His day had started well. Cristi sent him a message telling him that Maya was beginning to recover. He hoped he would manage to stop by the hospital before leaving with Diana for Băile Felix. He still couldn't believe he had let himself be sent away like this, but this time Cristi was right. Maya needed constant supervision until she fully recovered, and knowing that he and Diana would be under the same roof, she would never accept it—not in a thousand years. He had to leave his brother the car and the bag their mother had prepared for her.
To stay on schedule, he left home around nine, stopped at a flower shop that was on his way, and bought a bouquet of red roses, then didn't stop again until he reached the clinic's parking lot. The private clinic owned by their doctor had interior windows facing each room, and each window had adjustable blinds. He stopped in front of the window to Maya's room and, through the blinds, saw Maya and Cristi. She was propped up against some pillows; he was feeding her. He felt his blood pressure rising. He was jealous of the closeness between the two of them. Usually Cristi got involved with his ex-girlfriends, but Bogdan had always remained indifferent. Now, however, seeing the two of them, he felt the need to smash or break something, to vent his nerves on whatever he could get his hands on. It was too much.
He knew that things got worse because of him, but he couldn't bear to see the person he loved with someone else, even if that someone else was his twin brother. My God, he knew what Cristi thought. He could swear that Maya was just a whim, a passing desire. But he had no right to complicate their lives even more. The last few weeks had been more than enough.
Problems had clung to him and followed one after another, starting with the phone call that changed everything. The bad news had come along with the song that was, at the time, the ringtone on his iPhone—but he only realized that later. Maya had left in a hurry while he was still in the shower, thinking about her. He loved her. It was the first time he had allowed himself to fall in love with someone.
He came out of the bathroom dressed only in boxers, with the towel, as usual, draped around his neck. He remembered that he managed to get dressed, and while he dried his hair with his left hand, he tapped on his phone with his right. Then he wanted to check if Maya arrived home safely. His attention was drawn to the last incoming call—the one Maya answered. He sat down on the bed and stayed there, staring at the caller's name, thinking about the last conversation he had had with her. He began anxious even though he still didn't know the reason for that call. He took a deep breath, in and out, then touched the call icon.
Diana answered on the first ring.
-Bogdan?
-Are you okay?
-I'm pregnant.&
And… that was it. That was all. He still remembered how he had gone numb after receiving the news. Diana kept babbling on, but he could focus only on what he had heard at the beginning: "I'm pregnant."
And here he was now, in the hospital hallway, watching the girl he truly loved but couldn't have. He left the bouquet of roses on one of the chairs lined up along the corridor and headed for the hospital exit. Outside, Diana was waiting for him in his car. He had asked her to come pick him up at the hospital so they could leave directly, without further delays.
He would try to relax over the next few days, but the tension wouldn't leave him alone. He hadn't touched Diana since the last time they were together. She showed signs that she would have accepted anything from him, but Bogdan didn't respond to any of her attempts to move toward something more serious. As a result, he was frustrated, jealous, and angry all at the same time. Strange, because he was usually uncommonly calm. This time, however, he felt as if he were in Cristi's place.
He got behind the wheel and slammed the door. Diana handed him the key, and after starting the engine, he revved the car and headed toward the city exit.