A WEEK

Kris has a full schedule the following day. He has recordings till five in the afternoon, a short interview at seven and a Dad to take care of after that. The past days have been busy and being a celebrity, Kris had to maintain a handsome image whether he's tired or not. People will see. They always do. It's like everywhere he goes there's a camera hidden somewhere. 

On his way to the hospital, 8:47 in the evening, Alex came to his mind. She was asking 'bout his Dad yesterday. And yesterday was quite a dull night. There was just too many things to think of at the moment. Kris thought of calling Alex's number. He wanted to hear her voice for no particular reason. He held onto his phone thinking it through. He did. And Alex's number hasn't changed in his contacts. It's still under the name Fake GF. He listened to the ring and waited for Alex to pick it up. Come on.

She answered on the fifth ring. 'Hello?' Her voice was calm.

Kris cleared his throat. 'Hey, uhm, I'm...' What am I going to say, anyway? Stupid. 'Do you want to meet Dad? Because I asked him if he wanna meet you but...he's not answering.' Right, that's a bad joke. He waited for Alex to react. He wanted to believe he heard a small laugh there.

'Are you heading to the hospital?' She asked from the opposite line. Kris slowed down his driving. 

'Yes. You busy?' It was as if they've become more relaxed talking to each other since last night. Maybe it's just a matter of the equation: I won't shout if she's also not shouting.

'Not really. Am I allowed to visit your Dad?' 

That question somehow made Kris smile. His Dad rarely gets plenty of visitors. 'Where are you? I'll pick you up.' The conversation was like a fast transaction. Alex told him the address and Kris u-turned. Having a fake girlfriend couldn't be a bad thing, could it?

When they reached the hospital, the nurses over the station greeted Kris. Alex saw them looking at her as they pass by. Kris's Dad's room was on the fourth floor, the farthest door on the left. Kris opened the door and the room was almost like Alex's bedroom and living room put together. His Dad was hooked to a mechanical ventilator, some tubes connected to his nose and mouth, lots of buttons on the wall above the bed's head board and balloons on the bedside tables. 'Balloons?' Alex asked, curious why there were so many.

Kris didn't want to share it but he answered nonetheless, 'Uhm, it was my birthday last November 6.' He celebrated it in that very room, with his Mom, Kai and a few more of his friends.

Alex's expression kind of surprised him. It's like she's forgotten something. Kris thought she'd say something like oh my God because shaped a perfect O. But she replied with a quick 'Belated happy birthday!' 

Kris can only say thanks. They both approached his Dad on the bed; Kris stands on the side where the ventilator was and Alex was on the opposite side. Alex sat down on the chair and put her hands over the side rails. 'What happened to him?' She wanted to ask him many questions. What would it feels like seeing your loved one laying on bed unconscious and not knowing if he'll ever wake up? Alex's parents didn't have that chance; they were dead on arrivals. They didn't have machines around them. Alex would never forget how everything looked like when she rushed to the emergency room five years ago. Doctors and nurses trying to revive her parents, injecting medications to their IVs, pumping, shouting...Alex can hear them all every time she remembers. 

Kris's voice stopped the flashbacks in her head. '.' She looked up at him, wishing that he couldn't see the tears building in her eyes. 'I attended a charity event in a daycare center. The owner, Mr. Lee, happened to be an old colleague of my Dad. I dialed Dad's number so they could talk. He wasn't answering it and that was very unusual because my Dad always answers on the first or second ring.' He stopped, only to exhale deeply. Alex was there listening to him.

'It was a Sunday and I was sure he and Mom were just at home. I called Mom instead and she was down in the living room. I asked her where Dad was and she went upstairs to their room to give the phone to him but-' His voice broke. He remembers that day so clearly. 'She saw him there on the floor. I heard her gasp and...I knew. That was the third time.' Kris frowned. He stared at his Dad's face, both eyes closed and tube inside the mouth. How much longer is he going to fight this battle of being in between waking up and falling asleep completely?

'That's why it makes you mad when someone doesn't answer your calls?' Alex verbalized. She understands now. Kris nodded.

'It makes me think that something bad happened to them.' He explained. He saw Alex nod too. It feels good to have a female visit his Dad. Most of Kris's friends are males and the only females that's ever got into the room were his Mom and the nurses. Lexy never had. 

'How about you? Are your parents here with you?' He still doesn't know much about Alex. He still hasn't read the magazines he bought; although they were just there inside the drawers where he puts his Dad's extra pillows and towels. 

Alex flinched. She simply put it with, 'No, I'm here alone.' To which Kris reacted, 'Independent, huh?' and she nodded once more. Kris needs not to know. What he needs is a friend who'll be strong with him. 

Alex stayed for a couple more hours. A nurse came in to check his father's vital signs and Kris looked incredibly tired. Alex looked at the time and realized that maybe Kris needs some rest. She stood up. 'I think I better go.' And she doesn't know what made her add, 'I'm sleepy' in the end. Probably because Kris looked like he's about to argue.

She was right. Kris stood up too but it didn't look like he's going to accompany her to the parking lot and drive her home. 'You can sleep here.' He pointed to the unoccupied rectangular sofa beside the window. Funny how Alex can somehow predict his actions now. 

'No, it's fine. I'll take the cab and go home. I know you're tired.' Alex waved her hands in refusal. But Kris answers back with a firm 'No, honestly, you can sleep here. Sleep here, Alex.' The last three words sounded more of an order than an invitation. And because she doesn't wish them to fight; especially not in front of his Dad, she controlled her temper and tried her best to show a kind smile. 'Okay, then.'

She went to sit on the sofa and Kris handed her a pillow and a blanket. He put the air-conditioner on low because it was starting to get real cold, and turned off the light that's above the area where Alex was. He said 'Goodnight' before sitting on the chair where Alex was seated a while ago, with his back turned, giving her some privacy.

When Alex woke, she was facing the window and the blanket was covering half of her body. She heard two people talking, one was obviously Kris's voice. She was about to turn and see who the visitor was when she heard the woman spoke. 'Is she your new girlfriend?' Alex almost wanted to wrap her whole figure with the blanket. Kris's Mom!