Slap in the face
1196 Words
The room was too white.
The kind of white that made your eyes ache and your thoughts loud. The silence louder than anything
Sanni sat upright in the hospital bed, her fingers tracing the IV line as if the thin tube could somehow explain everything that didn’t make sense. The beep of the heart monitor had become background music.
Asher’s words from earlier still looped in her head like a cruel recording.
“We broke up years ago.”
Her lips twitched at the memory. “Yeah, right,” she whispered to herself.
Except… what if it was true?
The doubt crept in . She had been unconscious for weeks, maybe longer. She couldn’t remember much before the accident, flashes, laughter, headlights. What if she had forgotten something? What if they truly broke up. She shook her head violently.
No. Was she going crazy? He's her boyfriend for sure. How dare he tell such a blatant lie?
Sanni let out a quiet laugh,
“Asher, you bastard.” she muttered.
The thought should have vanished there, but it didn’t. It sat in her chest like an heavy stone. She pictured Asher’s face the hesitation in his eyes, the strange way his voice was so smooth when he told her that lie. Why would he say that?
And then the door clicked.
Her head snapped up.
Asher walked in. For a heartbeat, relief she didn't expect to feel washed over her until she saw the woman behind him.
Camilla.
The name burned her tongue even in thought. Sanni had met her only a handful of times. Camilla, her boss’s daughter. The woman whose presence always came with trouble, perfectly pretty, the apple of her dad's eyes, perfectly dressed, perfectly groomed and perfectly smug.
“Asher?” Sanni said quietly, her throat dry.
He looked well, like he didn't just become her ex overnight.
“You’re up,” he said, his voice soft.
“The doctor said you should rest more, you need to get some sleep, you shouldn't be sitting by yourself.”
Camilla’s eyes darted to Asher, but she quickly smoothed her expression into concern. “We’re so glad you’re okay, Sanni. Everyone at work’s been worried sick.”
Sanni looked at her — at the too-sweet smile, the manicured hand resting lightly on Asher’s arm. The gesture wasn’t loud, but it said enough.
Her gaze drifted back to Asher.
Asher's face shifted to something surprise.
“Oh, my bad. Sanni, this is Camilla. My girlfriend, she was so worried about you when she heard of the accident, she just wanted to come along. Isn't that sweet?” He wasn’t looking at her. He was gazing lovingly at his Camilla. Sanni felt like throwing up..
“Yeah. That's very sweet. But you didn’t mention you were coming,” Sanni said.
“I, uh… wanted to check in,” he said quickly. “Just to make sure you’re recovering.”
“We wanted to check in,” Camilla corrected, still smiling.
Sanni nodded meaningfully. “Right. ‘We.’ How thoughtful.”
Camilla’s smile faltered for a second. Asher caught it, and the tension that rippled through the room was thick enough to taste.
The silence that followed was awkward, Camilla pretending to fix the blanket on her bed, Asher pretending to care. Sanni pretending she didn’t see the point he was trying to prove that Camilla is his girlfriend.
It was almost pathetic.
“So,” Sanni said, her voice low, “how long have you two been…?” She waved a weak hand between them. She took a cup of water on the table beside and bed and sipped from it.
Asher froze. “Uh....” He scratched his head.
Camilla jumped in before he could finish. “Five years.” She said, quickly linking her arm with Asher's.
Sanni coughed uncontrollably, she almost choked on the water. “I'm sorry what?”
“We have been together for five years.” Camilla replied with a sweet smile, so sweet it made Sanni cringe.
“Wow,” Sanni murmured. “That's.... that's great.”
Camilla’s cheeks colored slightly and she looked away.
Asher sighed. “Sanni, you’ve been through a lot. You shouldn’t—”
“I shouldn’t what?” she asked. Her tone wasn’t loud, but it was sharp enough to cut through his excuses. “Ask questions? Afterall, I'm just seeing my ex after five years.”
Camilla scoffed, she removed her arm from Asher's arm. He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. “I’m not doing this here.”
“No,” she said, leaning back against the pillow.
“You’re not doing this anywhere, are you?”
For a moment, their eyes locked, years of love, confusion, and disappointment colliding in one silent stare. And in that silence, Sanni finally understood what she had been too tired to see before: hedidn't respect her. Did he even love her at all?
He didn't look a bit guilty. He looked smug and proud, he took Camilla's hand in his and intertwined their fingers. Sanni's gaze flickered to it.
She smiled faintly. “You’re right. You should go. You wouldn’t want her to see you still care about your ex.”
Camilla stiffened. “There’s no need to be rude.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Sanni said sweetly. “I’ll get better at it once I can walk again.”
Camilla blinked, unsure how to respond. Asher just stared at her, like the woman he used to know had turned into someone he coul
Maybe she had.
She turned her face toward the window, signaling the end of the conversation. “Thanks for stopping by. I’m sure you two are busy.”
Camilla gave Asher a look that said, Let’s go.
He nodded. “Sanni...”
She didn’t turn around. “Bye, Asher.”
He stood there for a second longer before finally leaving. The door clicked shut behind themThe sound of their footsteps faded down the hallway, the door clicking shut behind them.
Only when the room was quiet again did Sanni let her smile fall.
Her chest ached, not from the IV or the accident but from the weight of everything she didn’t understand anymore.
He’d lied. Why did he do that? And five years? He had been with Camilla for five years? So he was cheating behind her back. Yet she never suspected, even Camilla didn't give her a hard time at work.
She felt her heart clench, tears rolled down her cheeks, the betrayal sinking in. Even though she and Camilla are not close, they still hung out sometimes at work. They grabbed lunch together sometimes. She grabbed the blanket tighter and covered her face.
Outside, a bird landed on the windowsill, tapping lightly against the glass. The sound was small, rhythmic, familiar. Sanni opened her eyes and removed the blanket from her face. She sniffed, her eyes red and puffy.
If Asher thought she would lie in bed and believe whatever story he would cook up, he didn’t know her at all.
“Well played, Asher”, she whispered to herself, a storm brewing behind her eyes.
- Writer
