Elliana X Jason

Twenty Five, Fear's Still There

Elliana shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She didn't know what she'd do once he asked the questions. On top of that, Ryan's brother and parents were still sniffling off on the other side of the room, which made her feel incredibly sad.

She wished Stacy were there. Emily was there, but something felt incomplete with just the two of them. She wished Jason were there. Even without his memories, he offered her some subconscious comfort that she ached for in the tension-filled room. She wished her mom were there. She would have hugged Elliana, told her everything would be okay.

Frankly, entering the hospital had sent her stress-levels skyrocketing. There hadn't been any doubt that Ryan was alive. Sure, when she was unconscious, when she hadn't had a pulse, those times Elliana felt the possibility of Ryan leaving them smack her in the face. But once she'd woken up, Ryan's chances of not surviving had been nonexistent. Thoughts of Ryan had been the last thing on her mind.

But then, the way everyone seemed to be screaming once the paramedics arrived, that was when Elliana had known that something was wrong. Seeing her in that ambulance, lying there, looking like she was dying, was when it hit Elliana that they weren't out of the woods.

At least they were out of the literal woods. That forest was now permanently associated with everything that had just happened.

On top of all of this, Elliana was incredibly tired. Everytime she blinked, her eyes stayed closed a little longer. She wasn't the only one. She could see the same thing in Emily and Rebecca. Not Cole, though. He was wide awake. Jason walked in at that moment, rubbing at his eyes. Elliana figured he was just tired, but then she realized he'd been crying. She didn't think she'd ever seen him cry. She'd seen him shed a tear, but never full-on cry.

She was left pondering this as Jason sat down in a chair next to his sister.

"Alright. Now that we're all here, I'd like to talk about Ryan. As you've most likely gathered." Dr Brun said. "What happened to her? How did she receive these injuries?"

"We already told the lady at the front desk." Elliana said. "She fell from a tree."

"And the shoulder wound?"

"She landed on a branch." Rebecca said, Emily having filled her in on the lie before entering the ambulance.

"How long passed before you called the ambulance?" Dr Brun asked.

"A few hours. Maybe four or so." Elliana said, embarrassed.

A look of confusion crossed Dr Brun's features. "Why?" She asked. While her first few questions seemed solely professional, this one stemmed from genuine curiosity.

"We didn't know how bad it was. She told us she was fine." Jason said.

"Oh." Was the only answer.

"I'm sorry, can someone please explain why we're here? Ryan was injured, and it's a tragedy. I'm happy to be here, because I want to support my daughter and Ryan. But this conversation seems entirely irrelevant, with no purpose whatsoever." Emily's mom said.

"Ma'am, this young girl was severely injured with your child and her friends. It's just procedure to make sure that they weren't the ones to hurt her."

"We would never hurt Ryan!" Cole shouted, speaking up for the first time, his face red in anger.

Dr. Brun looked taken aback, before a quick recovery. "I understand. Cole, would you like to go back with your sister? If your parents and friends are here, I'm sure it would be alright if you wanted to stay with Ryan."