Falling Slowly

Pt.1|Ch.13

"Explain to me what happened." Ben's knuckles were white on the steering wheel, as white as mine were on Sky's hand.

Sky shook his head, trying to retell the event. "She seemed fine at first, but then she got tired...she said she was tired, and that she might want to go home early. Then she started having trouble breathing, and her forehead was too hot, like—like she had a fever...I asked her if she wanted me to drive her home, she said yes, and then she just collapsed."

"And you called 9-1-1?" I asked.

He nodded. "They took her to the nearest emergency clinic."

I squeezed his hand. "Do you have any idea what's wrong with her?"

"I have no idea what's wrong with her."

"I'm sure she's gonna be fine, man." Ben said from the driver's seat, trying to be an optimist.

"You're sure, but do you know?" Sky asked in response, sending the car into silence.

It was an honest question—one that none of us could answer.

"Let's just focus on getting to her, okay?" My voice was soft. "And then, once we get there, we'll know what we need to know."

He nodded. "She's gonna be okay."

I nodded back, holding his hand even tighter if possible. "She's gonna be okay."

The rest of the drive was quiet, and the only sound that I focused on was the steady rhythm of my breathing.

Ben pulled into the parking lot, finding a space near the front entrance.

We walked through the automatic sliding doors, and made our way up to the front desk.

Ben and Sky gave the woman behind the computer all the information we had, and we were soon being led down a hallway towards the emergency clinic.

It was a smaller section of the hospital, the building itself being average-sized, so the walk there didn't last too long. We took a right turn, into a hallway lined with doors.

She led us down about halfway, until she stopped us outside one of the rooms.

"Three people allowed inside at the maximum." She said, opening the door.

"Thank you." I muttered to her as we filed inside. She gave me a smile and a nod.

I'm not sure what I expected to see, as long as she was still breathing, but what I did see was more than I had dared to hope for.

Her blue eyes alight, Aiden sat on the edge of the bed with a white blanket across her lap. The only indication that there was anything wrong with her was the IV in her arm.

I didn't stop myself from sighing in relief, earning a laugh from her.

"Did I scare you?" She asked sarcastically.

"Half to death, nearly." Sky mumbled, sliding his hands into his pockets and looking down at his feet.

Her laughter faded, and she opened her arms. "Come here,"

He didn't hesitate to sit down next to her, accepting her embrace and laying his head on her shoulder.

A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth as I watched them.

Aiden caught my eye and offered a small smile in return, hugging Sky closer to herself.

Light knocking then sounded on the door, turning our heads.

A man in a white lab coat stood in the doorway, holding a clipboard. I assumed he was a doctor.

"My name's Dr. Sanders." He introduced himself, confirming my assumption. "I have the results from your blood tests."