…Pause,boom.
I’d only just entered Stage 20, though, when my steps faltered upon seeing her on the ground. She was curled on the floor, with her hair a mess, her jeans and hoodie muddy, and her ankles crossed over each other. Under the white fluorescent lights, she looked so small, so tired.
Sobroken.
Her back was to me, and as I walked closer to her, I saw that a rat was standing next to her forehead. It rose on its hind legs and placed its hands on her head as if assessing her, and then sat back down before sniffing her nose.
“Zaira…” I breathed her name into the air, and then crouched behind her. “Zaira? Babe, it’s me.” I placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her a little.
She jerked at my touch, and screamed before moving away from me, her eyes wide and expression wild.
Her sudden movements scared the rat. It squeaked and ran away from us, just as Zaira shifted and scrubbed her hands over her tearstained cheeks.
My heart all but shrunk when I looked at her features. Her eyes were puffy; her chin had dirt on it. Strands of her hair were stuck on her temples, and her lips were chapped as they quivered.
“Baby–” I stopped when the others joined me.
Ronen began scanning the room, and Dylan walked over to Zaira before lifting her in his arms.
“Kenzie has called an ambulance,” he said to me. “Let’s get her outta here while Ronen goes through with his investigation.”
Zaira wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her face into the crook of his neck. She was shaking and crying as she said, “My right leg hurts so bad, D.”
Dylan’s jaw hardened, and he blinked before holding her tighter. “I got you, babe. I got you.”
I was still processing Zaira’s words as I stood there before her like a dumb piece of log when I heard sirens blaring in the background. Red-and-blue lights flashed soon after, and as Dylan walked out with Zaira still in his arms, I just kept watching the latter. She wasn’t looking at me for some reason, which confused me.
“Hey.” Shane placed a hand on my back as he came to stand next to me. “You okay, kid?”
I looked at him. “Why won’t she look at me?” I asked him. “Why won’t Zaira look at me, Shane?”
He seemed a bit taken aback by my question. “She’s been through a lot. Give her time, G; she’ll come around.”
I shook my head. “You don’t understand.” I sniffed and pushed my hair back. “She won’t…she…” I shook my head again. “She wouldn’tlookat me, Shane. She didn’t…”
“Hey, hey.” A hand gripped my left bicep. Kenneth.
“Look at me,” he said.
I did, and the pain in his ice-blue eyes almost undid me.
“I know what you’re going through right now,” he said between gritted teeth. “I knowexactlywhat it feels like, because I’ve gone through a pain far similar to this. She has a lot on her mind right now, okay? Just let her breathe and get to terms with everything. She’s going to be fine, but only if you take things slow.”
Conner, who’d come up behind Kenneth, nodded at me. “He’s right. That’s all we could do when it came to Amara: wait; give her time.”
“Although, I didn’t leave her alone, despite what everyone said,” Kenneth added, and jerked his head towards the ambulance. “Go, be with her. She may not show it now, but I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.”
“Thanks, guys.” I walked away from them, but stopped and glanced at Ronen. “You gonna be okay here?”
He looked at me. “For now, yeah.” He gestured at Ross next to him. “I have him to answer any questions. But you’ll have to drop by my office later today for a quick Q&A.”
“Definitely.” I gave him a grateful smile and walked out of the studio.
By the time I made it to the exit, Zaira had already been loaded into the ambulance. I made to step in so that I could join her, but her raspy voice stopped me in my tracks.
“No…”
I looked at her, and she finally met my eyes. And what I saw swarming in her hazels – like a picture painted in ink – knocked the breath right out of me.
