"You need to calm down," Liam whispered to Cole, his voice filled with concern.
They arrived the hospital twenty minutes ago, but the doctor was rounding up an operation, so they had to wait. The nurses gave them the option of seeing another doctor, but Liam disagreed, saying it was that particular doctor they wanted to see. He preferred they wait for him to finish whatever he was doing.
For the past fifteen minutes, Cole had been silent, but he was obviously nervous. He constantly wiped sweat off his forehead, despite the fact that were directly under air conditioning.
He kept tapping his feet on the ground, impatiently. His eyes kept darting from left to right, awaiting the sight of the doctor.
"Cole...," Liam whispered, but his friend didn't look his way.
"Cole!" He added some voice and held his restless hands, stopping them from running up and down his laps.
A pale-looking Cole turned to him.
"What?"
"You need to get a hold of yourself! You're scaring everyone!" He pointed out.
Cole took his time to stare at the eyes that were looking his way in a confused manner.
Liam was quite right.
"Look, this is not the end of the world. You've not even gotten the test results, and you're already shaking. What's with you?"
"That boy is my son, Liam. That boy is my son," Cole muttered for the first time since they walked into the hospital.
"Nobody is disputing that with you. We're only here to confirm it. You have to wait a while," Liam stated.
Liam took a deep breath and stared at the high ceilings. Even he was also anxious. He didn't know what the DNA results would look like.
If they were positive, it would mean that Cole had a son all this while, and he was kept in the dark. He didn't have the slightest idea about it.
If it was negative, he could only wonder how Cole would take it. Despite his warnings, Cole had forced himself to form a bond with that boy, and Liam didn't think he would be able to break it, even if the DNA results turn out negative.
Liam imagined Cole turning paranoid and the announcement that Tris wasn't his son.
Liam imagined Cole finding ways to reach out to the boy, until he would be jailed for harassment.
"Cole?"
"Hm?"
"Just in case that boy is not your child..."
He heard Cole groan in frustration.
"This is not what I need right now, Liam. I didn't ask you to tag along with me so you could burn my hopes with a flamethrower of what ifs-" Cole replied. He was really distressed.
"Just in case, that boy is not your child," Liam repeated, overwhelming Cole's voice and eventually shutting him up.
"I just want you to know that it's not the end of the world. I need you brace for impact, just in case that turns out to be the truth. Just in case it turns out that your uncanny resemblance is only a coincidence-"
"Where's the doctor? Are you sure he's not started another surgery? This is beginning to take too long," Cole muttered, his eyes darting around again.
Liam sighed. He knew Cole would not accept it if it turned out he wasn't the father.
A young nurse showed herself out of an official and began walking towards them.
"Sorry for the wasted time. The doctor is ready to see you now," she said.
"About damn time," Liam muttered at the nurse as he stood up and they both followed her to the office.
They walked into the office to see a young doctor around their age with thick glass hanging at the bridge of his nose.
"Well, who do we have here?! If it isn't Liam in flesh," the doctor jumped up to his feet in boyish excitement at the sight of Liam and Cole in his office.
"Michael Tide himself!" Liam marched his energy with a huge grin on his face.
"It's so good.to see you, man," the doctor brought Liam in with a huge hug.
"Ling time no see, buddy," Liam replied with a boyish pat on the back before they separated the hug.
It had been two years since Liam saw his friend last. They were really good friends back in college, but they were quickly separated when Michael had to go abroad to study.
"This is my friend, Michael. Here is Cole. We're here because of him," Liam explained with a little more seriousness as they sat down.
Doctor Micheal also found his seat behind the office, and the aura of seriousness filled the room.
"The hair you gave me and the sample of blood from your friend was just what we need to find out the truth about the boy's paternity," doctor Michael said.
"And what was the result? What did it say?" Cole questioned impatiently.
The doctor sighed and kept silence for a while, his eyes on the two men before him.
"This suspense isn't what we need right now, Mr. Michael. We have somewhere to be, and would love it you gave us the information we asked for-"
"The boy is your son," the doctor dropped the news amidst the tension.
The doctor's words shut Cole up immediately.
"Wh... What did you say?" Cole questioned, for fear that his ears were playing tricks on him.
"We carried out the DNA test, and we confirmed the paternity. The blood sample you dropped is 99% the same with the strand of hair you gave us, so yes... If that blood sample was yours, then he's undoubtedly your son," the doctor explained.
Liam expected his friend to jump up in excitement, but Cole was rooted in his seat.
He kept staring at the clear table of the doctor.
"Cole?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I expected you to jump up for joy at the news. I thought you'd be excited. What's wrong?"
Cole didn't give any answer to his friend.
He simply stood and greeted the doctor before leaving the office.