Mistake
by Heel
Copyright© 2025 by Heel
Ethan turned off the shower and then heard the phone ringing. He quickly wiped himself off, jumped out of the bathroom, and ran to the nightstand. He answered, frowning, wondering if he had seen the name on the screen correctly.
“Hello?”
“Ethan, hi!” A pleasant female voice — slightly trembling, with a clearly audible note of anxiety.
“Hi,” he replied. He glanced again at the screen to make sure he wasn’t mistaken. The call was from his former university colleague, Eve. Yes, it was her — and they hadn’t seen each other in at least ten years. Back then they had been something like casual friends — bumping into each other at lectures or student cafés and enjoying a good chat. Ethan vaguely remembered that he had danced with her once at a party. Just dancing, nothing more. And now she was calling him after all those years.
“I didn’t want to bother you,” she began. “But you live nearby, so I thought ... Oh, this is so awful! Damn it! I’m sorry, but there’s no one else I can turn to. You know my father had a stroke and gave up using the phone because of his speech problems. And my mom, as usual, didn’t charge her battery. Complete idiocy!”
Ethan was about to say there must have been a mistake when Eve sighed heavily and added:
“Don’t ask anything. I don’t want to talk. I’m at the end of my strength. Just ... just listen to me. I’ll explain briefly. But don’t worry — nothing terrible happened. It just hurts — terribly. Damn it! For God’s sake!”
“But...” Ethan started.
“Okay, let me explain. Oh! It’s unreal! I had a car accident. Some idiot in a jeep cut me off, and I lost control of the car. I crashed into a roadside tree. At first, I thought I was fine — I didn’t feel any pain. Then I realized things weren’t so good. The engine had pushed into the cabin. Can you imagine? And then my legs started hurting ... horribly ... and I got dizzy. Anyway, now I’m at the hospital, they’re bandaging me up. They said it’s nothing serious, no need for hospitalization. But it hurts like hell. Please, come pick me up. You’re the closest one. Once I reach my parents, they’ll take me home. You understand I can’t lie forever on a stretcher in the corridor. What a mess! I’m sorry for the trouble. But you’re the nearest person. Relatives, friends — they’re all far away ... Don’t be mad! My dear cousin! I must’ve scared you!”
“I...”
“Can you come or not? Are you not in the town? Oh, God!”
“I’m coming!”
“Good. First floor, in front of the emergency room.”
“I’m coming.”
“Okay.” The line went dead.
Ethan stared blankly at the floor. He hesitated. He thought he should call Eve back and tell her there had been a mistake — that he wasn’t her cousin but her former university colleague. But he could get to the hospital in ten minutes by car. No harm in helping.
He dried himself off, smoothed his hair with his fingers, dressed, grabbed his car keys, and shot off toward the parking lot.
The traffic was heavy. The traffic lights seemed determined to slow him down. The trip to the hospital took twenty minutes.
The smell of disinfectant hit Ethan’s nose like a hammer. He passed by orderlies pushing stretchers and walked down the corridor.
In front of the emergency room were about ten people. A little further down, on a stretcher, lay Eve. Ethan recognized her by her long dark chestnut hair. He remembered that once, long ago, he had wanted to run his fingers through that hair. Yes ... But this wasn’t the time for such thoughts.
She lay on the stretcher with her arms folded on her chest, nervously clutching a few sheets of paper and a small purse. Her right leg was in a cast up to mid-thigh, stretched straight ahead. The left one was also in a cast, but only up to the knee. The toes peeking from the bandages twitched restlessly — slightly swollen, with an unhealthy reddish tint.
Ethan approached, confused and uneasy. He didn’t know how Eve would react.
“Hi,” he said.
Eve flinched and turned her head toward him with effort. Her blue eyes, dulled by pain, widened. Then narrowed thoughtfully. She was trying to figure out who this man standing beside her was.
“I ... Ethan ... I called...” she murmured.
“Well, I’m Ethan too.”
Eve sobbed, then suddenly burst into hysterical laughter. A tear rolled down her left cheek.
“Yes, I’m a complete idiot. Damn it!”
“So you recognize me?”
“Yes, but you’re not the one I was looking for. My cousin’s also named Ethan. What was I even looking at on the phone ... I was so confused, that’s why...”
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you.”
“How can you help me? You’re nobody to me!”
“Well ... I’m here, anyway. I can help.”
“I can’t stay here forever, you understand?”
“Yes, yes, I understand.”
“I have to contact my cousin Ethan. Go away. I made a mistake.”
“I know you did. But it’s fine.”
She snorted, pulled out her phone, and began dialing. A minute later, she was talking to someone, but Ethan couldn’t hear the words.
Then Eve said,
“My cousin’s in Greece, on vacation.”
“All right then, come stay with me for a day.”
“I have to reach my mom. She’ll eventually remember to charge her phone.”
“I’ll drive you to my place, you can rest, and then your family can pick you up. A short visit.”
“But you’re a stranger!”
“Still, we know each other.”
“But I can’t rely on you. After all...”
“I’ll drive you home, you’ll rest, and later your relatives will come.”
“God, how did I end up like this!”
“Come on, we used to get along well. Why stop now?”
Eve thought for a moment, then nodded. With a hurried gesture, she wiped a tear from her cheek.
“I ... I need a wheelchair ... to move around,” she whispered.
“No problem, I’ll buy one.”
“I don’t have much cash, my card ... You’ll have to take me to an ATM. I can’t walk.”
“I know you can’t. I’ll buy the wheelchair, you can pay me back later. Don’t worry.”
“I really don’t want to burden a stranger. I have relatives, friends ... it just happened this way...”
“Stop it! We got along fine back then, didn’t we?”
“Fine, fine. Oh, it hurts so much!”
“Maybe you should stay in the hospital...”
“No ... they said it’s fine. I just need rest.”
“That’s good.”
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