Super Volume 2

Heart to Heart

Ella's POV
When I woke up for a second time, Retro was at my side, and I smiled at her. I reached my hand out to her and she looked over stunned. "Hey! You're awake!" She stood up and took my hand in hers. Retro leaned down to me and pecked my lips. "How are you feeling?" She asked. I pointed to my throat and she nodded. "I know it's probably sore. Zed said it would be for a while. You were hacking up a lot of blood." She explained. I took a deep shaky breath and closed my eyes tightly. "Don't worry baby. You're gonna be ok. Zed said he managed to heal you where it mattered. So you just have to take it easy for a few days. Drink warm liquids and eat soft foods. That kinda thing." She explained. I smiled and opened my mouth, but the horrified look on her face told me I shouldn't speak, so I shut it. "Sorry babe. Think what you want to say. I'll read your mind." She told me. "Where's my sister?" I asked. Retro furrowed her brow and looked away for a second. I raised an eyebrow. "I punched her." She admitted. I squeezed her hand and she sighed. "I know! I'm sorry! But she gave you a heart attack!" She whined. I huffed and she frowned. "Anyway, Zane banned her from the matrix and sent her home, and if I understood the signals correctly, I think he broke up with her." She explained. My eyes widened and the heart monitor sped up again. "Hey! Babe, it's ok. She's alright. Just breathe." Retro ran her hand along the side of my face. I took another deep breath and sighed heavily. "Mia and Josh are still here. Do you want to see them?" She asked. I hesitated, but nodded. "Ok. I'll go get them." She replied.

When Mia walked in, I hardly recognized her. She looked so different since the last time I had seen her. She wore all black, and had a stud in her nose. Plus, her eyeliner was so thick that I couldn't tell if she was glaring at me or not. Josh had gotten taller since I last saw him, and he was wearing a sports jersey. His hair was shorter, but otherwise he looked the same. "Hi Ella." Mia greeted me. My eyes softened and she looked down. "I'm so sorry she said all of that to you. We put it into her head, but we never meant to hurt you." She explained. I smiled softly and put my hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me and smiled a little. "She wasn't right, either." Josh added. His voice had dropped since I last heard him, and it caught me off guard. "I don't hate having you in our family, or as my sister." He assured me. "Me either." Mia agreed. I smiled and made a heart with my hands. They chuckled. Then I pointed to the wall, and they raised an eyebrow in confusion. Mia quickly understood though. "Charlie said that dad is ok, but he won't let us see him. Mom has been with him for an hour now." She explained. I raised an eyebrow in confusion, and she shrugged. "He told us to get out. He doesn't want us in there, but he was really concerned about you, and it made us kinda mad." She explained. I just blinked in confusion and shrugged at her. "We know it's not your fault. It's just... kinda annoying." Josh admitted, and Mia nudged him. I sighed again and shook my head. Then Retro came back in. "Ella, we're gonna take you home. I'm gonna carry you back, alright?" She asked. I looked at her, and then my siblings, then back again. I furrowed my brows and pointed to the wall again. "Huh?" Retro asked. "She wants to see dad." Mia explained. "Oh uh... ok." Retro shrugged.

Retro picked me up bridal style and brought me into dad's room. "Visitor!" She announced. "Ella!" Mom ran to me and put her hands on my shoulders. I smiled at her and hugged her as much as my position would allow me. "Hey! You're ok!" Dad smiled. Mom pulled away and I glared at him. "Thanks for saving me, Ella. Really, I'm so proud of you." He laughed. I flicked him off and he raised an eyebrow. "Ella!" Mom shrieked. "I'm pretty sure she's mad that you won't let her siblings in." Retro explained, and I nodded along with her. "What? Why do you care?" Dad asked. My jaw dropped, and I gestured to my chest. "Because it makes her seem privileged to them." Retro translated. "Oh... that's not why I didn't want them here. Ok, let them in." He said. Abigail opened the door and called Mia and Josh inside. "Dad!" They ran to him and hugged him. "Hey guys. Ok listen, I didn't send you out because of any favoritism. I sent you away because you made it very clear that you don't want to be superheroes, and I promised you that you wouldn't have to deal with any of it. So I kept you out because I didn't want you to see me like this. Scarred by a stab wound from a war in another universe." He explained. "What?! That sounds awesome!" Josh exclaimed. Mia shoved him aside. "Dad, we don't care about that! We just wanted to know that you were ok! And then you asked about Ella, but shoved us away!" Mia explained. "I asked about Ella because I didn't know she passed out. If you passed out, I'd be just as concerned!" He laughed. "Where's Lila?" Mom asked. "Oh! Speaking of things you didn't know, Lila gave Ella a heart attack, making her throw up blood and pass out again. And then Zane banned her from the matrix and broke up with her. Also I punched her." Retro filled them in, and I just sighed. My parents were horrified. "Are you ok?" Mom asked. "Is Lila ok?" Dad asked. I gave my mom a thumbs up. "She wasn't looking too good when she left." Mia answered dad. He took a deep breath and groaned to himself. "Ok. I'll talk to her. Ella, you go home and rest. I'll see you later." He said. I smiled and waved to my family.

Lila's POV
I couldn't stop crying when I got home. I sat on the floor, against my bed, crying about Zane, Ella, my dad, everything! I had never felt so bad or so guilty about anything in my life. When I heard mom, Mia, and Josh come home, I froze. I couldn't face them after what I had done, but it wasn't just them. There was a soft knock on my door, and I stiffened. "Lila. Can we talk to you?" Mom asked. I hesitated. "Yeah." I replied. Mom came in, and dad walked in behind her. My eyes widened as he smiled at me. They sat down in front of me on the floor. "Hey, I'm ok." Dad smiled. My eyes started to water again, and I ducked my head into my knees. "I'm so sorry." I cried. They each placed a hand on my knee. "It's alright, Lila." Dad assured me. "Alright?! I could have killed her! How can you be so calm?! I was so rude to her!" I exclaimed. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't mad about that, but I understand your anger, and Ella forgives you. So we're forgiving you." Mom explained. I glanced up at them. "She does?" I asked. "Yes. She can't speak right now, and she needs to rest, so she can't be here to tell you herself, but yes she does." Mom nodded. I exhaled in relief. "Lila, I'm so sorry I hurt your feelings earlier. I just didn't want you to see me like that. It had nothing to do with Ella, I promise. I love you so much, and I don't want to think that I love her more because it's not true. If you were in her place today, I'd have been just as concerned." He explained. I sniffled and lifted my head. "I'm sorry I overreacted." I whined. "It's gonna be alright. You don't have to worry about any of that right now." He smiled. "Now why don't you tell me what happened with Zane? I know you really liked him." Mom said. My breath shuttered a little as I opened my mouth. "He broke up with me because of what I did, and I can't blame him. I ruined everything." I admitted. Mom scooted over beside me and wrapped her arm around me. "I know this hurts, Lila. You're gonna be ok, I promise." She sighed. "I have to get back to The Arrows. My team is worried about me. I'll come back to see you tomorrow, ok?" Dad smiled, and I nodded. "Ok." I agreed. "Breathe, Lila. It's gonna be alright." He patted my shoulder, and then left.