Cheer Me On (Under Construction)

6

"How does it feel to be going home?" Emma questioned as she pushed the wheelchair-stricken Skaii into the opened elevator in front of them. 

Skaii was discharged from the hospital today and she almost cried at the miniscule freedom; the was days prior were agonizing. Not only could she not use her phone but she couldn't leave her room because if Emma wasn't there to accompany, who else would take her? The Asian doctor only came to check on her vitals silently, the nurse spent most of the time with her adding IV fluid to her tube and change her bandages and prepare her for an x-ray where she only saw strange faces. 

This had Deane Shaw written all over it, but who was she to question his reasons for leaving her be?

Emma pulled Skaii's packed suitcase behind her as she joined Skaii in the spacious elevator and leaned her body against the iron wall and then blew out a sharp breath. She waited for Skaii to reply to her question, but the only noise between them was the elevator counting down as it went past each floor. She glanced down at her and realized that she was just staring blankly ahead.

"Skaii," she called again. Skaii sniffed and wiped her hand across her cheeks, her hands coming away wet. It was then that Emma realize the tears trickling down Skaii's face. "Skaii are you crying? Are you okay?"

Skaii's abruptly spun herself around to look at Emma. Her eyes were blood red, it was evident that she was far from being okay. "Does it look like I'm okay, my neck and my arm is broken Emma." She hissed.

Emma shook her head quickly. "I know that you won't be able to cheer for a while. And you're so used to being head cheerleader that you will not be able to stand watching someone else running your squad, but you have to try Skaii. You're hurt." Emma explained while she slowly reached out to rub Skaii's shoulder.

"Cheer," Skaii scoffed at her. If only she knew that her squad was the last thing on her mind right now. Emma rose an eyebrow at the one little word. Confusion was etched on her face and Skaii suddenly felt the urge to apologize to her. But she bit on her bottom lip and said nothing further. She turned back around to face the elevator door. The atmosphere thickened with tension, more than before. Skaii could still feel Emma's eyes on her.

"I didn't mean to hurt you by saying that." Emma said after a while. She felt as if she wronged Skaii in some way by the words she uttered.

"You didn't." Skaii replied dryly. Emma nodded, even though she knew that Skaii couldn't see her.

She opted to stay quiet but her eyes caught Skaii's pale neck and they slightly widened. An image flashed through her mind.

Emma cleared her throat and spoke up. "Skaii, can I ask you something?"

She was met with silence so she took the liberty to speak. "The night I found you at the bottom of the stand, I thought you were dead, so I searched for a pulse. When I looked at your neck, it was bruised badly, those bruises looked a lot like handprints." Silence. "Did- did someone hurt you?" Emma's voice shook as she added the last part.

Skaii's body stiffened and her heart started beating a little faster. With trembling fingers, she scratched her forehead, trying to rid herself of the full emotional turmoil that had developed.

"Skaii, if I'm right-" Emma sounded doubtful but stern. She was worried.

"Emma," Skaii gritted out "stop talking."

"No!" Emma's voice rose to an almost muffled shriek. "Who did that to you? If I'm right, you need to do something. That is abuse and you should not be covering it up. Matthew said-"

"Emma!" Skaii screamed out in anger at the mention of her step brother's name. "I'm not covering up anything. Just mind your damn business. Visiting me in the hospital everyday doesn't suddenly make you my friend, not even an acquaintance. You're still just a girl with some big fantasy of us painting each other's nails someday. Leave me alone and back the hell off."