What was his name?
Oh yeah, Sebastian.
The rich dude had come to rub it in my face.
* * *
“I’ve brought flowers,” he said, flashing a beautiful bouquet of the brightest colors between us. He glanced over at the empty bedside table, adding a tinge of embarrassment to my fury at his unexpected appearance. It was bad enough knowing I wasn’t important to anyone. But having him see that…it was embarrassing.
But the insults or snide remarks didn’t come. Instead, Sebastian grinned even wider. “Looks like I beat all your fans to it. Perfect.”
He walked to the empty bed next to mine and grabbed the vase from the table. He rinsed it in the sink at the bottom of the room, filled it with water, and placed the glass vase atop my bedside table. Asiatic lilies, chrysanthemums, hydrangeas, and pansies.
He didn’t take a seat but seemed to hover by the vase, as if…
Is he waiting for my permission?I thought incredulously.
“Each flower symbolizes a different aspect of the healing process,” he said, his gaze on the bouquet. “The Asiatic lily, life and good luck; the chrysanthemums, optimism and high spirits; the pansies represent loving thoughts; and the hydrangeas symbolize perseverance.”
There was an awkward silence. He looked lost for words, and I was completely lost as to why he had appeared out of nowhere with a bouquet. Minutes passed before I finally opened my mouth to speak.
“Thank you, but…why are you here?”
“Are fans not welcome to visit their celebrity crush?” He turned away from the bouquet with a smile on his face. He was joking, of course. He had to be.
“How did you find me?” I asked. I wasn’t in a joking mood.
“Like you said, I’m a local. So, I am very aware that we Cartagena people only have one hospital.” He winked at me.
I sighed. “Sebastian…”
“Ah, you remember my name?” His smile widened.
Ugh, why did I even mention it?
“Yes, well…in case I need to report the creepy guy who’s following me everywhere to the police. You said you were a big shot here, right? Well, great. They’ll probably know your address.” I tightened my lips, trying to make myself look serious. But something about his joking manner was pulling out tinges of humor in me.
“Ah, Captain Jorge. I haven’t seen him since I got into that fight with the dudes from the Black Malves gang. Please do invite him over. I owe him a drink and a pool game.” Sebastian waved his hands out the window, presumably in the direction of the police station, wherever it was.
I rolled my eyes.Of course, a pretty rich boy getting into fights for a laugh. My first impressions of him weren’t far off, then.
“Sebastian, as I was saying…I’m not really in the mood. I have a lot of things on my mind right now and problems to sort out…”
“Problems?” he echoed back to me, sitting down on the chair beside my bed. “What kind of problems?”
Why did I have to say that?
“Listen. Thank you for the flowers, but I have to deal with a few things…”
A knock interrupted whatever Sebastian was about to say next. His mouth was half open when the orderly came in, delivering the meal provided to me by the hospital.
Sebastian stood up and approached the man. They then proceeded to exchange words in Spanish. Their speech was quicker than I was comfortable with but I could just about understand a few phrases: “arranged with doctor,” and “restaurant.” What on earth was Sebastian up to?
The orderly started wheeling his trolley away.
“Wait,” I called out to him.
He looked at me, confused. Then he looked in Sebastian’s direction. Sebastian waved him away.