Tied

With that one phone call, my day had gone from the absolute best to the absolute worst.

Well, not quite the worst. Kissing Rhea was pretty epic.

But still bad. Zhenia comatose in the hospital could only mean one thing: whatever the hell was after our souls had decided it was reaping time.

As soon as we shakily hung up with Aurore, Rhea and I practically sprinted to my car to head to the hospital, deciding that seeing our friend was more important than the last class of the day.

White knuckled and stony faced, I clutched the steering wheel and sped us to the hospital. Rhea sat silently in the passenger seat, trying (and failing) to prevent tears from running in rivers down her cheeks.

The hospital where Zhenia had been taken was nearly 30 minutes from the school, but I was sure I could get us there in much less time. I glanced down at the speedometer and grinned for the first time since the phone call. Rhea noticed me and frowned.

“What are you grinning about, you dope?” Her voice was shaky. Frightened. Also annoyed.

I gestured to the dashboard.

“Let’s just say that if I get pulled over going this speed, you’ll need to take your shirt off so I don’t get a ticket and a suspended license.” She squeaked.

“Raven! You’re the one going 20 miles over the speed limit! Why should I be the one to take my shirt off?” I shrugged.

“You’re gorgeous. And you’ve got much better tits than me.” I grinned again as she squealed and covered herself up in a jacket with one arm and slapped at me with the other.

After she calmed down about the remark about her boobs (which I thought was a compliment), we settled back into a depressed state. The mood didn’t improve at all as we arrived at the hospital. Aurore was waiting in the lobby for us and lead us up to Zhenia’s room.

He was laying there on the hospital bed, perfectly still and deathly pale. the heart monitor beeped steadily and a respirator covered part of his peaceful face.

We stood there silently, too scared and too upset to speak. None of us wanted to admit it, to speak it into the universe, be we were all thinking it; the thing that we dreaded the most was starting, and one of us was next.

We didn’t stay long at the hospital. Much to Aurore’s dismay, her mom decided it was time for them to go home. Her dad would stay the night at the hospital. They were too polite to come out and say it, but we understood the signals in their goodbyes; we were not welcome without Aurore there. We walked with Aurore and her mom to the lobby, then left as they started to talk to one of the nurses.

I buckled in to the driver’s seat and tossed my phone to Rhea. She sent a confused look in my direction.

“What’s this for?” I gestured vaguely at my phone for a second before giving her an actual answer.

“In the contacts, listed under Epic Chinese Food. Order whatever you want and some Moo Shu Pork.” She smiled and called in an order of General Tso’s Chicken, egg rolls, and all the makings of a great Americanized Chinese dinner.

Ten minutes later we pulled up to Panda Palace and grabbed our hot and steaming bags of delicious MSG.

Neither of us made any attempt at conversation on the way to my house, and the mood was tense. Not being very skilled in the ancient art of reading situations, I couldn’t tell if it was a lingering depression or an awkwardness from being alone together after our kiss earlier.

What were we anyway? Were we dating now? I didn’t want to ask. What if we weren’t and I made her uncomfortable, or what if we were and I’m just an awkward dweeb?

We got our takeout containers and sat on the couch, flipping on the TV.

There was at least a foot of space between us on the couch. Did I do that, or did Rhea? Was I supposed to scoot closer?

I silently chowed on my Moo Shu Pork, a thousand scenarios playing through my head. the only sounds in the room were our chewing and the laughter of Comedy Central on low volume. Rhea finished first and got up to throw her box away. She seemed nervous when she came back in the room, her fingertips twisting at a lock of her hair. She walked over to the couch and…

Plopped down right next to me. Like, right next to me. I took another bite.

Dear Lord, what was I supposed to do? Kiss her? Hold her hand?

Unfortunately, my pork was almost finished, and I only had a few more bites before I was obligated to address the situation. I quickly finished my last bite and stood up to throw it away.

I came back and sat down right next to her, our legs touching. My heart thrilled and I relaxed back against the couch, nonchalantly wrapping my arm around her shoulders. She smiled slightly and snuggled against me. The arm thing was definitely a good call.

I grabbed the remote and turned on Netflix, heading to my favorites and playing “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”, my favorite movie. I really wasn’t much of an anime fan, but I had a soft spot for Studio Ghibli films.

Rhea snuggled into me the entire movie, her arm wrapped around my waist and her head against my shoulder. It was a really good feeling to have her this close. It seemed like no time had passed when the credits started rolling and I switched off the TV. We sat there in silence for a few minutes, staring at each other but pretending not to. Then she did it. She leaned up and caught my lips against hers. My hand moved up to cup the back of her head and I pulled her closer. It was really happening. I was making out with Rhea.

And it was epic.