How You and I Collide

XII

Anntonia was still unconscious and Michelle's nostrils flared in frustration and helplessness. She sat in an uncomfortable chair by the hospital bed, leaned back with her arms crossed against her neck as she stared at the sleeping form of the woman. It has been hours since she took Anntonia in the hospital, her arms and shoulders bleeding profusely from the hotel and she remembered speeding like a crazy person, ignoring the speed limits. She barely even gave enough time for Charlotte and Engfa to arrive to sign the admission papers. Apparently, Charlotte had legal authority to make emergency decisions for Anntonia and knew all the answers about her medical history including her blood type and allergies.

Now, the woman was lying, tucked firmly under covers and changed out of her dress into a white and blue hospital gown. She had been cleaned by nurses when they bandaged her wounds and her accessories removed. They now sat in a metal tray by the bedside, sparkling when they were covered in her own blood when they arrived in the emergency room and her gaze landed on the woman's wrist again. Bandages covered her palms and wrist, a tinge of red can be seen through them and she suppressed the rage bubbling within her chest.

What if no one heard Anntonia that time? She could've arrived too late if she was just a step later. She couldn't help but grumbled at every possibilities that playing inside her head, causing Charlotte to look up from her careful task of running a facial wipes across Anntonia's face. She eyed her for a beat and then continued.

Michelle just didn't stop her perusal. She could see that there was dried blood crusted along several of Anntonia's nails since the contrast was easy to see against her glossy blush-colored nail polish. The woman's hand looked so slim and she dared not fathom if the knife had just gone a centimeter deeper and nicked any of her artery. Her shoulders were covered from her view, but she knew there was another wound there, probably three inches long. It was more superficial than the one on her hand, but it sure would limit her movement until it healed.

The woman's long hair surrounded her on the pillow like a dark halo and Charlotte had just finished carefully laying it that way, mumbling something about that being the most comfortable for her best friend. Right now, with Charlotte carefully swiping away at Anntonia's face, the make-up she wore was being taken off and she saw that her skin underneath was paler but just as smooth and the moisture left behind by the wet wipe gave her a glow.

Michelle thought, luckily, Anntonia didn't need a blood transfusion according to the doctor but perhaps she should've gotten one because she looked pale. Still watching the other woman cleaning her best friend, avoided her eye area, so she still had mascara and eyeshadow on after her lips had been swiped clean, she just marveled the view of how much natural beauty the woman had. She noticed that even as a make up and skin care mogul, Anntonia always opt to wear light to almost no makeup and her beauty still radiates.

Charlotte began swiping at Anntonia's neck and the junction of her neck and shoulder, even more gently than before. When she reached the edge of the bandage that was peaking out from the hospital gown, she saw how the woman paused, her hand shaking a bit.

For the first time since they came to the hospital, Michelle rose her eyes to Charlotte's face and their eyes met for a second. The woman blinked, her eyes were red and wet but obviously refusing to cry and went back to her task. This was the first time she noticed that Charlotte's make-up was still mostly intact, but her eyes and some of her blush and lipstick had faded, probably from rubbing her away tears. She then remembered how much the woman had fought her fiancée the entire time to get to Anntonia during the attack. In fact, she hadn't said or acknowledged her at all the entire time they had been at this hospital room until she stepped out to take care of something. She hadn't said anything directly to her either, but surprisingly, she hadn't kicked her out.