Chapter 39
The ride to the hospital was silent, but Sébastien's steel grip on the steering wheel told her everything she needed to know. The worst scenario's possible ran through her mind and she couldn't imagine how he felt right now.
He lost a father before, what if it happened a second time?
She tried to talk to him, but he'd barely respond. Every time she tried to say something to distract him she failed miserably and only received a one-worded answer.
So they settled in silence, each in their thoughts.
The last time they'd been to the hospital together was when she cut her hands on some glass. The situation was silly in retrospect but she remembered how scared she was he'd flip out on her.
If only she knew back then what she knew now.
How gentle he was despite his rugged exterior and the calmness he brought her. How he never even raised his voice against her or how he would unconsciously reach over in his sleep to pull her against his skin.
It hurt her to see him like this especially since she felt so powerless to help him in any way.
When the scenery around them changed into a cityscape she know it was only a matter of time before they reached the hospital. Mostly because he was driving like a madman.
He haphazardly double parked the car before getting out, leaving Ava to quickly scramble after him. The length of his legs allowed him to walk much faster and she had to almost run to keep up.
"Sébastien," she panted after a while. They were almost halfway across the parking lot but she couldn't keep up the speed.
He glanced behind him to look at her and she continued, "Please slow down a little."
"I'm sorry," he replied monotonously while waiting for her to keep up. "Thanks," she panted as he started walking again, much slower this time around.
It was odd to see the hospital during the daytime. It was much busier with all kinds of people and there even was a little gift shop she hadn't noticed before.
They walked straight to the reception desk after entering the building and the receptionist gave them George's room number. She also reminded them that visitor's hours ended in two hours and they'd need to leave before then.
Sébastien immediately set out to walk to the room but Ava stayed behind a second longer to thank the woman for her time before rushing after him again.
The hallways felt endless and every time they reached the end another one appeared. It also didn't help that George's room was practically at the very back of the hospital either. But when they finally did reach it Sebastien stopped.
The door was closed but he made no move to open it, choosing to stare at it instead. There wasn't anything useful she could say right now so she reached for his hand and softly squeezed it. He briefly looked up to throw her a small smile, as if to say 'I'm fine'. Except she knew he wasn't.
She knew he was worried sick and he needed some time to mentally prepare himself. A soft voice from behind them interrupted that, however, as a passing nurse started to talk to them.
"You can visit him, if you want to. I'm afraid he isn't awake at the moment but I'm sure he'll appreciate the support."
"How is he?"
"He's stable right now. We're giving him the rest he needs until the doctor has decided on the right course of action."
"What do you mean? What does he have?" he urged the nurse.
"Are you related?"
"Yes," he lied. But he lied convincingly enough to get the information he needed and even Ava believed him for a second there.
"It's the lung cancer, unfortunately. It's come back and worse than before."
"He doesn't have lung cancer," Sébastien replied strongly, almost angrily.
"I'm sorry sir. This seems like something you'll need to discuss with the patient when he wakes up," she said before a machine started beeping in another room and she calmly walked off.
Sébastien's face was now set in a strong frown as he tried to make sense of what he'd heard. Even Ava had a hard time believing George would have cancer and not tell anyone. Especially Sébastien.
But she also understood that he didn't want to worry him. If he'd beaten it before he could beat it again. But something told her this wasn't the same. Sébastien would've known if George had been admitted before, and people don't just get admitted for fun.
After releasing a sigh and running his hand through his hair he turned back to Ava. "Let's go see him."
Reluctantly, he reached out to open the door before stepping trough while not letting go of Ava's hand. For the most part, Sébastien's large back obstructed her view until they stepped further into the room and she had to suppress a gasp.
George looked nothing like the man she'd come to know. Instead, she found a frail old man in the hospital bed. His already pale skin seemed impossibly paler with dark bags under his eyes. An IV attached to his arm steadily dripped some liquid down into his wrinkled arm.
The worst part was that he didn't wake when they entered, which told her he wasn't simply asleep and it scared her to think about the implications of that. She looked up to Sébastien, who was also staring down at the man.
His face looked blank and expressionless and she knew it was a stark contrast to what he would be feeling at that moment.
"I should call his son," he suddenly said, breaking the silence between them. "Let him know what's going on so he can fly back here if he wants to."
"I'll call him," she replied while reaching up to rub his shoulder. He had enough to think about as it was, no need to add this to it as well. "I just need his number."
"It's fine," he sighed, for what felt like the thousandth time that day. "It shouldn't take long."
"No, what you should do is spend some time with him, Séb. I'll call him," she firmly replied, hoping he'd spare her the trouble and give in now.
He looked at her a little longer before fishing his phone from his pocket and unlocked it. "His name's Stan," he said before handing it over. She carefully took the device and left to find a quiet spot to make a phone call.
She eventually found an empty waiting room and say down in one of the chairs before scrolling through Sébastien's contact list. It was endless.
More contacts than she knew were possible were stored on the phone and it took her a good while to find one called 'Stan'.
With a steadying breath, she pressed the dial button.
It took a few beeps for Stan to pick up, but when he did he wasn't amused.
"Sébastien, what the fuck man? Why are you calling me this early?"
"Oh, um. I'm sorry," Ava replied while glancing at the clock. It probably would be way too early in the morning too call him since he lived in Europe but this call couldn't wait.
It went quiet on the other side of the line before he spoke again. "Who's this?"
"I'm Ava, Sébastien's girlfriend," she replied. It felt strange to say it even though she really was his girlfriend. "I'm calling you about your dad. He's in the hospital, you see—"
"In the hospital? What for? Is he alright?"
"Truthfully, I don't think so. The nurse said he had cancer and that it came back. He's sleeping right now so we don't know anything more, and Sébastien is with him right now. But I think you should fly over, if you have the chance."
"Alright. Thank you for calling me, Ava. I'll be there as soon as I can," he said before hanging up and leaving Ava relieved. She feared his son might not take it as seriously as it was but she was glad to see that he would be rushing to see George.
She was sure George would like to see him too when he woke up.
Talking about George, she thought, she should probably go back to see him and support Sébastien as well as she could.