Between Lies

Guilt

Simón's body hurt when he tried to stand up, but all he could think about was Ámbar who was lying next to him.

"Ámbar, Ámbar," he whispered her name desperately and placed his hand on her cheek. Her eyelids covered her beautiful blue eyes, and her breath was gentle and consistent but weak. Too weak. Simón felt a cold run down on his spine. What did he do?

"Call the ambulance!" Juliana ordered and hurried to Ámbar. She crouched down to examine the girl. "Simón, please stand back!"

Luna stood next to Matteo and couldn't believe her eyes. A bittersweet urge to cry got over her, while Matteo's arms wrapped around her little figure. Jim stood next to them shocked while Ramiro called the ambulance. Every pair of eyes were glued to the middle of the rink where the blonde was lying on her back, her limbs spread around her.

"They are coming!" Ramiro shouted from the sidebar, still holding his phone to his ear.

"No, no, no," was all Simón could say. His whole body was trembling, and he felt that his whole world was crumbling down. His eyes were fixated on the blonde who seemed so vulnerable now. He had seen her once like that at the evening of the Roller Jam, but that was different. Now she could be seriously injured because of his fault. He should have held her above his head, he shouldn't have dropped her.

Simón ran his fingers through his hair. Some brown hairbreadth stuck in his fingers and left his skin with pain, but he almost didn't feel it. Nor did his chest hurt.

Simón felt an eternity while the paramedics had arrived. Meanwhile, Juliana asked them to leave the rink.

"Please, let me stay here," he begged.

Juliana slowly nodded but ordered the others to leave the rink. They didn't need to tense the atmosphere more. It was enough to see one of her disciples fall down from a lifting. The memory of her accident came into her mind, but she fought with that. There's no time for that. She had to be strong, now she was the coach.

Juliana turned her head to Simón who was standing some meters away and seemed he had been living a panic attack. Sweat drops were beaded on his forehead and his posture shrunk as if he had been twenty centimeters shorter. She glanced back at Ámbar and stood up. The pain slit in her right leg. Juliana clenched her teeth and leaned on her walking stick. She walked to Simón and placed her hand on his back. The guy hadn't seemed to notice her presence, till he felt her touch on his back.

"Calm down," Juliana spoke with a gentle voice, she tried to sound as comforting as she could in such a case, "she will be okay."

Simón shook his head. "What if she won't?"

"She will," Juliana said harshly. "It's not your fault, Simón. It was an accident. That happens."

"But I am responsible for her," he cried.

"Me too. I am responsible for all of you." She managed to turn Simón's head, so the boy looked into her eyes. "It won't help her if you get a panic attack. She needs somebody who comforts her. Please, be the one who does it." Her lips curled into a bittersweet smile.

Simón nodded and took a deep breath, then headed to the girl.

Finally, the ambulance arrived and examined the girl. They placed her on a stretcher and left the rink together with Simón and Juliana.

Before Juliana left the Roller, she told Pedro and Nico to close the place when the time came and left the Roller with the paramedics.

---

Ámbar woke up in a room in semidarkness. All she saw was white everywhere, and the room smelled like disinfectant. She turned her head, and a sharp pain darted into her holder. She narrowed her eyes to reduce the pain. What the hell happened to her? When her eyesight was clear again, she noticed flashing hospital equipment that checked her pulse. So, she was in a hospital. But why was she there? Her memories were blurry, all she remembered was skating with Simón in the Roller. After that, a black space filled everything, like she had a film break.