Ashley & Apollo

Chapter 3 - Catching Up

Ashley didn't remember much of the first few times she woke up in the infirmary bed, probably because she hardly spent a total half hour awake during those periods. Her body seemed to appreciate the rest, but she found it tiring waking up just to eat a snack and pass out again. Rinse and repeat. Each time she couldn't tell if it had been hours or days since she arrived.

This time when Ashley slipped into wakefulness it stuck, to her surprise. Her head felt clear and alert, and she had no problem blinking open her eyes to take in the room around her.

Her head was already propped up by a stack of soft pillows, so she could see most of the area. The walls of the room were gleaming white marble, except for the one side that was partitioned off by a gold curtain, and a door leading to an adjoining bathroom. The room was modest if she disregarded the high, ornate ceiling: it possessed a single bed, night table, chair, and IV stand. A tempting glass of water mocked her from the table. With a self-indulgent groan, Ashley sat up to down it, relieved that her head didn't spin from the movement.

With a start, she realized she was wearing different clothes that she didn't remember changing into. Baggy cotton pants and a matching t-shirt, both in the same rich shade of gold as the curtains. She rubbed her thumb over the hemline of the shirt. Her gym clothes were on the chair in the room, but they had been washed and folded. Ashley couldn't find the gash or any trace of blood on her shirt when she held the garment up to inspect it, so she put them on, if apprehensively.

Once dressed, she left the hospital clothes on the bed and peeked around the curtain. The hallway was lined with the rooms similar to hers, only the ones along the opposite wall were blue—the color associated with humans and other mortal creatures. To her left, the hallway eventually branched off to what she presumed were other medical areas. Instead she headed to the right, to a wood door marked with an exit sign. She blew it open with a gust of wind, just for fun, and stepped into the waiting room.

Clumps of squishy tawny chairs wound around the edges of the room, orbiting darker coffee tables laden with magazines and books. Tiny fairy lights twinkled on the otherwise plain white walls and the floor was tiled a soft green, surpassing all her expectations of what a sterile hospital room might look like. The room smelled faintly of cinnamon, without the typical scent of antiseptics.

Ahead of her was the reception desk, behind which a robot sorted folders into drawers. But the only receptionist present seemed to be Apollo, who lounged against the counter, a warm smile on his face. "Hey, Ashley! Good to see you up and about," he said earnestly.

She gave him a shy smile as she approached the desk. "Hi, Apollo. It's nice to see you again." Ashley didn't think yesterday's hurried encounter counted as much of a reunion. Perhaps they hadn't spent enough time together to be classified as friends, when Ashley lived on Olympus, but they had at least been acquaintances.

"You too. For once, I'm glad I pulled reception duty. As you can probably tell, we don't get many visitors here" —he gestured around the otherwise deserted room— "so it can get a little lonely."

"Why is that? Human hospitals are way busier than this, and they don't have to worry about magic-related injuries. Like jumping down a staircase and forgetting to fly first." She hadn't actually visited a hospital in the mortal world, but she'd overheard enough stories about them from other people, TV shows, and books.

That startled a laugh out of him, and Apollo broke into an unrestrained grin. Ashley's lips twitched to mirror his. "I'm still disappointed I had to hear about that secondhand. It is a common mistake, but usually that mistake is made from a balcony, not indoors," he teased. Ashley huffed in mock offense. "But for your question, it's the absence of diseases on Olympus. They can't be transmitted to others if they're brought in from the mortal world either."