Wheel of Fate

40.

The paramedics gently moved Olivia, slighting the stretcher underneath her, and moved her to the ambulance.

Steve, Max, and Billy jogged behind them by the time the three of them went outside the mall; the paramedics had Olivia already inside the ambulance. They were ready to close the door, ready to take her to the hospital time was ticking, but Billy held the door before it could fully close. Without saying anything, Billy went into the ambulance one of the paramedics moved his hand, placing it on Billy's chest, stopping him before he could go any further. "You kids can't be here, only family." Billy looked at the man with an irritated expression making the man withdraw his hand. "She's my family; I'm her older brother," he said.

Billy took a seat on a small empty seat inside the ambulance "get in," he said, looking at Max, who seemed to be frozen in place just looking at Olivia's body. She blinked a few times, a few tears running down her cheek, and went in.

"What do you think you're doing Harrington," Billy asked as Steve had one foot on the ambulance.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going with you two," he said, looking at Billy. "You heard what the man said, only family," he said firmly.

"We have to go now," the same paramedic said, the monitor showing a long green line. Steve's eyes widened; Olivia didn't have a heartbeat.

He was pushed back, and the doors were closed on his face; he stayed in place, unable to move as the ambulance drove away.

That was one of the worst moments for him; he felt his heart breaking all over again; the pain was something he couldn't quite describe.

•

•

•

"Welcome to Hawkins, Indiana, a wonderful place to grow up, to raise your family, to walk your dog. But then on July Fourth, everything changed. A terrible tragedy struck this small town. But this was not this small town's first brush with tragedy. Mysterious deaths, government cover-ups, a bizarre chemical leak. Is it all linked? All a vast conspiracy? The fault of a disgraced, corrupt mayor? Or is something more going on in the heartland? Can a town itself be cursed? Some believe a rise in Satanism is to blame. To find out, tune in tonight at 8:00 p.m. for "Horror in the Heartland" on Cutting Edge," a news reporter said.

Steve got up from the chair and got the control remote, lowering the volume from the small television. For the last three weeks, that's what everyone in Hawkins has been talking about, but only a few residents knew the truth of the events that took place.

Steve went back to the seat, placing his hands on his face brushing his hair back. Steve hadn't had a good night's sleep since that night; it was impossible for him to sleep every time he closed his eyes, he saw her, he saw Ollie, and it broke him every single time.

He would replay that moment over and over again, thinking of what he could have done differently.

Letting out a deep exhale, Steve turned his head to the left; a small smile started to form on his lips as he saw her. Olivia was alive; he was so thankful for that, but she hadn't woken up because of the blood loss that Olivia suffered; she was required to get a blood transfusion. Shortly after, she was put in an induced coma, given some time for her body to rest and heal properly.

Once the doctor saw improvement in Olivia's condition, they slowly took her out of the induced coma monitoring her brain activity and vital signs. It had been four days since then, they just needed for her to wake up and check up on her.

Steve was impatient; he wanted to see her out of that bed. He wanted to hug her and talk to her, and he wanted to apologize for everything.

Maybe if he didn't tell her about the mind flayer, she wouldn't be in the hospital bed. He should have kept her safe and far away from all of that. Steve gently held Olivia's hand in his as he looked at her.

"The food here sucks," Billy complained loudly, walking into the room. Max was walking beside him, holding a cup of coffee. Max rolled her eyes and walked up to Steve "here," she said, handing him the coffee and a donut; Steve smiled at her and whispered a thank you.

Steve had insisted he didn't want to leave Olivia's side for anything. Max brought him coffee and a donut every morning for breakfast since he didn't want to go to the small cafeteria on the 6th floor of the hospital.

Max didn't mind doing that for him; it somehow helped her for at least a few seconds to forget all the bad things that happened to her.

Her mother was dead, so was her stepfather, and her sister was in the hospital badly injured. The night that Max got home, the house felt cold, and it was too quiet. She closed her door and locked it; and cried on her bed; she sobbed uncontrollably, hugging herself. Her mother was dead; she didn't talk much to her since they had moved to Hawkins, but Susan was still her mother, and Olivia was in the hospital; she wanted to stay with her, but Billy had insisted for her to go home; she had yelled at him for it.

Max looked at Steve, who had taken a bite of his donut without taking his eyes from Olivia. He was looking at her with so much love and worry. Max exhaled a shaky breath tiredly and smiled as Steve caressed Olivia's hand.

Billy was pacing back and forth; he was worried about his sister, and for the last three weeks, he had been taking care of Max on his own. He wasn't doing a very good job, but for him, he thought he was doing pretty well. He needed Olivia; he knew he couldn't take care of Max on his own, mostly because when he tried to talk to her, they always ended up screaming at each other. Max needed a woman figure to talk to her. Billy knew a thing or two about women, but what he knew wasn't going to be helpful to his little step-sister.

Olivia's eyes were slowly opening, she was blinking a few times, her eyes adjusting to the light. She looked around the small room Olivia knew; she wasn't home; the room she was in wasn't hers. She was confused as to where she was, the last time she remembered was being at the mall, and then there was a sharp pain in her side. She remembered Steve, and then everything went blank; she didn't know how she got here or where she was. She was happy to see Steve, Max, and Billy; they were all in the room with her.

Billy was still pacing back and forth. Max was sitting down on the chair, her elbows on her knees, her chin resting on her hands, watching the small tv that was in the hospital room. Steve was walking to the trash to throw away the empty coffee cup.

Steve was the first one to see her; he rushed to her side and hugged her, trying his best not to hurt her. He kissed her cheek repetitively, "Ollie," he said, tears forming. "Billy, get a doctor," Max said, moving to the other side of Olivia and holding her hand. She had a big genuine smile on her face after three weeks of not being able to smile. It took Billy a few seconds to get out of the room to get a doctor; he couldn't believe it as he saw Olivia with her eyes open, Max and Steve by her side.

Doctors came in quickly, moving Max and Steve out of the way. The doctors had kicked the three of them out of the room to check on Olivia, making sure everything was good. "We will be right here," Steve had said to her as he was pushed out of the room.