It Started With You + Me

Chapter 24: Brothers?

-NINA'S POV-

I was practically skipping out of the room, the verdict that I was free to go home had left me bouncing with joy. I was free to leave this pit of clinical boredom and live again! The bruises that had clothed my neck, had almost stopped me from being allowed to leave, but after confirmation it was only the upper epidermis that was damaged, they reluctantly let me go. 

My heart was pounding when my hand touched the icy metal of the door handle which cut into my flesh. Nervousness was clouding my judgement and my posture changed from calm and collected to a defensive stance, my legs firmly planted themselves into the ground, while the many hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Somehow I could sense something wasn't right. Not how the world had painted it out to be. I took a deep breath in and tried to shake the fear off.

Almost the second the door opened my eyeballs popped out of my head. The ground was splattered upon, a raging war zone. Blood lay on the ground in various polka dots, exactly like a patterned carpet lining the ground. Vigorously I looked around, I felt weak, I felt sick. My hand found its way towards my mouth whilst the other remained clutched to my stomach. Gasping as I saw the two on the floor, I looked away, shuffling my feet as I walked, head bowed in disgust.

They looked up at me, I could feel the stares in my back. I shivered at the unfamiliar feeling. Shea had Marcus by the neck, pinned to the ground. Knuckles white yet doused in red. His handsome face now supported a huge black bruise right under his eye and a split lip, his expression was unreadable, scary. Marcus on the other hand, had an evil twisted smirk plastered on his face. I could immediately tell he threw the first punch.

I ran off into some random direction hoping to find help but the corridors were unusually empty, as no nurses were around I panicked further. Down the corridor, I sprinted as quickly as possible in my hospital gown and straight into a person. I glared up at the walking mountain and watched the face register in my brain. His hand came down to try to steady me, but I batted it away as quickly as possible. I knew who he was. Thomas? Nika's boyfriend...

What on earth was he doing here? Was Nika with him? I shook my head to try and disperse the disturbing thoughts that crowded my mind, and concentrated my energy on anything involving Nika. Tom's stare was cold and guarded. With one final glare, I wandered to the bathroom to find some peace of mind, taking a deep breath to compose myself I opened the door.

Hysterical sobbing filled the room as I took step in. It was comming from one of the cubicles, loud and awkward. I stood, staring at the large mirror above the sink and knitted my eyebrows. How did I remember who Thomas was? Just then another thought struck me, maybe Nika was here, and that's why he was here as well?

The sobs were reduced to bare sniffles when the cubicle door opened, out stepped my best friend. Nika looked like a mess, her hair stood up on both sides and the front looked repeatedly finger-raked through. Her nose was bright red and slightly swollen,  if she had been in a slightly better state I would have comented on her and Rudolf the reindeer's likeness. Mascara drooled down her face in two, almost parallel lines whilst her eyes were rimmed with red tears, sorrow and despair. Without hesitation I rushed to embrace her, smoothing her unruly hair down with one hand and patting her back with the other. I let her tears gush down in an avalanche of salty water, all the while repeatedly ensuring she was physically okay. 

"Hey... What's wrong?" I asked awkwardly, wishing I wasn't terrible around tears. She shook her head and made an attempt to speak but her throat became all clogged up. Understanding that she rather wouldn't, or couldn't find the words to explain anything, I left the matter and let her calm herself.

Looking at the mirror, I sighed. Questions raced through my head... waiting impatiently to be answered. I would push them aside momentarily, but they had an odd nack for showing up again at the strangest of times.