Ruined For Life

Chapter 3

Summer. It couldn't get any hotter or calmer. The sun blazing hot rays while the ocean had a mind of its own and delivered soft wave tides by midafternoon. It was Tom and Alex's first summer as a married couple, and Tom had to pull some strings with his dad to get them both a week's worth of solitude. The small beach house at a private beach in Puerto Rico was one of Tom's private investments, and he was certainly glad he refused to sell it. Having just two bedrooms with a living room enjoined with the kitchen, it wasn't luxurious, but felt warm and that's what Tom liked about it, and soon after, Alex began to share in the feelings. The quietness of the beach was a familiar feeling he liked. He remembered how his mum would bring him and his sister to beaches like this when they were young. It was a time when his father was on business trips and his mother didn't want them to miss him at home, so she would take them to the beach for the weekend. He missed those times and made a mental note to bring his mum down there one day.

Looking to the right of his beach chair, he saw Alex sound asleep on her side, with her arms under her head. She must have been watching him before falling asleep. It was a habit she had developed and he couldn't say he didn't love the idea of her watching him every time, so he allowed it. God, she was so beautiful; he thought. How had he managed to score with such a wonderful woman? However, he managed to he didn't really care; he was just happy to be right there with her. Since their wedding, they had little time to themselves, dealing with his father's illness and a surge of urgent orders. He was just happy to be with her and dreaded leaving their little hideaway in a few days to work. Finally, he had a solution to solve the takeover and put it behind him. He didn't really think he was fit for the position. However, Lisa, his sister, was more than qualified for the job and he hoped to help his dad see that.

Directing his attention back to the ocean, he watched the water make small waves, come close to their chairs, and move back into position. He was suddenly reminded of his elder brother, Timmy. Timmy was a philanthropist, to say the least. He'd always help anybody he came across who was in need. Timmy was always talking about how the world would be a better place if there were more people like him all over the world. It was an absurd speculation, but he believed he was good enough to right all the wrongs in this life. But life was cruel to such a kind heart, Timmy was diagnosed with stage 3 Thymic Carcinoma. According to his doctor, Thymic Carcinoma is one of the rarest types of cancer and because of this, the symptoms aren't usually spotted early. Advanced-stage carcinoma has a very low survival rate and so Timmy's doctor already told them that his chances of surviving even with treatment were slim. After a painful fight of about seven months, Timmy told Tom his last request before he died a few weeks later. Timmy had enlisted in the army and his departure had already passed, but he hoped that Tom would go to his place. A cruel request if one thought about it, Tom had just proposed to Alex and now Timmy was asking him to throw his happiness away for the army. It was selfish, and they got into a fight because of it. Tom isn't the level-headed kind and didn't go back to apologize before Timmy died. This is one of the reasons he's currently considering enlisting. It was his brother's one and only request.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Alex asked, suddenly awake.

"Hey you, how long have you been awake?" Tom asked, averting her question.

“Long enough to notice your eyebrows crease together” Alex knew that Tom’s eyebrows usually crease together when he thinks seriously about something and he really didn’t think that was the right time to tell her he was planning on enlisting.

"Yeah well you need to stop admiring all this," Tom said gesturing to his face and body

"Oh, don't flatter yourself, Tom," she laughed. "So that penny?" she asked again

"I was thinking of work and what my dad is going to put me through before he admits that Lisa is a better CEO than I am," he replied with a sigh

"Oh no, you're not doing that. We didn't come all the way here for you to still think about work. You'll do some thinking when we get back later," she said sternly.

“Yes ma’am”, Tom said laughing. He looked into her blue eyes and just stared at the beauty.

"Okay, now you're staring too much", Alex said, snapping him out of the trance

"You're just so beautiful, that's all". She remained silent and just stared right back at his brown eyes with a smile on her face.

Tom opened his eyes to loneliness and a beating monitor. His head hurt and so did his sides from sleeping too much; he wondered how much Nicholas gave him for him to be out that long and surely the bed wasn't making things any better. The room was dimly lit with only one chair, a table beside the bed, and a basin at the other end of the room. It looked like the bad budget also affected the clinical facilities as much as it did their food supply. The painting on the walls was nearly torn off completely, and you could see the molds forming in different places. The sheets had dry stains, and he'd lain on the pillows amid the rumpled sheets the whole night. He felt nauseous just thinking about his condition. Swinging his legs over the bed to his feet, he swayed a little and flopped back on the bed.

"Now that's no good", he said in pain and rubbed his temple. His voice came out croaked and luckily for him, there was a cup of water on the table next to the bed. Gulping every drop, he tried to stand again, but this time a little slower. The dizziness had reduced and so he took careful slow steps out of the room with his drip stand tightly in hand. Faint whispers were coming from the end of the hallway and Tom recognized one voice to be Nick, his doctor. As he got closer, he caught a little of what they'd been talking about.

"So, when will I see you again?" Nick asked the mystery woman

"I don't know. When do you want to see me again?" the mystery woman asked.

"I see what you're doing there. Alright, what time do you get off?"

“5”

“Fancy a little early dinner?”

“Italian?”

“Italian? Sure, why not”, Nick conceded even though he knew he didn’t in one bit like Italian food, but he didn’t want to tell her that.

Having fed up with Nick's attempt at scoring a date, Tom coughed to announce his presence. They both looked at him and Nick immediately showed off a toothy grin. The mystery woman smiled a little before excusing herself.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare off your date," Tom said unapologetically

"Yeah, you did. Anyway, it's all good was going to call her later." "How are you feeling now?" Nick asked, switching to a worried look.

“Like I just rammed my head into a brick wall”

“It’s expected; I’ll get you more pain killers”

"And also, I think my doctor made me OD on some sleeping pills," he said, eyeing Nick suspiciously

"Oh really? I'd love to meet your doctor and give him some scolding." Nick smiled and laughed at his remark.

“Wanna go grab a bite?" Tom asked.

“Sure. Who's paying?”

"You, of course, we both know you'd still end up ordering some crazy ass mix from that place you love"

“Speaking like a true brother” They both laughed and walked over to Nick’s office.