𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗛 ✔

𝟖𝟓. 𝐃𝐀𝐖𝐍

"The renowned science laboratory in Alabama, which has since been exposed for creating dangerous and illegal chemicals, has been destroyed! The Itch Gang blew away with the explosion, and other than a few renegade soldiers that our police force has captured, Alabama has now been freed from their clutches. We still recommend taking precautions, however, as a few stray Itch members may still be wandering around, especially in other states...."

The television blared with the chattering voice of two antsy news reporters.

She smiled with closed lips and pulled the rather uncomfortable white blanket closer to herself before laying back down on the small bed.

The door to her room opened, and in came a gruff-looking middle-aged nurse wearing blue scrubs. He was carrying a small tray, which held a fruit cup and a stiff-looking loaf of bread.

"Are you hungry, Miss Vaughn?" the man asked, and although his statement was polite, his voice was quite irritable as placed the tray on the stand beside her bed.

"Actually, yes, I am," she replied in a sarcastic voice. "You can leave now, Waldo."

Nurse Waldo sent her a displeased look before swiftly exiting.

One moment later, the door opened again, and young woman who looked quite out of breath appeared through the doorway.

"I apologize, Miss Vaughn," said the sheepish nurse. "The young mister doesn't exactly have a leg injury, and I'm afraid he runs quite fast."

A head of bright golden hair poked into the room, and a pair of chocolate brown eyes soon emerged as well.

"No need to be sorry." She turned to the man standing in the doorway. "Stop poking your head like that, just come in. Mei, you can leave if you want."

Mei, the nurse, looking relieved, promptly disappeared from view.

Cara sighed. "Aiden, why are you here? You're supposed to be recovering."

He sat on the edge of her bed. "I heard that Waldshit dude was coming to give you lunch, and I wasn't about to let you be in the same room as him, alone."

"Don't be salty, he already left."

"I've seen the way you look at him, Tiger, you hate him as much as I do."

"Who are the heroes that might have just saved Alabama and the rest of the States? Believe it or not, teenagers! Cara Vaughn, aged seventeen, Aiden Trinstrell, aged eighteen, and Taelyn Scott, aged twenty, were said to have lead the pursuit against the Itch Gang..."

Cara bit her lip grimly. "How do you think Tae's doing?"

"I don't know. Better, maybe?"

"Maybe."

They fell silent.

Aiden cleared his throat. "There's going to be a funeral."

"How? They don't have a body, it blew up along with the building, remember?"

"It's more like a memorial, I think. With the ashes, all that."

A lump pitted at her throat at the thought of Sugu's body getting teared apart...dead long ago but blown away like a faded memory. Cara still remembered him vividly; the way he would break out into a gummy smile only so occasionally; the way his lisp rolled in the most childish way; the way he would bicker fondly with Taelyn and make her laugh like she had never before. But she also remembered how he fell, down, down, down...how his mint green hair flew back with his chest; how his figure was splattered with blood; how his last action was saving her.

She hated that one of the last feelings she had felt when he was still alive was resentment; she hated him for being a coward...but now, she would never forgive herself for that. Sugu Kellor was far from a coward, but Cara had never truly appreciated it until his time was long gone.

"I miss him," she murmured.

"I know, baby," Aiden took her hand and encased it warmly with his. "We all do." He took a deep breath before standing up. "Hey, I have an idea. Come, let's go see her."

"What about Waldo? He'll be back soon."

"Who cares about him?"

Cara smiled subtly, pulling the cover back. She swung her legs carefully over the side of the bed, and reached for the crutches that leaned on the wall. He reached for her hand, helping to help pull her up onto one foot.

"Not bad," said Aiden. "You're getting better at this."

"I have been stuck in this stupid hospital for weeks, of course I'm better," she muttered.

They went across the hallway to room 445. He peeked inside briefly before holding the door for her to go in.

"Tae," Cara said softly as she sat down on the side of the bed. "How are you doing?"

"Well, I don't have too many gashes anymore, and the sprain that I apparently had is now fixed." " Taelyn's voice was small and hoarse, but it was a drastic improvement to when she couldn't talk at all.

Cara sighed. "I meant emotionally."

There was a long, pregnant pause.

"Better than before. I, uh...Thanks for checking up on me, although I think I'm a big enough girl."

"I know you're a big girl, Tae. You're one of the strongest people I know. But you can't just try and say that you weren't in a horrible place, because you'd be lying."

"My mother always said I was a good liar.." Tae mumbled.

Cara tilted her head slightly. "You loved him, didn't you?"

"Love," corrected the other. "I love him. Still. Maybe that's why I can't seem to let this all go."

"It's okay, Tae. Who said this was going to be easy? You don't need to let it go if you don't feel ready, and it doesn't make you any less courageous. Look at me. People always tell me I'm strong and brave, but I spent a good two hours crying when we came back from the laboratory. That first day when we were admitted into the hospital, I couldn't even talk without sobbing. I'm just as human as you are."

"Thank you," said Taelyn, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth. Cara gave her a peculiar look, at which she laughed sheepishly at. "Sorry, I'm prone to crying at the moment and I think I might be right now."

"See?" Cara giggled. "We can all relate."

Tae paused. "How...how are you? With the eczema and all."

"Here she goes again, asking about me...well. These few weeks haven't really done anything good for my skin, but eh, I'd rather not die from a gun wound, so I'll just suck it up."

"No, but like I meant...about your breakdown."

Cara raised an eyebrow. "That was a long time ago. I think I'm okay now."

"We love a good character development," said Tae, laughing. Her eyes widened slightly as she realized what had just came out of her mouth. "I...laughed?"

"You're becoming ready to move on, Tae." Cara's heart felt like it could burst; she was so proud. "Hah, I just thought of something."

"Go ahead."

"If Sugu was alive, here and now, he would probably wonder why you were crying so much."

Tae burst out laughing. "You know what? He would be right. When did I ever cry this much?"

"We all change, I guess."

And for those next few, moments, the two young women, Cara and Taelyn, would laugh, cry, talk, live, because although the pain, the heartbreak, the angst was strong, so was the dawn, and today, it was shining bright.

Like the mint hydrangea's wilted petals, ever so delicate, had found the strength to rise once again.