Prison Break

Part 13

She could feel warm light on her face, and opened her eyes to find herself in a room... somewhere, she didn't know where. Not that cave, the walls were wood. She couldn't feel any pain in her back now, so that was good. Ekko must've given her some medicine to numb it. What are could feel, though, was her hand being held. She looked over to the side to see Vi asleep in a chair next to her. Oh. A bed. She was in a bed. She felt herself smiling a little as she squeezed her sister's hand. "Vi?"
Vi gave a quiet groan and slowly opened her eyes, then smiled looking at her and yawned. "Morning, Powder," she said softly.
"Hey." She let out a little giggle. "We actually pulled it off!"
"Yup..." Vi left the chair, going down to her knees and folding her arms on the edge of the bed. "Maybe they... all think the wrong one of us to crazy."
She laughed. "Nah... I think we're both a little gone."
"Oh, thanks, kiddo! Not a 'No, Vi, you're n crazy'. Nope. We're just both fucked up."
She laughed. "Well, you're the one who just busted the most wanted criminal in Piltover out of prison."
"Yeah... true." Vi laid a hand on hers again, then leaned over her and kissed the tip of her nose. She giggled a little. "And I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
"I'm not sure I could run like that again without passing out!"
"Ah, I'm sure you'd find a way." She smiled and put a hand on Vi's cheek. "Speaking of which, how are your legs feeling? Any... bruises bothering you from that tumble you took?"
"I don't think so. Then again, I can't really feel them at all right now. Must be that medicine Ekko gave me. What is that stuff anyway? Must be some pretty strong stuff to completely numb a bullet wound! I mean..." Vi's face had turned white, she just stared at her. "What?"
Vi closed her eyes, and she could hear her swallowing hard. "Ekko... didn't... give you anything to numb the wound, Powder."
For a second, she couldn't think what Vi was getting at. Then, it hit her, she'd been shot in the back. It... She was... No! No, no, no, no, no, she couldn't be! She could feel her heart starting to beat faster as Vi came up to sit on the edge of the bed and she looked up at her. Vi looked at her, then cradled her top half close and called for Ekko.
The next hour or so felt more like a day, Ekko coming in, seeing how far up she had to be touched before she could feel it, then those words. They kept playing over and over in her head. She was alone now, Vi had left to get her some breakfast. Like that would help, the last thing she was thinking about now was food. It had to be a mistake, right? She couldn't really be... She flicked herself right under the chest a few times, then tried one big one as hard as she could, then tried slapping herself there. Nope, no mistake. She couldn't feel a thing.
"Wow! Jinxed yourself and her in one go!" laughed Mylo. "Impressive!"
She bit her lower lip. "Sh-shut up. I-it could've been worse." She didn't really believe that, but it was all she could think of.
"Right. Right, now, she just has to carry around a dead weight forever!"
"I'm not, dead weight!" She didn't really believe that, either.
"Can't even sit up on your own or feed yourself! You're like a giant infant!" She didn't have an answer for that, she just gulped. "Bullet couldn't have gone in your chest or brain, no... Least then, she could've just moved on with her life. But no. Guess that's why your name is..."
"My name, is not, Jinx!"
"Glad to hear you say it." She looked up to see Vi in the doorway with a plate of food. She turned her eyes down, then closed them. She heard Vi walk up and sit down in the chair. "You okay?" She didn't move, just sighed. Vi put a hand on her cheek. "Powder, I... I-I'm so sorry! If there was a way I could go back and... make it so that bullet hit me instead, I..."
"No!" Her eyes shot open, that was one picture she couldn't let herself see! She grabbed Vi's hand on her cheek. "I-I couldn't... No!" She swallowed hard. "Y-you're the only one left who... Y-you care about me. N-no one else..."
Vi rubbed her cheek with her thumb. "Better not let Ekko hear you said that. I, uh... I think he'd be pretty upset."
She shook her head. "I-I thought he was... gonna kill me on the bridge. He was on top of me, he... kept punching me. But... then, he looked at me... H-he stopped. He even smiled at me a little." She felt herself smile a little for just a second remembering that feeling, but thinking about what happened next made it go away. "A-and then, I ruined it. Like I ruin everything I..."
"Stop." Vi turned her hand around and squeezed hers softly. "You don't."
She looked down. "He... probably thinks I was just trying to trick him."
"Well, if he does, he's forgiven you. I was just out there, he... said when your wound's healed, he's gonna build you a really nice wheelchair. He wanted to know what I thought you'd like on it. I said, 'Might wanna ask her that.' Knowing Ekko, it... It'll kick some big-time ass."
She giggled a little, then looked down remembering what Mylo said. She bit her lower lip. "Would've been a lot easier if... whoever it was that hit me had just... been a better shot."
"Easier?" Vi's face went a little pale.
"Well, yeah. You could just stay here and marry your Cupcake... maybe have a family and just... forget me. You know?"
Vi didn't say anything for a few seconds. For just a second, she looked... kinda angry? Then, her face got soft again. "Nope! No, I'm pretty sure I prefer this."
"Why?" She closed her eyes again. "I-I'm useless now. I can't... do anything for you, I... I'm just useless! I can't even do... anything for myself, I... I-I'm just a... a-a dead weight!"
"I thought you were gonna say 'a jinx', I was gonna have to pop you in the nose." She tried to laugh, but it was pretty weak. Vi brought her hand up and kissed her knuckles softly. "Did I... ever tell you about... about when you were born?"
"No."
"You... You were really early. Being a... dumb little kid who know any better, I was just excited you decided to come out early." She frowned. "Dad came in my room and... he said, 'Violent, you have a little sister. But she's way too small, she's not gonna live very long.' I just remember standing there... breaking down on the spot. When I calmed down, he asked me if... if I still wanted to go in and meet you. I couldn't talk, I just nodded." Vi let go of her hand and reached up, pushing her bangs away from her eye. "I went in, and... there you were on the pillow next to Mom. Still the smallest baby I've ever seen." Vi let out a little laugh. "Definitely the cutest. You were just barely bigger than one of Dad's hands. Little... patch of light blue fuzz kn top. Took one look and I was in love."
She giggled, then frowned. "But they thought I was gonna die?"
Vi nodded. "You were so small that... you couldn't suck. If you couldn't get milk from Mom... They said it would probably only be a few hours... said it would be painless. You'd just go to sleep, and... that would be it."
"So... what happened? How'd I..."
"Well, from there, our focus was just on keeping you comfortable until... until it happened. Mom knew you wanted food, so she put some of her milk in a cup and used a straw to kind.of drop it into your mouth. Wouldn't be enough to make a difference, we thought. But it made you happy, and... that's all we were going for. Thing is, though, you kept wanting more. After a little bit, Dad wanted Mom to get some sleep. She was scared to, she... She didn't want to wake up and find out you'd died while she was asleep. He said, 'Don't worry. She'll be with her daddy and her big sister. She'll know she's loved.' She, uh... She showed me how to feed you with the straw, then kissed your little forehead and went to sleep. I remember just sitting there with Dad... feeding you, talking to you, rubbing your back. At some point, I started thinking in my... dumb, little six-year-old brain, 'Maybe she's fighting. Maybe if she keeps getting milk like this, she'll hold on.'"
"Well, apparently, it wasn't THAT dumb. I'm here!"
Vi laughed. "Yeah, apparently." She smiled, then sighed. "You went to sleep after a couple hours. Dad told me that... you probably weren't gonna wake up again. I said, 'No, she will. She wants to live, she just needs a nap.'" She smiled and tried to push herself up in the bed, but she couldn't with just her arms. "Hang on, Powder, I've got you." Vi put the pillow so it was straight up behind her, then pulled her up to sitting against it. "There we go."
"Thanks."
Vi nodded smiling, then went on. "I, uh... I was still kinda nervous, though. I just kept stroking your back. I think Dad thought it'd only be a matter of time, he sat a little closer to me. Guess he figured I'd... need a hug when I realized you'd... stopped breathing."
"But I didn't, though, did I?"
"No. No, you just woke up right as the sun was going down and wanted to eat again." She laughed. Vi smiled. "I was ready to stay up all night with you if you needed it. Mom and Dad said they'd help you eat through the night, so I'd go to bed. I, uh... I barely slept, though. I didn't know if, um..."
"If I was gonna still be there when you woke up?"
"Yeah. But you were. After that, every day, you... just kept eating, getting bigger, stronger. After a few weeks, you figured out how to nurse and take a bottle. We knew you were gonna be alright then."
She looked down just thinking about everything she just heard. "I wasn't... supposed to live?"
"Well, everyone thought you weren't going to. But you were a strong little girl, Powder. You surprised all of us." Vi bent forward and kissed her forehead. "You still are."
She looked down smiling, then giggled a little. "Well, maybe I just wanted to stay with my awesome big sister." Her eyes turned back up to see Vi with her head down. Her cheeks were kind of starting to turn pink. Seeing it, she laughed even more. "Oh! Made you blush!"
Vi shook her head, then took her hand again. "You know, um... Dad didn't really... Well, he didn't want us to name you at first."
"What?"
"Well, we thought you were only gonna be alive for a few hours. He said if we gave you a name, it'd just make it harder when we lost you. You're gonna laugh, but... after you went to sleep, I kept looking at that blue fuzz on your head. And my... brilliant six-year-old mind thought that would be a nice name. I said, 'Daddy, can we name her Powder? Like her hair?' I guess he figured I'd already gotten too attached to you for it to really make a difference. So, he said, 'Sure, Violet. Sure, she can be Powder.'"
She didn't laugh, just stared up at her. She didn't know what to say for a long time. "Y-you named me?" she said after a minute.
"Yeah. Named you for your hair. Pretty dumb, huh?"
"N-no! No, it..." She stopped. Vi named her. But... then, why would Silco want to... If he'd really thought Vi was dead, why did he... Well, he probably didn't know. But... that was still her...
"Are you okay?" Vi broke into her thoughts.
She nodded slowly. "I, uh... I think I like how I got that name better than... Y-you know... than Jinx."
Vi let out a long breath. "Me, too."
She looked down at the food Vi had brought. "Think you could, um... Gotta be easier than feeding me through a straw, right?"
Vi gave a little laugh, then started cutting the food with the fork. "If this thing gets you to a spot where you need that again, I'll be happy to do it for you. But... yeah, kinda." She giggled, and Vi loaded up the fork.
After she was done eating, Vi had to go back up topside for a while. After all, she was still an enforcer. If she just suddenly disappeared, they'd know something was up. Not long after she left, the door to the room opened again. She took a quick look behind her to see Ekko in the doorway. She gave a little nervous laugh. "Oh, look who it is! The Boy Savior!"
Ekko looked down and chuckled a little as he came over to the bed. "How you doing, Powder? You need anything?"
"New legs? Maybe a time machine?"
Ekko sighed and sat down on the bed. "Wish I could help you with that." He looked at her hands. "How long have they been shaking like that?"
"A few weeks. It's just slowly gotten worse and worse. Well, not so slowly lately. They're, uh... Th-they're kinda useless at this point."
"Hm." Ekko put a hand on her cheek and looked into her eyes. His were really warm, they always had been, since they were kids. She loved seeing them, soft, kind, gentle. And there was that feeling again. He let out a deep breath. "What the hell did Silco do to you?"
"Nothing! I-I mean... I don't... H-he didn't..." It started coming back again, the doctor, the cold under her, the pain. She couldn't move! Why couldn't she move?! "N-no! No, no, no, no! St..."
Something... soft was around her hand. "Powder. Hey. Hey, it's okay. You're okay, just... Just breathe. Alright?" She looked up! Ekko? Right. Right, she... It wasn't real. She wasn't really back there. Right. "He really did a number on you, huh?" She bit her lower lip. He rubbed her hand with his thumb. That made her feel a little better, she smiled to herself a bit. "Not exactly a... big, fancy Piltie hospital here. But I'll do what I can for you. Okay?"
She giggled. "Whatever ya say, Doctor Ekko."
Ekko shook his head smiling. "Guess he didn't take away your sense of humor. I've, uh... I've really missed that."
Her cheeks started to feel a little warm, she gave a little, shy smile. "Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah." Her eyes went down and away, that feeling was all over her now. It felt like it was taking everything in her to keep from giggling!
Then, she remembered back on the bridge that night, her smile went away. "I-I wasn't trying to... I, um..."
"What is it?" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "It's okay, Powder, you can tell me."
She didn't open her eyes again, but cleared her throat a little. "O-on the bridge? Wh-when we looked at each other and... y-you stopped... You know..."
"Yeah... I know." His voice sounded... sad? guilty?
She gulped. "I-I wasn't trying to... I thought... no one would look at me that way again. Vi was... Sh-she was scared of me. She lied to me. Or... I-I thought she did, I don't... know now. But... you looked at me like... l-like nothing had changed. L-like I was still..."
"... Powder?"
She nodded. "I just... I wanted that to be the last thing I felt. Just... knowing there was someone who could still look at me and not just... see Jinx."
Ekko's face got even sadder as he looked at her. "So, you were... trying to..."
"Well, yeah. I mean... Silco lied to me, he... H-he was a using me. A-and... Vi... I-I didn't have anyone else to..." That feeling started taking over her throat again, she started coughing hard.
"Powder! H-hang on, I... I've got you, just..." Ekko helped her over onto her side, then rubbed her back. When the blood came up, she felt exhausted. Ekko put a hand on her cheek. "You alright?"
"Y... Yeah." It was quiet and raspy, and all she could get out right then.
He rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "Y-you look pretty tired. You wanna... lie down for a bit?" She gave a little nod, and he helped her back down onto her back. "Okay. There we go."
She smiled a lot, then cleared her throat. "Y-you think you can help me?"
"I'll do my best. Probably gonna be a long way to go, though. You think you'll be up to it?"
"Yeah." She felt her eyes starting to close and gave a little smile. "Vi and I are... We're gonna go and live in Demacia."
She felt his hand on hers again as her eyes closed the rest of the way. "I'll do everything I can to make sure you have all the time you want with her." Hearing that sent a really warm kind of feeling through her chest. He was so sweet! She smiled a bit, and just before she was really asleep, thought she could feel something soft and wet on her forehead.