Read I Hope Someone Can Hear Me, Too :: 15 - Ja´Hira/We´re Next/

15 - Ja´Hira/We´re Next/

¨I was wondering if you had a Rebecca Elrod?¨

Dakarai gapes.

The woman behind the front desk simply blinks. She looks exhausted. Though, she had the makeup, the smile, the title, and the aura to hide it. You could see it. She´s pale. With dark, cherry-red lip gloss, a blue blouse, green cat-eye glasses, blonde curls split into two braids, and she looks like she´s in her mid 50´s.

She drawls out slowly. ¨Ma´am, visiting hours are over.¨

Dakarai, who had crept behind me at some point, grabs my shoulders. ¨I-I´m so sorry for bothering you so late, ma´am. We´ll be going-¨

¨No.¨ I nod. ¨No we will not.¨

The woman chuckles kindly. It´s not hidden how her teeth are held together a little too tightly.

¨Visiting hours start at 12, tomorrow morning, dear. If you’d like to come then…¨

I straighten my shoulders. Grinding my jaw non-discreetly.

He whispers a small, ¨Ja´Hira, c´mon..¨

My eyes widen. ¨I…I just thought…¨

I thought I could help.

I don´t know why I did this. I was so wrapped up in Dakarai and how stressed he was. How stressed he is now. And now I worsened this for him. Point is, something in me told me that there was no point waiting. That I needed to do this now. That we needed to do this now.

Why I didn´t talk to him about this? Well, I knew he would say no. And panic. But, this is worse. Let´s break this down. I´m impulsive. Injudicious. Tactless. Sometimes, adding that with my confidence, doesn't always equate to the best outcome. I´ll say that much.

Rebecca Elrod. Mrs. Elrod. She´s the next teacher to be hospitalized. After the last one, from Flanders, that committed suicide. She hasn´t followed the pattern either. Neither did this guy. And his death was huge. His death was a message. Who knows what hers will mean?

I didn't want to find out what it meant by newspapers. I wanted to hear about her death, from her living lips. I needed her here. I was frustrated. And I told myself I´d do something about all of this. So, Ieaped out of bed and rode over to Dakarai´s place. Then I peddled us over to ¨F.A.V Hospital¨ to figure it all out. I only told Dak about why I even brought him to a hospital after I chained my bike up.

He freaked out. Which is expected. I´m aware of how irrational this is. And so is he. He thought it was a stupid idea. Coming out this late. But, he insisted we talked about it first. I told him why we needed to do this. In this case. For him. He listened. He had brought up how he appreciated what I was trying to do, but to next time talk things like this over with him. I guess I could've gotten that myself. But I hadn't. I had literally dragged my boyfriend to the hospital, at 7 pm, to talk to a sick woman about her death.

I brought my kickstand back up. Undid my password for my bike lock (12-6, Pop´s birthday). But he stopped me. He told me that we should at least check the place out. Knowing that we probably won't be able to see her tonight. But to check the place out. Sniff out the environment. If all worked as planned, we could come back the next day.

¨Has...she had any other visitors since she´s been admitted here?¨Dak asks.

The lady bites her lip. ¨No…it’s just her down there.¨

¨Liar!¨ A voice scowls from the back. The lady leans forward, nervously. Dakarai and I spin around almost immediately. Hungry for information. Hungry for anything at this point.

A man dressed in a trench coat steps closer. His voice comes out as barely a whisper like he hadn't just yelled only seconds ago.¨It is not just her.¨

The lady pushes her glasses up her nose. ¨Excuse me? And who are you?¨

¨I´m her husband. Becca-Rebecca Elrod´s husband!¨

He´s well-built. Looks the same age as the lady at the front desk. He’s slender. With bony fingers, and a long, clean-shaven face. Wispy patches of blonde hair, and eyes made of pure gold. Only a shade darker than his hair. His cheeks are pink now, dark eyebrows pinched in anger.

¨Sir. Please don´t do this. I´ve told you, visiting hours aren't till tomorrow.¨

¨No. No, they aren't.¨ He squeezes his way in front of us. ¨You told me this yesterday. And the day before that. When can I see her?¨

¨She isn't in the best condition for anyone to see right now-¨

Mr. Elrod runs his fingers through his hair. Maintaining his cool. ¨Which one is it?¨

¨Which one is what?¨ The woman croaks.

¨Is she too unwell to see, or are visiting hours not open? Every time I ask-it changes.¨

His voice is quiet. Wobbling. But you can tell everything in him is screaming. That there is a grumbling monster in there. Caged in his lungs. Typically men don't keep that monster inside. But this one does. That’s admirable.

Dakarai bumps my shoulder and whispers a nearly silent, ¨We need to go. This isn’t our business.¨

For once, I agree. Yes, this is great information. But, at the end of the day. It´s none of our business. We´re not meant to see this. It takes every bone in me to admit this. To look up at Dakarai and nod.

¨Sir…visiting hours start tomorrow morning at 12,¨ She pauses. Immediately sitting up robotically, waving, and politely smiling at someone behind us. ¨Your wife is in excellent hands.¨

Mr. Elrod wraps his trench coat tighter around himself. Shaking. He replies. ¨But…¨

Dakarai grits his teeth. ¨Ja´Hiraaa! Quick, we need to get out of here.¨

I stuff my hands in my pockets and nod in Dakarai´s direction again. He wraps an arm around me and we scamper off to the entranceway.

¨WAIT!¨

Dakarai keeps his arm around me. We reach the doorway.

¨Please! You two, come back, please!¨

Dakarai freezes. He looks down at me. I can practically hear it. Although his lips aren't moving. It is not safe. This is a grown man, yelling at us. Telling us to stay. We need to go. I look right back up at him.

Jutting my chin in the air. I know he can read me too. No. No, we´ve got to stay. It´s not about getting information-or clues right now. This man needs us.

Dakarai sighs. We turn around. This time, his arm was even tighter around me.

The man is clawing at the desk. The woman looks right back up at him, stone-faced, unafraid, and intrepid. Right from behind her glasses. She glares right back up at him. Mr. Elrod´s cheeks are now red, compared to how they were only a light pink earlier.

He takes his arm away from my shoulders. Dakarai prepares himself. Calming his features. Getting ready to speak. So do I. Sharpening my features. Knitting my lips in an unreadable line, coating my eyes with curiosity. I clear my throat. Both of the adult's gape. The woman with wide eyes. The man with relief. His eyes seem red now. He looks horrible.

¨I…I need a witness. I need-I need a witness that this is why I can´t see my wife.¨

Dakarai swallows. ¨Sorry sir, but we can´t help you with that. I apologize for intruding, we´ve got to get home-¨

¨No. Don´t say that. Please, boy, don´t. I know you two can do something. I need proof. Proof that this is why I can´t see her.¨

Dakarai sighs. I press further. ¨Why do you need proof, if you don´t mind me asking? Is it not enough to say that you weren’t allowed to see her?¨

I get elbowed in the back. I have to hold in a chuckle. This is serious. Yes, very seriousssss. The woman whispers something into her walkie-talkie. Asking for security.

The man notices this. ¨I´m not leaving. You can ask your little security boys to come and get me. They can get a tractor to throw me out of here. They´ll succeed. But I´ll be back.¨

¨I´m giving you two seconds to leave, sir. I don´t know what you think you´re doing. But you throwing a fit because we can´t let you see your wife? That’s not love.¨

Oh god…

He doesn't scream. In fact, he brings his voice to a quiet rasp.

¨I love her. I´ve loved her all my life! Who are you to tell me that I´m not here out of love? She´s all I´ve ever wanted.¨

A rosy tear dances down his cheek. ¨I just need to know why. Why do you see an exhausted husband, who drove hours to be here, wanting to just see his wife? And you want to throw him away. When will it ever be enough?¨

The woman continues whispering into her little walkie.

¨That´s why you called the guards? You could be doing so much more, but you called them. The hotel security guards who could care less about their jobs-¨

¨I didn´t call them. I didn't call those ones¨

¨What do you…mean by that?¨

She leans forward in her chair and whispers, ¨I think you know, by now.¨

Out of relex, I grab Dakarai´s hand.

Mr. Elrod´s eyes widen. He looks horrified. Positively horrified.

¨No…no you..¨

¨Yes, yes I did.¨

More tears slide down the man´s cheekbones.

Dakarai tightens his grip on my hand. He whispers a small, ¨We need to go.¨

This time, I don’t nod.

The woman smiles. She wraps her fingers together. ¨Long live Fahlsus Verdahd.¨

What?