chapter thirty-one!
"MIGUEL!" screamed Alex, now wide awake, her voice filled with panic and fear. Hearing the loud crash of his body hitting the ground made a involuntary whimper leave her mouth. The few teens who hadn't already, stopped in their tracks— the pain in her voice making them freeze. Some kids stared with sympathy and guilt— realizing a moment too late that there was absolutely no way that this hurt girl was anything like the rumor that they had believed. Others, however, stepped backwards in fear that the assumed psycho was going to burst.
She didn't, though. She felt herself clumsily run down the stairs to where Miguel was, Samantha right on her heels. And while Sam did care about her ex-boyfriend, part of her was more concerned about what her best friend was going to do. Alex fell to her knees, Hawk beside her with Sam standing to the side. Sad sobs escaping, Alex reached for Miguel's hand with her own; ignoring the paramedics trying to push her back. She felt strong arms wrap around her shaking, bloody figure— arms that belonged to Hawk. He was trying to calm her down so the paramedics could help her too, seeing as the knife wounds were still spilling out blood, but she remained hysterical. She struggled against Hawk's hold as she saw Miguel get lifted onto a stretcher and rolled quickly away. A small part in the back of her mind wondered about Robby— she hadn't seen him run away, so she was wondering how he felt. She was so sure that he didn't mean to hurt Miguel, that this was all just an accident. How has everything gone so wrong?
She felt Hawk lift her off the ground, wrapping an arm around her waist to help stabilise her. She felt another arm wrap around her other side; Sam's. Together, the two pulled Alex over to one of the other ambulances; there were quite a few, seeing as whoever called the police didn't know exactly how many people were injured. Out of her slightly blurred vision, she saw a medic rush towards them, obviously taking sight of the large blood stains on her shoulder and side.
"No, no," protested Alex, pulling away when Hawk tried to pass her over to the lady. "Help Miguel, he needs it more than I do. I'm fine, I'm fine. Please, help Miguel."
The pleads did nothing, however, as the woman, who's name tag read Dr. Watson— which normally would've made Alex laugh at the unintentional Sherlock reference, but in these circumstances Alex didn't even notice— shook her head and reassured Alex that Miguel was getting taken care of. Alex didn't notice, however, as she continued to mutter on about Miguel. Another paramedic had already grabbed Sam when they saw the gashes on her arm, leaving just Hawk to stay with her.
"She's in shock," Dr. Watson explained to Hawk, who nodding quickly.
"But you can fix her, right?" he asked, his voice harsh— as if it was more of a threat than a question. The doctor nodded, surprisingly not intimidated by Hawk's rough demeanor.
"Yes, but we need to go ahead and get her to the hospital. You can ride along if you'd like."
Only a few minutes later she passed out— the pain and exhaustion being too much for the girls body to handle. Hawk did ride in the ambulance with her, not missing the look that Casey gave him before the doors of vehicle shut. Anger. Not towards him, but towards the kids of Miyagi-Do. Hawk felt the exact same way. Miyagi-Do Karate has put two of his best friends in the hospital. They deserved everything they got, and everything that's coming for them.
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Alex woke up a few hours later, wires hooked up to her; connecting her to a machine. It beeped steadily, her heart rate having had slowed down in the time that she was out. Attempting to sit up a bit more, a sharp pain shot through her arm and down her side. Without the adrenaline from before, the pain hit all at once—making her hiss. The doctor from before walked in, not seeming surprised that Alex was awake. She had a clipboard in her hand and for a moment, Alex thought she was in a movie. It was a bizarre thought and was probably a side affect of all of the drugs they were likely pumping into her veins, but she thought that she transported into a different dimension when she passed out and was now in a hospital show like Grey's Anatomy or Chicago Med. TV doctors always have clipboards.
"...Ms. Ramirez, nice to see you awake. I hope your feeling better now. You got quite lucky; the knife wounds barely missed everything important . This could've been a lot worse," she hears the doctor say, bringing her out of her drugged thoughts. "You have a couple of broken ribs and you'll have to be cautious about your stitches, but I assume you'll be able to go home in a few days."
"Okay."
"We had you on an IV because you were seriously low on nutrients. When is the last time you ate?"
"Is Miguel okay?" asked Alex, suddenly coming back to her senses and completely ignoring the doctors question. Reality hit her with a quick reminder that her boyfriend could be dead. "he's not... is he?"
"Your friend is undergoing an intense procedure, but if all goes well he should be fine. Right now, though, you really 'ought to focus on taking care of yourself. Now those stitches will leave scars, which I know will be a difficult reminder of what happened—"
"I'm used to it," Alex cut her off with a small, friendly smile. "My whole body is full of those reminders. What's a few more?"
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About an hour later, Daniel, Amanda, and Sam LaRusso came into her hospital room to check on her. It was about dinner time, seeing as she'd been asleep a lot longer than she'd thought and was actually quite hungry because she'd slept straight through lunch. And hadn't eaten breakfast, bringing her back to the doctors question. When was the last time she'd eaten? Does the alcohol and chips from the night before count? Anyway, the hospital food tasted like it came out of the sewers and the only thing she was able to eat was the Jello. Thankfully, when the LaRusso's did come, they brought food with them. Sam had been released from the hospital about an hour and a half after she was admitted since she only had a few stitches on her arm.
They had brought take-out from Alex's favorite restaurant— which Alex was extremely grateful for because it's about 45 minutes away from the hospital. The three of then knocked on the open door of Alex's hospital room, making her look up from scowling and picking at at the disgusting green beans with her fork. Her face lighting up in a weak grin as she saw some of her favorite people, waving them in. "Hey, guys."
"Hey Alex," the family chorused. She sounded distant, like she wasn't even fully focused on them being there. Her mind was basically everywhere else, which was understandable at the moment. She saw Anthony sitting on the chair outside of her room as he played on his phone. Figures. Daniel then sat the Japanese food beside the tray on the small bed-table, grinning as he pulled up a chair, "We brought you Koto's. Figured the hospital food was probably really bad."
Alex nodded in confirmation, a distant look staying in her eyes. The doctors had pumped her full of medication, which made her pretty doosy. She still couldn't keep her mind off of two people; her mom and Miguel, who were both still in the hospital. "Thank you. These green beans taste like garbage."
"We stopped by your mom's room on our way here," Amanda spoke up, making Alex perk her head up in interest. Sam noticed how her hands started shaking- making her furrow her eyebrows in concern. She'd saw how easily Alex's hands have started shaking, even over the smallest things. Could her nerves really be that messed up?
"Really?" asked Alex, a hopeful look on her face. Amanda nodded, sending the girl a soft smile. "How is she? Is she getting any better? I've been asking about her and Miguel but the doctors keep telling me to worry about myself. I asked about you too, Sam. They told me you got released. I'm really glad you're okay."
"Yeah, I'm fine," she gave the girl a small grin, "And your mom was asleep when we went by, but the doctor said seemed to be getting better. How about you? How are you doing?"
"I don't know. I don't really care, either. What about Miguel? And Robby— what's happening to him? Was anyone else hurt?" she asked, shifting upwards in the bed, winching at the ache she felt all throughout her body. Apparently the several drugs weren't enough to keep her from being in pain. Her voice, however, came out as slurred and weak. Daniel sighed, sharing a look with Amanda and Sam before turning back to Alex.
"Alex, honey, you should really be worried about yourself," Amanda started, her motherly instincts kicking in. "That girl could've done a lot more damage than you realize."
What Amanda was referring to, which Alex didn't know at the time, was that the doctor had told her that Alex was suffering from a pretty bad concussion, which is why she was so out of it— not drugs. The needle in her arm wasn't even for the pain, it was an IV that they were using to keep her energy up so she wouldn't fall back asleep. When she'd passed out in the ambulance, it'd done nothing to help the terrible head injury. Alex shook her head, knowing what the doctor had told her when she'd awakened, "No, it's just a few stitches and my ribs. I'll be fine."
Not much was said after that— Alex being a bit annoyed that even the LaRusso's wouldn't tell her how Miguel and Robby were, while also not feeling like really saying much more. Her mind kept wondering back to memories of her and Miguel— memories that made it feel like she was back and living them.
"I told you not to try and do a pirouette on roller skates. It's hard enough on rollerblades."
"The fact that you can do it on rollerblades just proves that you're absolutely perfect and that there's nothing you can't do."
Alex couldn't help but grin to herself— she remembered that date like it was yesterday. Maybe it was; she wasn't too sure about much at the moment. Not with everything going on. Sure, that night Tory and Sam had gotten into it at the roller rink, but before that Alex and Miguel were having the time of their lives. The LaRusso's left pretty soon after she started zoning out again— leaving her food sitting on the tray in front of her. She didn't eat it— her mind was stuck going through everything that had led her and her boyfriend to this moment.
It seemed like every single memory she had of the boy was flashing through her head.
"The bus comes by here?"
"Uh, not exactly. There's a bus stop about a half a mile up the street. I usually wait there."
"You must be new here, huh? I'm Alex."
"Miguel Diaz. And yeah, I'm new."
"You don't really give off the whole psychopath vibe."
"Oh shut up, my mom loves you more than she loves me."
"Let's just say we're both single now."
"Break-up buddies, huh?"
"I really like you too, Miguel. And that was really adorable."
"Yeah, I was supposed to kiss you after showing you, though."
"You still can, moron,
"We should play soccer."
"You and Sam kissed. Okay."
"You're cute. I'll see you later, at school. First period, right?"
"Yes! First period!"
"Bad timing, I know, but I think I'm in love with you."
"Well I guess it's a good thing that I think I'm in love with you too."
"Miguel!"
She snapped out of her trance, her head snapping up as her hands began trembling. She could hear her heart rate doubling on the monitor above her. How could this have happened? How could things have gone so wrong? How could it be possible that both her boyfriend and her mother were fighting for their lives? Alex began tugging on the edge of the hospital gown, the texture of the material making her frown uncomfortably. She wished she were wearing her own clothes— the fabric of this stupid gown making her grow annoyed and angry for some reason. She felt hot tears burn in her eyes, the monitor beeping faster and faster.
A nurse rushed in, hurrying to calm the girl down as she began breathing harder. Not even seconds later, Alex was hyperventilating and freaking out as her shaking hands fiddled with the blanket that was resting over her legs.
"Sweetie, I'm so sorry you're in this position, but i'm going to need you to calm down," said the nurse. It was Shelly, the nurse she'd made friends with while watching over her mother. Alex didn't calm down, however, and Shelly was under strict orders not to give her any medication that would make her fall asleep until she was cleared. "Uh, um, your mother was telling me about you earlier."
This made Alex at least look her way, still panicking, but still trying to focus on what the woman had to say. No matter what state of mind she was in, her mother meant the world to her.
"She was telling me about when you were a kid. She said that you'd play soccer with your little brother, and that he'd follow you to hockey practice— even though he couldn't skate whatsoever, no matter how hard you tried to teach him," she recalls. Shelly loved listening to Xolani talk about her kids, seeing as how she couldn't have any of her own. Being born in a male body made it to where she couldn't have children even if she wanted to. That's why she found the stories about Alex and Lucas so interesting. She'd give anything to watch a child grow up— to have a child that would call her mom. "She told me that you were the best big sister to that boy. She told me how you'd have your friends over to spend the night and even then you'd make sure to include Lucas and hang out with him too. She told me about the time that Lucas punched a guy —twice his size— in the face because he was harassing you on the subway. The kid was only ten, but he still loved his big sister."
Alex didn't even notice her breathing beginning to slow to a much more calm pace as she listened. Tears continued rushing down her face, somewhat for Miguel and her mother, and somewhat for Lucas. God, she missed him. It took Shelly another five-ten minutes of stories for Alex to completely calm down.
Alex thanked Shelly, realizing she wasn't panicking nearly as bad anymore. Shelly waved it off, giving Alex some ice cream before leaving the room.
Alex then attempted to read a book that was in her bag. She wasn't sure of how her backpack had gotten to the hospital, but her phone was dead and she didn't have a charger, so a good old book was next easiest option for passing time.
She pretty much a gave up at that idea soon after starting. It was a great book, that was for sure, but staring at the words on the page made her head hurt and her vision blur slightly. She figured it was something to do with her concussion, so she settled for watching Nickelodeon on the tiny TV that was in the room. It was a show she'd seen only a few times before, Knight Squad, but it was good nonetheless.
Several people visited Alex that day— even though she was to remain in the ICU for the rest of the evening and the rules were for family only to see ICU patients, the nurses knew Alex. They knew her only family was already in the hospital, just not for a visit. They knew Alex needed the support, so they let everyone who came to see her back into her room without hesitation.
Casey and Hawk were the first to visit after the Larusso's. The two were pissed about the days events, but we're still incredibly worried about their friend. They didn't stay long, Alex seeming unfocused on them. They didn't blame her, however, seeing as how the two most important people in her life were in the hospital with her. Before leaving, Casey left her phone charger for Alex to borrow.
Next to visit was Miguel's mother and grandmother. This was surprising to Alex, but she was certainly way more alert during their visit. She figured they had their hands full enough as it is with Miguel in the condition that he's in, but appreciated their visit nonetheless. They (finally) filled her in with everything going on with Miguel and had brought the girl a snack and soda from the vending machine. They didn't stay long either, for obvious reasons.
Johnny Lawrence was another unexpected guest that night. The man was clearly torn up about what had happened to Miguel, so it warmed Alex's heart that he took the time to visit her. He only stayed a few seconds, long enough to check in and see how she was doing or if she needed anything.
Demetri was her longest staying visitor; staying from around five in the afternoon until visiting hours were over and he had to leave. Chris had came with him, but had to leave about thirty minutes after arriving. Demetri sat with Alex and the two just talked. He could tell she needed the distraction from her mind, so he took it upon himself to read her some of his comic books and even showed her the trailer for the new season of Supernatural, the two ranting about that for a good hour. Demetri couldn't bring himself to say this, but he'd missed his best friend so much. Between her constantly working and the Cobra's hogging her when she wasn't, he barely got to speak to her. He hated that this was all happening to her, and he knew better than anyone that this was the furthest thing from what she deserved. Why couldn't the universe just let Alex Ramirez be happy? It wasn't fair.
Something else that Demetri failed to inform the girl about was how completely destroyed Noah was at the moment. He may have a deep deep hatred for Miguel, but he didn't want him dead. Through their training, Robby had became like a brother to him and he couldn't imagine doing karate without him. Even though he was still heartbroken from the breakup (despite having had been the one who broke up with Alex, not the other way around), Alex still meant a lot to him. He still loved her, in every sense of the word, and he hated how much pain she was in. He was a worried, sobbing mess after seeing Alex leave in an ambulance.
Alex wasn't sure of much at that moment, but one thing that was was positive about is that Demetri helped more than anything else that evening. He'd successfully distracted her from all of her issues, which she appreciated deeply in the moment.
However, when he left, she wasn't sure of what to do. She grew bored and restless soon after his depart and realized she couldn't take the helpless feeling of staying in the hospital. She felt useless— she should be with her mom, or Miguel, or at work. Not here. She was fine, she didn't need to be in this terrible place. And so she made up her mind.
I'm leaving this place first thing in the morning.
a/n: last chapter of s2!! so excited to write s3 omggg.
hope you enjoyed! have a wonderful day <3
~chloe