Once all the girls sat down, Karina took it upon herself to talk first, knowing they needed to hear what she had found out as soon as possible.
"I did some... research, today," Karina said cautiously. The other two roommates looked at her in confusion and Karina sighed. She dug around in her backpack until she found the articles she'd printed out before she left.
"We wanted an explanation..." she said softly, passing the papers over to the girls. Both of them gasped as they saw the picture of the overturned car.
"Winter was in there?" Ningning asked in shock. Karina nodded and scooted closer to them on the couch.
"Yep," she pointed to passenger side of the car. "Right there. See that section? That's the part they had to saw off to get her out." She saw the other girls shudder at the thought, just as she had done.
"I knew that Jaemin guy was an idiot," Giselle mumbled under her breath. her grip on the paper had become so tight that Karina had to reach over and pry her fingers away. "How could he just leave her there?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," Karina sighed. Ningning turned the paper over and continued reading, her jaw dropping open.
"Traumatic brain injury?" The light skinned girl tilted her head to the side.
"What's that even mean?" Giselle added, raising her eyebrows in shock.
Karina had already done her research, and she handed them another paper she'd printed out that afternoon. Both girls read over the paper and Giselle shook her head.
"This isn't English, Rina, how am I supposed to know what a 'Diffuse Axonal' is?" Giselle scoffed. Ningning shook her head, shooting Karina an apologetic look.
"That's the specific type, I think," Karina pointed to the bolded words on the page. "I don't really know much either... it's confusing," Both girls nodded in agreement.
Sighing, Karina slumped back into her chair. "What did you guys have to tell me?" she asked, remembering what her roommates mentioned earlier.
Giselle and Ningning exchanged glances. They both had just seen how much work Karina had put into trying to figure out what was going on with Winter. It seemed rude of them to say anything now. Silently, they agreed to keep their mouths shut for the time being.
"Nothing," Giselle shook her head. "Winter's in your room, by the way. She was... she cried for a long time after you left," The Half Korean answered honestly. Karina bit her lip and stood up.
"Take those bags with you," Ningning added, pointing to the shopping bags in the kitchen. "Those are all Winter's."
Nodding, Karina grabbed the shopping bags and glanced in them. "Can you fill Yeji in when she gets back?" Karina asked, standing at the bottom of the stairs. She didn't want to have to explain everything for the third time that day. Both girls nodded and Karina sent them a thankful smile.
Ascending the stairs, Karina had began to wonder just how Winter got there. How did she manage to get on a plane and wonder here on her own? What was the glass in her shoes from? And the bruises?
Sighing, Karina opened her bedroom door slowly. Winter was asleep on her bed, and the older girl decided against waking her. She set the bags on the floor beside her closet and crossed her arms, wondering where she should put the clothes.
She realized just how much effort she was putting into accommodating Winter when she began moving the clothes in her closet around to make room for Winter's things. This was a new feeling for her, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it.
Karina laughed when she saw the dresses Ningning had purchased. She couldn't help but envision how adorable they would look on the younger girl. Just as she hung up the last piece of clothing, a dark blur collided with her and sent her stumbling backwards. She grabbed onto the wall to keep her balance.
"Yoojiii," Winter cooed, burying her head in Karina's chest and keeping her arms wrapped tightly around her.
"Well hello to you too," Karina laughed, taken aback by the girl's abrupt greeting. Seeing that Winter had no intention of letting go, Karina peeled the smaller girl off of her and took a few steps back. She immediately noted Winter's red eyes and puffy cheeks. Guilt slowly sunk in when she realized this was because of her.
"I'm sorry Yooji," Winter whispered, looking up at Karina with a look of uncertainty on her face. Karina tilted her head to the side in confusion.
"I killed it," the smaller girl murmured, shaking her head and walking over to the bed. Karina followed her cautiously. "Stupid," Winter huffed. She burrowed back under the covers, trying to hide from the older girl.
Karina felt her phone buzz in her pocket just as she sat down on the end of the bed.
[4:39 - Giselle] Oh, and also, Winter broke the table and vase by the door when you left. I guess that's what caused her to break down.
Sighing, Karina set her phone down and scooted closer to the figure nestled under the covers.
"Winter, I'm not mad at you," Karina said softly. She realized now that a day or two ago, she would've been furious. But the table and vase were replaceable, Winter wasn't. She had been able to learn that in their short time together.
The smaller girl slowly peered out from under the blankets. She studied Karina intently for a few moments before sitting up.
"Promise?" Winter tilted her head to the side, holding out her pinky finger. Karina laughed softly and nodded, locking their fingers together.
"Promise," the brown eyed girl nodded once. Winter looked down at her hands in her lap, still somewhat upset. Karina noticed this and grew concerned.
"Winter? Do you want to talk about it?" Karina reached out and placed one of her hands on the smaller girl's knee. At this point, Karina was 100 percent aware that she was in too deep, but for some reason her compassion outweighed her fear.
"Talk?" Winter asked. She looked down at Karina's hand in her lap, studying it carefully for a few moments. Karina watched as Winter gently placed her own hand atop Karina's, playing with her fingers aimlessly. The small gesture was still somehow able to make her stomach flutter.
"Yeah, talk," Karina nodded slowly, trying to think of how she could explain the idea to Winter. "Friends talk to friends about their problems, remember?"
"Oh, yes," Winter nodded once. Karina gave her a reassuring smile before scooting back on the bed and leaning against the headboard.
"Then what was bothering you this morning that made you so sad?" Karina asked softly. She patted the spot next to her and Winter crawled over eagerly. "Were you mad that I left?"
"I am scared you won't come back," Winter bit her lip and looked over at Karina. "And I like you here."
Karina couldn't help but feel guilty, but she knew there was no way around this. She had to go to class. And bringing Winter with her didn't seem like the best idea. She sighed and looked up at the ceiling.
"You know I'll always come back, Jeong, I'll always come back."
Winter smiled at the nickname, scooting closer to Karina and finding her hand again. "I didn't mean to kill it..." she mumbled under her breath. Karina barely caught what she had said.
"You didn't kill it, Winter," She shook her head and squeezed the girl's hand. "Next time, you just need to find a way to control your emotions, right? Like punching a pillow or something." Karina grabbed the pillow next to her and punched it to demonstrate, which caused Winter to giggle.
"There's other ways to control your anger too," Karina nodded softly. "Whenever I get mad, I draw in my sketchbook. We just need to find you something that calms you down."
"Eating?" Winter tilted her head to the side. Karina giggled and shook her head.
"Something besides eating," she pursed her lips and thought for a moment. "What do you like to do?"
Winter shrugged. "I am not good at things," she sighed. Karina quickly shook her head, not wanting Winter to believe that.
"Of course you are," Karina gave her a soft smile. "We just haven't found your true passion yet, but we will."
"You think so?" Winter bit her lip
"I know so," Karina smirked. She sighed softly when she remembered why she had came upstairs originally. Taking a deep breath, Karina sat up slightly and squeezed Winter's hand. "Can I ask you a question?"
Winter nodded softly, not knowing what Karina was referring to.
"Okay, so... I found out something today," she paused. "About you..." Winter still appeared confused and Karina took that as a good enough reason to continue. "Do you know you were in a car accident?"
Winter's eyes widened and she scanned Karina's face, trying to figure out her true intentions. After a few moments of tense silence, she nodded slowly. "I got hurt," she mumbled.
Karina saw the fear in the girl's eyes and kicked herself for bringing it up. But there was no going back now. "What happened, Winter?"
"Ouch," Winter nodded as if it were completely reasonable answer. She scooted back and pulled up the leg of her pajama pants, shifting her position to reveal a long, raised scar that ran from the middle of her thigh to the back of her knee. "See? Ouch."
"Damn," Karina whispered. Winter pulled her pants back over the cut and nodded softly.
"I... uh, do you remember Jaemin?" Karina bit her lip. Winter's face tensed, and the small girl furrowed her eyebrows together.
"Jaemin left," Winter muttered. "He left. Stupid," she shook her head and glanced up at Karina. "Mad."
"You're mad?" Karina asked. Winter nodded slowly. "Why are you mad?"
"Jaemin," Winter balled her fists and stared intently into space for a few moments. Karina waited patiently, trying to make this as comfortable for the other girl as possible. "Jaemin... left. Friends left." She brought her hands to her face and groaned.
"Hey, hey, it's okay," Karina quickly moved Winter's hands away from her face. "We don't have to talk about it anymore, okay? It's alright." Winter looked up at her shyly. Their eyes stayed interlocked for a few moments before Winter broke their eye contact, only to scoot closer to Karina and burrow her head into her neck.
Karina, surprised by the gesture, quickly pulled Winter closer to her and held her tightly. By the dampness on her shoulder, she could tell the smaller girl was silently crying. So she continued to hold her, rubbing small circles in the small of her back.
Karina would've done anything to see inside of Winter's mind right then. She wanted to know what Winter remembered, or what she thought of the accident. She wanted to know what happened with Jaemin. Or how Winter ended up in New York. There were so many unanswered questions that wouldn't be fair to dump onto the smaller girl.
They lay there like that for a while, Karina holding the small girl. Absentmindedly, Karina began singing softly to fill the silence.
Lie here til your world stops spinning round,
Lie near me til the birds start singing out.
Come, show what it is to be warm.
By my shelter and I'll be your storm.
And we'll show the fire how to burn.
Yeah, we'll show the fire,
We'll show the fire how to burn.
I don't know, I don't know where you came from,
But God's been smiling.
I don't know, I don't know where the rains gone
But it's been a while, been a while now.
"Pretty."
Karina jumped when she finished the song, realizing Winter had been watching her for some time. The smaller girl gazed intently up at her, a shy smile on her face.
"I, uh, thanks," Karina stumbled over her words. She felt her cheeks flush red and quickly looked away. Winter furrowed her eyebrows and sat up slightly, leaning over so she could see Karina's face.
"Do you know?" Winter tilted her head to the side, showing concern. "Yooji, do you?" She reached out and turned Karina's face so she was looking back at her. Karina swallowed hard when Winter locked her caramel eyes with her own.
"Do I know what?" Karina asked, biting her lip and forcing herself to take her eyes off of Winter. She sat up slowly, trying to distance herself from the girl. Obviously Winter didn't get the message, because she only scooted closer.
"You are pretty, Yooji," Winter nodded once. When Karina didn't respond, Winter reached up and placed her fingertips on Karina's lips. "I want you to know."
Karina's breath in her throat and she had to remind herself to breathe. "I-I, uh..."
"Do you know?" Winter tilted her head to the side, genuinely concerned that Karina wasn't aware of how pretty she was. The younger girl reached up and cupped Karina's face with both hands, studying her up close.
"You have chocolate eyes," Winter whispered, as if it was a secret that only they could know. Karina couldn't remember the last time she had been this nervous around someone. Winter had this effect on her, and it scared her knowing what it could do.
"Your heart is pretty, too," the younger girl nodded, placing her hand directly under Karina's collarbone. "I have seen it."
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