With blaring sirens roaring through the streets below, along with nosy neighbors forming an audience to the explosion of drama, things grew tense. EMT's had arrived and loaded Mya's dehydrated pale body onto their stretcher with an I.V drip. Claire, who had arrived during the beginning of the chaos, started hounding Vivian for answers.
"What happened V?! Why was she even here? What did you do? Huh? Seriously what did you do!" Claire's panic at the situation and her lack of context was shoving worst case scenarios into the front of her mind. She shouted these accusations at Vivian simply out of fear, unintentionally increasing the levels of duress among the two of them.
"Shut up! Don't yell at me! How the hell is any of this my fault huh? Like, you have no idea what I had to put up with! The kind of night I had thanks to that bitch! Why would you even think I would be to blame? You seriously think I'd go after someone? Don't you know me better?" Vivian took real offense hearing these things from Claire of all people.
"That isn't what…no I'm just saying… Looks V, I do! I really do but like… she's going to a hospital Vivian! A fucking hospital!? What could have happened here? Seriously, if you were with her then please just tell me! How did…" Claire had seriously stop and take a moment to breathe. She had never felt so much stress and emotion at one time before and it was really difficult to manage.
While finding her footing again and calming down her mind, she realized the spectacle that her and Vivian had created. The crowd of those watching and recording like this was some live action drama have Claire a sick feeling of distain. in such a serious situation people were treating it like free entertainment.
"I know where she's going Claire! I called them! Do you think I'm any less freaked out about all this shit?! She has been a massive headache and for what? I thought I was gonna die last night after trying to do a small favor and look where it got me! Like why do you even care so much? What is she some secret relative or whatever? I literally just met her today. Didn't even know her name until this morning, and look what happened! She is a problem that I want nothing to do with anymore…" Vivian had begun expressing her frustration about Mya without realizing that Claire had already left down the hall. Opening her eyes to Claire's absence made Vivian even more irritated. "Ugh!" With a loud slam of her door the show ended for the spectators.
Still hearing the scream of the sirens out in the distance, Claire quickly got onto her Harley to give chase. She ripped through traffic narrowly cutting between cars to catch up. Her mind filled with angst and a small amount of guilt. In some way she blamed herself for this. 'She'll be ok…she has to be! Damn it! I should have stopped her I should… I should have stopped her from leaving like that!' As Claire was riding whilst in deep thought, she didn't realize she missed a turn for the hospital and was chasing the wrong set of sirens.
Mya was sick of opening her eyes to unfamiliar places, however the familiarity of the bland lighting somehow felt comforting. To awoke in a hospital bed, Mya felt both relief and annoyance. The beeps of the machines, the bustle of the nurses out in the hallway, it was all very distinctly the same. "Ms. Rosewell? I'm so glad to see you awake. Do you know where you are?" A nurse had entered the room to present the routine list of questions, to which Mya seemed pestered by. All the unwanted experience with doctors she held under her belt only made for this to be more trouble then it was worth. With a heavy sigh, she laid back in the bed.
"Yes I know where I am. No I don't have any pain. I remember clearly what happened." Mya began to answer the questions before they could even be asked. To her this was as easy as reciting the alphabet. "Look, I'm fine. I really don't need to be here. I fainted cause I was dehydrated and just had a panic attack on top of that."
Mya's attitude made it clear she was over it already, but the nurse seemed to have other plans than letting her leave. "Ms. Rosewell, I'm sure you're aware I have to finish the report before we can get you out of here. I am pleased you seem to be doing much better. Your color has also improved a lot, thanks to the fluids." Hearing the preprogrammed gentleness of the nurse's voice made Mya uncomfortable. Turning herself away from it she sighed. "Yeah…sure."
Mya didn't feel up to waiting for this to end on its own, so she stood up. "Ms. Rosewell? Please, I need you to remain seated." The nurse made an attempt to stop her, to which Mya responded with frustration. "Can you just stop! I'm the patient and I am telling you, I'm fine!" With her voice rising, some of the staff outside the room were beginning to grow curious and concerned. Mya was getting really frustrated with how things have gone lately. "I just want to go home!"
Claire quickly raced through the hospital room in search of Mya. Sorting through her own thoughts, Claire came to the decision that nothing was more important than seeing Mya was ok. She ignored the warnings given by concerned nursing staff and doctors that she ran past. Taking a hard left Claire heard Mya's voice shouting down the corridor. 'That's her!' A small wave of relief came over Claire in that moment.
"Ms. Rosewell please, we need you to calm down. Your blood pressure is getting higher." As the nurses frantically were trying to get Mya to relax, Claire burst into the room. "Mya!" Claire's face was a comfort Mya didn't expect to have. Seeing her in this moment gave the surprising impression of safety. "Claire? Why are-" Mya's words fell short when Claire quickly pulled her into a hug. Smushing Mya's face into her chest, Claire snuggled her head into Mya's shoulder. "I'm so glad you're alright! When I saw you on the floor in V's apartment, I thought… I feared the worst things…I tried to get here faster but missed a turn and got kinda lost but…it's really good to see your not seriously sick or something! Y-you're not…are you?"
In this moment, Mya felt a strange sense of familiarity in Claire to the point a soft giggle muffled from her lips. It was a feeling of security she hadn't felt in a very long time. This feeling sparked a flash of the past into her mind, one she had assumed was long forgotten. It was a joyful scene of small children laughing playfully while splashing around a creek. The perspective of lonely girl who was sat under a big tree simply watching them with envious attention. The glimpse of a small hand reaching out to her with a cheerful voice asking her "Are you okay? Do you wanna play with me!"
Honestly, Mya was confused with why she would ever remember something like that from so long ago. It confused her more that it was triggered by this moment with Claire. Though she was curious about it, she decided to leave it for later and firmly wrapped her arms under Claire's. Mya pulled herself in deeper to this embrace, which gave Claire comfort in knowing she was helping. "I'm ok, Claire. Promise! I just would rather go home and put this behind me now. Can we?" Claire was relieved to hear that from Mya. The words I'm Okay really helped ease her anxious feelings about the situation and everything. "Alright, sure! Let's go, I'll take ya home!" Claire gave one last squeeze before finally releasing Mya from her arms. The nurses weren't happy about it but couldn't stop her from leaving if she was refusing treatment. Changing back into the clothes she had been wearing, Mya was looking forward to finally getting back to her own bedroom.
Claire pulled around to the front door so she could pick Mya up, but was met with a surprising response. "You have a motorcycle! No way!" Claire couldn't hide her amusement at the surprising sight she was witnessing. 'So she's one of those girls huh? So cute.' Mya felt her cheeks tingle a bit with some slight embarrassment. "Well I just…I didn't know that you had one. It's cool and stuff…" She squeezed her hand and looked down at the ground being shy. Slowly twisting her boot into the concrete Mya was nervous to look at Claire's face. Her reaction to that outburst, what would she think? But she wasn't even thinking about that, and instead was blushing herself at Mya's cute demeanor. Quickly taking her spare helmet out of the back bag, Claire put it on Mya to hide her face. It also helped in keeping Mya from noticing Claire's.
Riding slowly through traffic, Claire was hoping the sound of her bike was hiding the pounding of her heart. Mya, who had her arms tightly wrapped around Claire's waist, was assuming that the sound was her own heart. Taking a turn, Claire felt Mya's grip tighten which made her feel more nervous. 'Crap, is this too fast? Maybe I should get off the busier streets?' While thinking of a plan to help Mya some how, she was given an idea from her stomach. She figured Mya hadn't had time to eat, and it would be a good way to make sure she was really alright. Mya didn't noticed they were taking a detour until Claire pulled into a small cafe down the road from her apartment building. "Huh? Why did you stop here?" Mya asked as she removed the helmet and saw Claire do the same. "Figured a nice bite to eat would be ok? I haven't had lunch, and I bet you haven't eaten either." Claire didn't want Mya to back out of it, but could see the hesitation. So, she took her hand and walked Mya to the entrance. "Come one! Let's have a date!" Claire hadn't realized the phrasing she just used, as she was more focused on bringing Mya inside.
Mya herself felt even more shy and self conscious about it. To call it a date was not at all something she expected. 'A date? Why now? Is she serious? Maybe she's teasing me again…but would she really do that when she was so worried about me before? What am I supposed to say now?!'