Chapter Text
Long hallway, dark grey linoleum floor. Doors and glass windows stretched the entire length of the white walls on both sides of the hallway. Through the windows you could see rooms, with one bed in each.
You could see people being scared, shaking, crying, and comforting each other.
Only sound appearing from time to time, outside the rooms, was the distant echoing of footsteps. Silence was too loud you could hear your own heart beating. And the air was stale, dry, but yet it smelled of chemicals and cleanliness, just like hospitals always do.
Behind one of those light grey wooden doors, room that was like every other: one bed whose head was in front of the wall across the doors. Two chairs on the left side next to the bed, and one night table on the right side. There was also another window, besides the one that looked to the hallway, on the left wall from the doors.
It looked outside, so the room had a lot of natural light during the day.
In the room like this, at the end of the hallway, a girl under the white covers on the bed was slowly opening her shining amber eyes. As soon as the brightness from the light bulb on the ceiling met the glassy pupils, a girl to whom these eyes filled with distant sunshine belonged, started blinking rapidly.
Losing focus here and there she managed to pick up flashes of the room. Two windows; the first one next to the light grey doors was looking into white wall of what seemed like a hallway. And the other one on the right wall from where she was lying, was meeting the night sky. Although she caught sight just a little, she could tell the sky was full of stars tonight. There was also a black clock on the white wall in front of her, above the doors, marking the time 11:23:10...11...12...13… She was staring at the moving golden clock handle and counting seconds along with it.
What day was it? She assumed where she was, but not the reason for it. And so as it was, she thought of the question most important at the moment, why was she there?
She tilted her head onto the right side, and saw a girl with red hair, half asleep in the chair that didn’t look very comfortable. Immediately recognizing her, a girl with amber eyes and shining indigo hair tried to call for her friend, but the words… didn’t seem to go out and cut the silence.
Her throat and lips were dry. She subtly licked her lips and took a shaky breath in. She didn’t forget how to talk, she just couldn’t do it at first because…
‘It will be better this time’, she thought as she closed her eyes to concentrate on what she wanted to say.
“La...” she started through the whisper, the sound barely leaving the lips, when she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. Well… as scary as that was, it partly answered why she was there, but she didn’t want to, or didn’t dare to look further at it alone and find out why the pain was there. Not before she managed to say a few words, perhaps get an explanation, or at least not be the only one awake.
She licked her lips again and took her efforts in saying: “Lauren”, there, she did it, hardly above the whisper, but she did it.
She smiled, lightly, proud of her accomplishment, when she realized how disturbing that was. Being proud of saying one word...
“Lauren”, she repeated the call in the same tone as the one before, but the girl next to her bed didn’t even flinch.
Luckily, she was close enough to be able to touch her. Only, she’ll have to work on it... Slowly moving her right hand from under the covers she felt almost sickening pain. Talking was already hard enough, but this now… Seemed ‘harder than meeting essay deadlines in high school’ she thought. With the grimace that was revealing she’s been feeling deep ache. “Dammit”, she whispered under the breath.
Managing to put her hand onto the girl’s knee and slightly shake it she called her again: “Lauren!” - repeating the same word, same name, but louder than last time.
Thankfully her effort paid off and the redhead girl flinched, opening her eyes widely after a few seconds. The moment she realized what happened she happily exclaimed “Kym! You’re awake!” and a smile formed on her lips while she took hand off her knee and gently squeezed it while putting it on bed. Genuine, happy and thankful smile, for her best friend awoke.
“How are you feeling?” - she asked after a few moments of pure happiness.
“Good? I guess… I don’t know, my stomach’s been hurting a little but that’s all I suppose.”
“No wonder”, Lauren nodded, “doctors said it will take time to heal.”
To heal? What exactly happened that needed to be healed? Her mind was a blank page, she didn’t have the slightest idea what could’ve happened. She narrowed her eyebrows in confusion and parted her lips as if she wanted to ask something, but then Lauren said, not noticing Kym’s confused face expression: “Oh yes, and Will is here too, he just went to bring me some coffee, meaning he’ll be back any moment.”
Kym was completely puzzled, and before even managing to ask ‘Who?’, she heard doors open. Turning her head towards the sound she saw a young man, probably not much older than her, entering the room.
In one hand he was carrying a cup on which he focused his gaze to not spill the content, and with the left hand he closed the doors behind him.
“Will!” - Lauren happily called, standing up from her chair. He looked up questioningly, when his eyes reflexively went to the bed on the right side of the room as he noticed with the corner of his eye, something was different.
And indeed it was, two eyes filled with sunshine were looking back at him. He instantly smiled “Ladell, you’re awake”, he started as he approached closer, “how are you feeling?”
But she looked through him. Analyzing her face as her eyebrows were still narrowed and the way she looked at him suspensefully he asked: “Are you okay?” - and turned to Lauren when Kym didn’t answer: “Did you call the doctor?”
She gave him a look back: “No, she just opened her eyes a few moments ago, didn’t really have time to. You sit, I’ll go get the doctor.” - she said while she passed between the bed and Will and he nodded understandingly.
“Excuse me but who are you?” - a confused voice next to them cut the short silence around them, but the words sent instant chills down the spines. Luren immediately stopped walking and stood there facing the doors. The room was in complete silence for seconds that seemed to be passing as hours. They turned abruptly towards Kym. “What… do you mean?” - Lauren asked.
“What’s there ‘to mean’? I asked who the butter boy was?” - Kym answered not confused anymore, but with mixed feelings she herself didn’t understand. “I mean, I wanted to ask you a few moments ago, but didn’t get the chance, as you know…” - she pointed with her eyes at Willam who was standing frozen in place, as a statue.
“Kym”, Lauren let out a breath she didn’t know she held and continued with relief “it’s not time for jokes. We gotta call the doctor, I’ll be right back.” - she finished and almost touched the door handle, Kym’s voice broke through again.
“What jokes? I didn’t get to say one though”, she pursed her lips acting insulted. But they didn’t smile, didn’t say anything, as the panic climbed up through their bodies. Lauren slowly turned around and made her way towards the chair, every step heavier than the one before. She sat down, moving the chair closer to the bed, and looked at the edge of the bed.
William kept on standing, he didn’t move one time since he met that empty look on Kym’s face when she saw him.
In his eyes you could see a never ending storm of fear and anxiety creeping up. He couldn’t go through it again, not again. He wasn’t that strong, to look at someone whom he cared for forgetting him, mixing him up with other people, again.
Even though earlier, he would never confess it, but, he cared for her. More than she knew, more than anyone knew...
Yes, she was getting on his nerves, most of the time she seemed irresponsible, even though he knew she wasn’t… yes she had awful jokes, and many more, but… somehow, when she was there, the world seemed lighter. She was his friend, someone who understood him, someone who tried to make him feel better each time he was down.
There was a faint whistling sound in his ears, in his head, so he grabbed an armchair and leaned onto it to keep balance he almost lost. And looked down at the floor hearing Lauren's voice.
“Kym, I will ask you something and you have to be completely honest with me”, she said and looked at Kym, straight in the eyes. A girl in the bed didn’t do anything but looked at her and simply nodded in agreement, not saying anything.
“You really,” Lauren started shakily, “you really don’t recognize him?” - she asked words that felt heavy both on the heart and lips.
“Recognize?” - Kym pointed out, confused. “I never saw him in my life!” She answered loudly as she felt less sleepy and tired than earlier.
The moment she answered the question, she saw their faces sink down. Lauren was now looking at the grey floor, and not raising her head she quietly said: “Will, she’s telling the truth.”