I said, smiling, reassuring her. She nodded and told me that we’d go home after eating so I could rest, but all of a sudden, I felt the urge to call Hayden and ask him to pick me up. Ironic, right? After days of ignoring him, I’d call him just to ask him that. Although, honestly, it’s the first time that I’ll ask him to do that for me, to pick me up, so I am not even sure if he’ll come. "Hayden will pick me up. I also don’t want to hassle your driver to go that far just to get me home," I told Kael, which made her scoff, so I laughed. "Are you sure?" she kept on asking, and I’m persistently nodding to assure her. After dinner, we went to Kael’s cousin’s for a bit before she dropped me off at a gas station. I got my phone out of my bag and looked at Hayden’s location since we have an app wherein we can both see each other’s location for emergency purposes. My forehead creased when I saw his location moving to the city. So he’s off to somewhere and didn’t even bother to call or text me? I then decided to call him, which he picked up immediately. "Where are you?" I asked without hesitation, to test if he’d lie. "I’m off to my friend’s house because she invited me for her son’s first birthday," he answered. I don’t know, but I felt like something’s off. "Can you pick me up? I am not feeling well; I want to go home already," I reluctantly said. "Aren’t you with the Mayor?" he asked. "Yes, but the dinner’s done, and Kael already went home. I didn’t bring my car since she picked me up earlier," I explained. "Why didn’t she drive you home?" "I told her you’d pick me up," I honestly answered. "I can’t; I just arrived at the party," Hayden said. "But I am not feeling well," I reasoned. I heard his deep sigh. "It’s about to rain, Bella; it isn’t safe to ride a motorcycle," he replied. Yes, that’s his vehicle—a motorcycle—but I don’t have a problem with it. I kept on asking him, almost pleading for him to pick me up. I don’t know; I don’t know why I felt this way right now, that I have the urge to please him to come get me. "I really can’t, Bella. I don’t even have an extra helmet with me right now," he kept on reasoning. He couldn’t fetch me because it’s about to rain, he just arrived, he doesn’t have an extra helmet, it’s far, and it’ll take him a while, etc. Reasons, reasons, reasons!! Still, I waited for almost 2 hours and kept on calling him until my phone ran out of battery. I want to cry, but no tears are running off my eyes. It’s already near midnight, and it seems like it’s really about to rain, and I don’t have an umbrella with me. Still, I kept on pleading with him for some unknown reason just a strong urge to pick me up, but he also keeps on refusing and giving me reasons why he couldn’t. So I decided to go home and went straight to bed, crying, hurting. When I had already charged my phone, I messaged him. "Where the f*ck are you, Hayden?!" But there was no response. I kept on calling him—almost 20 missed calls—still no answering, nor replying to my messages. So I decided to post and tag him. "Do you still have plans in life? :)" — That’s what I posted, which gained attention from our friends, who laughed, thinking we’d just argued. After an hour of trying to reach him, he finally answered my call. "WHAT THE HELL, HAYDEN?!" I exclaimed. "Why aren’t you answering calls nor replying to my messages?" I angrily asked. "WHAT CAN’T YOU UNDERSTAND WITH ‘I AM AT A PARTY?!’ CAN’T YOU JUST FVCKING WAIT AND SHUT UP?!" Hayden shouted. I knew very well why he’s mad right now. "So you saw the post, huh? If only you’d been listening to me, I wouldn’t have done that!" I said. "BULLSHIT, BELLA! I’M ON MY WAY HOME, FVCK!" he exclaimed. "Now you’re going home," I sarcastically said, which he responded to with a curse. "JUST FVCKING WAIT," he said, so I hung up the call. I feel so mad, frustrated, and such right now, but for some unknown reason, I am also feeling uncomfortable, uneasy. I kept on tracking his location until it stopped. I tried calling him, and it’s ringing, but no one’s answering, so he purposely turned off his location. I fell asleep while waiting for him until I woke up around 3 a.m., and my forehead creased when I checked my phone—and still no text, call, or update from him saying he’d already arrived home. He used to call me every time he’s home to assure me that he arrived and he’s with no one. I felt nervous, but I couldn’t let it sway away my anger, and I texted him. "WHERE THE FVCK ARE YOU, HAYDEN?!" I opened my social media right after texting him, and I got confused when I received a message request from a girl named Denise. "Are you Hayden’s girlfriend?" she asked. I usually don’t reply to strangers, but I felt the need to reply to this one, thinking that maybe she’s the friend Hayden was referring to earlier—the mother of the celebrant. "Hello, yes, I am. Are you his friend?" I politely replied. "Friend?" Denise responded. "Yes, I mean the mother of the celebrant—the birthday party he attended earlier," I reluctantly asked. "Yes, he went here earlier to attend my son’s birthday, but we are not friends," she directly said, which made me confused. "What do you mean?" I know for sure Hayden doesn’t have a child with anyone… unless— "Sorry, but we’re not just friends. I am his fling; we had a thing going on between us for a while now. And, for the record, we even kissed multiple times since he arrived here until he went home. He’s the one who initiated it," she answered, which made me freeze without even minding the kissing part. So he didn’t pick me up earlier because he went to the birthday party of his fling’s son? His mistress? His other girl? Before I could reply, I suddenly received a call from an unknown number, and as I said, I don’t take calls from unknowns, but some feeling urged me to answer this one, so I did. "Hello?" I asked. "Hello, this is a social worker from Crest Medical Hospital. Are you related to Mr. Viggo Hayden Slade?" someone on the other line said. I don’t know what to say—is it a prank? A joke? "H-huh?" that’s the only thing that came out of my mouth. "This is a social worker from CMH. Mr. Slade is in critical condition right now. Do you know anyone who can go here to help him?" I still couldn’t process anything. I’d just received a message from his other girl, and now a call from a hospital? "Come again?" "Mr. Slade got into an accident, and we need someone to come here to process his documents and sign waivers for his medication," the social worker explained for the third time. That’s when I finally snapped into my senses—that it’s real and not a prank anymore. "I—I—I am his girlfriend, but I can contact his family so they can go there as soon as possible," I said, and the person on the other line thanked me and told me to contact them as soon as possible, either way, so I did. I hurriedly looked for his brothers’ contacts and messaged them. "Cris, Hayden got into an accident and is in critical condition," I said. Just after Cris read my message, he called. "Is this a joke?" he asked. "I wish it were, but it’s not," I seriously said, which I think made him believe me right away. "I am out of town right now, but I think Rylan is there. I’ll call him," he said before hanging up. After a minute, I immediately received a call from Rylan. I immediately answered. "Bella? Where is Hayden? What happened?" Rylan asked. I explained everything to him, and he thanked me before ending the call to prepare so he can go to CMH as soon as possible. 'Lord God, I know Hayden did me very wrong right now, but please heal him, please help him,' I prayed silently while rubbing my stomach. 'For us,' I said while tears kept flowing down my eyes. Before I opened my social media again to reply to Denise, I took a deep breath. "Denise, I… I didn’t know. I’m so confused right now," I typed, trying to process everything. Denise responded quickly. "I’m sorry if this hurts you. I just wanted you to know the truth." I didn’t know how to feel—anger, betrayal, sadness. My mind was racing. Also, the hospital call kept echoing in my head—Hayden’s in critical condition. I messaged Cris back. "Rylan’s on his way to the hospital. What should I do?" Cris replied almost instantly. "Just stay at home, Bella. You need to calm down and relax, stress is not good for you. We’ll just update you right away, okay? Let’s pray that everything will be alright,” he said I felt a mix of emotions—what should I do? I don’t even know anymore if where the pain I’m feeling right now is coming, if it’s from his condition or that he cheated? But with Hayden’s condition… I couldn’t just stay mad at him even though it hurts so much. My thoughts swirling with everything Denise told me and the hospital’s news. As I was about to lay down and relax, I glanced at my phone again. No updates from Hayden. Nothing. Crest Medical Hospital—that’s where they said he was. Will he… survive?