Owen
"I still don't like you."
I was in the hospital now, and as much as it daunted and made me feel uncomfortable just breathing that stale stench of alcohol around these plain white halls, I was here.
"I didn't know who to call. It's either you or her aunt from miles away. It would take hours before she would be here." he said, shrugging beside me as he sat on the farthest plastic chair in the waiting area. Unfortunately, I was seated on his left, my arms folded across my chest.
Elliot had called me earlier, but not with his phone. I had been napping back at the dorm after a meeting with the school paper staff and I heard my phone ring. I was supposed to shut it off, decline the call because I was exhausted, but the name that popped up was hers.
Athena.
I immediately forgot how tired I was that time. For a moment, I was hopeful, since she never called or texted me after we broke up. It was unfortunate how all my hope immediately burned down again once I heard the gruffness of his voice through the call.
"Athena got hurt. Again." I spat at him, bitter at how among all the people Athena got hurt with, it was in his presence.
I looked at him with heavy disdain in my eyes and in return, he just looked at me blankly, staring down at me with so much negligence over what happened to Athena.
"Look, I did what I can, okay? It's not entirely my fault." he said, shrugging.
I was still fuming over how Elliot had been there and he didn't even think to properly keep an eye on her, whatever they were doing. And that made me wonder.
"What happened to her?" I asked, my voice almost hushed to a whisper.
Elliot shuffled in his seat and looked down on me. Although he wasn't standing or anything, it was still such a pain to look up at him just to engage in eye contact.
"I was teaching her how to ride a bike. Pretty simple, right?" he said nonchalantly.
I snorted and slumped down on my chair.
"I could only guess." I muttered, loud enough for him to hear as I raised one of my gloved hands and flicked an invisible dust particle off one of the wheels of my chair.
Elliot's eyes immediately widened, suddenly realizing how he told a disabled person how riding a bike was simple.
I love messing with people.
"Oh, sorry. So uhm, at one point, she was doing great, and next thing, she was so fast, I couldn't catch up to her. So I let her ride by herself. She was even laughing, then before I knew it, she tried to turn the bike around back towards me and, --fell." he said, his expression going from proud to sullen in mere seconds.
I nodded.
"And now she's in the hospital." I made mention as I looked at him, my eyes narrowed and my brows deeply furrowed.
"Yeah. She is." he said, his voice growing small as he looked away and anxiously kept tapping his feet over the shiny, tiled floors. I looked away too.
Elliot still made me mad, knowing he could've at least done something to avoid Athena getting hurt. If there were elbow and knee pads, I would've argued with her, and persuaded her to wear them. For her guaranteed safety that is, given that she can be reckless at times.
After a few good minutes without him bugging me, he sighed.
"Look, I get this whole hostility thing between us but, she's gonna be okay. She already went in for an x-ray the moment we got here. If you'd stop grumbling for a quick sec, you could actually hear her talk." Elliot said.
He was right.
I did hear her.
Not far from where Elliot and I were, was one of the doctors' offices. The door was closed, but despite the evident sound barrier, Athena's voice was almost crystal clear.
"Do you have any glitters, or is it too flashy for someone in college?" I heard someone with a similar yet muffled voice, close to Athena's. It must've been her. It's got to be.
Always optimistic and throwing jokes around like candy. How could she still be like this even after she got hurt?
"Why aren't you in there with her? She could use someone to be around with." I asked him, my tone still bitter, now that I have added another reason to despise Elliot with every bone in my body.
She's all alone there, and no one would tell her she will soon be fine and out of this place. I know she can handle a simple doctor just by talking them out but still, she needs someone there.
Even if that person is Elliot.
Elliot turned to look at me, a shadow of a smile on his face. If I wasn't so exhausted from school and by driving all the way here, I would've punched his annoying face. Though his odds are better than mine, I would've done it any day.
"She told me she'd be fine on her own. Besides, she's old enough to go to the doctor's office by herself." he said with a quick shrug.
I shook my head and turned away from him. Crossing my arms over my chest, I closed my eyes for a bit, and was then again left alone with my thoughts.
Athena got hurt, and even thinking of that sends a chill down my spine. I know pain is something people need to experience to gain wisdom and become more mature, but Athena's been through enough. If it wasn't through his hand, it would be hers. And the cycle would go on and on in her head until she doesn't realize she's trapped in an endless loop of pain and trauma.
Weirdly, another thought popped into my mind. It was not more of a thought than it was of a question, but I was desperate to know the answer.
"Of all people, why did you call me?" I asked, looking back at him.
With a slow turn of his head, Elliot shifted in his seat and smirked.
I shot him a look of disgust.
"Don't feel too special. You aren't the only one I called with her phone. You just happen to be the first. I called you, her aunt, Cal, Tim, and even Vivian, who lives in an entirely different country. Among them, you're the one who could get here as soon as possible. And you're on her speed dial, so I called you." he explained.
For a moment, I felt a glimmer of excitement rush through my chest, but it was immediately extinguished once I got my thoughts straight. I am, after all, the one closest to her when it comes to proximity.
"Is her aunt on the way?" I asked, diverting the attention away from me, and toward Athena's aunt. She must be worried.
Elliot nodded tightly and clasped his hands together, rubbing them slowly.
"Yeah. She'll probably be here in a few hours, but by then, Athena would've been done in there." he said, as he sat back in his plastic chair and stretched both his legs. I looked at them and realized just how tall he would be if he stood.
But something else came to mind and it made me feel the slightest hint of frustration, not at Elliot, but to the people around here at the hospital.
"They're not admitting her?" I asked.
He shook his head.
"Nope. They said it would be quick, and there was no need for her to stay the night in the hospital. It's just a scratch." he said, sounding absolutely positive that Athena would be fine.
"A scratch wouldn't take her that long in the office." I said with a scoff.
Elliot looked a bit anxious now, but his anxiety immediately washed off his face as he laughed a bit and looked at me like I was crazy or missing out on some sick joke.
"She's a girl. Girls always take their time with things. It's natural." he said laughingly.
I felt my jaw clench at how he doesn't see the seriousness of this whole situation.
Athena got hurt to a point where she had to be taken to a fucking hospital. Before, when she indeed had a scratch from something as mundane as jogging before losing her balance, she would wash it off with water then go at it again. When she sprained her ankle, she just got a packet of ice or cold peas and called it a day.
None of those things called for a hospital, but under Elliot's supposed supervision, she's here now. My mouth began to feel dry as I stared into Elliot, who didn't seem to mind how I looked at him.
"Natural? Elliot, if it was just a scratch, a simple band aid would do. If it were something else--, god, do you think I would know anything about it?" I spat as I felt my blood pressure rise just looking at him.
Elliot sat straighter in his seat and put up his palms in attempt to calm down the storm growing within me.
"Bro, relax. She's gonna be fine. The doctors already said so." he said so casually, as if it's something he just read from the news or something similar to it.
My blood boiled.
"Fine? She's been in there for almost two hours. That certainly isn't fine." I said, as I grunted and turned away from him. I don't want to burst again, just like I did with Maya in class the other week.
Elliot was quiet, and must've gotten the idea that I don't want anyone talking to me right now. We didn't talk for a few seconds, but the silence broke once Elliot cleared his throat and talked once more.
"She's fine because the doctors said so. She was conscious when we got here, even. Why the fuck are you so skeptical about this? Is it because it came from my mouth, not hers?" he asked, his voice almost calm.
I sighed.
Why was I even so worked up about this?
I don't even like hospitals, let alone their waiting rooms. It reminded me of my parents, who were so worried and scared for me and my sister the time we got into an accident. Hospital waiting rooms held people in chains, fearing for the well-being of their loved ones who aren't in the same room as them.
Hospitals make my stomach twist into knots that cannot be undone. It just reminded me of the accident. It reminded me of how the searing light stung my eyes when I woke up, my body drenched in unspeakable pain. I don't want Athena to feel the same way I felt when I got hurt.
She already went through it once, and I don't want her to go through it the second time around.
I slowly turned my head to face Elliot, then looked away once more. I'm not good with telling people what was exactly going through my head.
"I don't want her to end up like me." I muttered, looking down on my own hands that donned the fingerless gloves I wore, then towards my chair. Although it had been new, the reason why I had to use one was still the same.
I got hurt once, and I don't want her to go through what I went through.
I was fine with how I lived in the aftermath of it, but Athena? Not knowing much about what happened to her opened so many possibilities in my head, I could only expect the worse.
As if on cue, the door to one of the doctors' offices swung open and I immediately heard a set of footsteps grow louder as if they are coming towards where Elliot and I were.
I didn't raise my head, fearing that the footsteps belong to someone I know.
Beside me, Elliot was stopped, then not soon after, he stood up, brushed his pants, and walked toward where the other concerned pair stopped.
"She's up and ready to go. Just be careful next time, okay?" a female voice said.
I was unfamiliar with the voice, and I was guessing it belonged to a doctor.
"What's-- with all this?" Elliot asked, confusion spiking in the way he spoke.
The doctor sighed.
"She has a fractured humerus, and the break was close to her elbow. We'll put it in a cast after a few days so the initial swelling would go down but, for now, I think she could use some painkillers." the doctor said.
"And pizza. He promised me pizza." Athena said with a laugh.
If I could bottle it up, I would; her laugh.
Slowly raising my head up at the trio who spoke, my eyes immediately darted toward Athena, who continued joking along with Elliot and the doctor. She actually seemed fine, despite the handful of scrapes she has on her legs, a bandage on her left hand, and her entire right arm in a black sling.
Her hair was messy in her braids, and her bangs were severely outgrown, as she had to constantly keep trying to pull them behind her ears just for them to plop back in front of her face.
She's okay.
She's a little beat up but she's okay.
I breathed a sigh of relief in my chair and felt that it was time I needed to go. I don't fit in with Athena's unusual jokes and Elliot's attempts at witty retorts with the doctor, but as I unlocked my chair and turned back around, a soft hand grazed against my shoulder and electricity shot through my body.
"Owen, you're here." she said with a bit of astonishment in her voice.
I turned around and unsurprisingly, it was her.
Athena.
I didn't know what to do. Athena was looking at me expectantly, the gaze from her big, brown eyes so strong, they seem to be magnets, pulling me toward her.
I was lost for a moment, and I didn't know exactly what to say.
Should I mention the weather? The stench of the hospital hallway? Or how the scars she has on her forehead are almost undetectable now? How she was still pretty even with scrapes and bruises all over legs?
Athena started to divert her eyes elsewhere, sensing the awkwardness between us. I need to say something, and I stammered as I spoke.
"Of course. I wanted to make sure you're okay and now--, I guess you really are. Well, uhm, except for--" I trailed off, not knowing how to phrase her injury into the conversation.
Damn, was I terrible at this.
Athena smiled a little, and I felt something inside me do somersaults just seeing her smile.
"Yeah, I know. The whole broken arm thing sucks but, Elliot and I are getting pizza. You wanna come?" she asked, and her eyelashes fluttered as she blinked at me, expectantly.
As much as I want to spend time with her, care for her, and attempt my best to protect her, I couldn't. Not just yet.
"No thanks. I need to get back to the dorm, anyway." I answered.
Athena's smile immediately faded, and I hated to be the reason it was gone. She nodded, then started to walk away, backwards. Her eyes were still fixed on mine.
"Oh. Then I guess I'll see you back there. Take care, okay?" she said, waving her bandaged hand a little.
I nodded.
"Okay." I said, as I started to turn away from her.
As I pushed myself towards the exit that is closest to where I had parked my car, my chest still had that mixed feeling; of uncertainty, relief, and regret.
I wanted to say so many things, but seeing her so close made me sound more stupid than usual.
I had more questions in my head, all swimming around like uncaught fish evading a net. Still, I was content with how our small interaction had been earlier.
I'm glad she's okay.