As the night went by and the sun started to reappear, Cheryl and Charlie left to find somewhere to stay in. Though Maks had tried to convince them to stay in his place, they refused, not wanting to put any extra weight on him. Hours passed and it was slowly reaching noon which only meant one thing, he would eventually have to leave her for his own needs. As much as he didn't want to, there was no point of him staying, especially since she barely noticed his presence.
Waking up, she shook her head, coming back to reality. Sometimes, she'd wish she could sleep forever, for whatever played in her mind would be much better than facing the real world, and if it wasn't, it was never real in the first place. Still, people are people, they sleep, wake up, eat, work and repeat . She was a person, a human-being, yet she felt as if she was a flower that people only noticed after it had bloomed, and now the petals are slowly decaying.
A few hours later, the door knocked ever so silently.
"I wasn't sure whether you were sleeping." Maks says, looking as tired as he could be. Knowing he wasn't going to receive a response, he continued "I got your things from the rink..." She glanced up at her bag for a second, then going back to fidgeting with her nails once more.
Though it wasn't long, he managed to use every moment he had in the room to carefully scan over her and memorise her everlasting beauty laying helplessly on the bed.
He walked to place her belongings on the nightstand beside her before leaving the room.
He hoped that time would change her thoughts. He hoped that they still had a chance, however; hope can make people do terrible things
The following day, Val went to the hospital to check on both her and his brother.
"Those for me?" Maks joked as Val was about to enter Meryl's room
"Seriously? You need some sleep, not flowers" Val looks at his brother up and down
He felt awful. He knew his brother well enough to know that, once Maks becomes attached too someone, he never lets them go easily. Now, seeing Meryl injured like this, he knew how Maks is blaming himself with every passing second for something out of his control.
"I know, I just... I can't bare to leave her."
"You're not in there with her either"
"It's complicated."
"You haven't told her yet, have you?"
Maks shook his head "It's not that simple."
As soon as he walked in the room, Meryl put her best effort into sitting up on the bed.
"Look at you, all battered and bruised" Val says, walking over to her, one hand carrying the bouquet
"Not as bad as it looks." Meryl smiles; for the first time in a long while
"Nothing can be dreadful enough for the magnificent Meryl Davis. How are you?" He hands her the flower and gives her a hug
"I'd be lying if I said I'm great"
"You know, it's a shame you're not able to skate. I was planning to make you teach me. I'd be great at those jumping and twirling things." Val mocks her
"There's always another time... Funny, I thought you were terrified of the ice just like..."
"Like Maks? He's traumatized. I can cope..." Meryl smiled slightly before letting the silence take over the room.
"He's worried about you, you know?" Val mentions as Meryl tries her best to not look at him
"He had a long time to worry about me, and he didn't. Why bother now?" She shrugged her shoulders
He sighs, "I can't and I won't speak for my brother, however, I am certain that whatever his excuse was, it must be a legitimate one. He would never just throw you away like that. He loves you so much more than I can ever explain. Trust me."
He wants her to trust
She wants to trust
But she gets scared; scared of the outcome of trusting others
Val knew exactly what Maks' reason were. Yet, as much as he would love to fill her in, he understood why Maks hadn't told her and exposed her to the whole situation. They were both doing their best to protect her, nevertheless, it was obvious how difficult it was to understand their doings from Meryl's perspective
"You're always with him. Tell me something? Anything? Please"
"Sorry Meryl, but I think it's best if you hear it from him. Anyway... I need to check on the studio, a few of the instructors called in absent today. I'll see you soon. Can't wait for you to get back on your feet" He kisses her on the cheeks before leaving
As the hours slowly passed, Meryl's mind continued to recall what Val had said earlier; "whatever his excuse was, it must be a legitimate one".
Maybe Val was right. To be able to understand the whole story, she needed to listen to his side, and maybe stop focusing on just hers.
'Am I being selfish?' she asks herself
YOU ARE READING
Tattooed Hearts
Fanfiction"I'm jealous of your tattoos and how long they will stay with you after I go" - Clementine Von Radics
