Change of Heart - Yuri Plisetsky x Reader

Chapter Eight

"What?"

Shocked, I stood stock still as tears began to run down Alina's cheeks, which had flushed to a rosy red. Yuri took Alina's arm and led her to the bleachers, and I followed helplessly, too surprised and sickened by the gut-wrenching news to react properly.

When the three of us had all sat down, Alina struggled through her story, heavy sobs now running their course through her whole body.

"It was j-just... so sudden, you know?" She began, breath quivering. "She's in the emergency room, and they have no idea if she's gonna be okay or not, and..."

A fresh wave of tears spilled over, and she cut herself off, holding a fist to her mouth to choke back the sobs.

Thinking of nothing better to do, I reached over and awkwardly put my arm over her shoulders. Comforting people had never been my strong suit, but I figured there wasn't anything else I could do to help her in this situation.

I wasn't expecting her to lean in and completely collapse onto me, but that's what happened, and so I found myself trying to provide peace of mind in a much more personal way. Intrusively, I thought that this sort of meltdown would be seen as unprofessional by others, and I made a mental vow to pretend it had never happened, if necessary.

Unsure of what to do, what to say, how to react, I looked over at Yuri. He stayed quiet and pensive, but when our eyes met the two of us both flushed in shame. Here we had been, having a petty argument over something so incredibly insignificant compared to the torment Alina was going through, while she received what might've been the worst news ever.

I couldn't look at him anymore without drowning myself in an ocean of guilt, and I'm sure he felt the same, so instead we looked away and continued to comfort poor Alina.

After some time, I noticed that what had started as intense sobbing had now died down to sniffling, with the occasional squeak or whimper. Hesitantly, Alina pulled her head away from my shoulder and stared at the floor.

"I'm so sorry..." She said, wiping her eyes. "That was really unprofessional of me, and... I just got really emotional, okay?"

I nodded in understanding.

"Don't be sorry," I murmured, giving her a reassuring smile. "I think that reaction was pretty appropriate..."

Yuri, who had been silent up until now, suddenly perked up.

"She lives in Moscow, right?" He asked. "Are you going to try to visit? I know that Anna's really close to your grandmother... She's probably crushed."

I had no idea who Anna was, but I assumed that whatever Yuri was saying probably made sense, so I nodded along.

"It would be a good idea to go... Maybe it'll put your mind at ease," I suggested.

Alina agreed quietly.

"Of course... I have to go and make sure everybody else is okay, too," She concluded, standing promptly and beginning to pace. Whether it was just in her nature to get down to business as soon as possible, or if her nerves were trying to distract her, Alina's previous, crestfallen self vanished temporarily as she began to consider her options.

"I'll probably be able to drive down there as soon as Friday," She muttered to herself. "But then there's the problem of work, and..."

Suddenly, she stopped.

"Oh, no..."

Confused, I cast Alina a puzzled glance.

"What is it? What's wrong?"