Chapter 11
Paula almost dropped her phone, her heart sinking lower in her chest than a shipwreck to the bottom of the ocean floor.
Her son was in the hospital.
Emiliano and Carla were both out working, so Paula just left them a quick voicemail before driving to the hospital, anxiety clenching at her stomach with the ferocity of a rabid hound. She practically tripped out of the car in an effort to get to her son as fast as possible, hurriedly explaining to the people at the front desk that she was here to see her son.
“I- I was called, I don’t know- I- I just want to see my son!” She cried, covering her eyes with her hands as the tears littered across her cheeks. “Ma’am, can you please tell us your son’s name?” The lady asked gently, glancing over at her colleague, who quickly nodded and took over.
“Are you Paula Montero? I called you a short while ago as you’re the emergency contact for the young woman who was brought in earlier.”
Paula froze, the tears still streaming down her cheeks. “Man, a young man was brought in earlier. Please, I just want to see my son!” She cried, gripping the edge of the counter. The two people behind it nodded quickly, glancing down the halls. “Alright Mrs Montero, could you please wait over there for a moment until the doctor is finished, and you can go visit your…son.”
Glaring at them slightly, Paula made her way over to the seats, sitting down heavily and calling her husband. He didn’t pick up, and neither did Carla; she was on her own in this. [Please, just let him be ok,] she whispered in Spanish, hiding her face in her hands.
Eventually a woman sat down next to Paula, and she glanced up, meeting the other woman’s kind eyes. “It’s going to be alright, ok? Whatever is happening right now, you’ll make it through.”
Paula nodded slightly, trying her best to smile at the kind lady. “You too,” she whispered, seeing the worry behind the woman’s eyes. “Thank you, dear. To tell you the truth, my son was brought here this morning. Luckily though, his friend protected him, and as a result, my son’s injuries aren’t too bad. I do feel for the other young man though, I hope Mateo is alright,” she said to herself at the end.
Paula sat up straighter, reaching out to touch the woman’s arm. “Is-“ she never finished her sentence however, as an Asian man ran towards the two women and wrapped the other lady up in a hug.
“Oh sweetie you’re alright!” The woman cried, hugging the man back just as tightly. Paula averted her eyes from the two, missing her own son and becoming overwhelmed with another wave of sadness.
“Mrs Montero? You can go see your daughter now,” one of the receptionists said, coming over to Paula. She stood up quickly, glaring at them. “I told you earlier, he’s my son, he isn’t a girl! Just tell me where my Mateo is,” she said in exasperation.
The Asian man had stopped hugging the woman next to Paula and suddenly gently touched Paula’s shoulder. She whipped around, the glare still heavily rooted on her face. “Are you Mateo Montero’s mother? I- I came in with him earlier, I can take you there,” the man said gently, and Paula glanced down at where the man’s hand rested on her arm. He had bruised knuckles and a bandage disappearing beneath his sleeve.
“Take me to him right this instant,” Paula commanded, determined to see Mateo. The man nodded and instantly set off, Paula and the other woman in his wake.
—————
Jedidiah had only been injured slightly; a superficial knife gash to his left arm which wasn’t too deep. That was because Mateo had gone above and beyond his role as a bodyguard, and had protected Jedidiah even when it put himself at risk.
When someone had come at Jedidiah with a knife, Mateo had reacted instantly, successfully deflecting the attacker’s first strike. But then the man had thrown the knife at Jedidiah. At this close range, there was no way for Jedidiah to dodge it, instead choosing to defend his head and neck using his arms, hence the injury to his arm instead.
And then it turned out that the attacker had a second knife; one which Jedidiah hadn’t seen when he was focused on protecting himself from the first strike. And Jedidiah wasn’t entirely sure of what had actually happened, but what he did know was that Mateo had taken a hit for him, and the severity of the wound wasn’t known. Mateo had been stabbed just beneath his right collarbone, between his clavicle and chest.
Jedidiah led the way to the room he’d been waiting to get in for the past hour, which was finally open to visitors. He reached for the handle, but Mateo’s mother bustled past him, being the first one to enter.
Paula took in the situation with lightning speed and as soon as she saw her son’s clothes neatly folded on a chair she sped over, shoving the pile in her bag so that just in case, no one would be able to see his binder. She then proceeded to take off her coat and laid it over Mateo as she sat on the chair next to his bed, choking back a sob as the doctor explained about his injury.
After the first time this new doctor was corrected on Mateo’s pronouns, the woman didn’t do it again, and then pulled Paula to the side for a private chat whilst the man and woman whom she’d walked here with talked quietly in the hospital room, so as to not wake Mateo.
“Because of the area of the wound, he won’t be able to wear anything which will put pressure on the injury until it is healed significantly more. Please make sure that your son only wears loose fitting or baggy clothing which does not touch his chest tightly for the next week and a half to two weeks; we will let you know after his next check up when he can wear tighter clothing again.”
Paula was frozen; she knew that Mateo was going to be very uncomfortable when she had to pass this news on. She didn’t want him to be uncomfortable, especially with going in to work. “When would he be able to go back to work?” She asked, hoping it would be not for a while.
“So as to not put any strain on the injury, I would say probably two weeks, but he will be a better judge of that, depending on the nature of his job.”
Paula thanked the doctor, slipping back into the room to find that Mateo had woken up, and was talking to the man and the lady about what had happened. Paula listened quietly by the door for a moment before making her presence known and going over to sit by Mateo’s side, pulling the hospital duvet closer around Mateo’s neck and adjusting her coat over his body.
Mateo smiled gratefully, his left hand making its way out of the covers to hold Paula’s. [I was so worried, Matelito. What kind of job are you doing that you could get hurt like this? You said you were just an assistant,] she said quietly in Spanish, squeezing his hand.
Her son bit his lip for a moment, closing his eyes before sighing. [I’m sorry mama, I sort of lied. I am an assistant, but I’m also technically a bodyguard. I thought it’d be alright with my kickboxing, but there were- there were a lot of people. I thought Jedidiah was going to be hurt, and I just- I had to do something.]
Paula sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear and stroking the back of his hand. [Is Jedidiah the man over there?] she asked, gesturing behind her slightly. The man and the lady were just sitting awkwardly in the corner; neither able to understand Spanish so not knowing what Paula and Mateo were talking about, but able to tell that Paula was gesturing to them.
Mateo nodded, closing his eyes again briefly. [He is, yes,] he said, keeping his eyes closed. [I understand if you want me to quit the job,] he added after a moment.
Paula sighed, smoothing the hair from Mateo’s eyes. [Could you just be a regular assistant? I don’t want to worry about you more than I already do, and I’m sorry if that makes me selfish,] Paula said gently.
Finally opening his eyes, Mateo shook his head. [Mama, that doesn’t make you selfish at all. I’m sorry for worrying you; I’ll talk to Jedidiah in a moment. He’ll have to find a new bodyguard, but honestly I’ll feel better knowing that if he gets in danger at any point, then there will be another pair of hands at the ready to help him.]
Paula nodded, leaning down to kiss Mateo’s forehead gently before standing up. [Also, you shouldn’t go back to work until you’re healed well, probably for two weeks, the doctor said. And you won’t be able to wear your binder for a week and a half, at the minimum. You have to wait until your wound is healed enough that putting pressure on it will be safe.]
Mateo sighed, placing a hand on his bandages lightly. [At least by the time I can go back to work, I can wear it again. Thank you for coming, mama. Are papa and Carlita alright?] he asked worriedly, not wanting to be a burden on his family.
Paula smiled, patting his head gently as she pulled out her phone. [I left them both a voicemail, I’ll call them again now. Talk to your boss about the job now, so that he has time to find a new bodyguard by the time you’re back.]
Nodding slightly, Mateo thanked his mother as she helped him sit up in bed gently, so that he could talk to Jedidiah more easily.
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