Anything (Van McCann | CATB Fan Fiction)

22. Interstate 80 Exit, CA

"Thank god!" We all exhaled in unison. My eyes were still glued on her, making sure that she really was finally waking up.

Vienna blinked a couple of times, her eyes were red and her cheeks moist. Have she been crying?

"What happened?" She breathed out.

"You passed out. Are you okay?" Mike asked her with furrowed brows as she grabbed his arm, trying to lift herself up. Benji then came forward to help her up.

"Yeah... I think I'm okay," she softly muttered, as she sat herself on the sofa, looking around the room, looking frazzled.

"Should we get you to bed?" Dan asked.

"Okay," she nodded.

"You can sleep in the lounge tonight," Larry offered. "More space for you to breath. I don't mind sleeping on the bunk bed tonight."

"I'm okay, Larry. But, thank you," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers.

"You don't look okay," Mike said. "Just sleep in the lounge tonight.

"Okay," Vienna cringed, resigning from being stubborn, looking defeated.

"Is it okay if we continue our journey now?" Joe asked.

"Yep. We are good to go, mate. Thanks Joe," Dan said, giving him the thumbs up.

Knowing that I probably had to swap beds with Mike, I sat myself on his bed, while Larry settled himself comfortably on the empty bed above of Bob, who was listening to some music on his earphones. John was softly strumming his guitar, while Benji scrolled through his phone. And Dan, on his laptop, as usual.

I could tell that everyone was still shaken by what happened. We were all hoping that Vienna was fine.

Mike sighed when he walked out of the lounging area, shutting the door behind him as he raked his fingers through his hair, shaking his head.

"Everything alright in there?" I looked up at him.

"I hope so. She's fast asleep," he deeply exhaled, taking a seat next to me.

"I can sleep here tonight," I told him.

"Nah, mate. I know you're claustrophobic," he chuckled. "Do you mind looking out for her tonight? I think she's fine, but, you know, just in case."

"Yeah, mate. Anything."

Without much thinking, I held Mike words and played the good friend part. I took Vienna's blanket from her bunk bed and brought it to our "bedroom". She was already lying on the couch when I entered, her back onto me. I carefully sat down on the empty space next to her, placing the blanket on top of her body, making sure that she was warm and cosy. Her whole body shook, but not from the cold. She shook because she was softly crying.

Emotions flooded through me - worry, sad, panic. I settled on sympathy and put an arm around her shoulders. A sob escaped her, and turning into me, she slipped her arms around my waist, and laid her head on my lap. She completely lost it. She clutched at me like I might vanish at any moment. She was sobbing so hard she could barely breath.

I leaned over her, stroking her hair and rubbing her back, feeling a huge lump forming in my throat. It was hurting me to see Vienna like that.

"Don't leave me," she sobbed, her eyes shut.

"I won't..." I whispered. "I'm here."

She was trembling so I clutched her tighter. After what felt like an eternity, her sobs eased to gentle crying and eventually, those eased too. I continued to silently hold her close to me, surprised to realised that I was lightly rocking her like a child. After a moment, her arms around me loosened, her breath became smooth and regular and I realised that she had cried herself to sleep on my legs.

My heart ached with so many questions - Why did she cry? Is she okay? What can I do to make her feel better? To see her breaking down like that was oddly ripping me apart.

I softly kissed her hair, running my hand down her back. Gently, I shifted out from under her. She stirred, but, didn't wake up. As I pulled away from her, she instinctively reached out for me, grabbing me again and holding me tight in her sleep. She cringed and said "no" and for a moment, I thought she was awake, but after a minute of watching her, she barely moved or speak again. I decided to let her hold on to me for the rest of the night, bringing her into the right position so she could comfortably nestled beneath my arm.