The Sidekicks

Epilogue

Mia woke with a start. Her eyes tried to adjust to the darkness of the room, making her wonder how long she had been asleep. Her gaze sought out the other person in the room and focused on his sleeping form. She stared and sat deathly still in the uncomfortable armchair, as if any sort of movement might wake him. She waited for a few moments, for no apparent reason, and let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Her mind wandered as she thought about all the reasons why they were in this situation right now.

It's all my fault.

She thought about how things could have gone if she had simply told Bruce, or even Tim, everything and let them help.

I got everybody into this mess

She thought about what it would have been like if she had simply stayed away altogether.

He would have been better off without me.

"You should leave."

Mia looked to the source of the voice and saw a nurse standing in the doorway.

"Visiting hours ended a while ago and if a senior nurse finds you here then we're both in trouble."

"Right," Mia almost whispered. "Thank you for the warning."

The nurse nodded and left. Mia stood and stretched out her stiff muscles before walking over to Tim's bedside. She took his hand in hers and rubbed circles into the back of his palm, careful not to disturb the equipment that was connected to it. She stared at his expressionless face and felt her throat close up.

"I'm so sorry, Tim." she whispered.

Mia leaned over and placed a lingering kiss to his forehead. Giving his hand a slight squeeze, silently wishing that he would open his eyes and tell her that he forgives her. That he would wake up and tell her not to leave. She scowled and let go of his hand, scolding herself for being so cliche.

As Mia suspected, Tim did not do any of those things. He was unmoving and completely unconscious, which gave her all the more reason to walk away. She gathered her belongings and moved to leave the room but paused at the door. She wanted so badly to turn around and see Tim's eyes open but she knew that that could not happen right now. So instead she looked at the floor and willed her feet to move her body forward when her heart could not.

***

Selina stood in the doorway of Mia's bedroom, casually leaning against the frame while she watched the younger woman stuff clothing into various bags. "What are you doing?"

Mia sighed heavily before answering, "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Running."

Mia paused her packing and stared out of the window. She sighed again and dropped to her bed with her head in her hands. "I'm not running," she said to the floor. "I just need to think and I can't do that here."

"Why not?"

"Because of him!" Mia threw her hands into the air as she stood up. "He's a distraction."

"How is he a distraction?" Selina's voice rose as she pushed her body off the door frame and toward Mia. "He's in a coma, for Christ's sake!"

Mia stepped back, away from Selina and looked at her with glassy eyes. A lump formed in her throat and she took in a shaky breath.

"Are you feeling guilty?" Selina asked her in a softer tone, but Mia didn't answer and just stared at the floor. "I understand that you did what you had to do. What happened to Tim was-"