Christabel was surprised when Nicholas Wild's parents, Patrick Wild and Jennifer Wild showed up at her room at the hospital with frowning faces. A nurse was behind them, trying her best to keep them calm.
"Where is my son?" Patrick was the first to speak out.
"I don't know where your son is," Christabel replied as soon as she understood they were referring to Nicholas Wild who had been with her for quite some time.
"Where did he go if he is not with you?" Jennifer was the next to speak. "Unless you are saying we are both stupid then you must provide us with our son."
There was silence as Patrick paced around, taking note of the space he was occupying. Every bit of energy left inside him for the rest of the day was directed towards finding the location of his son, Nicholas Wild.
"He was here with me," Christabel said softly. "I don't know who he is or who he was, sir and ma. He just showed up at the waiting room and demanded to see me. Before he showed up, I got an information from one of the nurses here that I had someone who knew me that came as quickly as possible after my incident at the track. I swear to you that I haven't spoken to your son until today."
"Keep your confessions to yourself until we find our son," Patrick's rude voice immediately overshadowed Christabel's voice. "It is going to be bad if we wait here for another ten minutes without seeing the face of our dear Nicholas Wild."
Patrick stepped outside the room with his wife by his side. The nurse didn't say a word as she gave them space to have a private discussion within themselves. She was still as she tried her best to comfort Christabel who was now about to cry.
"Don't you think we are being too hard on that girl?" Jennifer said in a low voice as they were outside.
"I don't care, honey," Patrick said. "I don't care if I have to insult the president's wife so we can find our only son. All that matters to me now is the safety of our dear boy."
Jennifer rubbed her husband on his shoulders and brought him closer to her. "How sure are you that we are in the hospital our son is? There are lots of hospitals in the whole of New York City alone."
"True," Patrick rubbed his chin with pride. "There are lots of hospitals in this city. I can't deny that fact. But, you heard the girl yourself. She said our son has been with her and she doesn't know where he is at the moment."
Jennifer struck her forehead in a light manner. "Think, honey! Anyone who found themselves in the same situation the poor girl has found herself in would say anything just to be set free from your angry face. I must admit, we scared the living hell out of her when we started questioning her about the whereabouts of our son. It would be in our best interest if we go back to her and confirm if we are talking about the same person," she paused. "This is our son, Patrick. I don't want to see us waste our efforts chasing an empty air."
Patrick placed his hands on his waist as he thought about what his wife had said to him. There was wisdom in her words. But, a large part of him was almost certain that their son, Patrick Wild had been spending time with the girl who was lying in a bed close to them.
"What is your name?" Patrick asked Christabel as soon as he reentered her room with his wife.
"Christabel Bloom, sir."
He turned to his wife, Jennifer immediately Christabel confirmed her Identity. "Remember what he told me about her," he said. "My reliable friend told me she was with one Christabel Bloom in this hospital."
"That is progress," Jennifer said in a whisper. "Now, all we have to do is to find a picture of our son and show it to her before we can proceed in making any further judgement."
Patrick agreed with his wife and brought out a picture of their son on his cellphone. He gave his cellphone to the nurse who had been silently watching them interrogate Christabel Bloom. The nurse handed the cellphone to her.
"It is him," Christabel confirmed, returning the cellphone to the nurse who in turn returned it back to Patrick Wild. "He was with me some few minutes ago. He introduced himself as Nicholas Wild and told me he was interested in me because I am an athlete like him. I told him I didn't know who he was and I wasn't interested in talking to a stranger. He said he wasn't a stranger but a friend who wanted to make me as a friend," she paused. "I don't know where he went to, ma and sir. He left here and told me he was going to be back. Since then, I haven't seen him."
"So, you let our son leave your room without stopping him?" Patrick asked, raising his voice.
"I am sorry, sir," Christabel replied.
"You need to calm down," Jennifer advised, rubbing her husband's shoulder. "It is not the poor girl's fault that our son decided to talk to her. We can't put the blame of our son's disappearance on her."
Patrick tried to remain calm as he looked at the face of Christabel Bloom. She was afraid and he knew it. She was afraid of what he was capable of doing to her. She was afraid of her life turning into a nightmare because of the power and connections he had scattered throughout the city.
"Do you know where our son went to?" Jennifer asked the nurse.
"I don't have an appropriate answer, ma," the nurse responded. "If I was to give a wild guess from the way he acted when Christabel told him she was hungry, I would suggest he went to buy some food for her."
"My son went to buy some food for her?" Patrick raised his voice again.
Jennifer took hold of him and gently pushed him to a corner. "You have to try you best to stay calm, honey," she said to him. "It is not our fault he has decided to develop an interest in the young lady over there. It has been a long day for both of us. The best we can do is to make sure it ends well for both of us. Do you understand me?"
Patrick shrugged. "I do," he said.
"Now, we wait in this almost silent room until he returns," she advised.
About ten minutes later when the nurse had left them to be alone with a frightened Christabel who could not look at their faces, Patrick Wild and Jennifer Wild heard a knock on the door.
"Come in," Patrick said with his right hand on his forehead. He had been pacing around for a while.