You Go Down Smooth

Perfect Ruin

6 weeks later..

Normani thought she had everything.

Her relationship with her mother was better than it ever had been.They had lunch together every day and she and Dinah would go to her mother's frequently for dinner.The twins visited on weekends and the four of them would load up the jeep and take off on a day trip almost every Saturday.

She and Y/n were fantastic and Normani had never been so happy.They talked on the phone and would text all the time – night time was Skype time and they would talk about their days. Y/n had just gotten her cast off and been cleared to return to work.She'd already spoken to her boss and had told him she'd be returning after the holiday as she and Layne were spending July 4th with Normani and her family. Y/n and her brother had met 'the Hamilton's' – Andrea's parents, and the reason why the brown girl got her name – and the older couple had become quite fond of both the twins.Gramma Barbra had told Y/n multiple times that she was just about the most beautiful girl she'd ever seen – with the exception of Normani, of course.

Y/n had promised her a surprise during this visit and Normani couldn't wait to find out what it was. She had tried to guess and had even tried to bribe her lover into telling her but Y/n wouldn't budge.

They'd spent Independence day at her grandparent's house partaking in family games and fireworks courtesy of Dinah. Y/n and Layne had helped her grandfather prepare the traditional 'Low Country Boil' and he'd even shared his secret for making it stand out from other people's version of this southern treat.It was a secret it shared with no one, until then.

And Normani really thought she had it all.Until she didn't.

***

Sitting in this hospital room feels oddly reminiscent of the first weekend they'd met. Yet, this time is different - Dinah's laying in her bed with Layne by her side, putting the straw of her water cup up to her lips, and Y/n.........just lying there with tubes and wires attached to her. She looks so frail – not like she had the last time. The last time they'd been here, sharing a hospital bed, she still looked strong – like a warrior who'd fought a hard battle. But now, she looks like just a girl. Just a damaged girl.

Her parents made it here in record time and they had even come to check on Normani before she'd been released and allowed to go to Y/n's room.Standing outside in the hall, talking to the elder Hamilton, Normani can see the concern written across their faces. This isn't like the last time.

Or the times before that.This is probably only comparable to the boat accident, she thinks.This is what they look like when they know shit is serious - when they worry they might lose their daughter.

Dinah had insisted on the two of them 'rooming' together.The hospital staff had told her it might not be possible but Dinah was adamant and Andrea had to pulled some strings and made it happen knowing that it was best not to argue with the girl who could make just about anything go BOOM. After all, hospitals have plenty of things that could 'malfunction' and cause a distraction. It really was in their best interest to just avoid the damage that Dinah Jane could inflict.

Dinah's leg is fucked, though. She's already had emergency surgery but they've told her they can't guarantee it will do any good and that she'll probably never have full use of her left leg again. They told her she will most likely go from having almost no feeling at all sometimes to having excruciating pain. Still, with all that she smiles at Layne and he smiles back, rubbing her hand and pushing stray hairs out of her face. The pain killers have her mind cloudy, but Normani can tell they're both just happy to be alive and to have each other.

Y/n, on the other hand, hasn't woken up since the accident.  She's been in a medically induced coma in the hopes of letting her rest and hopefully reducing the swelling in her brain. The first scans had been done immediately upon arrival – about 46 hours ago – and the second and third were done after about 26 hours and 42 hours respectively.Andrea had explained that they were hoping to see a significant reduction in order to bring her out of the coma and find out the true extent of the damage.