In her solitude, Laurel turned to alcohol, drinking day and night in an attempt to numb the overwhelming feelings.
She didn’t want to appear miserable in front of anyone, but now when no one was around her, she felt free to succumb to her despair.
Without Hazel and other people surrounding her, here, away from everyone, she could drink until she blacked out.
The cycle was painfully simple: drink, pass out, and when she woke up, do it all over again. It was a temporary relief, a way to escape the agony even if it was only for a little while.
On the other hand, Carl finally stirred awake after a week of unconsciousness. The first sight he registered was his mother, who sat on the chair next to his bed. Her expression was a mixture of relief and worry.
For several days, Carl drifted in and out of consciousness, disoriented and unaware of the ti passing, until a week later, when he finally opened his eyes, scanning the unfamiliar surroundings; the first person he saw was his mother, Alia.
She had been there day and night, embodying the role of a devoted mother while simultaneously trying to persuade Jas to enroll Carl in rehab.
Jas, however, stood firm against the idea.
’I want to talk about it with Carl first before any decisions are made,’ he insisted, unwilling to rush the process.
’What you feel for Laurel is only temporary. You might feel guilty, but that’s not love,’ she pressed.
In addition to that, Alia was urging Jas to move on from Laurel completely. She tried to persuade him to sign the divorce papers, insisting that they could build a family together.
"Carl! You are awake!" She exclaid, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Mom?" Carl croaked, his voice hoarse as he tried to process his surroundings.
Everything felt surreal: the beeping machines, the stark white walls, and the faint sll of antiseptic. It was quite uncomfortable.
"Oh, I am glad you finally opened your eyes," her concern was palpable.
"What happened? Where’s my mother?" Carl asked, his mories still hazy. This was not the first ti he ended up in the hospital.
"I am here," Alia said; she kissed his forehead, but then she tensed up when Carl spoke again.
"No... I an, Laurel..."
The answer crushed Alia.
When Carl was little, he had a surgery, and when he woke up, it was Laurel who was there. Therefore, probably his mind reminded him of that mont.
Now, as Carl was awake, he noticed his father’s absence.
Jas was in the office, dealing with company problems and only visiting Carl for brief monts each day to check on his condition.
"She is not here." Alia wiped her tears and stopped herself from kissing his son; she looked very hurt by Carl’s question. "I will call a doctor."
She pressed the button near Carl’s bed, calling for a nurse and a doctor.
But as Carl comprehended the situation and why he was there, mories began to flood back; painful mories hit him like a thunder...
"Get out! Get out!" Carl shouted, suddenly aware of his surroundings and his resentnt towards Alia. "Get out of my sight, bitch!"
Alia was in disbelief, hurt washing over her face. "What did you say?"
"I said, get out! I don’t want to see you!" Anger boiled within Carl, his eyes filled with fury, though his body was too weak to move much. The intensity of his glare made Alia take a step back in shock.
"Why are you like this? I am your mother."
"No! Get away from !" Carl scread; the way he glared at her would have made anyone feel terrified. "I don’t want to see your face; you are a cheating bitch!" he spat. He felt utterly betrayed once the mories of that night ca back.
Carl still could hear the disgusting sound of the noises that they made, and it would forever haunt him.
Alia’s eyes widened in shock; Carl had never spoken like that before. He was always so sweet and innocent, easily swayed by her tactics and manipulation.
"What? Is that how you speak to your mother?" She asked, her hands shaking. "Let explain the situation."
"I don’t need your fucking explanation!" He responded; anger rolled off like steam. "You are not my mother!"
The rejection cut deep. Alia gritted her teeth, feeling the sting of Carl’s words. "That’s what you said to Laurel! But you can’t say that to ! I am your mother! I carried you for nine months! No matter what you say, I am still your mother!"
Carl didn’t know where he found the strength, but he managed to push his body into a sitting position, his voice rising to an enraged scream. "GET OUT!" he yelled, unable to contain his anger.
The tension filled the room as the nurse and doctor rushed in.
"What happened?" the doctor asked Alia because Carl was out of control.
Alia shook her head. "I don’t know. I am not sure. He has been like this the mont he opened his eyes. I think it’s the effect of the drugs."
The doctor was not convinced, but there was another urgent matter that he had to handle.
Carl was out of his mind the mont all the mories ca flooding back into his head. The sight of his mother disgusted him. He scread and growled at her, desperately trying to free himself from the hospital bed.
"Get out! Get out of here! I don’t want to see you! Fuck you!" Carl shouted.
Alia stumbled back, startled. Fear crept in.
Thankfully, the doctors and nurses were already here, attempting to calm him down, but Carl continued thrashing violently. The needle from his IV drip stabbed deeply into his arm, but he didn’t feel it.
In a burst of rage, he managed to kick one of the nurses. It was incredible how much strength he had after waking up just monts ago.
Alia stumbled again, clutching her chest, tears streaming down her face. She couldn’t comprehend that her sweet son turned into a monster.
She acknowledged her mistake in this, but Carl didn’t even give her a chance to explain the situation. She didn’t deserve to be treated this way.
"Carl, don’t be like this," she pleaded in a small voice, her words trembling.
However, Carl had no intention of listening. "Get away from !" he shouted.
While two nurses worked to stabilize him, the doctor injected a sedative, gradually calming him down. He resisted for a while, but eventually, as the dication coursed through his veins, he couldn’t fight it anymore.
The darkness enveloped him once more as he succumbed to sleep.
Once the situation was under control, one of the doctors took a mont to speak with Alia, ensuring she was alright.
"Yes, I am fine. I am okay," she replied, though her voice was shaky. Once the chaos settled, she finally called Jas to tell him about what happened.
On the other hand, Carl lay sedated, finally calm as sleep washed over him.
It took an hour for Jas to co to the hospital. "How is he?" He looked disheveled.
He had been looking like this for a few days, spiraling because he couldn’t reach Laurel, and no matter how many tis he called her, he refused all communication.
The fact that she hadn’t blocked him yet gave him so hope, though she ignored all of his texts and calls, leaving him in despair.
Jas approached the bed, his heart sinking as he saw Carl, frail and pale under the harsh hospital lights. A new bandage wrapped around his arm caught his eye, an indication of a struggle from earlier.
He looked so weak; it was hard to rember the image of his son now with the vibrant boy he once knew.
anwhile, Alia’s face was drawn and weary, the puffiness around her eyes a clear sign of her tears from earlier.
"I told you before, didn’t I?" She continued, barely able to contain her exhaustion. "He will be hallucinating, but you never believe ." Her voice trembled slightly, revealing the weight of her worry. "I told you to send him to rehabilitation. This... this is what I was afraid of."
Jas had dismissed her concerns, believing they were exaggerated, but now her predictions were accurate.
"We will discuss this later," he replied, still not comfortable with the idea. His voice was low as he processed the grim reality of their situation.
He really needed Laurel now. She must know what to do and how to handle Carl. Both of them used to be very close. He prayed Laurel would be here and helped him to guide the situation.
"Later?" Alia echoed bitterly. "You have seen this, but you still couldn’t make your stand?"
The tension in the room thickened as the gravity of their situation settled around them. They both looked at Carl.
"This is why I insisted on putting him into rehabilitation," Alia said, her voice breaking slightly. She held out her bruised wrist, a visible reminder of how dangerous Carl could be. "Look what he did to ."
Jas’s expression darkened as he took in the sight.
"Please think about this, Jas. Carl is my son too. I want nothing but the best for him. But you know the seriousness of his drug addiction. We can’t ignore it."
With her earnest words weighing heavily on him, Jas began to contemplate her perspective. He felt the tension between them shift as the gravity of the reality pressed on his conscience.
Laurel... Why did you abandon us?
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