The room fell silent. Dante gripped the arm of the couch behind him to steady himself.
"Is it... it's mine, isn't it?" Dante asked, bracing himself for the answer he wasn't ready to hear.
Gloria stepped back and widened her eyes with surprise. "What? No, of course not! Where'd you get that idea from?"
"Well excuse me for thinking I'm the father of the unborn child of the girl I'm sleeping with!" Dante countered, waving his hands in the air with disbelief.
Gloria sighed, "No, you're fine. The last time we got together was after I found out I was pregnant. I was kind of freaking out. Still am." Gloria laughed a breathy laugh and tucked a loose curl behind her ear. "I came over today because my boyfriend cleared out of his house today. Asked his friends where he was and apparently he skipped town and isn't planning to come back anytime soon, say... the next eighteen years?"
"Shit, what an asshole," Dante sighed. "Wait, are you telling me he's the one who gave you those bruises?" Behind him, Alex grimaced and dug his fingers into the leather cushion.
Gloria cheeks flushed deep red. She clenched her teeth and laughed bitterly, "Yup, I really do know how to pick 'em."
Dante extended his arm to touch Gloria's shoulder in comfort. Gloria flinched from the unfamiliar warm gesture. "You should have told me," he said.
Gloria smiled sadly, "This isn't how this works, remember?" Dante cringed at her quoting him, feeling disgusted he'd allowed himself to become so distant from someone who at one point meant the world to him.
"Gloria, I am so sorry," Dante said, knowing his apology was nowhere near enough.
"It wasn't your fault," Gloria reassured him, "It's just my cross to bear."
Freddie peaked into Dante's room through the open door. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I think she's waking up," he said, pointing with his thumb to Naya, who's eyelids were beginning to flutter open.
Dante rushed to be by her side, but Gloria pushed him back. She lowered her voice and said, "If she really tried to do what you guys told me she did, the last thing she needs is to be bombarded with questions, especially the ones you want answered. I'll go in first to give her time to adjust and calm down, and you should probably do the same. I'll send you in when she's ready."
Dante ignored her and moved to the open door, but Gloria held her ground. Dante unwillingly flopped back on the couch next to Alex.
Gloria gently closed the door behind her. She reached to flip the light on, but thought better of it, and instead turned on a table lamp on the opposite end of the room. Naya flinched at the sudden glare of the light on her eyes, but it was more bearable than the harsh fluorescent lights.
Gloria took a seat at the end of Dante's bed and hugged one of her knees to her chest. "Welcome back," she said, careful to use her calming smile and not her normal domineering one.
Naya looked around the room and down at herself, realizing she was not in the same clothes she left the house in. Naya jumped up and protectively covered her chest, "What... where am I? Who are you?" she demanded to know.
Gloria pushed her back down, "You probably shouldn't try getting up again. You're at Dante's place. I'm Gloria, his uh... family friend?" No need to get into details, Gloria decided. "I changed you because your other clothes were soaked. You mind if I check your temperature again? I've also got some pain meds if you need them."
Naya hesitantly nodded her head yes. Gloria placed the thermometer in Naya's mouth. "You're lucky Dante and the guys were there." The thermometer beeped twice, and Gloria took it out of Naya's mouth. "But I'm assuming you didn't want Dante jumping in after you," Gloria said as she checked the thermometer. "99.1- Not too bad."
"You don't know me," Naya whispered so quietly Gloria almost didn't hear her.
"Don't need to. But if you're anything like me, you're probably running from something." Gloria took Naya's shocked look as verification for her guess. "Well, from one runner to another, sometimes we spend so much time looking back and making sure we've run far enough away that we run right into the arms of something much worse. Take this." Gloria handed Naya two red and blue Tylenol pills and a glass of water.
Naya swallowed the pills and downed the water. She examined the bandages on her legs and arms from where random pieces of debris had scratched her underwater. Naya cringed at the memory. "You're kinda good at this. Are you a doctor?" she asked.
Gloria chuckled, "Nope, just your friendly neighborhood witness who didn't want to see three idiots attempt to figure out how to handle this situation. Besides, I don't have the kind of money or time to be a doctor. Just happened to pay attention during our highschool health course. In fact, I was one of the three kids who didn't run out of the classroom vomiting when the teacher pulled up a picture of a compound fracture. Actually thought it was kind of cool." Gloria smiled at the memory.
"What about nurse then? It's less school. About two years online," Naya suggested.
Gloria, paused, contemplating the idea. Gloria felt butterflies in her stomach as she imagined the possible future- pale blue scrubs, helping people who need it, and coming home with a decent paycheck at the end of the day as proof of her efforts. It could work if she tried. But what if it didn't...?
"Still gotta pay for admission. And the books. And those student loans don't look too fun," Gloria replied, glad she had a strong counter to the proposition.
"We could get you a scholarship. Or financial aid." Naya responded, finding herself invested in this stranger's future employment.
"We?" Gloria raised an eyebrow and leaned against her hands on the bed.
Naya's cheeks turned to a rosy tone. "Yeah, consider it payment for helping me out today. And being so nice to me even though..." she trailed off, "Also, I may have caught bits and pieces of your conversation outside, and this could really help in the long run."
Gloria looked at the young naive girl in front of her, who was willing to help out a stranger who had shown her five minutes of kindness. Gloria shuddered at the thought of what could make such a sweet girl take such a drastic step.
"I'll think about it," Gloria assured her. "But I think there's someone who wants to see you in the meantime."
Naya sat up in her seat and pulled the blanket up. "Yeah, let him in. Can't run forever, right?"
"Right," Gloria winked and raised her hand for a fist bump. She got up and opened the door to Dante who was standing sheepishly at the door.
"Hey Naya."