After the initial shock of the corn maze had worn off, Shay couldn't stop thinking about Chloe, or her nasty wound. 'Sorry' didn't cut it. Nor did gift baskets, or things. She'd tried to think of something to give Chloe, to express how grateful she was, but none of it was enough. Not for almost dying to save her.
Shay did the only thing she could think to do. She waited for the chance to get Chloe alone and thank her. Shay scoped out the hospital, waiting to visit until she was sure they could be alone. It was weird, but that had never stopped Shay before.
As she walked down the sterile corridor to Chloe's room, waiting to see if Chloe was mad at her, waiting to see how she'd recovered, Shay's body was a bundle of nervous energy. It was impossible to keep her hands from playing with her shirt, or the bag of food she'd decided to bring. Hoping for some form of miracle, another side of Eroshay wishing she'd never even come. What would she even say? Thanks for taking that shot for me?
The part Shay was hoping to repress was the angry one. Why had Chloe done it, anyway? They weren't close. She should have looked out for herself. Not gotten hurt. Could Chloe die? Certainly! So why had she done it?
It was during one of these mental tirades that Shay reached the room and cautiously approached the hospital bed. "C-Chloe?"
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Chloe was taking a nap, or at least trying. She could only have so many painkillers onboard, and the slow-acting regenerative magic working on her body would occasionally feel like ants crawling through a hole in her abdomen.
It was during Chloe's futile pursuit of sleep that Shay found her. She was still wired for sound, as one nurse had said: she had wires running from under her hospital gown into a machine next to her, which beeped in time with her heartbeat. At first it was annoying, but she had gotten used to it now. A needle in her arm carried drugs and fluids directly into her veins. One of the fluids had a light purple glow to it.
When she opened her eyes and saw Shay, she reached for the panel that controlled her hospital bed. "Oh, hey Shay." She pressed a button, and her bed began to push her up into a sitting position. "How's it going?"
The wounds weren't going to kill Chloe, but boredom was about to. Being in here sucked. She was happy to have a visitor.
It was during Chloe's futile pursuit of sleep that Shay found her. She was still wired for sound, as one nurse had said: she had wires running from under her hospital gown into a machine next to her, which beeped in time with her heartbeat. At first it was annoying, but she had gotten used to it now. A needle in her arm carried drugs and fluids directly into her veins. One of the fluids had a light purple glow to it.
When she opened her eyes and saw Shay, she reached for the panel that controlled her hospital bed. "Oh, hey Shay." She pressed a button, and her bed began to push her up into a sitting position. "How's it going?"
The wounds weren't going to kill Chloe, but boredom was about to. Being in here sucked. She was happy to have a visitor.
Seeing Chloe hadn't helped Shay in the least, but it wasn't supposed to, at the end of the day. She moved further into the room and set the food on the table beside Chloe. It was from Russo's, the easiest thing to eat she could manage. Some kind of stew and bread. Smelled damn good. Hopefully, Chloe was allowed to eat it.
"It goes," she responded with a hint of humor that attempted to mask her nerves. It didn't take long before Shay was surging past the pretense and right into the issue at hand. "Why did you do it? You shouldn't have, you know. You should have.... just stayed back. Not gotten hurt. I could have taken the bullet. It was my fault, getting snuck up on like that. Getting caught. You -- You..."
Shay trailed off, the accusation in her tone dampening upon the next sentence. "You should have looked out for you, Chloe. Saving me doesn't do a damn thing. There will always be another gun."
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The scent of the stew filled Chloe's nostrils; she was appreciating it, and she was just about to thank Shay for bringing good food, when the younger girl started chewing her out.
There was a lot for Chloe to unpack, here, and exactly none of it was expected. If anything, Chloe had been expecting gratitude. Now she had to fight through the lingering effects of anesthesia to defend her decision to try to save Shay's life, and to Eroshay Rosales herself.
"Well," Chloe started, "First of all, I... I guess I sort of assumed that you can die from bullets? I decided that you dying would be a bad thing, and I thought I could kill the guy without anyone getting shot or killed." Chloe shot a meaningful glance at the area where she had gotten shot. "I'm really here because I, uh, suck at Krav and I didn't remember to control the gun barrel. Which is that thing they tell you to do a hundred times over for when the asshole has a gun." Chloe was mumbling and slurring through that last part; her mind was already moving on to a different topic. "What are... what do you mean, saving you doesn't do anything?"
There was a lot for Chloe to unpack, here, and exactly none of it was expected. If anything, Chloe had been expecting gratitude. Now she had to fight through the lingering effects of anesthesia to defend her decision to try to save Shay's life, and to Eroshay Rosales herself.
"Well," Chloe started, "First of all, I... I guess I sort of assumed that you can die from bullets? I decided that you dying would be a bad thing, and I thought I could kill the guy without anyone getting shot or killed." Chloe shot a meaningful glance at the area where she had gotten shot. "I'm really here because I, uh, suck at Krav and I didn't remember to control the gun barrel. Which is that thing they tell you to do a hundred times over for when the asshole has a gun." Chloe was mumbling and slurring through that last part; her mind was already moving on to a different topic. "What are... what do you mean, saving you doesn't do anything?"
Shay plopped down into one of those uncomfortable hospitals chairs as Chloe answered her... well, they hadn't exactly been questions so much as accusations. Shay couldn't help several swift glances at the door, expecting someone to come in and drag her away. She didn't know why -- exactly. Just that it was her fault, Chloe was laying there with wires connected to her person.
"I can," she said, then, "but that doesn't mean you should take any possible hits for me. You can die from bullets, too, can't you? That's why you're here, and people are worried."
Eroshay mentally cursed her inability to keep her thoughts to herself. Chloe sounded tired and not all there. Hopefully, she wouldn't even remember this conversation. Wishful thinking?
"I'm a danger magnet, Chloe. Like I said, there will always be a new gun pointed at me. Or a knife. Or magic. I won't stop. I don't want people jumping in front and ending up here. I can handle it if I'm in the hospital, or dead, but not if I cause you or anyone else to be. We don't even know each other well. The last thing you should want to do is save my life."
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Chloe just stared at Eroshay. She scrunched her eyebrows. This situation didn't make sense - was that purple stuff in her veins messing with her head?
"Are you... I'm sorry. Are you actually guilting me for saving your life?"
Chloe didn't give Shay time to answer that question. Chloe realized that this was the case mid-sentence, and she moved on.
"I-in my defense, I had perfectly good reasons for saving your life that had nothing to do with your life. Like..." Chloe engaged the parts of her brain she used to justify things to her father. Anything could be justified after the fact as a self interested ploy. "The relationship between my family and the Rosales'. I'm sure Klaus and Vito appreciate me saving your life, even if you didn't. And, and... I probably looked like a huge badass doing it, so I got personal notoriety for it. And a demon doing a heroic thing that looks good on the news is, ah, I mean that's also good for my personal interests. And..."
Chloe was beginning to realize that this might be a bad strategy for making Shay feel better about herself. She was, after all, trying to convince Shay that she didn't care about her life. Really, Chloe had been telling the truth the first time.
She sighed. "Are you buying any of this?"
"Are you... I'm sorry. Are you actually guilting me for saving your life?"
Chloe didn't give Shay time to answer that question. Chloe realized that this was the case mid-sentence, and she moved on.
"I-in my defense, I had perfectly good reasons for saving your life that had nothing to do with your life. Like..." Chloe engaged the parts of her brain she used to justify things to her father. Anything could be justified after the fact as a self interested ploy. "The relationship between my family and the Rosales'. I'm sure Klaus and Vito appreciate me saving your life, even if you didn't. And, and... I probably looked like a huge badass doing it, so I got personal notoriety for it. And a demon doing a heroic thing that looks good on the news is, ah, I mean that's also good for my personal interests. And..."
Chloe was beginning to realize that this might be a bad strategy for making Shay feel better about herself. She was, after all, trying to convince Shay that she didn't care about her life. Really, Chloe had been telling the truth the first time.
She sighed. "Are you buying any of this?"
Shay would have told Chloe it wasn't exactly her intention to guilt the older girl, that was if Chloe hadn't immediately explained away her reasoning.
Not even for a second did Shay believe any of what Chloe was saying. Too much stuttering, uncertainty. She felt a sour expression make way on her developing scowl when Chloe suggested Shay wasn't grateful.
"No," she responded to Chloe's question. "And I wish I weren't thankful. Maybe then I wouldn't feel so guilty." Which sounded much more selfish than Shay intended it.
The girl rubbed at her eyes until black specked her vision and she could find the words to explain herself. She was coming off angrier than she was. Shay wasn't mad; she was worried. She was guilty. She was responsible. But she wasn't mad.
"If you hadn't cared, if you'd stayed back and kept yourself from getting hurt and I was the one in that hospital bed," or a grave, though Shay didn't add that tidbit, "I could have lived with myself. Knowing I was stupid enough to fight. I was out there. I don't know how Jenkins got behind me, or why it was me, to begin with. That's the worst of it. If I could have done something different, if there were any action I could have taken... I would have.
"I'm not angry at you Chloe, nor did I mean to make you feel guilty. I'm upset that there doesn't seem to be anything I could have done to prevent things. Protecting me just means getting hurt. Being around me means getting hurt. Do you understand?"
Shay wished Cloe hated her, or at the least, avoided her. It might have hurt when people did that, but it meant they were safe.
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Chloe could understand Shay feeling guilty, or feeling bad about what happened. That night was horrible for everyone. But she couldn't understand why Shay was acting like saving her life specifically was a bad decision in principle.
"I guess, I still don't completely get why I shouldn't help you when I think you need it. Is it... like, your life choices that make it not matter in the end? Are you saying you have some sort of bad luck curse, or something, that makes you a danger magnet?"
Maybe Shay was just severely traumatized, and that was why she was saying this weird stuff. Maybe she needed professional help. Chloe wasn't going to discuss that possibility with Shay right now, but she was already considering throwing a text Klaus's way.
"I guess, I still don't completely get why I shouldn't help you when I think you need it. Is it... like, your life choices that make it not matter in the end? Are you saying you have some sort of bad luck curse, or something, that makes you a danger magnet?"
Maybe Shay was just severely traumatized, and that was why she was saying this weird stuff. Maybe she needed professional help. Chloe wasn't going to discuss that possibility with Shay right now, but she was already considering throwing a text Klaus's way.
"It's just what I am," Shay said, blank-faced. She wasn't sure how else to describe it. A curse, maybe. "If it's not a gun it's a knife, you know? Danger and me, we find each other. Whether we mean to or not. Like two magnets."
Shay stopped talking and eyed Chloe over. All the tubes. The medicine. She looked sleepy, and Shay felt shittier. She wanted to ask Chloe if she could expect an angry parent coming her way, but it seemed inappropriate, so she kept quiet.
"O-Oh. I figured hospital food must suck. I brought you some... stew." She pulled the bag from her feet and looked around for a table that would fit with Chloe's bed. "I didn't know what you would be able to eat."
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Chloe decided to drop it. She was a little bit agitated, thinking: if she didn't want to explain herself, she could have just said so.
She wouldn't get on her case about it, though. Shay was brining her food. "That's really thoughtful of you, Shay. Thanks." Chloe moved a school notebook and a few books off of her bedside table to make room for the stew. "You can put it here. And you're right, the food isn't the best here, but they'll make special arrangements for people with weird magic diets, I guess. I tried telling my doctor I have a rare condition where I can only eat that pad thai they make at, um, at that place on Bay street, but for some reason he didn't believe me." She half-smiled. "So I've just been getting the normal stuff."
"Did you bring a spoon? I've been smelling it the whole time you've been here."
She wouldn't get on her case about it, though. Shay was brining her food. "That's really thoughtful of you, Shay. Thanks." Chloe moved a school notebook and a few books off of her bedside table to make room for the stew. "You can put it here. And you're right, the food isn't the best here, but they'll make special arrangements for people with weird magic diets, I guess. I tried telling my doctor I have a rare condition where I can only eat that pad thai they make at, um, at that place on Bay street, but for some reason he didn't believe me." She half-smiled. "So I've just been getting the normal stuff."
"Did you bring a spoon? I've been smelling it the whole time you've been here."