Pandora's Heart | d.cx ✓

CHAPTER 12

Pandora didn't know where she was going, all she knew was that she wanted to be away from the house. She was annoyed and angry, especially with the fact that they had to accuse her of liking Chengxin in front of Nikita. She wasn't a very sensitive person, but she loved Nikita so much that she wouldn't want to hurt her like that. Now Nikita thought it was true, everybody did.

She knew she wasn't supposed to be out at this time where the sky had just newly darkened, and if her manager found her she would be in loads of trouble, but at this point she didn't mind.

With her hands in her hoodie pockets, she absent-mindedly entered the road to cross to the other side. Suddenly, she was startled by the loud honking of a car, and she frowned to herself. The street was a bit busy as many people were returning to their homes from long days of work.

'Sorry,' she finally mumbled, even though she knew the driver would not hear her. She quickly moved from the lane until she finally found herself on the opposite side of the road. She was aiming for one building that had a large verandah. She would be able to sit there and just be away from everyone who was in the building.

Sometimes she felt like she overreacted to things, but at this point she had no choice. She walked over to the building which seemed to be some kind of store, and she sat down on the spot she had intended to sit, looking into the dark evening sky filled with clouds.

...

Haoxiang walked back to the kitchen in a different T-shirt and found that everyone was confused, except for Nikita who looked like she was about to cry. Even though she was staring at the floor holding back her tears, Haoxiang was able to read how she was feeling.

'What's going on?' Junlin asked Chengxin. 'What's wrong with Nikita?'

Chengxin shrugged. 'We can't just let her be all alone out there though.'

Haoxiang rubbed his temples, frustrated by the fact that his friends couldn't realize that Nikita was probably hurt because she liked Chengxin. Haoxiang was able to decipher the situation, but he didn't feel bad over the fact that he mentioned the Pandora and Chengxin situation in front of Nikita. For some reason, it made him smile.

'Well then you should have left immediately, I bet she's gone quite far now.' Junlin observed.

Chengxin walked over to Nikita. 'Hey, she's your friend right? I'm sure you have an idea where she would have gone.'

'Huh?' Nikita looked up at him. 'I mean...I guess so.' She answered. Pandora had never run off before, so she didn't have an idea where she would have gone. But Chengxin was right, she was better off knowing where Pandora could have gone than he would have.

'Great! Let's go find her!' he told her impatiently.

No matter how Nikita felt, she realized that getting Pandora back was more important. She didn't want her to stay out there alone for too long, and she knew they weren't allowed to be out alone like that. She had to forget what had happened for a moment and focus on controlling Pandora's behavior just like she always did.

'Yeah, let's go.' She finally answered. The two of them walked out together into the night air. Chengxin was so driven to find Pandora, it was obvious to Nikita that he liked Pandora instead and not her. She couldn't be mad at that – it was his decision after all.

They walked on for a while silently; Nikita not wanting to speak to Chengxin and Chengxin hardly having the focus to talk to her when his eyes were wandering and continuously scanning each scene for a sign of Pandora.

'Are you sure you have no idea where she'd go,' Chengxin asked her again as they walked on a sidewalk.

'No,' Nikita answered lowly.

As they continued to scan either side of the road, Chengxin finally stopped. From the distance, on the opposite side of the road, he noticed an outfit which he was sure was familiar – a checkered black and pink shirt paired with blue jeans.

'There she is!' Chengxin pointed at the building on the other side. 'Let's go!' he encouraged her and almost jumped into the road before he stopped momentarily. 'Wait, you go and talk to her. I don't think she'd want to talk to me.' he suddenly realized. Judging by how she acted in the kitchen, she was probably not in the mood.

'Oh...you're right.' Nikita forced a smile and walked towards the road, stopping just before she entered it. She really wanted to meet Pandora and talk to her, but a part of her was hesitant because she was still feeling hurt. She turned around to Chengxin, with tears which were invisible in the darkness.

'Go on,' he encouraged her.

Even though he noticed she wasn't into it, that was not his business at the moment. He was more invested in getting Pandora to come back to the house as soon as possible. He didn't think it was safe there, and he certainly didn't want her to be sad.

Nikita nodded and turned back towards the road, then entered it immediately.

But Nikita wasn't as lucky as Pandora had been previously. The driver who was driving towards her was looking at his cellphone while Nikita had carelessly entered the road due to her raging emotions.

'Nikita!' Chengxin found himself stretching his hand to grab nothing when he noticed the car that was driving towards Nikita. It was in the blink of an eye when the red Toyota Camry sent her flying above its roof and falling behind it with a loud thud. The car immediately stopped with a screech.

Hearing the unusual sound and seeing people starting to gather at the scene, Pandora stood up from her spot and started to walk closer to the road once again. She saw the familiar outfit and the pink dyed hair, but her mind kept telling her it couldn't be.

'Nikita!' Chengxin ran over to her and knelt beside her. There was blood pooling beneath her. 'Are you okay?' it was a stupid question, but it was all he could think of at the moment.

Seeing Chengxin, Pandora confirmed to herself that it was Nikita. Quickly, she pushed through the small group of people and stopped in front of the two. Chengxin immediately looked up at her with tears lining his eyes.

'Nikita!' Pandora said next and knelt next to her. 'No! What happened?!' At this point, Pandora didn't even remember that she disliked Chengxin. All she wanted was for Nikita to be alright.

'She was hit by a car,' Chengxin replied in a shaky voice.

The driver of the car walked over to the three and shook his head. 'I'm so sorry but she just walked into the road.'

'I'll call 911.' Chengxin stood up and moved away from the noise of the crowds, leaving Nikita with Pandora.

'Whoa is that Nikita and Pandora from Apogee?' some people whispered among each other in shock. Before she knew it, people were snapping photos of the scene. Pandora felt angry at them for taking such a violent moment as entertainment, but she just didn't have the strength to say anything. Instead, she started to cry. 'Oooh and Ding Chengxin.'

'You're gonna be okay,' Pandora said to the visibly unconscious Nikita.

Pandora didn't see the scene continue to play out, all she realized was that an ambulance had arrived in some minutes along with a police car. Soon, the paramedics hoisted Nikita on a stretcher and were pushing her to the back of the ambulance.

'Come on, go on to the hospital with Nikita, I'll catch you there.' Chengxin said to Pandora who was still on her knees. She got up and wiped her tears aimlessly.

'You sure you will?' she asked just to be sure. 'I really need you.'

Chengxin gave her a smile of assurance even though he was far from being calm. 'Yeah I promise I'll catch up with you. Hurry up.'

Pandora nodded and climbed onto the ambulance. Chengxin watched the ambulance drive off, and he knew he had to meet Pandora very soon.

'Excuse me young man, we'd like a witness to this scene?' the police officer told him.

He turned his attention away from the ambulance and looked at the police officer. 'Sure. Of course.'

He walked over and started to explain the situation. He was hoping this wouldn't take long, because he wanted to grab a taxi and meet Pandora at the hospital as soon as possible. It was the first time seeing her that vulnerable.