Cities and Sewers

20

(Liem's P.O.V.)

I showed up at the hospital as soon as Mae called me with Levi in my passenger seat and Grayson on his way from football practice.

Levi was freaking out the entire way to the hospital. Mae left close to no information as to what happened at the library with Tavi. All we knew was that Tavi ended up with a pair of scissors in her back. I racked my brain for even an idea as to how this happened, but nothing came to mind. Did she just fall on a pair of scissors?

By some miracle, she survived to the hospital and through surgery. After surgery, we were scared we would lose her. She was very clearly hanging on by a thread by the time she was out of surgery.

Gray got there about twenty minutes before her family was allowed in. Levi came back out looking shell-shocked. This family has gone through a lot throughout the past few weeks with this girl. First the observatory incident at Saturday detention and now this.

We were just sitting there when Gray turned to me and said, "Isn't one of your powers life force?"

"That is a form of invisible energy," I confirmed.

"If we got you into her room, could you help her?"

"I don't know. I haven't tried using this power yet. For all I know, I could fuck her up even more."

"But there's a chance?"

"Gray, she's gonna make it. I promise."

"There's only one way for you to honor that promise."

We talked to Levi. He was unsure, but on board. He wasn't sure if she'd survive this and wasn't ready to lose another sibling. The guys and I pretended to be walking over to the vending machines and looked around for a laundry basket of scrubs. We found one tucked away in a corner and found the cleanest pair possible. I went into the bathroom and changed into the scrubs, completed by a mask covering my face. I took a longer route to get to her room with Gray and Levi waiting around the corner.

As soon as I entered the room, I was thoroughly creeped out. I hated hospitals and being in this room gave me flashbacks to when everyone was in the infirmary after the incident in the observatory.

I looked down at Tavi with a breathing mask over her face and laid on her side so as not to irritate her wound. I set my hand on her side and she didn't move. The monitor beeping near her marked that her blood pressure was lower than normal. Her heart rate was normal if not slightly slow.

She was smiling slightly in her sleep, showing off her infamous dimples. Even in the toughest situations, you'd find her smiling.

Needless to say, I was terrified. This was one of my powers I hadn't tried yet. I knew how to become invisible and manipulate the simpler matters like gravity, space, and sound, but I had no reason to try out the life force manipulation until now.

I let my hand fall around her side and closed my eyes. For some reason, this felt more intimate than anything I'd ever experienced. I closed my eyes and heard her heartbeat and breathing. I felt the blood coursing through her veins. I was completely synced with her and I knew. This is what it felt like to have a life in your hands.

I walked out of the hospital room, speed walking around the corner to Gray and Levi. I saw the worried looks on their faces.

"I think I did it," I told them. "Her blood pressure and heartbeat were more regular when I was done. And I felt it. I felt her. I think I did it."

Levi gives me the biggest, saddest hug I think I've had since Tavi's in the hospital a few weeks prior. The Mitchells were good huggers, that was for sure.