An Unexpected Twist

The Accident

Maka walks up to her house, thinking about her conversation with Soul. He had caught her at the worst possible time. She had just gotten a text from her father and she hadn't had enough time to mask her emotions. She hated how nervous she had been when Soul stopped her. Maka was dead sure he had picked up on that and would ask her about it when they next talked to each other. And she didn't know what she would tell him.

Maka pulled her keys out of her bag and unlocked the front door. She stepped in, fear starting to replace her anger as she thought about that text message. She kicks her shoes off and closes the door behind her, waiting for her father to pounce on her. Instead he's sitting on the couch, waiting for her. He looks up as she walks in, his face pale. Maka sets her school bag and keys down.

"What happened Papa? What happened to Mom?"

Her father sighs and his hands shake a bit.

"She got into a car accident..."

"What! Is she ok?!"

Her father doesn't respond and Maka's face pales.

"Papa?"

Tears stream down her father's cheeks as he gets up and hugs Maka.

"Th-they said there's a 2% chance that she'll survive."

As soon as she hears those words, Maka feels like her world collapsed. Her knees weaken and she would of fallen to the floor if her father's arms hadn't of been around her. Her mom was in an accident? She only had a 2% chance to live? This couldn't be happening. Not now. Not ever. Maka loved her mother dearly. She didn't know what she would do if her mother died. Maka can feel the tears pouring down her cheeks. She slowly stands, pulling away from her father. She wills herself to stop crying, wiping the drying trails of water from her face.

"Can we go see her?"

Her father just nods and grabs his keys. They get into the car and head towards the hospital. Maka stares out the window as they drive, her mind seizing on every small detail; she desperately tries to not think about her mother and doing nothing but that.

They pull into the parking lot and Maka practically bolts out of the car, not bothering to wait for her father. She asks the lady at the front desk for her mother's room. The lady gives her a sympathetic look.

"Mrs. Albarn is still in the IC unit. You'll have to wait until she's in a more stable condition to see her."

A numb feeling fills Maka as she slowly nods. She sits in the empty sitting room, her father joining her. They sit there for hours, both lost in their own thoughts.

•••••••

Soul sits up in bed, giving an aggravated sigh. He looks at the small red numbers on his alarm and groans. 12:34. He lays back down with a thud and turns. He hadn't been able to sleep all night because his mind wouldn't shut up. He'd been thinking about the weird glimpses of something that he's been catching in Maka's eyes. He groans again and covers his face with a pillow. Why couldn't he stop thinking of Maka? It's not like she had any memorable traits. Average height, and rather flat chested. The only thing that stood out about her were her grades. A nerd. Definitely not the type of girl that Soul normally thought about. It's like she cast a spell on him or something.

Soul tries to get to sleep, but it's no use. He sits up and sighs. Something in the back of his mind kept nagging him, telling him that something was wrong with Maka. He rubs his temples, the beginnings of a headache showing. He gives up on sleep and turns the tv on. The news flickers on as the tv comes to life. Soul starts to change the channel, when something catches his attention. He turns the volume up and listens to the reporter. Kami Albarn had been in a serious accident, police believe it to be a hit and run, and is now in intensive care. Albarn. Wasn't that Maka's last name? Soul mutes the tv, the gears turning in his head. That must've been why she had been so nervous when he caught her after school. He turns the sound back on as the reporter gives the name of the hospital. He jots it down and turns the tv off, slipping on his clothes as he leaves the house. He pulls the keys to his motorcycle out of his pocket and hops on, the bike roaring to life.

•••••••

Maka curls up in the chair she's sitting in, hugging her knees. Her father had disappeared some time ago, saying something about getting something to eat. She stares at the door to the intensive care unit, willing them to open and reveal her mother. She knew it was hopeless, but that didn't stop her from trying.

•••••••

Soul walks into the hospital, spotting Maka almost instantly. He walks over to her, the way she was staring scaring him.

"Maka?"

She looks up at him, her eyes and expression glassy. He hated how the life had been sucked out of her eyes, leaving these dead ones behind.

"Are you ok?"

Maka just shakes her head, going back to staring at the doors. Soul sits next to her.

"I heard about your mom..."

Maka doesn't respond for a long time. Soul had decided that she wasn't going to speak, so when she did, it startled him.

"I can't stop wondering what I'm gunna do if she dies. What...?"

Soul slips his jacket off and puts it around her. The bulky material almost seems to swallow Maka's thin frame whole.

"Your mom's gunna be fine. The doctors know what they're doing."

Tears slip down Maka's cheek.

"The longer she's in there, the less likely she'll come through. And she's already been in there for hours."

Soul rests a comforting hand on her back. His mind races to come up with a good response, but he's got nothing. He settles for wiping Maka's tears away.

"All you can do is hope that she'll make it though. She's a fighter after all, just like her daughter is."

Soul had no idea where the words came from or why he even said them. But they seem to have done the trick. Maka nods and she pulls Soul's jacket around her. Her eyes slowly close and she leans on Soul, her head resting on his shoulder. She falls asleep and Soul looks over at her surprised. He sits back, careful not to jostle Maka to much. The receptionist looks at them, a smile on her lips. Soul just sighs and sits there all night, Maka sleeping on his shoulder.