Zenith Of Love

I FEEL GUILTY

Hi babe,”he said, eyeing Conrad with subtle suspicion. But Conrad knew who he was: Rodney Stanford.

“Hey darling,”Scarlett muttered, visibly uncomfortable as she scratched her leg nervously.

“Babe, meet my childhood friend, Co….”

Before she could finish, he cut in.

“Conrad Duke. I know him.”

Conrad still reached out with an extended hand, hoping to make a civil acquaintance.

“And you are...?”

He knew his name, of course, but he pretended not to, hoping he'd say it himself.

But his ego kept him silent.

“Rodney Stanford,” Scarlett finally said with a sigh.

“Nice to meet you, Rodney,” he whispered politely.

Rodney barely acknowledged Conrad before turning to Scarlett. He says.

“Babe, can we leave already? I’ve got an appointment. Please meet me in the car when you’re done... sympathizing.”

He walked off without a backward glance.

Conrad stood there for a moment, stunned. He couldn't recall ever wronging him. Perhaps,his problem with Rodney ran deeper than he knew. Still, he didn’t want Scarlett to catch any heat on his behalf.

“I’ll see you soon, Scarlett. Drive safe.” he said politely with a warm smile on his face.

Conrad wanted to give her a hug, he thought about it but couldn't dare because of Rodney's cold demeanor toward him.

“Okay... bye,” she whispered. Her heart longing for more of his company, her tender eyes watching someone she cares about leaving. Her foot was too heavy to move.

Then he left quietly and got into the car, and began driving home from the cemetery. Halfway through the trip, my phone buzzed again, relentlessly this time.

Earlier, during his speech, it had rung multiple times, but he’d silenced it. Now, curious, he checked the notifications.

his hands trembled. while beholding:

Nude pictures.

Videos. From Carly, with a text.

“I'm so horny right now, darling. Only craving that warm touch you give. Please Hurry up, cos I’m all ready for you to devour tonight!.” It read.

Conrad's heart stopped.

“What the hell is going on?”

He stared in disbelief, confusion and rage surging through his veins.

He tried calling her, but wasn't reachable. Raising the intensity of his shock.

Conrad clenched his jaw, his vision blurring as heat surged through his head. He was no longer present– cos his mind was spinning out of control. In that moment of distraction, and turbulence he didn’t realize he was speeding... and had run a red light.

A loud crash.

He slammed into a moving truck. His car flipped; once, twice... six times, before landing violently in a ditch.

The vehicle was crushed. Flames erupted.

Conrad lungs were filled with Smoke as he gasped for breath, and pain seared through every bone, especially his spine. He wasn't able to move or do anything at that moment, he was trapped in, paralyzed… and fading.

All he could do was cough out a pill of blood from his mouth, and just by the side, his phone was on the chair while Carly video played. Her voice was heard in whispers.

Someone called out in a loud voice.

“Somebody call the fire team!”

Crowds gathered, people approaching from different angles, as ambulances wailed faintly in the distance.

He was slipping.

The air was thick. His eyes fluttered. As the sound of life was dimming gradually into a state of unconsciousness..

The fire was put down by the team of fighters as he was narrowly drawn out before wheeled into the ambulance. Immediately his treatment began in the moving ambulance as oxygen was quickly administered to him. Yet there was still no response or pulse.

Moment later at the hospital.

He was hanging on the razor-thin line between life and death, barely breathing, slipping deeper into a coma.

He had stopped breathing... 40 minutes ago…

The theater was flooded with specialists, all scrambling to save me. Conrad's chest rose and fell under the hands of desperate doctors seeking to scramble life back Into him. All specialists innocently did all there could.

Chaos erupted at the hospital as the news got to aunty Zoey and Scarlett, Scarlett arrived at the hospital profusely crying and impatiently asking the nurses to let her see Conrad.

“Clear!” One of the doctors shouted.

A defibrillator jolted his body.

Once, twice and up to six times it jolted his body.

Still... no pulse.

Frustration set in amongst the doctors as their faces squeezed and hopelessness was written in their eyes.

“We’re not losing him!” a surgeon shouted. “Keep the pressure on!”

More shocks. More compressions ..

Minutes ticked by like bombs..

After twenty minutes of relentless effort, One by one, they lowered their heads. Sorrow echoed in the silence as they slowly exited the room. The last doctor stood by the door, his hand gripping the knob, eyes heavy with grief.

The electronic machine showed no pulse, Dr. Mark starred for the last time, before he turned to walk out...

Suddenly, there was a beep, it's echo caught the attention of Dr. Mark

A faint sound pierced the room. The monitor lit up.

Pulse. Like a miracle life came back.

“He’s back!” Dr mark called out

Although even after the pulse, there was still a more pressing issue at hand. Conrad's spine was fractured as confirmed by an X-ray report.

Then the lead doctor looked at him in pity , lifeless on the bed and sighed.

“If he survives… he may never walk again.” he said sadly.

Carly lay tangled in sheets, naked beneath silk covers, her body still pressed against Rodney’s. The TV played idly in the background.

Her phone buzzed.

A news media station reporting on TV about the accident, Carly couldn't believe her ears, so she hurriedly ran to check her phone.

She sat up quickly, her heart beating heavily. Her whole being portrays unease.

“No. This… this can’t be real.” she whispered in disbelief. She opened the chat between her and Conrad, and there it was:

Her nude photo.

Her video.

The dirty message she thought she sent to Rodney, accidentally sent to Conrad. Below it was a crying emoji from Conrad the same time the reporter confirmed the accident took place.

Her hands trembled, whilst turning towards Rodney Stanford.

“Rodney… did you get the pictures I sent you this morning?” she asked very timidly.

Rodney was lighting a cigarette by the window, half-dressed, careless as ever.

“No babe. You know I don’t miss those. I’d rather show up late than not at all.” He took a puff, exhaled, and turned to her.

“Why?” he said.

Carly’s voice cracked, and her lips quivering.

“I..I think I sent them to Conrad. Instead of you.”

She gasped, holding her chest.

“Oh God... I caused the accident.”

Rodney turned sharply.

“You did what? Are you insane, Carly?!”

“I didn’t mean to, it was a mistake! I swear!”

He stormed toward her, anger flaring.

“You were careless. And now he’s in the hospital.. How could you be so careless?”

Tears welled in her eyes. “Maybe I should go see him?Should I go now? " Rodney… please say something.”

He stared at her coldly, lips pressed into a thin line. Then, he chuckled bitterly.

“And do what? Hold his hand while he's fighting to breathe? Come on, Carly. You never cared about him. You’re here now, with me. That’s what matters, right?”

She backed away, heart thudding.

“But I'm wearing his Ring” she looks at the ring on her finger.

“Relax.” He cut her off, sliding the cigarette back between his lips.

“You made your choice. Own it.”

A chilling silence fell between them. The only sound left was the hum of the news anchor announcing Conrad's name... again.

*****

The room was dimly lit only by the faint beep of a heart monitor and the cold glow of machines keeping him alive. Tubes ran through his veins. His body was still. Motionless.

But within … his mind was racing. Racing with memory of the past. As though he was watching his whole life play back at him. Like a big screen it's played out from his early childhood.

Early that morning, in November 1981, twenty years ago. The floral garden was bathed with golden sunlight ,casting a warm glow over rows of vibrant roses in full bloom.

The air was filled with the sweet fragrance of flowers mingling with the gentle rustling of leaves and distant chirping of birds.

Little Conrad was playfully chased by his mom, through the aisles of the roses.

Alice was a radiant woman in her 40’s and at that time , Conrad was just seven years old.

He giggled uncontrollably as he darted between the towering rose buses. Alice was behind him.

She said cheerfully “ I'm going to catch you Conrad." Conrad glanced back , his eyes sparkling with mischief as he sped up with his tiny legs.

“You will never catch me mom," he muttered upon his heavy breath.

The sound of their laughter echoed, which blended harmoniously with the rustling of leaves and the soft chirping of birds outside.

As they raced, Alice reached out playfully, her fingers brushed against her son's T-shirts, but he narrowly escaped her grasp. Conrad squealed in delight, his laughter mingled with the symphony of her happiness.

Suddenly he came to a stop. turning towards her with a mischievous grin. “Catch me if you can, mom." He said teasingly.

With a playful twinkle in her eyes, she lunged forward, sweeping him into her arms with a loving embrace. In her arms Conrad screamed in joy pressed to her shoulders. Leaving behind the lingering echoes of our laughter.

Conrad grew up in a small town cradled by nature. Alice, his mom, has always been his source of inspiration and wisdom from childhood after the death of Conrad's biological father. She practically taught him all he knew about flowers and their relationship with human behavior.

Later that evening, they sat down under an orange tree. The moonlight was full and bright above them. Insect creeping faintly from the distance as a cool breeze blews.

The young child tenderly looked at Alice and said. “Mom, is it true that when people die they become Stars that watch over us?.” His head was placed on his mom's lap with his eyes lifted up into the sky.

Alice was surprised at the question he asked, so she said "yes that's true. But where did you hear this?” She teasingly asked.

Conrad responded that he overheard it from his classmates conversing earlier today in school. Alice Smiled but didn't expect what Conrad's next question would be.

“So mum that means Dad is watching over us right now right."

She responded with a " yes” but her voice was weak and heavy. She almost shed tears remembering her late husband's last words on his deathbed a few minutes before he died.

“Alice remember I am always with you guy, up in the sky looking at my son” she Sniffles, wiping off strain of tears.

" Mum, are you okay?” He asked compassionately.