𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐄, ERIK LEHNSHERR

𝑻𝑾𝑬𝑵𝑻𝒀-𝑭𝑰𝑽𝑬

          When Kara had exited the sedative haze, she sat up on her own, despite the pain while breathing, and glared daggers at Charles. Her eyesight was blurry but she could see the guilty expression painted across his face.

She didn't say a word as she sat there, rummaging through her thoughts and glancing up at the time on the clock. 5:50.

"What did the doctor say?" She questioned, clearing her raspy voice and avoiding his stare. She caught sight of the dried blood on her arm where crescent-shaped prints were left from her fingernails and scratched it away.

Charles in return let out a sigh before speaking. "You have at least three cracked ribs from what he could tell, if not more. Luckily he didn't notice anything strange about your arm when you complained about it. He was concerned, though, about your eye, and said the haze was spreading. Have you noticed it?"

She hesitantly nodded and consumed his explanation, wondering why the doctor hadn't noticed her arm. It currently was burning through the sedative shot which shocked her body and made her feel numb.

"Why haven't you said anything-oh wait, I forgot, you don't like people worrying about you." He frustratedly paced in front of her, holding his temples in his fingers while sighing.

She didn't say anything, the medicine in the sedative running through her body and making her stay still and quiet. She could faintly hear the slow drum of her heartbeat pounding in her ears as the silence wrapped around them.

Charles proceeded to sit and reside his anger down to a minimum, knowing it wasn't smart to allow his frustration to swallow him while Kara was half-conscious and sitting in a daze.

Through the thoughts running around her head like bees attracted to a beehive, she was sure about one thing. Her arm was unbearably burning her insides and she hated how it felt with the fever lighting up her skin.

Though she knew moving around wasn't a wise choice, she needed to submerge into her element to allow parts of her body to heal quicker than sitting untouched. She readied herself and inched off of the couch, much to Charles' dismay.

Now standing, she took in a few small breaths to consume in her system before beginning her walk toward the doorway. "Where are you going, Kara? I don't know if you heard me the last ten times but you need to be resting." He gritted through his teeth, tired of the woman's stubbornness.

"I heard you alright, doesn't mean I listen, though." She muttered, her chest heaving while she forced herself to walk forward.

Kara could tell he bit back a remark and let her be, knowing if not, it'd turn into an argument that both of them didn't want. While trying to keep her breathing under control, she slipped past the doors and welcomed the fresh air against her face.

She counted down the steps until she was finally standing at the edge of the lake, the craving to fully submerge hinting at her fingertips and buzzing her with exhilaration.

She took in a deep breath, not caring about the pain, and sank into the water. She felt as her body instantly relaxed, the pounding of her head and burning arm dissipating into nothing as she sat at the bottom of the lake, her eyes closed while she basked in the feeling of being able to breathe again.

During the two torturous months of not having any contact with water, she now felt full of life as she allowed the liquid to soak into her clothes and soften her skin to begin healing her.