You Bring Out the Best In Me

Chapter 10: Who's to Blame?

Normani's POV

I sat shaking in one of the chairs in the hospital's waiting room. I was too weak to cry anymore. It was nearly 1am and I have been here, bawling my eyes out, since a little after midnight.

Ally wasn't dead. The doctor made that perfectly clear. The car stopped as soon as it could but still managed to break a few of her ribs without running her over completely. We haven't been able to see her yet because she's in intensive care. She's in a coma; but she's not dead.

Lauren and Camila were still sobbing a few chairs down from mine and I couldn't really blame them. It was practically their fault that Ally might not wake up. If Camila never had that nightmare...if Lauren never comforted her...if Lauren hadn't kissed her...if Camila had stopped it...Ally would be here right now.

Lauren's POV

I felt like I couldn't breathe. I could've possibly just caused the death of one of my friends. I had my arms wrapped around Camila, trying my hardest to assure her that none of this was her fault. It was mine...wasn't it? I was the one who kissed her. But she could've stopped it. No, I shouldn't have kissed her. But, it felt so right, and she never said she didn't like it. If she had just chosen me to be her girlfriend...if she hadn't asked Ally out in the first place, we wouldn't be in this mess.

Camila's POV

I watched through the blurry vision of my tears as more people were rushed into ICU. I didn't know what to think. I liked the kiss. I kept remembering how I liked Lauren before I even knew that Ally existed. This is all my fault. It all traces back to me.

A doctor appeared in front of us holding a clipboard. "Are you here for Allyson Brooke Hernandez?" he asked. We hesitated before nodding; we had never heard anyone call her that. "Follow me,"

We obeyed, slowing standing up from our seats and walking with him down the long hallway. It was terrifyingly quiet throughout the entire building, but ICU was the worst. There was a sort of presence in there that made you feel like you yourself was dying.

Dinah's POV

We watched in silence as the doctor pushed open the door to Ally's room. He instructed us not to mess up any of the wires attached to her because they were trying to monitor her brain waves or something: I wasn't really listening. As soon as Normani saw Ally laying practically lifeless in that bed, she dropped to her knees and burst into tears.I ran over to wrap my arms around her and started to cry as well. If I never told Ally to wait across the street none of us would be in this situation. But I guess we were all blaming ourselves.

Lauren was the only one with enough strength to walk over to her. "Ally?" I heard her whisper.  "I'm so, so sorry. I never should have kissed Camila. She was your girlfriend and I should've respected that." She sniffled a little and continued: "I'm sorry that I got you in this mess. And that I ruined the first relationship that you were confident enough to have with a girl." She took a deep breath but her voice was still shaky. "I never meant to hurt you...and I know that I'm rambling now, and you probably can't even hear me." She was starting to give into the tears, only letting a few slip out. "But we all love you Ally... and we'll stay here all night if it means that you'll be okay."

"Can we stay here all night, Lo?" Camila asked quietly.

Lauren glanced around the room before scanning each of our faces individually. She shrugged. "I'm not sure..."

Normani's POV

I walked over to stand on the opposite side of Ally's bed from Lauren. "Ally..." I breathed, running my fingertips along the scar on the top of the left side of her head. "Baby, I'm so, so sorry." I don't know why I called her that. No one questioned me, so I continued. "I don't..." My voice cracked a little. "I don't really know what to say...because Lauren kind of spoke for all of us...just...remember what I told you, okay?" I whispered that last part. I didn't want anyone asking what I told her. I thought about leaning down and repeating the phrase into her ear but ruled out the idea when I realized that she probably couldn't hear me. I found a chair and dragged to the side of her bed, sitting down and just staring at her. I reached out to move her hair out of her face when I noticed how quiet the room was.

"You really liked her, didn't you?" Camila asked gently.

I nodded: "Still do..."

"I'm so sorry, Mani."

"Don't call me that." I quickly back-tracked, hoping that she hadn't heard me. "You should be." I sighed. "You should be sorry."

Dinah's POV

"Camila, why did you date Ally?" I asked, almost without thinking.

She turned to look at me. She was standing at the very end of Ally's bed and I was leaning against the wall behind her. "What do you mean?"

I probably shouldn't have asked that. Oh well, too late to turn back now. "Did you really like her?"

"I did."

"Who do you like more?"

"What?"

"Now that you've kissed both of them, who do you like more?" I repeated.

She just stared at me, shocked.

"Dinah, don't you think it's a little too soon for that?" Lauren snapped.

I shrugged and looked down at the floor but didn't say anything else.

Ally's POV

After a few doctors and nurses had been coming and going, I finally understood what was wrong with me. I had gotten a concussion and then slipped into a coma.They said I would probably wake up soon but nobody knew for sure. I was pretty sure that I heard them say I fell faster than I should've in the coma because I was drunk.

I wanted more than anything to tell the girls that I was okay. That I could at least hear them. But, I couldn't move.

I don't know what I wanted Camila's answer to be. I wanted to think that she liked me more but I had a feeling that it might not be true.

Normani, on my left, clasped my hand in hers and rubbed her thumb over the back of it a few times. I could tell she was looking at me, but she stayed silent. I wanted her to say something, anything.

Lauren's POV

"Do you guys remember when Ally said she liked to sing?" Normani asked quietly. We nodded. "What do you think her favorite song was?" 

I hesitated before answering. "She loves Justin Timberlake."

"Aren't you something to admire
'Cause your shine is something like a mirror." Camila sang softly.
"And I can't help but notice
You reflect in this heart of mine."

Dinah joined in:
"If you ever
Feel alone and the glare makes me hard to find
Just know that I'm always
Parallel on the other side."

Normani and I sang with them, harmonizing slightly with our shaky voices.
"'Cause with your hand in my hand and I pocket full of soul
I can tell that there's no place we couldn't go
Just put your hand on the glass I'll be tryin' to pull you through
You just gotta be strong.
'Cause I don't wanna lose you now-" Normani broke down in tears, causing the rest of us to trail off as well.

"Please don't leave us, Ally." She whispered. "Please..."

A/N: Hii I hope you liked this chapter! I always say that but oh well haha. I like comments so if you could give me some feedback that would be awesome! And you'll get Chapter 11 on Wednesay so comment, vote, and thanks for reading! Byeee :-) :-P ;-) O:-)