The Elected ( An Elite Fanfiction )

Chapter 17✨

Once I entered the Hospital Wing, the nurses didn't question why I was there, they just silently nodded and led me to the back room in Intensive Care. It was odd though, why were the nurses letting me through without ease to the notoriously private 'back room' where as less than twenty four hours ago they were questioning me for walking into the Hospital Wing. Strange. I shook my head as I dismissed the thought.

"Here they are, Lady Annabelle." A nurse said quietly as she opened the door. Peeking through the dimly lit room, I sat on the edge of Ariana's bed ever so slightly, not wanting to wake her up. Besides the small glowing lamp in between the two hospital beds, the only other source of light was from the small window in the back, which also let in a slight breeze. I almost didn't notice the nurse leaving as she closed the door behind her, finally.

Privacy was what I desperately needed, and with this competition being so open and dare I say intrusive, you can never have a moment truly to yourself. One way or another, everyone ends up finding out. So having this moment so private was a blessing.

I didn't want to speak, knowing I had nothing to say. Talking would only wake them, so instead I studied my surroundings. The hanging bags with the clear liquid from earlier were gone, which I interpret as a good sign. Yet still, my sisters looked as weak as ever. Their pale skin stood out against the darkness and their faces drastically slimmer as the rest of their bodies since their weight plummeted. My worry intensified the more I looked at them.

I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry. I wanted to ditch everything and just aid in my sisters recovery. But I couldn't. So instead, I took a deep breath, and placed my head in my hands, hoping that somehow it would make things better, even though I knew it wouldn't. I don't know how long I was in that position before Ariana spoke. It was barely audible, and her voice was very hoarse, but even still she managed to sound so light.

"You know if you keep sitting like that, you're going to get neck cramps."

My head whipped upwards, and I edged closer to her, not knowing if I was just imagining her talk.

"Ariana?" I said confused.

"Yes, who else?"

I chuckled and smiled, happily shocked. I could feel my worry diminishing.

"How have you been doing?" I asked her. I had so many questions, I barely made out that simple sentence. She shifted underneath her bed sheets before answering.

"We've gotten a lot better, at least that's what the nurses say," She began.

"We feel fine for the most part, although I wonder if we started walking and running around that it would be another story."

I sighed. "Well, improvement is improvement, and you guys have definitely improved."

"Yeah, oh and a psychiatrist came over in the afternoon. She wanted to talk to us to see if what we went through left us I quote 'emotionally scarred'." She mumbled, and I could tell by her lack of emotion and excessive annoyance that she did not like the topic. But of course, I was her big sister and needed to know more, so I tried to tiptoe around the subject very, very carefully.

"Did it?" I asked.

"Did it what?"

"Did it leave you emotionally scarred?"

She looked away quickly, sighing in the process. Her dark brown hair dangled in front of her furrowed clear eyes, and I realized that I had touched an emotional subject for her.

"I don't know. I don't think I can trust her anymore. I get nightmares all the time. The psychiatrist tells me that I should talk about it, but I don't want to."