Imperial Coffee

Urgent: Part Eleven

When 9 am came and went and Iko was still asleep on the bed, Cinder and Kai agreed they would visit Peony without her. Cinder admitted feeling guilty about how long they'd stayed up when Iko was clearly exhausted, so it was the least they could do not to wake her up.

They left a note on the bedside table and drove to the hospital, the need to talk prevented by the radio music between them. Cinder was fiddling with her hands again, though it seemed more of a mixture of excitement and worry than full-out dread. Peony had woken up last night. Woken up. The only person who could tell Cinder of any developments was asleep in her hotel room, so things were pretty up in the air, but Cinder was hopeful. More hopeful than she'd ever been throughout this entire thing.

Kai kept his eyes on the road, but he stole a glance at her now and then. After they hugged, they got breakfast and pretended like nothing had happened. It was a step up, but part of him was disappointed that it hadn't lead to anything more.

He'd never actually asked if she wanted to be more than friends. They just knew they cared about each other. It was enough to make him both giddy and nervous but also unbearably awkward.

It was a relief when he finally parked.

When Cinder walked to Peony's room, she paused when she realized "Linh, Peony" was no longer on the door. Had she been moved? Had she gotten worse or better?

Her heart pounded as she found a help desk. She started smiling when she was directed to a wing with stable patients and took off at a near run in the direction of her sister's new room.

The room was no longer singular. Many beds spanned the length, and the inhabitants looked Peony's age and younger. Some of the beds were empty, and the teens were at various levels of sick, but they all looked okay, not like Peony had been. Most were awake.

"Cinder!" Cinder turned to find Peony in one of the beds by the door, a big smile on her face. The rashes were still there—Cinder didn't know if they'd ever fully leave—but there was a light in Peony's eyes that made Cinder relax.

Peony moved to get up when Cinder neared but winced and sat back against the pillows. That's when Cinder noticed that Peony's forehead was still shiny with sweat, that her eyes looked older than before.

Cinder came to stand by the bed, smiling faltering but not fading.

"It's good to see you up."

"I didn't know you were coming to visit LA," Peony said, matching her enthusiasm.

Cinder tilted her head. "You don't remember me coming before?"

Peony scrunched her nose in thought, then shrugged. "I don't remember a whole lot after I blanked out. Some dreams...but not anything else." She shivered.

Cinder nodded. She wasn't disappointed, not really—she couldn't have expected Peony to remember anything from when she was half-asleep.

"Did you say anything important?"

Cinder shook her head. "Nope." She took Peony's hand and squeezed. "Just that I came down here for you, not a simple visit."

"Iko missed you too, you know," Peony said, frowning. "I did, of course, but I think Iko took it worse."

"I know." Cinder sighed, a sigh that encompassed much more than she'd intended. "I feel bad, knowing how I just left like that."

"Oh, don't get us wrong, though," Peony said, squeezing Cinder's hand back and then withdrawing it. "We're happy you're doing so well in NorCal. Did you bring anything for me?"