Reality Check : : Barry Allen (REWRITING)

09

"Cara, are you awake?" MJ says through my door, knocking so loud that I think maybe she's trying to beat it up like Barry was doing to his door last night... This morning... Ah whatever.

I groan and sit up in bed, glancing at the alarm clock that I keep forgetting is there. 8am. Yuck.

"Cara, I made you breakfast, but I have to go run an errand. Ben's already at work. I'll lock the door on my way out." MJ says loudly. I sigh and lift my pyjama shirt over my head and toss it into the hamper by the door before lifting myself into my wheelchair.

Cara must've done a lot of heavy lifting or something before the accident; I barely had to build up my strength before I could lift myself in and out of the wheelchair and get changed by myself. It really wasn't that hard after the first few times.

I wheel over to the closet and grimace as I take in all of the pencil skirts and formal blouses. I need to make friends with Iris and go shopping with her so that I actually have decent clothes to wear.

I pick out a pair of skinny jeans that I find buried at the back of the wardrobe, then I choose a nice white button-up blouse with gold thread embroidered around the edges of the light fabric. It's not my preference, but this'll have to do.

Cara wears that shirt a lot. It was her favourite.

"What do you mean 'wears'? Shouldn't you be using past tense?"

We will make a note to speak that way from now on, but time is relative.

"Good to know." I get changed and slide on some white ballet flats, then I'm ready to go. The first two things I noticed had changed when I woke up as Cara was my glasses and my hair. In reality, my hair is long and straight, with dyed streaks of red. Here, it's shoulder-length and puffy like it wants to curl but is too heavy to do so.

I wheel out to the kitchen and find a plate of eggs sitting on the bench. I gingerly poke at it, and I've suddenly lost any trace of the appetite I had before. I guess I could go to Jitters for a coffee. I just have to find the place.

~§~

"Thanks." I say when my coffee is brought over to me. I take a sip and close my eyes to fully enjoy it. I never imagined Jitters would have coffee this good.

"Cara?" I know that voice. My eyes shoot open and I find Barry standing there with a large takeaway cup in his hands. "Mind if I sit?"

"Uh, sure... As long as I'm not keeping you from anything." I say quietly. Cara was always a bit antisocial, but even though she was quiet, she was never impolite.

"Well I wouldn't have asked if I was busy." Barry tries to joke, and normally I would laugh, but Cara wouldn't so I don't. He scratches the back of his neck like he did last night. He must do that when he's nervous or feeling awkward.

"Um, I'm really sorry about the other day at the hospital. I was on heavy painkillers and I really don't remember what happened, but my brother's filled me in. I'm so sorry." I lie, but I do genuinely feel guilty about it.

"Hey, don't sweat it. I mean, it was a little weird, but this morning kind of made up for that, I think." He has that adorable lopsided smile that all Flash fans love, and oh god how am I meant to contain myself.

I look away, focusing on something nonexistent outside the window as I take another mouthful of coffee. I try not to embarrass myself any more in front of him by moaning in pleasure, and thankfully I manage to hold it in.