Sinfully Imperfect

33. Fingers Crossed, Revelatio & Dun Dun Dun

"Has the surgery started?" As soon as Chase reached the waiting area, it was the first thing he had. Aylwin trailed him closely, absorbed in his own thoughts as usual. Only at that moment did he have any thoughts other than the girl battling for her life.

"Yeah... just a short while ago." Ivy replied with a forlorn look. The ambiance was overwhelmingly dreary and viciously disheartening. The essence of everyone's anxious demeanor could be felt crystal clearly. Aylwin's gaze was drawn to a set of hazel eyes that were all too familiar. He was too quick to recognize the lady, who was peering at him with a multitude of emotions. His eyes drifted to the man in her adjacent seat, who seemed to be in his fifties.

'She looks so much like him.' Aylwin pondered. The resemblance was striking.

The lady beckoned him to approach her. He was flummoxed, unsure of what to do. More pertinently, what should he say? It was as though Karma was backstabbing him sadistically, remorselessly, and vehemently, yet again. But hadn't they done so before? Aylwin would have laughed a bitter laugh, mocking his own fate, but that was a whole different story.

Regardless, he was conflicted as to what to say. That he was to blame for everything that had happened to their daughter? Or that he was mortified at himself because he wasn't able to protect her? Or that he was the one who brought her shitloads of misery? Or that it wasn't his first brush with a mishap? Or that he had always failed those who had put their faith in him? Or the fact that it wasn't the first time someone's life had been put in jeopardy because of him? What? What kind of explanation should he give? Or should he use the word "excuses" instead? He had no idea. Aylwin was utterly clueless. Nothing at all.

He took gentle, tentative steps towards the pair who were gazing at him. Voices were smothered out by stillness. Nervousness loomed over them like a colossal boulder. Mental torture, to be precise.

"Aylwin, right?" Alice spoke out, her voice hoarse from crying and worry. She might well be a psychotherapist with the ability to comprehend anyone's body language and looks. But the guy in front of her seemed to fail her skills. Alice, too, was flabbergasted by his coldness and the shield he carried at all times. She suddenly realized why her daughter was so enraptured with him. Why did her daughter consider him an enigma? Why was her daughter so intrigued by him? She got it all, and she got it well enough.

"Yes, Mrs. Jasper." His tone had gone back to normal, calm and collected. He was quick to uphold his façade, which he couldn't let go for a second. He didn't want to appear flimsy or vulnerable in front of anyone. And Sophronia's parents were the last on the list.

"Now I see why my daughter is so mystified by you." That wasn't a joke or something said to lighten up their mood. It was the truth, plain and straightforward, with no sugar coating, no deception, no doubts, no disdain... nothing but the truth.

Aylwin didn't react. Not in the least way possible. But that didn't mean his heart even didn't. Because his heart did. His mind did. His soul did. He couldn't decide which was more terrifying: the fact that Sophronia had told her mother about him or the fact that she referred to him as a "mystery." Or the fact that His Fresher was trying to find him, struggling to sort him out, to solve him, and, more vitally, love him.

***

Her surgery had been ongoing for what seemed like hours. The nurses hurried out of the double doors in large groups, then rushed back in. Everyone had their fingers crossed as they awaited the news.

You know what they say? Sometimes the best thing you can do is not think, not wonder, not imagine, not obsess. Just breathe, and have faith that everything will work out for the best.