Rooftops At Sunrise

32

Aoi wakes to beeps and a clammy, trembling palm holding her fingers tightly. Damian's hand, she thinks, as she blinks and observes the young man, who has fallen asleep in a chair posed beside her temporary bed.

She attempts to recall the events the preceded the current situation she now finds herself in. Half of it is a blur—the other, mental puzzle pieces, fill her with shame and a regret. This was definitely not the way the young woman had wanted the trip to end for the three of them. She feels as if she has ruined something special, that neither of them will ever be able to get back now.

A nurse enters her hospital room. "Sorry to wake you," he whispers beside Damian, and then, upon seeing Aoi, "Ah! You on the other hand, I'm glad to see you're finally awake!" Aoi does not understand how the man can be so full of joy in the morning, she figures it is a good thing, however—she would rather not have someone who is half asleep attend to her. It happened once in her past. And Aoi still remembers the face of the woman who messed up while inserting her IV drip at the time.

She is a little less glad however, when she notices the nurse is not alone. Aoi's parents follow the man in. They have bags under their eyes. It does not seem like they have gotten much sleep.

Aoi's father is the first to speak. "Are you feeling better?" he asks his daughter, as his wife stands behind him in silence, with an iron grip kept across her elbow.

Although the young woman did not expect this to be the way they would reunite—she had imagined there would be a screaming match involved, if not worse—there is relief in her heart once she realizes this will not be the case.

Meanwhile, Damian groans. He mutters the words, "One more minute, Emma," under his breaths, and Aoi has to poke his shoulder, then shake him awake, until the young man grunts again, before he finally rouses, then understands what is going on around him. "Oh..." Damian gulps. He pauses, as he comes face-to-face with Aoi's parents. "Hello there," he scratches the back of his head, then lets out an awkward laugh. "Can I... help you?"

"Are you the one who put her at risk?" Aoi's father stomps forward. He raises his voice. "Are you the one who put my daughter at—"

"Dad, stop it!" Aoi snaps. Although her head is still spinning, and she still feels weaker than ever, the young woman simply cannot let this slide. "It was my choice, okay!" Her eyebrows arch up in pain. "I was sick of staying inside and listening to you and mom shouting at each other every single day. I wanted to get away. S-so..." she mutters, as her shoulders slump, "don't blame it on my friend, please."

Damian's chest fills with relief. Although he still cannot believe Aoi still considers him a friend, it makes him more than happy to hear that Lucas was right—she did not change her mind. She still appreciates his company.

The young woman looks past her parents, then right at Damian. "I think I need to have a chat with my folks. Do you think you can wait for me in the lobby area?" She turns to face the nurse. "I'll be discharged soon, anyway, right?" she asks him, for that is what almost always happens whenever she is rushed to the hospital like this, and given enough painkillers to help her wait for the aches in her body to die out.

The nurse seems mildly surprised that Aoi is aware of what will happen next, considering they have barely spoken yet, though, he does confirm her claims with a curt nod. "That's correct," he tells the young woman. "If the blood samples we've collected come back without any alarming results, and you aren't in too much pain, that makes it so you cannot walk, then, I do agree that there is not much else we can do for you but send you home, and ask that you take it easy for the next couple days."

The young woman's gaze glosses back over to where Damian is observing the scene. "See?" she tells him, as she forces a smile across her frail lips, that do not particularly feel like cooperating; this annoys Aoi very much. "I'll be fine," she says. "Unless... you have somewhere to be?"