Somewhere Only We Know

Resting her head against the cool glass of the window that looked into Lucia’s room, Ariana sniffed a little, her stomach aching at the sight of her big sister so beat up. She had cuts and bruises everywhere, tubes and wires hanging out her, and Ariana hated the sight of it. Lucia was usually so bright and full of life, not so pale and lifeless.

“Why don’t you go in and sit with her?” Iker murmured as he tapped her shoulder softly, placing a cup of warm coffee into her hands. It had been hours, Ariana had insisted that they head to the hospital right away, but still she hadn’t entered her sister’s room. Instead, she had opted to stand in the hallway, her blue eyes peeking tearfully through the window.

Ariana shrugged. “I don’t think she would want me in there” she murmured, her hand gently wiping the red skin beneath her eyes, removing the loose tears.

“Ari, you’re her sister” Iker murmured “She would want you in there” he mumbled as he moved to wrap his arms around her. He could see that she was upset, there were thick red marks around her soft blue eyes and Iker hated them. Ariana’s eyes were beautiful, too beautiful in Iker’s mind to cry like they were.

Ariana snuggled into her boyfriend’s arms and sighed. “I am the sister that threw her out Iker. If you were her, would you want me in there?” she muttered gently. She knew that it was silly, Lucia was unconscious, but still she didn’t feel welcome. She knew that if Lucia was awake, she wouldn’t want her or Iker anywhere near her and Ariana didn’t want to run the risk. The chances were, if Lucia did wake up, she would only yell her sister out of the room, something Ariana didn’t want to endure. She already felt bad enough for her sister’s condition without Lucia waking up to tell her that she hated her.

Iker sighed and tilted his head back slightly, meeting Ariana’s blue eyes with his brown ones. “Ari, she’s going to want a familiar face in there when she wakes up” he murmured as he gently brushed his thumb over her cheekbone, brushing away a few more tears that had fallen out of her eyes.

“She will have mum and dad as soon as they land. She wouldn’t want me in there Iker” she protested softly.

“Ari, she would. No matter what happened between the pair of you, you’re still her baby sister, and she would still want you in there. She loves you Ari, even if it isn’t always one hundred percent evident, and she would want you by her side” he murmured, pressing a little kiss to the top her head. Ariana closed her eyes at the feel of his touch and sighed. “Will you come in with me?” she breathed out as she took in the soft scent of his aftershave.

Iker nodded. “Of course I will” he mused as he wrapped his around hers, gently leading her towards the door of her sister’s private hospital room. Ariana followed him somewhat reluctantly and hid herself a little, her stomach flipping at the sight of her big sister’s battered frame. “Ari, it is fine” Iker murmured gently as he moved his hands to her waist, shepherding her out ahead of him “She’s in the best place” he added.

Ariana nodded and took a couple of paces forwards, her lip quivering as she looked down at her sister’s chart. “They don’t know if she will wake up” she murmured gently, a small sob punctuating her sentence.

Iker took the chart out of her hand and set it down. “Don’t be a doctor right now Ari, be a sister. Believe in her” he noted softly.

Ariana nodded weakly and padded towards her sister’s side, setting herself unsteadily in the chair that sat beside the bed. Iker followed her attentively and stood behind her, his hands softly rested on her shoulders. “I am so sorry Luci” she whimpered gently “I am so sorry that I didn’t do a better job as your baby sister and that I failed to help you when you needed it. I love you Lucia, I always have” she whispered as she blinked away a few more tears.

Iker squeezed her shoulders, offering her a little comfort.

“You were always the better of us at this Lucia” she muttered as she moved a shaky hand over to Lucia’s squeezing it gently. “You would be coping a lot better with this” she added.

Iker listened to his girlfriend speak and sighed. He knew that she felt bad, Ariana’s repeated apologies said as much, but he didn’t want her to feel bad. Throwing Lucia out had been the right call and he wasn’t going to let her apologize for it if her sister woke up. Lucia had been wrong and he wasn’t about to let Ariana forget it, no matter how beaten up she was.

“I am sorry Lucia” Ariana whispered as she wiped her eyes shakily “If I had just kept you close, I could have looked after you better and I would have stopped this. I am sorry Luci and if you wake up, I am going to make up for it” she whimpered.

Iker squeezed her shoulders again before he moved ahead of her, wrapping her up in another tight and loving hug. “It’s not your fault Ari” he murmured, hating the feeling of her tears against his warm skin.

Ariana shook her head. “It is. My parents asked me to look out for her and I failed Iker. I threw her out and now look at her. How isn’t this my fault?” she whimpered, her blue eyes looking up into his.

Iker sighed. “Nena, you made the right call at the time. She didn’t deserve to have you” he muttered, his thumbs gently brushing over her skin. He hated it, the self-doubting look that filled her eyes, and he knew that he had to assure her that it wasn’t her fault. Lucia had messed up, she had kissed Iker, and Ariana couldn’t be blamed for reacting as she had. She had made the right call.

“But look at her Iker” Ariana whispered “She’s all beat up and broken and I know that I could have prevented it if…”

“If you had never stayed with me” Iker finished, a stern look fixed on his face.

Ariana sighed and dropped her head, hiding her face from him.

“I think I am going to leave you to it” Iker muttered. He knew that she was upset, it had been an emotional day, but hearing her say that she regretted being with him hurt. He loved her and knowing that she had regrets stung.

“Iker, I didn’t mean it like that. I just think…” she stammered.

“Ari, it is ok” he murmured, his hands slightly dropping away from her “I will go and you can wait for your parents. I will call later ok?” he breathed gently.

“Iker, please don’t go” Ariana breathed.

“It is for the best. This is a moment for family and that isn’t me. I will call Ari, I promise” he murmured before he pressed a swift kiss to her lips and walked away.

Ariana watched after him before she dropped her head into her hands. She didn’t like that she had upset Iker, the idea that he was angry at her stung, but she didn’t have it in her to chase after him. It was about Lucia in that moment and Iker and his upset would have to wait.