Tuesday, September 11th, 2001

09

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I stayed in that spot where I had crumbled when I heard her voice for nearly half an hour before Micheal came and got me up and into the lobby. He saw the dried tears on my face and a look of concern grew into existence within his eyes.

"What happened?" he asked.

"She called me," I choked out. He furrowed his brows, looking down in confusion.

"Who?" he asks. "Robin," My voice croaked out as tears filled my eyes again. His eyes widened.

"Wait, what do you mean?!" he exclaimed. "She called me, from the plane I think," I answered, my voice cracking all over the place.

I then notice the doctors and nurses rushing around, in a panic. "What's going on?" I question him, nodding towards the secluded chaos. He glances that direction with a pitiful look on his face. "A lot of the people that were in the dust weren't as lucky as us, and most of them are starting to go into a lot of different problems because of the damage, they're trying to get everything in order and help everyone that they can, but they're losing so many so fast," he looks down, his voice somber, his eyes sad. He shakes his head with pity and sighs sadly.

"I don't think that there's much can be done," he says, swallowing tickly enough or me to see his Adam's apple bob in his throat, his eyes full of tears of sorrow. A small flame of anger dances behind them, likely at whoever caused this to happen to so many people. And the pain that all these families will have to go through, the countless kids that will have to grow up without parents, siblings without their sibling, parents without children, grandparents without grandchildren. The thoughts cause tears to spring to my eyes as well.

The mist clouds them like an ocean coast early in the morning, the thought of so many people without their other halves, in whatever form that may be, someone who holds a piece o their heart, gone forever. And countless people will have to go through that within the next few days, weeks, months, and years. This day will go down in American history as one of the saddest, I guarantee it.

Micheal reaches his hand up to his face, rubbing it over his eye and down his cheek, before pulling to rest under his mouth, the tears staying constant, though never falling once. I hear footsteps to out left, and we both glance, seeing Maria holding three more cups of coffee, and a tray of food, knowing we all can't stomach much at the moment, but it is reaching nearly 7 PM, and we all need some type of nutrition in our bodies, there isn't any sense in passing out after everything we've come out of unscathed today.

That thought brings more tears to my eyes, as I think about how so many people didn't get out unscathed like we did, so many suffered, so many didn't ever get a chance to understand what was going on.

I blink them back with a sniffle as she sets the tray with food and coffee on it down on a coffee table that's in the waiting room of this hospital. She notices the tears in both mine and Micheal's eyes and wraps her arms around each of our shoulders, puling all three of us in for a comforting hug. We each wrap one arm around her, and the other around each other chuckling wetly.

"I never thought I'd see the day where Micheal Evanston publicly and freely displays his emotions, and yet here we are," a familiar voice quips from the direction of the entrance to the waiting room. All of our heads snap to see the familiar face stood there.

She was clad in black dress pants, a white button-up, a long, black, open trench-coat, some black women's dress shoes, her pin-straight black hair slicked back into a military-style bun, her makeup very minimal and simple, two figures stood behind her. She had a small and almost fake smile on her face, one that didn't reach her eyes.

I stood with shock in my eyes, shining behind the tears, before rushing over to her and tightly wrapping my arms around her waist, clutching her to me as sobs ripped through my body, my head on her shoulder. Her hand rested in my hair, her other arm around me, holding me to her and rubbing up and down my back comfortingly. I could feel her tears streaming, though she was more composed than I was as she nuzzled into my neck. I glanced over her shoulder, seeing Austin and Sara stood there.