I nearly screamed as I ran out to see what the noise was. Jose uncle was on the floor, eyes closed. The wheelchair was upside down on top of him, the wheels still spinning.

"Jose uncle!" I slid on the tiled floors to be beside him. I pushed the wheelchair off of him and placed his head on my lap. I could taste the salty tears seeping into my mouth; the restrained tears from before coming out at full force.

"Romir!" I screamed, my voice bouncing off the empty walls of the apartment. "Romir, Jose uncle—" My words cracked in my throat. No time. He was gone. There was only us two in here.

My whole being trembled, punching in the number for an ambulance.

I needed to get him to safety.

Oh my god. Oh my god. What if he was dead? No, no, no.

I didn't know what I said to the operator on the other end but I was screaming and all I could see was red, my body feeling light like I was about to faint.

Somehow we'd ended up in the hospital via their ambulance. Now an hour and a half later, here I was, sitting outside Jose uncle's hospital room in my front button-up pink rib-knit jumper and still shivering, arms wrapped around myself.

I stared at a point on the clear, white hospital floor. Blinking scared me. I knew only tears would come out and I was done being a cry baby.

How could I call Romir? was the only thought in my head. I didn't even have his number so how was I supposed to reach him? Jose uncle's phone wasn't even with me. My head was pounding so I lulled it back, resting it against the white wall behind me.

"Are you a relative of Jose Kurian?"

My eyes snapped open and I shot up from my seat to face the doctor. She had a gentle smile on her face. "Don't worry, he's doing fine," she advised. "He's got a couple of bruises on his arms and his back from the wheelchair possibly hitting him and a cut on his head."

"So he'll be okay?"

"He had a concussion, but yes, he'll be fine. I found no major injuries." She checked the clipboard before handing it back to the nurse standing next to her. "I do want him to stay for at least two nights for some tests and check ups."

I let my shoulders slump and headed inside the room after the doctor left with his nurse. Jose uncle was laying on the single bed, the back propped up a little with pillows cushioning his head.

Wires poked out of each arm, the left attached to a moveable IV fluid bag pole beside the bed. The beeping radiating from the monitor on his heart indicated to me that he was alive and well.

Now all I had to do was wait until he woke up. Making sure to be as quiet as possible, I grabbed the chair resting against the wall and brought it right beside him. I held his hand, careful not to get my top caught in the wires.

It reminded me of mum. Dad didn't let me inside because he didn't want me to see her looking so weak, but the smell of bleach and the beeping reminded me of a place where horrors could easily take place.

Seeing Jose uncle's chest rise and fall I nearly let my chin trembling take over rational thought. Is it my fault that he's in this condition? If I'd just let Romir say whatever he wanted and sat by Jose uncle instead of storming off like a little girl then maybe he would be the same Jose uncle, sitting in his chair and watching movies on his iPad.

I let my head hang a little. "I'm sorry," I garbled out. Apologising didn't ease the tightening in my chest.

It only made it worse.

***

"I don't want to eat that," he said, making a face at it an hour later. I had been right by his side when he woke up and ordered food for him down near the cafe which I had to go and get. 

I gave him a look. "You haven't eaten anything all night. You have to eat something." I didn't blame him for not having an appetite—the hospital food wasn't as appeasing. I spooned some more and waved it near his lips. "Open your mouth, uncle."

Like a little boy, he obeyed. The door slid open, Romir rushing in with long strides, beside him, Preethi.

It had taken more than an hour for him to get here. Was he serious? Whatever, I didn't care.

He looked like a mess; his tight white v-neck and leather jacket disheveled, his hair in disarray as if the wind had blown through it so much that it didn't stand a chance against his thick waves, and his eyes were bloodshot red.

He looked from Jose uncle to me, sitting on the bed to his right. "You look like a mess," Jose uncle voiced for me, throat scratchy. I quickly grabbed the orange juice from the tray in front of him and placed the straw to his lips. He sipped a little before shaking his head. I put it back down.

"The wind," responded Romir. We all knew that wasn't the reason he was a mess. He just didn't want to admit it. "How're you feeling?"

"Mhm, I've been better."

"Good to know you can still joke around."

"I have a sense of humour, unlike someone." Romir chuckled, though the sound was as hollow as I'd expect. He came forward, chin dipped a little as he pushed a shaking hand back through his hair. The twitch in the corner of his mouth told me that he was scared for his life.

He squeezed Jose uncle's other hand, voice dropping lower. "I was worried."

"You don't need to be, son," he said, squeezing it back. "I'm strong."

"I know you are."

"How are you, Preethi?" She had been standing awkwardly beside Romir, biting down on her bottom lip.

"I should be asking you that, uncle."

"I'm not dead, yet. I'll be fine."

I glared at him. His personality was as bright as ever but he was looking a little pale. Maybe Romir thought the same because he glanced over at me.

I looked away, taking another spoonful of rice."You eat anything?" asked Romir, surveying Jose uncle pinching his lips tight and turning his head away.

"A little."

"One spoonful," I clarified, not speaking to Romir directly.

Romir stared Jose uncle down. "Eat." That firm demand made Jose uncle pale, dropping open his mouth. I fed him and he chewed slowly.

"You have to eat the pudding and drink some juice as well," I told him.

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'? The nurse said that you didn't eat the food brought in for lunch. This is your punishment." He was being spoilt from eating Romir's probably chef-style meals everyday. He grumbled and I leaned in closer. "You say something?"

"I said," he said, louder, "my fate is awful considering I'm being babied and scolded by my nephew and his wife."

A bubbling rose up in my throat and I couldn't help but laugh, bringing my shoulders up. He looked so pouty and like a true child complaining about his parents doing something he didn't like.

After he ate all the food, his eyes were closing. "I'm a little tired."

"Maybe that's my cue to go," said Preethi. She frowned as she came over and squeezed his hand. "Get better, uncle."

"Don't you worry about me, sweetie. Get home safe."

She smiled a sad smile. "He'll be fine," she whispered to Romir. She waved at me and then left.

"I think I should go as well," I announced. "I'll let you sleep."

"You are leaving?"

"Visiting times will be over in a few minutes. I'll be right here in the morning."

Jose uncle reached out and squeezed my hand. "We are very lucky to have someone like you come into our family."

I rolled my bottom lip into my mouth. This was my fault. He wasn't lucky at all. Before I ever came, they were living peacefully, right? Varun was happier with someone else. Romir probably wasn't this angry. Everyone seemed to be at their best when I wasn't around.

"Go to sleep, Jose uncle," I whispered. I patted his hand before heading out the door.

Romir followed and sat on the chair outside the room. He leaned forward, interlocked hands in the gap between his spread legs. I hesitated. Leave? Or stay beside him? I decided, since it was Jose uncle in there, to put my ego aside and sit on the chair next to him.

"He'll be okay," I reassured after a moment of silence. Romir turned his head slightly toward me. Just enough for me to see the strong, sharp features of his small face pulled into creases of misery. "The doctor said that he only has mild injuries and a concussion. She wants to keep him here for two nights so that she can run some more tests."

His expression relaxed so subtly that I almost didn't catch it had I not been looking straight into his face. I didn't know what else to say. We never really talked except to fight.

"Do you know what happened?"

"He was putting the cake back into the fridge, apparently. It dropped from the shelf and he was trying to clean it up but his wheels slipped on the cake when he reached too far." He only took a sharp breath in. I closed my mouth and allowed myself to shoot him what I thought was a tight-lipped smile of comfort and got up. "Well, I'm gonna go."

I didn't bother explaining to him where I was going since neither of us really cared, and walked out the automatic sliding doors.

I flagged down an auto rickshaw and climbed in, letting the rumble of the car take over my senses. If I sat and thought about what happened, that I was the cause of all this because I wasn't there with him, I would cry and would never be able to stop.