Chapter 10: Don't Say Never
Chapter 10:
Luis had fallen asleep in the waiting lounge of the Harmony hospital. He awoke abruptly and wondering if everything had had happened in the last twelve hours was merely a figment of his imagination. He rubbed his eyes with his hands and then focused intently in the room he found himself in. It wasn’t a dream, what had happened earlier was real. He had hoped so desperately that it had been all a horrible nightmare, but Dr. Russell’s expression on her face when he told him about Sheridan was very vivid in his mind. He tried to recollect, what he had done once he found out about Sheridan’s illness. He had simply stood there shocked as a sense of disbelief clouded his mind.
He recalled Dr. Russell ordering him to go home and get some rest, but he immediately dismissed the notion. He was going anywhere as long as Sheridan was in the hospital. He got up from the couch and rushed out into the corridor. He headed towards the nurse’s reception desk.
“Can I please go in and see my wife now?” he said barely above a whisper.
“Mr. Lopez-Fitzgerald, the nurse is in there right now, checking up on your wife, but as soon as she is done, you may go in to see her, but only for a little while.”
Luis nodded in response to the nurse’s request. As soon as the nurse emerged from the room, Luis walked over to Sheridan’s room and grabbed the handle. He took a deep breath and pulled the door open. Sheridan forced a smile and Luis smiled back. He edged closer to her bed and took a seat in one of the chairs. He didn’t need to say anything at that moment. Luis and Sheridan had always communicated to one another openly, but at this time nothing needed to be said. Their eyes did all the talking for them. This unspoken communication, made the room extremely quiet and someone had to break the silence.
“Luis I need you to know that I am going to fight this with all that’s in me. And I understand if you don’t want to be by my side. After what happened with Hank, I know you have stopped caring for me, and you don’t know how much I appreciate you being here right now.”
“But Sheridan…” Luis started to say, but Sheridan abruptly cut him off.
“Luis please…let me finish.” Luis grabbed Sheridan’s hand and squeezed it gently to show her he was going to let her finish.
“I want you to know I still love you and I believe with all my heart, that I didn’t sleep with Hank. The memories from the night are still vague and I can’t recall everything vividly. But right now, I am going to have to devote all my energy to beating this cancer. I can’t kid myself Luis, lots of people die from cancer each year, but I am going to make it. No matter what it takes, I will beat this. I still have a life to lead, and even though you’re not apart of it anymore, I still have lots of things I want to accomplish.”
As Sheridan spoke, tears trickled down Luis’ cheeks. One of the reasons he loved Sheridan so much was her strength. Despite her childhood and all the men that had broken her heart and used her, she always managed to fight back and defeat all odds.
“Sheridan despite what you think I don’t hate you. I still love you very deeply, but despite what I saw that night which really hurt me, we can’t dwell on that now. Nor is this the time or place to be speaking about that night. I want to be here for you, like I always will be. You need me now more than ever and just because I am hurt, doesn’t mean I can’t be here for you. The treatments you are going to have to undergo will be very detrimental to your health and the chemotherapy will make you very weak. Just know that no matter what happens I will always be here as a friend.”
“Thank you Luis” Sheridan said sobbing. “It makes me so happy that you still care. I know things will never be the same between us, but at least you have offered to be a friend during my time of need and I greatly appreciate that.”
Suddenly, a nurse walked in and instructed Luis that visiting hours were over and that he had to leave. Before Luis left he cupped Sheridan’s cheeks and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. He lingered there for a moment and then pulled away. He looked into Sheridan’s eyes and whispered softly
“I know that you’ll make it through this, just have faith in that.”
Sheridan didn’t say a word she simply nodded and watched as Luis turned around and walked out of the room. She bit her lip and knew that this was just the beginning of her battle. She still had a long way to go, the treatments would be harsh and would leave her weak and weary. As a single tear trickled down her cheek, she closed her eyes and laid her head on the pillow. Within moments, Sheridan was asleep and through the window of the door, Luis watched her sleep soundly. He headed toward the hospital doors and walked out. As he walked towards his car he realized that he could lose the woman he loved. His emotions raged, he felt such a mix of anger, guilt and sadness all at once. He opened the front door of his vehicle and stepped in. Before he turned on the car, he placed his head in his hands he cried a great deal and through his muffled cries he said
“Why God…is…..this….happening…” Before Luis could say another word, a figure emerged from the shadows and starred coldly at Luis. Luis looked up and squinted to focus on the individual. When he realized who it was all his anger returned to him and he struggled to stay calm. If he approached him, he knew he would only end up making matters worse.
“So Luis aren’t you going to get out of the car and face me like a real man?”
Luis placed the key in the ignition and fired up his car. The engine roared loudly draining out the sound of the individual’s voice.
The individual continued to badger Luis until he took his foot of the pedal and unbuckled his seat belt. Luis stepped out of his car and looked coldly at the man standing in front of him.
“How dare you come here, get out of here right now, before I make you leave.” Luis shouted angrily at the person.
“I came here to see Sheridan and I can do whatever I please.”
With that Luis edged closer toward him and raised his fist to his face making contact and punching him hard in the jaw.
“You’re going to regret doing that Luis,” the man hissed at him.
To Be Continued…
