Chapter 23 - In the Hospital

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"Ariel?" Leon let out with a voice so weak that only his mother who was sitting so close to him could hear him.

"Leon, my baby!" cried Mrs Waltz as she leaned over to kiss and embrace him.

"Doctor, he's awake!" Angel called out.

His father and brother gathered around him.

"Has Ariel woken up?" asked Leon. The smell of the hospital brought him back to that traumatic night Ariel was shot that he was momentarily deluded into thinking that he was still in the hospital with her.

"How's my boy, doctor?" Mrs Waltz asked in between shaky sobs.

"His liver is damaged and he has jaundice and stomach ulcer. The withdrawal symptoms from his alcohol addiction are out of control so we'll need to monitor him in hospital. We're trying all we can to save his liver but if worse come to worse, he may require a liver transplant. He has to abstain from alcohol indefinitely otherwise he'll lose his life. I recommend that he enters into rehab soonest after treatment," the doctor explained.

"Thank you, doctor," Mr Waltz replied, holding his wife as she buried her face in his bosom.

"It's ok, Mum. He's still alive," Angel comforted his mother, grieved at the state of his brother who looked dishevelled and sickly, far from the handsome poster boy he was.

"Where's Ariel? Where's she?" Leon said with a weak voice. "Has she been discharged?"

"Discharged months ago. Now you're the one in hospital. Don't you remember you collapsed on stage?" said Angel.

Confused for a moment, he began to remember the crowd, the pain and Ariel on stage.

"Ariel, I saw her on stage. Where's she?"

"All in your head."

Leon squeezed his eyes shut. The nerves on his neck popped out as the pain came back. He felt that usual sudden urge to drink to relieve the pain. "Get me beer..."

"Didn't you hear the doctor? You'll die if you drink again!"

But he did not care and stretched his hand to the bedside table as if to grab something. It was his usual habit, but this time there was nothing there. Frustrated and grumpy, he attempted to tear the tube away from the cannula at the back of his hand.

"No, Leon!" Angel and their father tried to stop him. The nurses rushed in to calm him down but he got even more agitated.

"Get away from me, all of you!" he snapped and struggled but was too weak to fight off those who were holding him down.

The doctor injected a painkiller into the cannula and the pain subsided after a while.

"Mr Waltz, you're in a lot of pain. I strongly advise you to check into rehab else you'll send yourself into an early grave," said the doctor.

Leon glared at him.

"Get a grip! A girl is not worth losing your life over," rebuked Angel. He made sense.

How his life could turn out this way - all because of a girl?

Because of a girl, Emily, his first love who left him after his fame and his fans got in the way of her wish to start a family with him that he became an alcohol addict. Because of a girl, Ariel, he almost lost his life.

Whatever happened to the almighty Leon Waltz who could conquer and get anything he wanted? Defeated by women.

"The doctor is right, Leon. You need help. We'll be there for you all the way. I can't bear the thought of losing you," Mrs Waltz pleaded with rivers flowing from her eyes.

"And I'll gladly give you my liver if that's what it takes to save you," added his dad.

Leon looked at his dad who was already permanently limped on one side because of him. He was not willing his dad risk another part of himself to save him.

The thought of rehab added dread to his core. It never occurred he would ever need to be in one.

His career was going down, his skincare business was failing, his earnings were dwindling and now his life was in danger.

Avon team would have forced him into rehab anyway to save their biggest selling star on the label.

Swallowing hard, he said to his mother, "I'll think about it."

————

"Hey Leon, feeling better?" asked Rita as she, Camila and Beth walked over to his bedside.

"What do you think?" he said grumpily. Unsurprisingly, it was those three, minus Ariel.

So, she really did not care about him anymore? Except for a single well-wishing for his recovery on her social media, her posts focused back on Fujita, like business as usual. Not a single call or visit - heartless hypocrite - after all that he had done for her!

It was now his eighth day in the hospital and news about his hospitalisation remained national headlines. There were all sorts of rumours regarding his hospitalisation floating about - overwork, depression, anger, high blood pressure, drugs, heartbreak - yet none of them suspected it was alcoholism because it was kept well under wraps by his team and by his tight lips on his private life all these years.

Fans continued pouring into the hospital, now that they knew where he was warded after a helicopter spied on him through his top-level window. Since then, he had all curtains drawn even during the day, and it made the luxury en-suite hospital room even more depressing, apart from it guarded by his bodyguards.

"We got you this," Beth placed a small hamper with the healthiest fruits by his table.

Leon's diet had been restricted to whole grains, fruits, vegetables and plain water despite having a poor appetite. The wine bottle next to him contained only water - his mother cleverly did that so as to "trick" his habit into believing he was reaching out for wine, but it made no difference to the cravings that came and go. He was also on vitamin supplement infusions. The jaundice had subsided and so was the pain, but he still looked fragile, and the doctor was still monitoring the progress of his liver after the MRI scans showed scarring.

"Drink this hot soup," Rita placed a thermal mask in front of him. "It's good for you."

He stretched his neck to see what it was, hoping for something different now that he was feeling some hunger. He winced at the strong herbal smell that wafted towards him the moment the flask was open.

"Gross!" he expressed disgust.

"Chinese herbal chicken soup. It's good for your liver. Try it," Beth passed him a spoon.

Did she mention chicken? Meat, at last!

But the strong, funny herbal smell was a big turn off.

"I can't," he pinched his nose with a cringe.

"You have to, if you wanna recover faster," she insisted.

Beth was right. His health was at stake and he could not afford to be picky like he used to. If the nurse said the soup was good for the liver, it would not kill to try a sip.

Slowly, he took the spoon from her and observed the contents inside - fleshy, white chicken, bits of wolfberries, mushrooms and some funny herbs. He scooped a small amount. With his nose pinched tight, he reluctantly fed the contents into his mouth.

"How's it?" asked Camila.

He chewed on the chicken slowly with a tense look, the strong herbal taste swirling in his mouth. Within seconds, his eyes widened and he released his nose - the soup was surprisingly savoury. He took another spoonful along with the wolfberries and mushrooms, and it tasted heavenly with each bite. Suddenly, the smell did not smell awful anymore now that it complemented the taste. "Pretty good, I'm surprised to say," he remarked.

"Great!"

"Where did you get this soup?"

The ladies exchanged glances.

"We got it from a Chinese store that sells soups of many kinds," Beth replied.

"If that's the case, how come it does not come in its own container?"

"Well erm, it's to keep it freshly hot for you, so I got them to pack it in a flask," said Beth.

"Nice. What's the name of the store?" Leon took another spoonful.

"It's er...it's called a.." Beth tried to find the right words.

"I-It's a complicated Chinese name which none of us can pronounce," Camila hastily added.

Beth and Rita nodded in agreement.

"Really? Give me the address so Vinny can get some for me."

"That's not necessary," Beth gave a quick laugh with a wave of her hand. "I'll get the soups for you. I know which ones are the best for you - medically and nutritionally speaking."

"Alright, if you say so," he shrugged his shoulders and continued diving into his soup.

Beth mouthed a silent sigh of relief to the ladies when he was not looking.

"And by the way," he said, springing their attention back to him. "Ariel...she knows I'm sick, right?"

They nodded.

"Has she asked anything about me?"

Seeing their hesitation and awkwardness, Leon's eyes dropped in dismay.

Rita began to speak, "Well, actually she-"

"Forget it, what am I doing? Let's not talk about her. The mere mention of her makes me sick," Leon waved off with a dreary sigh.

The ladies exchanged worried glances.

"But I hope hanging out with her friends ain't making you sick. You know, we consider you our friend too," Camila gave a brittle laugh.

Leon scooped up the last of the contents eagerly at the bottom of the flask and finished it in one big mouthful.

"Whoa, that was quick," Beth looked on, wide-eyed.

"Delicious, I don't mind more of this soup every day."

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