Mia's Open Heart (Choices Open Heart AU)

Chapter 11: Anguish

Panic set in as Ethan looked through the window, seeing that horrific scene.

"Baz, get something to sedate him" Tobias said, as Baz rushed off. "And can someone get us a gurney!" he yelled.

Ethan turned back to the door, ramming his body into it in an attempt to open it. Once. Twice. And yet nothing.

The third time Tobias turned with him, the two older yet strong men ramming into the door together, finally getting it to open. Tobias ran towards the patient, trying to push him away and keep him in one place. Baz ran in with a needle, going towards Tobias who held the patient while Baz injected him with the solution to sedate him.

While this happened, Ethan rushed over to Mia, whose tiny body lay amongst the broken glass. She had visible lacerations on her hands, as well as some smaller cuts along her face. The most concerning thing, apart from her unconsciousness, was the bruising on her neck. That, along with the blood already starting to pool below her.

He immediately got on the ground, holding her head in his hand as he felt her blood, scaring the life out of him. It's like in that moment, the world stopped.

When you think about a person who's unconscious, you'd probably think that they look just like they look when they're sleeping, I mean it's practically the same thing. But that wasn't the case here. When Mia was asleep, Ethan would sometimes be awake, watching her. As creepy as it sounds, it was mesmerizing. She usually was a very happy and cheery person, but under all that would be emotions like stress, anguish, and fear. She hid those emotions from the world, and sometimes even herself, but Ethan was one of the only people who she let past that protective wall. When she would sleep in his arms, it would be like that anguish vanished, her beautiful features looking the most peaceful they ever looked, her body graceful as it rose and feel with ever breath she took. However, the body that lay there, beautiful despite the many cuts and bruises, showed a little of that painful anguish.

Funny, he thought to himself, when did he become so poetic.

All this thinking, though extremely well versed and extensive, really lasted only a couple seconds as Ethan was ripped back to reality, as he heard Tobias struggling to keep the large man still while Baz injected him.

In the words of something Mia would probably say...

This shit turned from a Hallmark movie into a horror movie real quick.

Ethan quickly picked Mia up bridal-style, her almost limp body in his arms as he carried her out of the room, placing her on the gurney one of the nurses brought as everyone who saw became confused and worried, stirring at how this happened to one of their own.

Tobias and Baz rushed out of the room right as Ethan placed Mia on the gurney, following Ethan as they pushed Mia to a room. Zaid, being the attending in charge of the floor that day, saw them and rushed over. He tried to take the gurney, but Ethan refused.

"She needs a head, chest, and abdominal CT" Ethan said.

"I know, and I'll take her." Zaid said.

"But- Zaid I can't leave her." Ethan said. Zaid looked into his eyes, which were bloodshot in sorrow, and tears welled in them.

"Ethan, you can't do it, and you know that." Zaid said. "She's like my annoying little sister, and I'll be damned if I let anything happen to her." Ethan looked back into Zaid's eyes, seeing determination. They were surprised at the words Zaid said, knowing that that wasn't something that would usually come from him. However, they knew he meant it.

Ethan stepped back from the gurney, allowing Zaid to take over and rush Mia over to a CT, taking a group of nurses and another nearby resident with him.