Triple Point

Chapter 88: Cold Shoulder

Elsie

Elsie wasn't sure what was worse: being held against her will fifty stories above the streets of Los Angeles, or waiting for fugitive metas to finish performing brain surgery on Camilla in a secret mountain lair. At least with the former, only she would have to suffer, and if facing her fear of heights would ensure Camilla's survival, Elsie wouldn't hesitate to stand on that ledge herself.

Unfortunately, there was no correlation between the two events, and Elsie was forced to wait in the cold, dull hallway outside the operating room.

"Huh?" a groggy voice said beside her. "What's going on?"

First, Elsie felt Finn's weight against her shoulder disappear, and she glanced down to see him wiping his mouth with his sleeve as he looked around with half-closed eyes. Second, Elsie realized her leg was bouncing incessantly; she planted her foot firmly on the ground, forcing herself to still.

"Nothing, kid," Nakia said from Finn's other side. Their tone was relaxed but their expression was grim as they glanced at Elsie, then Finn. "Go back to sleep."

Instead, Finn looked at the closed operating room doors. "They're still in there?"

Nakia scoffed. "I'd be more concerned if they were done so quickly. It's brain surgery; it's not like they can just pull that thing out like a splinter and slap a bandage on it."

"But they got practice with AJ already, right?"

"How many times did you practice asking that sixth year out? Remember, we were all stuck in the same tent, so you can't pretend that didn't happen." When Finn could only respond with flushed cheeks, Nakia continued. "And how long after that did it take you to finally ask her out?"

"Alright, alright! You've made your point!" Finn pouted as he slouched in his seat, his gaze turning back to the closed doors. "I just want her to be, you know... back to her old self again."

With that, Nakia's eyes widened, and they wordlessly glanced at Elsie.

But Elsie couldn't provide any words of comfort, not when she wasn't sure if Camilla could ever fully heal after what she had gone through. Knowing that didn't make it any easier to watch Camilla struggle with demons that no one else could see, and Elsie was powerless to do anything except pick up the pieces of Camilla's fractured spirits.

Ever since Camilla's talk with AJ, she became more reserved and withdrawn than ever, occasionally going days without saying a single word. Even when someone spoke to her directly, it would usually take her several seconds to even realize she was being addressed, and she wouldn't have any words for them afterwards. The only time Elsie heard her speak was when they were alone in their bed, and even then Camilla would only mutter a quiet "sorry" or "thank you."

It took until the middle of July for Camilla to say more than a few words at a time, and that was only because she had been eager to finally remove whatever device Hester jammed into her head. Elsie had been more worried than excited, but she didn't want to damper Camilla's hope. Mack and Hitomi at least assured Elsie they would be standing by to heal her in case of an emergency.

But now they were all inside the operating room, leaving Elsie stuck outside with the kids and no information at all.

She knew she should be trying to comfort them; they were too young for such a horrifying experience, and Elsie was part of the reason they were there in the first place. But at the thought of Camilla having her head pried open a few feet away, Elsie couldn't bring herself to do anything besides worry.

For the next hour, they waited in relative silence, occasionally interspersed with a cough from Nakia and a sniff from Finn.

When the door slowly opened, Nakia and Finn jumped to their feet; Elsie stayed seated, too scared of the worst case scenario.