Tongue Tied *UNDERGOING EDITING*

17. The Waiting Room

Luke's POV

Ariel needs me. Well, maybe not me specifically, but she needs someone. She just watched her friend have a horrible seizure right in front of her.

I walk up behind Ariel, doing my best not to scare her, and wrap my arms around her small and fragile body. She's shaking. Is that because she's cold? No, its her sobs.  I attempt to whisper calming words to her in order to calm her down and get her to stop crying before she starts hyperventilating. I'm sure that means nothing, though.

After a while, it begins to rain, even though it was cloudless 20 minutes ago. But Ariel doesn't move. Her sobs have calmed down a little, but we're getting soaked. "Do you want to go the hospital?" I ask her quietly. Its dark now, and stars sprinkle the sky. She only nods.

I walk her to the car and open her door for her. She's stopped crying now, but she's frozen with shock. I climb into the drivers side and pull out of her driveway slowly. The drive to the hospital, which is normally short, takes extremely long. I don't know what's worse: Ariel's chilling silence or the fact that after a few minutes, the only sound in the car is her sniffling. She's crying again.

I can tell she's trying to hide it though. She probably doesn't want to cry in front of me. But I wouldn't care if she was snotting all over my car; seeing her cry doesn't make me think less of her. It makes me want to take the pain away from her. I see her as a brave yet scared 17 year old girl who just helped her best friend through something terrifying. She kept herself together for the most part through out the whole thing.

"We're here." I announce to Ariel blankly. She gets out of the car on her own and walks straight through the main entrance of the hospital. When she asks the person behind the nurses station where 'Zoey Chambers' is being taken care of, she sounds...calm? But kind of monotone as well. I wonder how she's feeling right now. She's masking it pretty well. She doesn't sound scared, but by her quick movements and jumpy state, I can tell she is.

"Has anyone called her parents yet?" I hear Ariel add, obviously annoying the nurse. I thought they were supposed to be helpful and nice, but this one's just plain rude. Maybe she's annoyed or tired or something. I don't know and personally I don't care right now. I would rather make sure Ariel is alright than continue to analyze the nurse.

"I don't know." the nurse replies and then turns back to the paperwork she's filling out. Ariel is obviously annoyed as well with the nurses impolite behavior. She storms off towards the elevators, me trailing closely behind her. We don't speak as the elevator slowly takes us up to the fourth floor.

I stare at the mirror-doors of the elevator and focus on how much they distort the human body. I look at Ariel through them, but can barely see her face. So instead, I glance over at her, not worrying if she looks back at me. Which she doesn't. Does she even know I'm looking at her? I'm probably not one of her major priorities right now, considering the circumstances.

"Thank God she was at the house." a small and quiet voice says. "Huh?" I ask. She doesn't look at me, just continues to stare ahead of her and focus on the elevator buttons. "Thank God she was at my house and not alone. She could have been lying there, helpless and alone, and no one would have known until her mom got home from work." Ariel says. I can't read her tone of voice, whether she sounds relieved or worried.

"What if she never gets better?" she asks after a moment of silence, looking over at me. The bell of the elevator dings, forcing the both of us to get out, leaving Ariel's question hanging in the quiet air and me wondering what the answer could possibly be.

Ariel's POV

"What if she never gets better?" I ask. The silence was getting too much for me to handle. I wish Luke would just say something. Something to keep me from crying or falling asleep while standing up. For some reason, I feel worn out like I just ran five miles.