Mistakes of our past | Rhekker

Chapter 39- Soap

Ava pushes her damp hair out of her face, it still hadn't dried from the humidity of the shower. Clinging onto Connors hand she lifted her head weakly to find Connor still unconscious in his ICU bed. Willing Connor to wake up she lowered her head to the floor again.
"Long night?" A voice asked from the doorway.
Turning her head stiffly Ava was met with the legs of Dr. Charles.
"Yeah something like that" she mummers, looking up to Connor again to find no change. Ava bounced her knee gently, giving Connors hand a squeeze.
"I can stay with him you know, if you want to you grab a coffee" Daniel suggested from the doorway.

Ava shook her head frantically, "I can't"
Ava felt this compelling urge to stay in Connors room, that if she left he would somehow take a turn for the worse.
"He's stable Ava, he's got a long road ahead of him, but nothing will happen if you go get a coffee" Dr. Charles told her, placing a heavy hand on her shoulder.
"I'll wait until Claire gets here, she's driving back into town after hearing the news"

Daniel left silently after that, Ava once again turn to check Connors monitors, to no avail. Leading back in her chair Ava tried to relax her tense muscles. Keeping a close eye on Connor she closed her eyes for a minute, planning to rest them and then open them every few minutes to check on Connor.

When Ava woke her limbs felt heavy and her mouth was filled with thick saliva. Hours had passed since Daniel had come visited them. Panicking Ava check Connors vitals, still stable, for now. He was in rough shape but things seemed to be on the up.
Looking around the room Ava found a small paper bag on the table beside her. Opening it she found a room temperature danish. "Dr. Charles" she thought
Ava took a bite out of it, welcoming the wheel of pastry as the first form of food she'd had all day.
"Conny, conny" Someone called from the hallway.
Claire appeared in to doorway, her jacket askew, falling off one of her shoulders and her jumper was untucked.
Claire gasped in horror at the sight of her brother hooked up to monitors and tubes.
"Oh my god" Claire whispered, Ava pulled her gently onto the sofa next to her.
"Do they know who did I this" She asked Ava, never taking her eyes off Connor.
"The shooter entered and left through the service tunnel, no cameras"
Claire sobbed at Ava's words, her shoulder folding in on themselves.
"Why would someone do this" Claire cried, taking a tissue from her pocket. Ava wrapped a supportive arm around Claire. These two women, as distant as they had been, now found each other in the same boat on this small blue sofa.
Feeling more comfortable now with Claire being their, Ava excused herself to go to the bathroom. Feeling a sudden wave of nausea Ava threw up what little food she had ingested. Washing her face and hands Ava looked at herself in the mirror. Still feeling slightly nauseous Ava places a hand to her mouth. Over come with the metallic smell of her hands Ava gaged, washing them again.
Still smelling the metallic of blood Ava washed her hands a second, third and fourth time.
"Ava" a voice called to her in the bathroom, a concerned hand placed in her elbow.
Looking up Ava was once again met with the gaze of Dr. Charles.
"I see you've managed to leave Dr. Rhodes room"
"This is the women's bathroom" Ava told him shortly, returning to washing her hands.
"Ava" Daniel said again, taking her wrist in his hand.
Ava's eyes followed his hand in her wrist, two find her own irritated and reddened from repeated scrubbing.
"Why are you scrubbing your hands" He asked her softly.
Dumbfounded by this question Ava thinks, "they - they smell like metal, I can - I can smell the metal" Ava stammered, still gazing down at her hands.
Daniel gave her a puzzled look as he thought for a moment before realising, blood.

"Ava you know smell can be the biggest trigger of memory, by thinking of a certain event we can begin smell things through memory when they aren't even their"
Pulling Ava hands out of the sink he asked her, "What did you do after the surgery"
"I was sick, in the toilets. Than - than I had a shower to wash the blood, his blood, off me" Ava stammered to him horsely.
"And when did you start smelling the metal"
"I didn't start smelling it, I am smelling it" Ava said defensively, pulling her hands back, coming to her senses.
"Just leave me alone Dr. Charles" Ava breathed, pushing away from him, crying her hands on her scrubs.
"Ava"
"Fuck off Daniel" Ava called over her shoulders harshly, throwing her arms up in the air.

Returning to Connors room she found Claire still their, a light blanket wrapped around herself. Ava silently joined her, checking his vitals again.
"What happened to your hands" Claire asked horsely, pulling her blanket closer around herself.
"Nothing" Ava sighed, brushing light tears from her cheeks with her raw hands.
"So Conny, where did that come from?"
Claire chuckled in spite of herself, "Our mother came up with it, when he was about two. No one knew where it came from, it just was. Every home video, birthday card, it was always Conny" she stroked her brothers hand lovingly. "He always hated it, I used it to tease him. I think it reminded him too much of her"
"I've seen pictures of her, she was beautiful Claire" Ava said, taking her hand.
It's was going to be a long day.

A/n: since I gave everyone such a fright 🤧😅