Partners In Crime

12• With both hands

Marina entered a stage in her psyche where she was dreaming of something she knew she'd forget the minute she woke up.

The details were muddled, meshed together, creating weird hybrids of things in her waking life that she couldn't quite pin down the image of. A feeling of Alex was there, and then it disappeared like smoke. Sometimes she thought she was in her workplace, other times she sat at the bar in Tranquility Hotel's restaurant, ordering one-or two-margaritas.

Sometimes she looked down and saw her plain work outfits, other times she was in a vibrant embroidered dress, one from her childhood stitched by her abuela. Her hair was short, then long, then short again.

A constant beeping laced the outskirts of her hearing, an alarm no one liked the sound of. It was louder every moment she felt like she was in Tranquility. She'd only been there a week yet it felt as if she never knew anywhere else. Her mind had gotten so heavy the outside world didn't seem to exist. She definitely was not proud of that.

Quickly it occurred to her how the beeping sound was the same kind of one you'd hear in a hospital. Her own running thought in her head began to panic, not knowing how she ended up there. Worrying for the people who were worrying about her, she willed herself awake. She didn't know how long the time between deciding this and eventually waking up took, but with little else to do, it seemed for her to take forever. It drove her insane trying to muster some strength to wake up.

What left her sane was thinking of Alex. Knowing he was probably there on the other side gave her something to go on. At the same time, knowing he may have been stressed and unhappy left her with an immovable sense of guilt for placing it on him. She didn't like to be his reason for suffering, and for him to resent her for it. They were as bad as each other for spurring the other on with the most ridiculous plans to ruin expensive events.

He was going to take a considerable amount of slack for showing up there. And she knew that for a fact; she worked in the industry.

=/=

The air she woke up to smelled sterile as it barrelled up her nose. The thoughts that crossed her mind in her unwaking state weren't at its forefront, but they were smuggled underneath. They didn't try to reveal themselves when the warmth of Alex's hand laced its way into hers. She didn't have to see to know it was him.

She squeezed his hand feeling his ring.

"Rini," he whispered. It made her smile. "What are we gonna do with you?"

She forced her eyes open through the crust which formed in her sleep. Her heart broke seeing his dishevelled state, the bags under his eyes, and the glimmer in them veneered by a screen of stress. His quiff was a proper mess. She went to speak, but found her throat was out of use.

"Don't try to speak just yet, love. You've been knocked out for a bit." She stared at him quizzically. He sighed, rubbing his thumb along her hand.

"Just for a day. We think-well Lana thought it-that Theo had summat to do with it. You fainted in the car. The doctors said you were...drugged. If you'd been feeling faint, sick, and that. I reckon he was the one to tip the paparazzi off about me as well. He was the only one who cared that the guys and I were there."

Marina's mouth dropped at her own stupidity. So much for a peace offering drink, you dick. The worst part, she thought, was that it didn't even taste funny. How could she have missed this?

"I wish you'd said something," Alex spoke into the quiet of the late night. Around them was a blue hospital curtain, but she could hear a calm bustle from outside the cubicle.

She turned to face him after looking away, mustering something up.

"I-I just didn't want to-" Her voice was hoarse, out of practice.