Nemesis

XI - Second Chances

Nemesis

Chapter XI — Second Chances

[Phoebe Bridgers — Chelsea]

[27 October 2023]
[New York-Prebysterian Hospital]
[11:15]

It was quite a bit of time until they reached the hospital, and once they did, Dain exited the car sprinting to the backseat to retrieve Miranda. As he opened the car door, he caught the disturbing sight of her digging into her wound. Dain could barely handle the painful whimpers that the woman let out, confused as to why she was tampering with the wound. "What the fuck are you doing?! You're not a doctor!" Dain exclaimed, finally attempting to stop Miranda, but she did all she could to keep him away.

"T-those people are gonna..." Miranda winced for a bit, doing her best to overcome the pain. "... gonna ask me where the damn b-bullet comes from... and your fingerprints are on the g-gun we left back there..." Miranda finally finished. Dain was left quite stunned at her gesture. She knew the ramifications of the bullet being discovered and she chose to save him instead of punishing him.

Perhaps Miranda was not as evil, not as vile as he had thought she was. Dain was soon pulled away from his mind by the slight scream Miranda let out, who held up a bloody hand and within it; the bullet. Dain was quick to his feet, throwing the bullet onto the car seat and lifting Miranda bridal style once more. He made his way into the hospital as quickly as his legs could carry him, his mind somewhat opened by Miranda's selflessness.

[Laurent Residence]
[12:10]

"Where the hell is she?" Orla muttered to herself as she sat on the couch, flipping through television channels and not paying much attention to the content that appeared. It was clear that her mind was on Miranda's whereabouts, and the fact that she had left without her was quite frustrating. Despite the promise that she had made to Orla, Miranda still had little to no trust in her.

They were not trying to crack this case together, Miranda was doing it all on her own and returning to give her updates. "Fuck this, I'm gonna find her," Orla said once more, standing up from the couch and making her way to the door. She had no clue as to how she was going to make it to a place as far as Ares Tech, or wherever Miranda was, but that did not weaken her determination.

As Orla opened the door, her eyes widened for a moment. She had come across a true sight for sore eyes. "Hey, Orla." A young man stood at the door, a hand raised to wave at his best friend. "Amari? You're here? How'd you fucking find me?!" Orla was overwhelmed by Amari's presence, having not prepared to see him since the whole debacle with her father's death. "I'm guessing I wasn't supposed to?" Amari asked with a raised eyebrow. "No, I d-don't mean it like that, it's just..." Orla's mind had went blank, and she stood at the door's threshold, suddenly overwhelmed with guilt for purposely trying to avoid Amari.

She hung her head and made her way over to the couch once more, launching herself at the furniture, face-first. Amari chose to take this as an opportunity to come inside, and he soon sat beside Orla within the little couch-space left. "You know I'm not mad, right?" He asked, a slight chuckle escaping as he spoke.

"It doesn't make it right..." Orla said, having expected such a response from Amari. In the two years that she had known him, it seemed as if nothing could bother him. He was constantly walking on the tightrope that this war-torn world was, but he always seemed to have an unshakeable balance. That somewhat bothered Orla at times, who was the stark contrast and a ticking time bomb, waiting to blow.

The death of her father had unleashed that side of her, that bloodlusted attitude that she believed had always been there. In a more calm state, Orla thought of the times that she had promised to kill Miranda, having nearly done so on one occasion. Her sober self regretted saying such words, but her anger still reminded her of what Miranda had done and all of the guilt, all the regret went away. It all went away.