𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗛 ✔

𝟕𝟐. 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 & 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

Broken, gut-wrenching sobs were heard from inside the room, and Cara was certain it wasn't just the whining and screeching of many machines.

She looked at Aiden, nothing but worry etched on her face.

"Aiden..she's not okay."

"Let's go," he nodded at her, and after taking a deep breath, opened the door.

They had feared the worst, and they had gotten the worst.

Inside were two worried nurses, a woman laying on a bed, countless machines, and Taelyn.

"Tae!" Cara rushed over to her friend, who had fallen to her knees on the ground. "What's happened?" she asked one of the nurses.

"Mint...." yet another wail ripped through Taelyn's body as she sobbed uncontrollably.

On the outside, she was shaking, burning, breaking. There was no control in her actions, there was no brushing aside. But on the inside...she felt like she was freezing up like an iceberg; everything was numb. She couldn't feel anything, not even the tears that came out of her own eyes, not even the pain that ached at her chest, not even the blood that stained her knuckles as she thrashed at the floor. Not even herself unravelling.

Her brain couldn't accept that the one she loved so much was gone, so instead it forced her to do take it out. Soon, Taelyn was up again, a new desire in her eyes as she forgot about all of her surroundings. She heard her friends call out, but she ignored it. Tears streamed steadily down her face, engraving into her skin.

It's because of you. Mint is gone because you couldn't keep your mouth shut.

Soon, her energy grew exhausted, and she fell back in a fatigue. The last thing she heard was her own ears pounding loudly before her eyes fluttered shut.

_*_

Cara looked at the hospital bed where Taelyn was sleeping. "Is she going to be okay?"

"Yes," replied Willow. "Taelyn is a very emotional person - much like you, I may add - and that was her way of coping with pain. It's almost like a breakdown. But apart from being hospitalized for a few days, she will be okay."

"What about Jynni?"

"Ms. Park seems to be okay. She's been discharged."

"And Mint?"

Willow sighed. "The doctors tried everything - CPR, new blood, checking of all the wounds...but it seems that Ms. Evans...has passed."

Cara hung her head, a dull stinging pained her chest as the news she had been dreading most entered her ears. She felt herself tear up, and she did nothing to stop it.

"I'm sorry, love," Willow put a hand on her shoulder. "All of this at once...you must feel overwhelmed."

"It's nothing compared to what Tae is feeling," she mumbled. "I'd better go tell Aiden about this."

Cara walked out of the hospital room, where he was waiting for her.

"I'm guessing that Mint is dead?" Aiden asked as his eyes met hers.

She remained quiet, for the fear that if she spoke all that would come out would be sobs. He sighed, pulling her in a warm embrace. She broke at this moment, crying into his chest fervently for the world to hear.

"I know, baby. It's okay. We're gonna be okay." He kissed her head gently, although he could barely console her - he soon felt a lump in his throat too. "It's..." he gulped. "It's okay."

_*_

"It's not just because Mint is gone," Cara banged her fist on the desk. "How could they have known which room number she and Jynni were at? Even if they had known which hotel we were staying at, who the hell could have told them the exact room numbers?"