Burning Desire (Completed)

chapter 66

Jasmine and Raymond rushed to the hospital and met Christain outside the emergency room. He was pacing nervously, sweats on his face and his blue eyes were filled with fear and anxiety.

When his eyes met Jasmine, Christain rushed and hugged her tight. Raymond stood aside and let them be.
They both held unto each other, Jasmine shaking in his arms as she cried.

A dark skinned girl with tattoos and piercings was quiet at a corner, her eyes red and wet. She was Christine's roommate and was the one that brought Christine to the hospital.
The girl explained to them how she had seen Christine with a strange man outside their building. The girl saw Christine putting something in her pocket and when she had asked who the man was and what he gave her, Christine had snapped at her.
Christine's roommate had left to see a friend and when she returned to their room, she'd found Christine cold and lifeless on the floor. The scared girl quickly called the ambulance and on their way to the hospital, she had called Christain.

The emergency room door finally opened and they all rushed to find out about Christine's current situation. The doctor told them that they had almost lost Christine for 30 seconds but luckily, she'd survived.
Christine had taken overdose of marijuana mixed with opioids. They had pumped her stomach and were able to interrupt the circulation of the absorbed drugs, neutralizing their effect. They'd put her on intravenous fluids to wash her bloodstream.

The doctor warmly noted that if her roommate hadn't brought Christine in quickly, she would have died in her sleep. He told them that a counselor would come by in the morning to check Christine's mental competence once she was awake.

They thanked the doctor and nurses and went to check in on Christine. Jasmine and Christain were only allowed to see Christine as the nurse didn't let Raymond and the roommate in, as only family members were allowed.

Christine's room was small with a pilled light blue blanket and mint coloured furniture and walls. She was sleeping, her chest rising and falling steadily as the beeping machine showed her heart rate.

Seeing Christine in this state broke Jasmine's heart. Tears filled in her eyes and her vision blurred. Her heart had been thumbing hard in her chest while waiting outside the ER and as she saw Christine lying still with her eyes closed, Jasmine felt a heavy pain in her chest.
Her knees felt weak and when she couldn't support her body, she staggered backwards. Christain was quick to grab her tight before she had hit the floor. She leaned on Christine and held his arm tight, afraid of loosing her balance again.

Outside, Raymond looked restless and worried, raking his fingers in his hair as he waited for Jasmine to step out from the room. Ten minutes later, Christain came out from the room, shutting the door behind him. His eyes were filled with pain and his face looked pale.

"What about Jasmine? Is she okay?" Raymond asked worriedly.

"Yeah, she's.. she's okay. She wants us to leave." Christians' voice was low, his eyes casted down to the marble floor.

"Is she staying in for the night?"

Christain nodded, wiping his palm on his nose.

Raymond let out a heavy sigh and looked at the closed room. He knew how much Jasmine would be hurting and he was desperate to pull her in his arms and comfort her. But he would respect her wishes and leave her alone with Christine.

Raymond offered to give Christain and the roommate a ride back to their places. They got into his car and drove off. Raymond dropped the roommate at her place and then drove off to Jasmine's house. Raymond parked in front of the building and switched off the engine.

Christain didn't move as he sat still, looking down at his opened palms, his expression distant. Raymond opened his mouth and closed it, he didn't know what to say to Christain. They sat in the car in silence.

"Do you think...do you think Christine tried to kill herself ?" Christians' voice was small and whispery.

Raymond looked at Christain, shocked that Christain would ask him such question. "I don't know." Raymond hesitated.

"You know," Christain sniffed, wiping his palm on his nose, "Christine tried to commit suicide once."

Raymond let out a weak sigh. "I know. Jasmine told me about it."

Christain raised his brows, his eyes gazing at Raymond in surprise. Jasmine had never told anyone about what was going on in their lives. She was always insecure about what people would say and didn't want an outsider interfering in their personal lives. He couldn't believe that Jasmine had told Raymond about Christine and probably, their parents and little kalisha's death.

"She did?" Christain asked quietly.

"Yeah." Raymond murmured.

"You know, Jasmine had really gone through alot since our parents died. She's the pillar holding us together. Without Jasmine, I have no idea what would have happened to us." Christain exhaled shakily, tears forming in his eyes and swallowed hard.

"I mean, I'm the man of the house and I should be the one taking care of my sister's and protecting them. But for as long as I can remember, it was always Jasmine who was the one protecting us. She had to sacrifice alot to make sure that we were happy and safe. Back at the hospital, when Jasmine was crying so hard in my arms, I felt..I felt a sharp pain tugging in my chest. I couldn't bear to see her like that, it broke my heart.
I feel so useless. How can I call myself a man when I can't even protect my own sister's." Christian's voice cracked as hot tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Hey, hey." Raymond gripped Christians' shoulder gently. "You're not useless okay, don't ever call yourself that. You can't blame yourself everytime bad things happen. You need to understand that there are some things we can't control or avoid.
What matters is that you're always by your sister's side. When they need a shoulder to lean on, you're always there for them. You just have to be strong for them," Raymond said.

Christains' eyes and nose were wet but he managed to give Raymond a weak smile. Back at the hospital, Christain held himself from crying but sitting alone with his fellow man, he couldn't stop himself from pouring out his emotions.

Christain got out from the car and thanked Raymond before he walked inside the building. Raymond switched on his engine and instead of driving to his house, he drove straight to the hospital.

With determination in his heart, Raymond was able to sneak pass the front desk and went to Christine's room. He opened the door and entered inside quietly.

Jasmine sat in a reclining chair by Christine's bedside, her eyes and nose wet with tears. She turned to the door and when she saw Raymond, she got up quickly and ran into his arms.
She wrapped her arms on his waist, placing her face on his chest as she cried more.

"It's okay. I'm here now, I'm not going anywhere love. Everything is gonna be alright." Raymond held her tight against his chest. He placed a kiss on her hair, running his hand up and down her back.