Summertime & Butterflies

Twenty-Two

The journey north to the hospital was nothing more than a blur. As she drove, Stephanie kept looking sideways at Olivia, either expecting her to break down or throw up. Olivia was silent, sitting still as a statue. Her thoughts scattered in her mind, unable to become intelligible. The hospital wouldn't give Jeff any information on Harry's condition, so her thoughts assumed the worst.

"I don't know what I will do if..." she whispered out, unable to allow herself to say the horrible thoughts she was thinking. The fight between her and Harry kept replaying in her mind, the biting words they'd said to each other and the anger behind every jab. She couldn't imagine those words being the last words they spoke to one another.

"You can't think that way," Stephanie told Olivia, reaching over and touching her knee. "Just... try and be positive, okay?"

Olivia exhaled. "I can't lose him," she said even quieter. "I can't, I can't, I can't..." As she repeated the hushed words, she rocked back and forth in the seat, gripping her hands together, squishing her fingers. It hurt, but she didn't care. "Please just drive faster, Steph," she pleaded.

"I'm already going – okay!" Stephanie said to Olivia, stepping on the accelerator as her sister shot her a furious look. "I'm trying to get there as fast as I can, Liv... It won't be long."

Olivia ducked her head, gripping her fingers through her hair. "I don't even know if he'll want to see me," she confessed to Stephanie, even though deep down, she knew it was a ridiculous notion. "Fuck... we said some mean things..." She blew out a soft breath. "I just need to tell him I meant none of it..." Olivia added, letting her head drop and allowing a few tears to fall.

"He knows," Stephanie told her, still struggling to reassure her sister. "Just like you know. We're almost there, kid," she added, switching lanes and following the signs to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. As it was early dawn, the parking lot was quite vacant, making finding a close spot easy. She shifted the car into park and looked at Olivia.

"Do you want me to come with you?" she asked.

Olivia hesitated. In her frazzled mind, the only reason for Stephanie to accompany her inside would be to console her in the event Harry wasn't okay. Feeling as though her sister's company would be a bad omen, Olivia shook her head. "No," she answered, not providing any reasons, but also not needing to. "Thank you, though," she added, unbuckling her seatbelt and grasping the door handle.

"Of course," Stephanie answered, reaching across the car and pulling her sister into a one-armed hug. "I'll go home, but... you let me know as soon as you know anything, okay? And everything will be fine," she added, stroking Olivia's hair.

Olivia nodded, not reassured but hopeful. "I will," she promised. "Thanks," she added again before jumping from the car and hurrying down the sidewalk towards the emergency room entrance. She climbed the few dirty steps outside the tower as the automatic door noticed her presence and slowly opened. Olivia squeezed through before the door opened all of the way and glanced around the waiting room, searching for Jeff and Glenne.

Glenne spotted her first, jumping up from her chair and waving her arm. "Olivia!" she called out, weaving through the rows of chairs to meet Olivia. Seeing her new friend approach with a worried look on her face was enough to set Olivia off, and she burst into tears, her head dropping against Glenne's shoulders as she enveloped Olivia against her.

"Shh, shh..." Glenne soothed, rubbing Olivia's back. "It'll be okay. Just keep thinking it will be okay."

Olivia let herself sob for a few more moments before pulling away from Glenne and wiping her eyes. "Haven't they told you anything yet?" she asked, sniffling.