Elegi Of Rose

I shouldn't have pretended being sick, she regretted. She had nothing to do. I should be better in the afternoon... yes, I'll do that.

She heard approaching footsteps and she hurried back under her covers and closed her eyes.

"Hey, you need to eat," she felt him sit beside her on the bed. And she smelled the smell of soup. Her mouth watered.

"I don't feel like eating," she lied.

"You have to," he prodded, feeling her forehead. He frowned. "You don't feel that hot anymore. The medication was fast," he observed. "Yeah, I'm feeling a lot better."

"You should rest anyway," he told her, spooning the soup. "Try this," he sent it to her mouth.

"I can do this, you know," she looked at him dryly.

"Just eat," he ordered firmly. She obliged unwillingly, feeling awkward that he was actually feeding her because he thought she was really sick. "You have to take a bath after this," he uttered.

"Okay," she did not bother to argue.

"What did you do anyway? Why are you burning up all of a sudden?"

I turned on the hair blower, she answered silently. "I don't know."

"You're working yourself too hard. You've been painting like crazy you don't even have time to eat."

"I have a deadline to meet."

"You won't meet it when you're sick," he countered.

Ayu fell silent and prayed for forgiveness for all the lies she had said and made up and was about to make if needed.

*****

Later that afternoon, she had reached her limit of boredom. Roy checked on her from time to time and she appreciated that. Hey, at least he cared after all. "You should be resting," he said when she found him in the kitchen making a salad. He was an expert cook among other things if you should know.

"I feel a lot better," she told him, resting her elbows on the counter. "In fact, I'm going out today."

"It's nearly dark," he told her.

"Herland will pick me up."

His hands froze, his eyebrows snapped together, and his eyes were firing up with anger when he looked at her. "And where are you going?"

"I decided to give Roni a visit. It's been a long time since I saw him."

"And why do you want to see him all of a sudden?"

She looked at him and couldn't help to answer sarcastically, "He came out of his coma and called me." When he did not give a comment at that, she gave him a look and told the truth, "I just want to see him, see how he's doing. No significant reasons."

"It's getting late. You can't just enter a hospital at night."

I can use the Emergency part, her mind formulated. "Herland is a doctor, remember? He can have entry anytime he wants."

"But isn't Roni in a coma?"

"You have a good memory," she couldn't help her sarcastic remarks today. "And don't tell me he wouldn't know if I visited."

"I wasn't going to say that."

"But you were thinking it."

"All I was going to say is that you didn't have to ask Herland for a ride. I'll take you there myself. I have much better access in the hospital."

Ayu's mouth fell open. "You'll what?"

"I'll take you," he repeated.

"But-"

"No buts. I don't want you riding with Herland."

"But Roy, he's on his way and-"

"Then tell him to make a U-turn or do you want me to ride along?"

"Fine, fine, I'll call him," she whirled around to get her phone. "Husbands..." she grumbled under her breath.

*****

Herland wasn't happy that she was going with Roy. In the first place, she called him first.

"What's wrong with him? Why won't he let me take you? He doesn't know Roni."

"I don't know. He said he's taking me and he's not going to take no for an answer. I know him. So I'm really sorry, Hern. Don't worry we'll go together next time." "I want to talk to him now." That took her by surprise.

"What? Who?"

"Your husband," her friend answered.

"Hern, can this wait next time?"

"No, I want to talk to him."

"But-"

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"Do you want me to go there and talk to him in person?"

"Okay," she said resignedly and went down to the kitchen. "He wants to talk to you."

Roy frowned. "Who?"

Ayu rolled her eyes. "Herland."

Without a second thought, he dropped everything he was doing and strode towards her and grabbed her phone.

"Yes," Roy said as he placed her phone against his ear. He turned away from her so she couldn't see his expression. She followed behind him while he paced around the kitchen, anxiously trying to take a peek at his face. "I'm her husband and I have a say on this, do you get it?"

Ayu cringed at her husband's tone.

"What the hell does that mean?" she saw his jaw clench, the veins on his neck engorging.

"What did he say? What are you talking about?" Ayu asked in a hushed tone. She tapped Roy's arm when he just absently looked at her, too focused on his conversation.

"That's bullshit. No, let me tell you one thing... I'm not getting out of this just because you told me to."

"Roy," she prodded, more curious about their topic now.

He held up on hand to silence her, his brows knitted in a line. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Roy," she shook his arm this time.

"Hold on," he said to the phone, covered it with one hand and looked at her irritably. "Stop it," his eyes squinting at her, he pointed to the high stool by the kitchen counter, "Stay right there and shut up. Behave. This is between me and him." She gasped in disbelief, intending to fight back but the look on his face told her she better sit on that stool.

"Good. Not a word. And stay right where you are," he said when she obliged.

"I hate you," she mouthed, glaring at him.

He gave her a quick grin before his frown went back and he talked to the phone. "Go on."

Ayu sat there like a child who received a time-out punishment.

"What? No, I don't. Who?"

At that point, Ayu was at a loss. She had no idea what they were talking about at the moment, but she could feel the masculine energies whirling between Roy, the phone, and probably Herland's side wherever he was.

"I got it, and no, I won't let anything happen. You don't trust me. Well, that's your problem. No, don't even try that."

She then saw Roy's instant shocked reaction to whatever Herland was saying.

His voice was cold when he said, "That won't be possible and I'm warning you. Stay put." Those were his last words before he finally took the phone from his ear.

"What was that? What were you talking about?" she jumped on her feet across him.

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"Why didn't you tell me he's been offering you marriage?" he demanded. Okay, so he was not going to answer her questions. And how the hell did Herland manage to let that piece of information slip into their conversation? "Why would I tell you that?"

"Why would you tell me that..." he repeated dryly. "Try thinking you have a husband who should know details like that."

"It's not like I said yes to him. And if you remember, I never intended to tell you anything about my friends."

"Then why do you still hang out with him when you know he's got feelings for you?"

"Because he's still my friend. And," she stopped him before he could say another word. "Don't tell me I can't see him anymore because that would be a real problem."

She heard him take a deep breath before he said, "I'm not going to tell you such thing. All I want from you is to tell me if you are considering his offer."

"What? No, I'm not. As I told you, I see him as a friend, nothing else."

He looked at her for a long time before he shrugged, "That's good enough for me..." and he walked off.

"So are we going now?"

"Yes. Go get ready. Let's get this over with."

*****

The fear Ayu was feeling as they drove to the hospital during that late afternoon had nothing to do with Roy or Herland or Roni.

There were other reasons why she had stopped seeing Roni at the hospital, and those reasons had names: Sinta and Lis.

"We can do this on a different day if you want. You just got well from that fever," Roy looked at her through the rearview mirror.

"No," she answered instantly. "I planned to do this today and I'm doing it."

"You're too impulsive, you know that?"

"Yes, I know," she snapped. She admitted to that one because it was true. Just this afternoon, while she was lying on her bed, she thought she should visit Roni and see what happened. So she called Herland right away. Yes, she was definitely impulsive.

They reached the hospital and were lucky to arrive in time of the end of visiting hours. And as they walked down the corridor leading to Roni' room, she felt herself start to shake. Roy sensed her anxiety and held on to her shoulders. "I'm fine," she squared her shoulders.

"Okay, you're good..."

They stopped at a door that opened to her worst nightmares. She knocked twice-which was hard because her arms felt heavy all of a sudden-and waited.

When the door opened and the young woman with straight, short and blonde hair identified her, she received the welcome she somehow expected.

She received a very stinging slap across her left cheek, making her head snap to her right.

Yes, she expected that, but it stung like hell.

"You bitch! What are you doing here?!" Sinta's furious voice cried out close to her face. Just as I thought, Ayu thought to herself, feeling her left cheek with her hand.