Papillon

In Unexpected Places by adrienette_is_otp

SECOND RUNNER-UP

In Unexpected Places written by adrienette_is_otp

Alix stood in the waiting room of the hospital, shaking and biting her finger to the point of physical pain. But the physical pain was better than the emotional.

She was waiting for the surgery to be over, and the suspense left her shaking. She felt like she would fall apart.

"C'mon, Dad! Can we go skating please?" She pleaded

"Alix, sweetheart, it's too icy to drive on the roads to the skating rink," Her father said, "I would love to go, but we can't."

Despite her best efforts, and the Christmas cheer of colorful lights and trees, the tears slipped down her cheeks. She fell to her knees. Her heart was like a china plate, and it was slowly cracking.

"Dad, please!" Alix begged him,"It would make it the best Christmas ever."

She peered down at her hand. The salty tears fell into the still fresh wound. She couldn't feel the sting on her hand, but she could feel the sting in her heart. This was her fault. How could she be so selfish?

"I suppose we could go," Her dad concluded. "Grab you coat, I'll be in the car in a moment"

This was her fault, it was all her fault.

The doors burst open. Kim scanned the area of the sterile room. He caught a glance of a tear-stained Alix and rushed over to her side.

She had called him. She didn't know why, but her heart had coerced her head into dialing the number.

They got into the car.

"Alix the roads are going to be hard to drive in, so I need you to be quiet so I can focus," Her dad stated

"Alix? Can you hear me?" Kim asked.

He wrapped a reassuring arm around her. The comforting touch brought her to her feet, and he helped her over to an empty couch.

"This is my fault," She stated to Kim before her eyes were inundated with tears once more.

The car trip was in silence, and it wasn't so bad. The roads were unsafe to drive, so most of the population stayed home.

Kim brushed away her tears as the fell down her cheeks. He brushed the pink hair out of her eyes.

"Alix, you can't blame this on yourself," Kim whispered.

"But why can't I?" She almost shouted, her heart crying in agony. She wanted to wither away and hide.

"You need to let go of what you can't control. What's done is done, you must keep your eyes on the future," Kim exclaimed, "You have to stay positive."

"How am I supposed to stay positive when he could die?" She cried out, a new wave of emotional pain pounding in her chest.

It was only supposed to be a simple right turn. There was so much snow.

With nothing further to say, and new tears stinging her eyes, Alix settled her head into the crook of his neck. She shook with grief.

"I would give anything to trade places with him," Alix bargained.

"I don't think I would be okay if that was the case," Kim stated.

"I just hope he's okay," Alix cried, just noticing she was weeping into Kim's coat, "Oh, sorry about your coat."