Page 33 of Lost Room Lawyer (Room #4)

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Hector

With my phone to my ear, I ran into the emergency room, hoping Viktoria would answer my call. But she didn’t. Not even after I had tried to reach her at least seven times from the car on the way here.

Is she trying to punish me?

“Can I help you?” a nurse asked, blocking my path.

“I’m looking for my wife. Viktoria Lando,” I replied as I scanned the hallways for her.

“Please wait outside. She’s with a patient right now.”

A dark blue curtain opened, and Viktoria came out of one of the patient rooms. She was wearing a protective mask and, like all the staff, dressed entirely in white. I recognized her immediately by her brown curls.

“Vicky!”

I called out loudly enough to catch her attention, and she looked up at me with a puzzled expression. After quickly giving some instructions to her colleague, she pulled down her mask and came over to me.

“Hector, what …?” It was impossible for me to answer her unspoken question. But judging by the way she pursed her lips, she probably knew why I was there. “Come with me,” she said, gesturing for me to follow. “I’ve moved him. He urgently needs rest; he’s barely slept over the past few days.”

The worst fears were spinning in my head, yet I couldn’t bring myself to ask a single question.

What happened?

How is he?

Why did he do this?

Maybe it would be better to ask Nico directly instead of Viktoria. It was odd enough that I followed her in a daze, taking the elevator to the third floor and being guided to the end of a corridor where a woman in a ponytail was jotting down notes on an iPad.

“That’s the psychologist,” Viktoria whispered to me.

“Psycho…” My voice failed me.

“In such cases, it’s common for the psychological service to speak with the patients.”

As we approached, the psychologist glanced up from her iPad. “Hello, Viktoria.”

“Hello, Anna. Are you done? Or are you just going in?”

“I was just about to go in,” she said. “Is that okay?”

How much I wanted to object, but even I knew I had no say in this matter.

“Are you the father?” the woman asked.

I frowned. Do I look that old? “I’m his boss,” I replied stiffly.

The psychologist merely nodded and turned to the door. “It won’t take long.”

“Will you tell me what happened?” I finally asked Viktoria.

She hesitated, taking in my appearance. I was well aware that I no longer presented the polished lawyer I used to be.

Since last Friday, sleep had been elusive, and I lacked the energy to dress up.

What difference would it make? I was now sporting a three-day stubble and no tie. My facade had already crumbled.

Viktoria studied me thoughtfully for a moment. When her stern gaze softened, I raised my eyebrows in irritation.

“You’re here,” she said with resignation. “Not because of me, but because of him.”

I was breathless.

Was this a test?

No way I could talk my way out of this—no matter how good my arguments were.

All the blood drained from my face, and I stared at Viktoria in disbelief.

I opened my mouth and gasped for air. I was unable to perceive the world around me; what was happening inside me was overwhelming—and not in a positive way.

I felt nauseous, and as I turned my head and searched for a place to sit, I began to stagger.

“Careful,” Viktoria said, supporting me and guiding me to a row of chairs along the wall. “Sit down. Should I get you some water?”

I propped my elbows on my knees, leaned forward, and rubbed my mouth. “No,” I murmured, then straightened up. “I’m fine.”

We sat in silence for a while, which gave me the chance to collect myself, until Viktoria spoke words that threw everything into disarray again.

“You’ve fallen in love with him.”

“Shit,” I groaned, burying my face in my hands.

“It was lorazepam,” she finally said. “His roommate found him early enough and reacted.”

“That doesn’t sound like him at all.” I carefully sat up. Noticing Viktoria’s gaze, I cleared my throat. “I … uh … didn’t know him like that.”

“Depression isn’t like a broken leg that everyone can see,” she informed me. “It seems he had been spiraling downwards the past few days.”

“But … No … I mean … That can’t have been intentional.”

But then I remembered how he had talked about his mother. The void she left in his life must have been huge, and I had probably pushed him into it with just a few words.

I shook my head in disbelief. “This can’t be happening.”

“Listen, I …” Viktoria stood up again. “I need to return to the emergency room. We … uh … can talk later.”

I just nodded and stared at the floor as Viktoria walked away.

Yes, I had failed the test. The game was over. I could no longer lie to myself. My strength wasn’t enough for that.

Shit … What will my kids think?

My clients?

My friends?

Leo?

Fuck!

“Hi.” Dominic appeared beside me with a paper cup of coffee in hand. “You here?”

It was more of a comment than a question, and Dominic didn’t seem particularly surprised by my presence. He sat down on the chair next to me and sipped his drink.

“You know what’s going on,” I said, leaning back and crossing my arms uncomfortably over my chest.

“Yep.”

“Am I to blame for all this?”

Dominic turned his head toward me and raised his eyebrows. “Don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not.”

“You found him?”

“Yeah. But … at first, I didn’t think much of it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, he was back in writing mode. It was the same back then. It wasn’t unusual for him to topple off his chair every now and then.”

I stared at him, my mouth agape. “What?”

“The guy gets so focused on something that he forgets everything else—like eating or sleeping.”

“But how …”

Dominic sighed and took another sip. “He asked me for sleeping pills about a week ago. It was understandable, given what happened with his mother. From what I know, they cleared out Rina’s apartment yesterday—he and his father.

I’m not sure what happened, but something must have unsettled him.

He seemed disoriented. I found him when I got home.

The light in his room was on, and I heard some strange noises. ”

“They already cleared the apartment?” I asked. “That could have waited.”

Dominic shrugged. “Leo must have seen it differently.”

Leo had done many things that I couldn’t explain, but this was straightforward—people in Zurich were lining up for an apartment.

After finishing Nico’s book, I understood why Leo was so intent on keeping certain details a secret with the gag order on it.

The case was eleven years old and was barred from prosecution, but I had wondered where Leo suddenly got those pieces of evidence.

It seemed like they just fell into his lap.

Leo had taken a huge risk by choosing the illegal route. If the matter had become public, it would have cost him his law license and possibly sent him to prison. Instead, his client’s acquittal boosted his career, and he became one of the highest-paid lawyers.

He had given me the expensive fountain pen that I always carried with me—until I finished reading The Birds’ Song of Laughter . At that moment, it wasn’t clear to me, but my subconscious had already picked a side: Nico’s side.

I was surprised by how easily I had severed ties with my mentor a few days ago, even though Leo didn’t know about it.

Given the circumstances, I wondered if he was even aware of the influence he still had over Nico.

One thing was obvious—clearing Rina Simeon’s apartment yesterday must have destabilized Nico.

From what I had seen of Nico—full of life—taking that away from him and keeping him down was almost criminal. And I didn’t make any distinction, counting myself among the perpetrators as well.

“Have you been playing poker again, Corvo?” Dominic asked beside me.

“No,” I answered, grateful for the small talk. How long does a psychological assessment take anyway? “And you?”

“Met Bruce Lee at a bar. He said there might be another round soon.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yep.”

Apparently, both of us were not very skilled at distracting ourselves from all this. Fortunately, the psychologist came out of the room shortly afterward. She shut the door behind her, darting her eyes around as if searching for someone, and then approached us.

“I was actually hoping to find his father,” she said, glancing at the notes on her iPad. “Mr. Leonard Simeon?”

“I informed him,” Dominic explained. “But he’s still at work. I don’t know if he’s picked up my message yet.”

“How is Nico?” I asked, rising from my chair.

The woman’s mouth formed a thin line. “I usually discuss such matters only with family members.”

“Can I see him?”

“You’re his boss,” she said with a slight disdain. “Nico needs rest right now. Work can wait.”

I stared at the psychologist in shock while Dominic laughed beside me.

“Ha! Lady, this isn’t about work.”

Now she looked at me with irritation. “I mean it. He needs rest. So please, try not to upset him too much.”

“I won’t,” I said as my body moved on its own.

No, I didn’t want to wait any longer. Even though I had no idea what to say to Nico, what I wanted to say, or what was even appropriate, I knocked briefly, opened the door, and stepped in. It was the only place I wanted to be. The only right place where it made sense for me to be.

When I spotted Nico, I stood frozen. He was curled up on one side, facing away from the window, resting on one arm in a fetal position. His hair was slightly tousled, sticking out in all directions. He was hooked up to an IV and wore one of those white-gray patient gowns.

“What are you doing here?” he asked in a raspy tone.

Seeing him like this tore me apart, but at the same time, his appearance washed away all the doubts and lies that had kept me captive for so long.

I felt like I was standing naked in front of him, even though he didn’t know I had stripped myself bare to the world.

Well, not to the whole world, but that’s how it felt to me right now.

I walked over to him, sat on the edge of the bed, and took him in my arms.

“Goddammit, what are you doing?” I whispered with a trembling voice next to his ear, stroking his head, unable to let him go.

Touching his body, feeling his warmth, and smelling his faintly lemony scent stirred something in me that I couldn’t even name. Emotions broke free that I seemed to have suppressed all my life, and an intense tremor seized my body, making me cling to Nico even tighter.

Eventually, he was the one who pulled away and brushed my cheek. “You’re crying,” he said.

“I was such an idiot. I’m sorry.” Overwhelmed by my emotions, I wiped at my wet cheek.

“Fuck, how pathetic. I thought I could keep going as before, but I was just lying to myself. How blind could I be not to see the obvious? I love you.” Taken aback by my own words, I squinted and shook my head in disbelief.

“Yes, I love you. Now it’s out. And if you ever pull such crap again, I’ll make sure you regret it. ”

It was far from my intention to make Nico cry, but seeing tears in his eyes somehow made me feel better. I took his head in my hands and pressed my forehead against his.

“I’m serious. I just realized how important you are to me. Anytime, I would drop everything to be with you. I’m a fool for not realizing it sooner. I’m so sorry. If you think I’m too much of an idiot, then … I’ll just have to accept that.”

Nico smiled sadly and placed his hand on my neck.

Without hesitation, I yielded to the moment and kissed him.

I had kissed him many times before, but this time felt different.

This time, I was someone new—someone who could no longer hide, though I might still want to out of sheer habit.

Nico’s warmth, his soft lips, his breath—everything about him made me feel like I had finally arrived.

“It wasn’t intentional,” he whispered, stroking my cheek. “More of an accident.”

“And the psychologist?”

“I guess I’ll see her a few times. Can’t hurt,” he said and shrugged. “Now that my boss kicked me out—”

“That wasn’t how it was meant,” I interjected. “Shit, I was so confused. I really thought that was the solution. But my wife just showed me otherwise.”

“Don’t take it the wrong way, but …” He grasped my battered hand and examined the bandage on the side. Without saying anything more, he glanced back up at me. “I accept the termination.”

“That wasn’t …”

Nico cut me off with a passionate kiss. I melted and absorbed all the heat I could get from him. His soft lips were like a drug.

God, I missed making out with him!

A knock on the door made me instinctively pull back. Even though I didn’t want to, this behavior had been conditioned into me over the years. Still, I wasn’t quick enough.

“What the hell …”

I turned my head to see Leo in the doorway. Only then did Nico withdraw his hand from my cheek, and my stomach contracted into a tight ball.

“Hector! What are you doing here?”

“Great.” I sighed and scowled at the ceiling as if it were responsible. It was no comfort that Nico had found his laughter again. I reminded myself of what Leo had done, what means he had used to get what he wanted, and how he had harmed Nico’s writing career in the process.

“Hello, Leo,” I said coldly, rising from the bed and straightening my jacket.

My former mentor was still standing by the door, obviously unsure of what he had just seen. He looked back and forth between Nico and me, confused. “Did you two just …?”

Suddenly, I realized I owed Leo no explanation or anything else. What mattered was Nico, who had been through enough in the past few days. Ignoring Leo, I turned to Nico and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Is it okay if I leave you alone with him? Or should I stay?”

“It’s fine,” he said. “I can handle it.”

“I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”

Nico squeezed my hand and nodded. As I passed Leo, he turned to me and made awkward attempts to shake my hand in greeting.

“Forget it,” I said dismissively, leaving the room and closing the door behind me.

My heart raced yet felt light. I was in good spirits and full of energy.

“Sorry, Corvo,” Dominic said, still sitting in the chair with a paper cup in one hand and his phone in the other. “Leo sneaked past me,” he joked in a sarcastic tone. “And you know how intimidating he is.”

I laughed. “It’s fine. He doesn’t scare me.”

After all, I had learned from him.