Bionic Sisters

The Calm

ARLY'S POV
The past few days had basically sucked the life out of us, physically and somewhat mentally. Adam was still on life support, but was getting better according to Davenport. Ara was still pretty quiet, and by 'pretty', I mean that she had basically gone mute. No words whatsoever.

Rumors were that she went to Adam and talked to him, but I didn't believe them. I mean, he is just her boyfriend! Allison and I are her sisters. If she doesn't talk to us, she most definitely won't talk to anyone else.

During the period of what I like to call 'The Calm', I began to draw in my free time. It helped me relax and think better. Clear my mind.

So, today, I was drawing in our dorm with Ara, who was on her bed reading, there with me. After about an hour of silence, I tried to talk to her.

"Ara, what's wrong?"

She looked up at me and began to put thoughts into my brain. I'm just stressed.

"Oh." I scooted forward. "Adam?"

Yeah. And something he said to me.

Which is?

He wants to start a family, Arly. I'm happy but also overwhelmed. I'm only fifteen, he's only seventeen, and he's basically on a machine right now!

"Start a family? Maybe he was just joking. I mean, sure he does, but I couldn't picture him being a teen father. You shouldn't worry about it too much."

See? There's the problem. What if he was joking around? I poured my heart out to him and all he did was joke around. The only thing he seemed serious about was when he said "I love you" first.

"Well, Adam's...Adam. He can't help it, and you know it." Suddenly, my eyes widened at what she said at the end. "Did you just say he said 'I love you' first?"

I looked up to see Ara nodding.

"Well, there you have it. If they say it first, they mean it, one hundred percent."

She shrugged and returned to her book.

Just then, the telephone in our room (kinda like a hotel), rang out. Ara stared at me blankly which meant I had no other choice but to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hey! It's a good thing I got a hold of you!" It was Chase. "Look, I wanted to do something special for you even though there's still a lot going on. Do you want to come with me on a date?"

I looked at Ara and then rolled over to the other side of the bed, pressing the phone to my ear. "I'm worried about Ara, she's still not talking," I whispered.

"Arly, relax! She'll be fine. Everything is calm. Please?"

I smiled. "Alright, I guess. But if anything goes wrong, promise we'll head back straightaway?"

"I promise."

***

When I stepped into the conditioning of the science museum, I felt relieved. Chase and I idly held hands as we went to look at the first exhibit.

"So, what do you think?" he asked.

"Less nerdy than expected," I laughed weakly. "It's amazing."

"Oh, and I almost forgot to mention," he grinned, holding up two tickets to an astronomy show. "Want to count stars with me?"

When we arrived at the auditorium, it was to be taken note that not many people were in there, surprisingly. We sat down on a mat that the staff had laid out for guests side by side. The lights dimmed, and small pinpricks glowed on the ceiling.

"Wow," Chase gasped. "They're almost as beautiful as you."

I blushed, I could feel it. Luckily, the dark was there to hide it. "Thank you," I sighed, tangling our fingers together. "I love you, Chase Davenport."

"I love you too, Arly"-he paused, looking at me, and then slyly said with a smirk-"Davenport."

And even though we sat through the rest of the presentation in silence, I still felt as though we had spoken a thousand words. It was a feeling of love and happiness, two things that I had never experienced outside my sisters' circle before the academy.

We walked out of the show, feeling like our chests were exploding. Seriously, I loved this feeling so much.

Chase grinned and stepped in front of me.

"What're you doing?" I asked.

"This," he said cheesily, and then pressed me against the wall.

And kissed me.

Our tongues swept over each other and he cupped my jawline, holding me firmly. I smiled in between smooches, and we finally broke apart, breathless and in disbelief that no one around the museum had gotten into us for PDA.

"Let's go check out the nature exhibit," Chase suggested, but then my phone began to ring.

"Excuse me," I said, my voice sounding a bit apologetic. I answered. "Ara, what is it?"

On the other end, Ara was sobbing and sounded as though she were hyperventilating. "A-Arly. Get C-Chase. It's Adam..." She gave a horrible cough and then cried some more. The phone line dropped and felt fear and terror for Adam strike through my heart.

"We have to go," I said to Chase quickly. I grabbed his hand and rushed for the doors.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

I whirled around, not missing a beat even though I was on the verge of tears. "Ara just called. Adam is dying."

Well, that went over like a ton of bricks.