Delusional

Chapter 3: Delusional

Lewis walked into Petra's room to find her staring up at the ceiling, deep in thought. He hated seeing her that way—looking so miserable and heartbroken but then again, that was just how she was feeling.

"When am I getting discharged?"

The question had taken Lewis off guard, mostly because she wasn't even looking at him to know he was the one and her eagerness to leave the hospital was evident. That made him think of what he'd do when she would finally be discharged.

How was he supposed to go a day without seeing her heart-shaped face or stealing glances at her piercing brown eyes?

He caught himself and cleared his throat awkwardly, looking for the best way to respond. "Uhh... well... that's for the doctors to say. But you're doing great, so it should be anytime soon."

And that was the truth. Petra was stable and outstanding, she was only under observation, but her discharge would only be in a matter of days.

"Why would he do this to me?" Petra sounded like she was talking to herself, so Lewis wasn't sure whether to respond or not. He awkwardly went about arranging drugs in the cabinet. "Why did he abandon me?"

"Because he's an asshole!" It slipped out before Lewis could help it.

Petra turned to look at him for the first time. Look at him. She had never seen brown eyes compliment caramel skin so perfectly. His hair was jet black and shiny. And those muscles... No doubt, Lewis could easily pass as a model, so Petra didn't know why he'd chosen to be a nurse.

"I'm just saying... what he did was heartless." Lewis shrugged slightly, feeling like he should've said more.

Petra was about to speak, but the door creaked open, and Miss Precious walked in with some cleaning agents.

"Ah... she's finally awake," the janitor looked delighted to see Petra finally awake and healthy.

"She is," Lewis replied, giving the same energy. He motions towards the woman who is proceeding to wipe down the windows. "This is Miss Precious Young, everyone's favorite janitor," he tells Petra with a smile.

Petra mirrors the woman's smile, and they stare at each other like that for a while before Lewis announces that he has to go, and the janitor goes back to cleaning the windows.

.

.

.

.

.

Reporters flooded the entrance to St. Gregory Hospital like flies. Indeed, America wanted to meet the surgeon operating on their president, and Matt was nervous. Very nervous. If anything, he hated public speaking, and the thought of his face on millions of TV screens was terrifying. It gave him anxiety.

"We can assure you that we will sort out one of America's finest surgeons for our president...." This White House press secretary was addressing the reporters.

"... Dr. Matthew Kings," Matt heard the press secretary announce, and he took that as his que to ascend the podium and address the reporters as he'd rehearsed. She shook Robert, the press secretary's hand, before taking his place in front of the mic.

Cameras began flashing rapidly, and Matt's heartbeat only picked up-tempo as a result. He thought about how so many people were watching him from their homes or wherever, judging him and wondering if he could carry out the surgery on the president successfully.

Before he knew it, the reporters were already firing questions, and Matt could barely make out what any of them were saying. He adjusted his glasses and took a deep breath, deciding to get the whole thing over and done with.

As soon as he pointed to a random reporter, others seemed to quiet down for the chosen one to ask their question.

The woman with blaring pink lipstick held out her microphone and asked, "Dr. Kings, what assurance can you give us that the surgery will be successful?"

Matt sighed. "The surgery has a very high chance of being successful. I might not be able to give you a hundred percent but what I can assure you is that we are going to do our very best."

He points to a male reporter this time. "How experienced are you with kidney transplants?"

"Well, I've performed two successful kidney transplants in the past, so I'm confident in my experience."

Matt takes a couple of more similar questions before calling it a day. At the end of their day, they are all just looking for a hundred percent assurance that isn't there. There was no way Matt could be a hundred percent sure about anything.

.

.

.

.

.

When Petra slowly opens her eyes after a long nap, she realizes someone is standing over her bed, looking down at her. She rubs her eyes and blinks a few times, and she nearly has a heart attack when she realizes who it is.

"What are you doing here? Petra asked through gritted teeth, and her eyes brimmed like firestones at the sight of Megan.

Megan Smith stood there, smiling mischievously and eying Petra down like she was some piece of trash. "You look so miserable, and you know that, right?"

"Get out!" Petra barked, trying to sit up on her bed.

"Oh please, shut up! I'll leave when I goddamn please," Megan sassed, her curly blonde hair bouncing up and down.

"You have the guts to show up here after what you did to me!"

Megan's red-painted lips twist in a wicked smirk as she rolls her eyes. "And what did I do to you, darling?"

"You know what you did! You almost killed me! But of course, you wanted me dead!" If Megan's mission was to get Petra infuriated, then it was working.

"Darling, if I wanted you dead, you'd already be dead." Megan scoffed. "Well, I just came to invite you to Tom and I's wedding personally." Sue held up her hand, displaying the diamond ring on her middle finger.

Petra's eyes began to sting with tears, and her chest felt so heavy. It was torture. Megan had come to rub it all in her face, and she was succeeding. Petra was struggling to breathe, and she couldn't help herself from bursting into tears and giving Megan the satisfaction of watching her cry, but she couldn't help it.

"Thomas is such a good kisser," Megan continues, "and you should see him in bed...."

"Get out!" Petra screams, throwing her pillow at Megan and missing.

Megan threw her head back and cackled loudly. "You're so pathetic, and you know that, right? Did you ever think you and Thomas would end up together? It would be best if you were delusional. Thomas is mine, and he's always been."

Lewis walked in at that moment and noticed the tension in the distressed look on Petra's face.

"What's going on here?" he asked.

"I need her out of here," Petra grumbled, not taking her teary eyes off Megan, who equally glared back with a smirk.

"Ma'am, you need to leave," Lewis told Megan, who didn't seem like she was going anywhere anytime soon. "Ma'am, you need to go. The patient doesn't want you here."

Lewis had been trying his best to sound as professional as he could but knowing she was the one making Petra cry, all he wanted was to drag her out by the hair.

Megan turned to Lewis, sizing him up with a frown on her face. "And who the hell are you supposed to be?"

"Someone who is going to make sure you don't come back here."

Megan scoffed. "Oh wow, Mr. Nurse over here gots guts," she mocked, looking at an infuriated Petra and pointing to Lewis in front of her.

"Ma'am, I'm going to call security—"

Lewis didn't finish his statement because then, different items started flying across the room towards Megan. Petra was throwing everything on the bedside table and cabinet towards the blonde lady screaming and shielding herself with her hands.

Lewis was trying his best not to burst out laughing as Megan ran out of the room, swearing and promising to press charges for assault.

"Damn," said Lewis, and Petra was slowly calming down. The room was a mess, so he immediately got to work. "Remind me never to get on your bad side."

Petra exhaled and laid back down on her bed, looking up at the ceiling and thinking of everything Megan had said. Was she stupid to believe she would live happily ever after with Thomas? But they'd been so in love, she had thought in the love they had for each other. Why would he do something like this to her?

Petra had thought she would like Thomas to come and explain himself and the reason behind his betrayal to her, but after what Megan had just done, she realized she never wanted to see him ever again. What Thomas had done was unjustifiable.

Lewis was right. He was an asshole.

"Hey," Lewis called out when he noticed she was lost in thought again, "don't work yourself up over it. He doesn't deserve you."

Petra managed a weak smile even if she wasn't sure if she believed that.

.

.

.

.

When Lewis got back to the nurse's station, Loren was there. She seemed to be on the phone, but she handed him a card, quickly mumbling to him that someone had left it for him.

Curiously, Lewis opened the card and read the message: Please call the number, it's a matter of life and death, and you might be the only trustworthy person out there.

And there was a phone number scribbled at the bottom.

It was very unusual for Lewis ever to receive messages like that. He quickly got out his phone and dialed the number on the card.

The person on the other line picked up almost immediately.

"Hello," said Lewis.

"Lewis Sánchez." It was a male voice, and Lewis didn't know it anywhere.

"This is me," he replied, not sure where this was headed.

"Listen to me and listen carefully to the things I'm going to say next," the man said. "St. Gregory doctors are killing patients for some power play and politics they are playing. I don't have proof of this yet, and that's why I need you."

"Wait, what?"

"Secondly, if I'm not wrong, Petra Hills is currently there in the hospital, yeah?"

"Yes."

"Good. You'll need to keep an eye on her. She might be the only one who could end this madness," he said. "I'll call soon with further instructions."

Before Lewis could even speak, the man hung up.