Everything is fine.
Aurora just has a minor bleeding; these things happen. My gaze drifts to my forearms. I pick at the dried blood on my skin with trembling fingers.
"Maxime!"
I lift my eyes and see Sky running toward me, her hair billowing behind her.
"What happened?" Her cheeks are flushed as if she sprinted from the competition hall to here. Her strikingly blue eyes scan the hallway anxiously. "Where is she?"
"They're examining her." My voice trembles. I run my fingers over my head and clasp them behind my neck. "I'm sure everything is okay..."
Her expression darkens. Then she nods vehemently and looks at me intently. "You look terrible."
It doesn't matter. "I lifted her from the parquet floor. She was..."bleeding so much,I want to say, but I don't get the words out.
"Come on, let's clean you up." Sky sounds as if she wants to calm a wild animal.
Immediately, I shake my head. "I'm not leaving."
"Okay, I understand." Her hand twitches upward as if she wants to put it on my upper arm but then changes her mind. "I'll bring you some wet wipes." I can see the urgency in her expression to help, so I nod even though I couldn't care less if I'm dirty or clean.
She turns around and hurries down the hallway. Once I'm alone again, my helplessness threatens to overwhelm me once more.
I continue doing what I do best: ignoring worries and potential problems.
What I don't think about doesn't exist.
I strain my eyes to look at the clock. It's shortly after nine. When did we even arrive here? How long have I been waiting?
Restlessly, I pace back and forth along the hallway, keeping my eyes fixed on the door to the treatment room. With each passing second, panic crawls up inside me.
There.
The door.
It's moving!
I sprint the few yards, almost colliding with the doctor who emerges from the room just as I reach it.
"How is she?" I involuntarily reach for her hands.
"Your friend is stable," she replies with a gentle voice. "She needs rest, but she will recover quickly."
That's good. So good that I almost don't want to ask the next question. "And what about...our baby?"
She lowers her eyelids, a fine crease forming between her eyebrows. "I'm very sorry."
Silence.
Inside me is nothing but silence.
No thoughts. No feelings.
I’m empty.
My knees threaten to give way. I stagger, slamming against the wall. Someone catches me and pulls me into their arms.
Red curls dance before my eyes. Words reach my ears. They pierce through me as if I were a ghost.
