Six of Crows AU

Chapter Sixteen: Nina

(The hospital, it's been fifteen minutes)

Nina's phone rang and she looked down, it was her mom. She stood and walked outside, answering.

"Mom?"

"Nina, oh thank goodness, baby, are you okay? Were you hurt? I'm on the way, I'll be there in two hours." Nina smiled to herself, she didn't know where she would be without her mother and her care.

"I'm fine, but Inej... I can't say the same for her. And Matthias-" Nina coughed as tears welled up in her eyes.

"I know. I know, it's okay, you don't have to talk about it. I saw on the news. Why didn't you call me?"

"I know you've been busy. I didn't think-"

"That your mother needed to know that you saved your friend's life and that your boyfriend was shot? You didn't think I'd be worried? Nina, I think I almost died," her mother exclaimed, and Nina looked at her feet, even though her mother wasn't even there. She looked out over the parking lot, and up at the moon. How could it be so cheery, when her friends were so hurt, when her world was thrown askew by Life's twisted hand. A car pulled into the parking lot, and she hurried away to the corner of the hospital in the shadows so they didn't hear her conversation.

"I'm sorry mom. I- it was a lot. Matthias might die. I don't know what I'd do-" Nina broke off, her voice cracking on the last word.

"Shh, honey, have you called your father?"

"No."

"Well, do that, I'll see you soon. Don't do anything stupid." Then her mom hung up.  Nina looked down at her phone, she didn't want to call her father.  Nina leaned back against the side of the building, closing her eyes.  A cold wind whipped through the lot and chilled Nina.  She slid down the wall, and pulled her knees to her chest, sitting on the ground.  Why was this her life?  A week ago she'd been upset about her classes, now she was worried her friends were going to die.  Life was a cruel, twisted thing.  She heard Kaz's cane tapping on the ground and she remembered what she'd done.

Nina looked at he boy.  She was his age, they went to the same school, he couldn't control who-what- his father was. 

"Please," he begged.  But then she thought of Inej.  Suffering because of people like his father.  So she looked around his room and saw rope.

"Remember what happened to your sister?  Well, let's see if the same thing happens to you..."  She tied a loop and held it in one hand.  She noticed a hook on the ceiling, and the lunching bag in the corner, that was probably what it was for.  Today it would serve a new purpose.  She tied a smaller knot and threw it up into the air.  It caught the first time.  She led him to the center of the room and put the larger knot around his neck.

"No!  No, don't kill me!" he shouted.

"When the rope gets a little too tight," she finished, yanking on the access rope and pulling him it o the air.  His neck cracked, but he was still alive, she made sure of it.  He struggled in the air but she walked out, slamming the door closed.

Nina picked her head up from where she had rested it on her knees and looked up at Kaz. 

"He's asking for you."  That was all he said, but Nina heard the underlying words.  Matthias wasn't going to make it out of this hospital alive.  The next time he left he would be dead, and so would Nina's soul.  She stood, and Kaz led her back into the hospital.  A nurse waited for them, her strawberry blonde hair tied back, her hazel eyes looking at Nina sadly.

"Follow me, Miss Zenik."  Nina followed the nurse, her heels tapping loudly on the pristine marble floors of the r about ten minutes of walking she came to his room.

"He's in a fragile state, please be careful. You have five minutes." She walked into the room, steeling herself for the sight she was going to see. But nothing could prepare her for the lurch her heart took when she saw Matthias lying in the hospital bed, a bloody bandage around his abdomen. His blonde hair ruffled, and his blue eyes glossing over.  He looked up at her and smiled.

"My little red bird, have you come to sing me a song to sleep?" he asked. Nina looked at his parents, who were crying, and back at Matthias.

"No.  I can't sing Matty," she smiled through her tears, exhaling pent up breath in a harsh burst.  He nodded and chuckled.

"That alone could kill me faster than this bullet."  Nina glared at him, but it was hard too.

"We'll leave you two," his father murmured, taking his wife out of the room and closing the door. Nina pulled a chair over and and took his hand in her own. It was already starting to go cold.

"Matthias-"

"Hush my little red bird, I want to tell you a story." He was looking out the window with tired eyes. So she sat quietly, ready for the story.

"One day, I moved to this place, and I had no one. Then I met you. And you were the fire to my ice, you lit me up, made me feel special. And so this red bird I'd found became my friend, then my confidant, then my girlfriend. I became part of a friend group. And everything that has happened has happened for a reason. I would not trade anything for the world Nina. So you must not regret anything. I never meant to leave you so early, but I must go. The storm is calmer now that I have seen you one last time," he finished, looking at her and smiling. Tears rolled down Nina's cheeks and she leaned down, kissing both his cheeks.

"Stay warm during the storm. I love you."

"I love you. And your love is all I need to keep myself warm." And then his eyes went glassy, and one last breath came out of his chest. Nina stayed in her position looking down at him. She still held his hand, but it was cold. Matthias' parents came into the room, and his mother gasped, turning to her husband for comfort. Nina leaned down and kissed his forehead for the last time before she rose, dropping his hand. She walked calmly out of the room, and back into the waiting room. Her friends waited for her, and she shook her head. Jesper was there in a moment as she cracked, tears streaming out of her eyes. He led her over to a chair and she sat down, and he sat beside her, holding her as she cried.

"He didn't deserve that," she sobbed, and Jesper smoother down her hair, whispering condolences in her ear. She didn't know how long she cried, but when her tears dried Jesper was still there, holding her. She pulled away, thanking him. She looked around at her friends and realized just how lucky they were. They had made it out.

Hello peeps! So I know, not very good, but don't worry, it's almost over, just a Jesper, Wylan, Kaz, and Inej chapter and it's all over! I hope you've liked it so far! Please pardon any mistakes, and don't forget to vote! Please comment, I want to know what you guys are thinking. And you can always start suggesting things for a new book once this is over. Please comment and thanks for reading!

-MOJ