Fighting Society

you've got kiddo, who's got you?

Everybody had prepared them for the hospital stay they'd face. It was one of the first things the doctor had said when he re-entered the room, having given Leah time to just sit by her baby sister. His words were clear, 

"She'll be here for a while. It'll be a slow process. We just need to ensure that there's not injuries beyond the eye."

And so, with those words, Leah sat back, and made herself comfortable. If Jess was going to fight a long battle, then she'd be damn sure to be by her side for every second of it.

~

day one 

The chair that Leah had situated herself in was uncomfortable, to say the least. It dug into her lower back slightly, though that could've been the way she was sitting, and didn't exactly have any cushion support. Nonetheless, she remained in it throughout the whole night, staring at the white wall in front of her until the sun rose, its rays breaking through the pathetic hospital blinds. 

She hadn't moved an inch, still in her kit from the game she had played the day before, Jess' hand still rested in hers. The two sisters were firm where they were, Jess still with her eyes peacefully shut, and Leah's wide open. Her eyes were drilled forward, with no intentions of moving. 

There was nothing to break her out of her slightly dissociative stance. Throughout the day, people in white coats were making their way in and out the room, checking wires, taking blood, or even just observing Jess, without Leah flinching once. It was like there was no one, or nothing else in the world. Even the rising smell from her kit, having played 90 minutes the day before, didn't move her, or the building cramps in her calves and lower back, having not gotten in the ice baths.

Her phone was vibrating on the table on the side, a notification every now and then from the outside world that Leah had tuned out. All that she had awareness to, was the beeping noises from the machines, hooked up to her younger sister. Footsteps came and went, words were spoken, and then silenced, the only constant being the beeping machines that Leah could tune into, unaware, as the sunset once more.

day two

The deepened bags underneath Leah's eyes were prominent when the first three visitors came in. It was as if they were permanently drew in with a marker that couldn't be removed, no matter how much you wipe at it. After that, it was her clothing, the kit from the match they had played a few days ago still being worn, almost stuck to her.

Beth, Viv and Lia all exchanged a glance as they made their way through the door frame, into the hospital room which situated both Williamson sisters. Their first look was towards their little buddy, laying horizontally on the bed, her eyes shut, their heart strings being pulled at the sight. It was, however, the sight beside her, that broke their hearts.

Leah hadn't even glanced up at their entrance, her eyes still glued on Jess, her hand still firmly in hers. It wasn't as if she were ignoring them; she genuinely hadn't even noticed their presence. 

Beth moved to place the bag she had brought with her down by the side of the door, before going to the other side of the hospital bed where Leah wasn't sat, and taking Jess' hand. The three of them had stayed in the hospital all night, and some of the morning since Jess had been taken in, and decided to drop by the eerily quiet Williamson household to grab some stuff for the girls. The doctors had been keeping them informed, given Leah's dissociative trance, deciding to grab some stuff to help the room that'd become their living space for a few weeks, more like home.

They had grabbed sensible things, that they knew they'd need, like clothing, and washbags, specifically for Leah, knowing she wouldn't be leaving anytime soon, as well as some vital things for Jess when she was awake, like Lego, and the Harry Potter films. It was also decided on some fun things, like her teddy bear, and board games and decorations, to add something to the scarily white walls.