Under the Umbrella ✓

-20-

Aria groaned from the pain that shot through her right shoulder. Her ears were pounding from the rush even though she had no clue of what just happened. She succeeded in opening her eyes, but she remained in the same disordered daze. She wasn't even half-conscious of the moment as she tried to make out her surroundings. In a flash, her stupor was swapped to alarm. Her eyes bulged out of her sockets when she saw Elliot lying next to her with his face creased in pain.

She sat up so fast that her vision blurred and her head spun. She perceived soon enough that his hand had been under her head in the moment of the accident. "Elliot," she called out as she shook him by his torso.

His eyes fluttered open in an instant and he stared straight at her for a few long seconds before lifting himself to sit, the motion achieved with slowed difficulty. "Are you hurt?"

"No," she said, disregarding the throbbing in her shoulder. "Are you hurt?"

It was a stupid question. She should know better, and he didn't respond to her anyway.

Aria was beginning to fit the puzzles in from what had happened. She didn't know how to take it in - or rather appreciate it. She couldn't believe Elliot had put his life before hers to save her from the accident and she couldn't understand why he would do that when they barely knew each other. All she knew was that she was frightened, relieved, and overwhelmed all at the same time.

They sat by the sidewalk that had Coffee Break for a view opposite them. She couldn't find that red car that almost kicked the soul out of her. It took her eyes a while to discern the people that surrounded the two of them. Four from the little crowd looked like they wanted to help but didn't know where to start. One of them held his phone out to ask if he needed to call the ambulance. Another one repeated the question, "Are you okay?" with a four-second break after asking the last.

Instead of giving any attention to the attention they received, Elliot began to stand up and Aria followed suit. Aria gave into the hope that they were fine – as far as considering a situation like this – until she saw Elliot lose his footing as he tried to walk, spurring Aria's reflex to hold on to him. Her eyes caught the red stains on his beige shirt and realized, much to her deceiving hope, that the back of his shoulder was bleeding.

"I think we need to get you to the hospital," Aria declared.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not. You can't even walk right now." He looked down and attempted to rotate his ankle around only to scrunch his face up. "Let's go to the hospital."

"It's just a sprain."

"You're also bleeding from your shoulder!"

"Help me get home for now."

"What?"

"It's right here," he said, nodding toward the building they were standing before.

"I know that! But you need-"

"Are you going to help me or not?" he cut her off. She didn't want to deny him his request after what he had done for her but she also couldn't not pay heed to his injuries. Why couldn't he just go to the hospital?

Seeing how he began to shove her away from supporting his build, almost in disgust, she quickly uttered, "Fine!" He paused, waiting for the reply he wanted to hear, and she sighed. "Fine. I'll just help you get to your house."

Aria answered to the people who had been kind enough to check on them. She thought their gestures were sweet as they only left to their businesses after making sure Aria and Elliot were really fine. She was still discomposed by the incident and so up in the air about what was even happening right now. Her initial destination had been Coffee Break and now she was setting off to Elliot's apartment. The events in between were partially obscure, but the fragments of it kept replaying in her head anyway.

The two were quiet the whole time they headed to his apartment. When Aria absorbed that the duration of the elevator ride was rather long, the girlish part of her mind began to pick out a few things – something as particular as the proximity between them. Her arm was insecurely wrapped around his waist and his arm was around her shoulder in a firm grip that didn't allow any room for the air to pass between them.

Aria knew she was short but the reality of it struck hard as she stood next to him with the top of her head leveled right next to his chest. She couldn't tell if she felt vulnerable or secured by how massive he was compared to her – maybe it was a bit of both – but she hadn't had a male contact in over five years that she couldn't help sense every single factor that the nearness between them brought, including his scent.

This is weird. This is so weird. Stop acting fanatic! her mind ranted to keep herself sidetracked and she let out an inaudible breath of relief as the elevator door opened, as if the compartment were the cause of her odd thoughts.

She had to let him lead the way even as he limped, but she didn't feel much of a weight on her like he was trying not to lean much on her. Despite how indebted she was to him, she couldn't tell him to loosen up, unsure of whether she'd be able to support any more of his weight and not wanting to embarrass either one of them if she couldn't uphold him.

Aria was suddenly anxious and tentative when they stepped into his apartment. The lights were switched off and just when she was about to ask him about it, he detached himself from her. The lights turned on a few seconds later. Soft yellow lights illuminated the room, making it easy for her to spot him a few strides away from her. She watched him, her lips parted, as he slowly limped his way to the couch in the middle of the room. Without any help.