Sensing my distress, he finished changing and knocked on the partition, inquiring, "Are you able to dress yourself?"
I couldn't. My limbs felt like jelly.
But he wasn't going to come over and help me, was he?
To my surprise, he did.
Caleb was always the calm gentleman, even in the most embarrassing situations.
He regarded me with an intense look of desire as he took in my disheveled state.
He scrutinized me from head to toe, his gaze so piercing that time seemed to stand still.
Yet, his hands moved with swift precision, and in no time, he had me dressed and ready to face the emergency that awaited us.
It took him only fifteen minutes to make the twenty-minute trip from the hot spring to the hospital.
After pulling up, we both got out of the car.
With his height and long strides, Caleb quickly outpaced me.
To an outsider, it might have seemed that it was his father who had been injured, not mine.
I was about to hurry to catch up when he paused, turned, and extended his hand to me.
If he'd shown this much thoughtfulness and initiative just half an hour earlier, I would have been overjoyed.
Now, it felt more like he was just feeling sorry for me.
Perhaps he even thought I was someone who only panics in the face of trouble.
But that was okay, wasn't it? Love often started with compassion.
Hand in hand, we walked towards the hospital room.
Maybe it wasn't the right moment to indulge in romantic musings, but I felt certain that my father would understand.
Five minutes later, I realized I didn't need his understanding at all！
I thought it might be a serious fall from a balcony, maybe even requiring intensive care.
It turned out the 'balcony' was on the first floor!
My dad was playing hero for a neighbor, trying to look cool. But he slipped and fell on the lawn.
His head injury was a mere scratch from a small stone—one that would have likely healed by itself had he arrived at the hospital any later.
My mom was pretty embarrassed. She was rubbing her hands and trying to smile as she explained, "The property manager didn't explain the situation clearly over the phone, and with all the neighbors there, I thought it was urgent and called you."
"..."
After four attempts to ask Caleb out and finally getting such a great opportunity today, my own parents had to go and spoil it!
Speechless was indeed the word of the night.