She’s okay
The drive back to London felt endless.
Alessia sat in the passenger seat, staring out of the window, but she wasn’t really seeing anything. The streetlights blurred past, the hum of the engine filled the silence, but it was all background noise.
All she could think about was Leah.
Leah, who she had spent so long denying her feelings for. Leah, who had been nothing but patient with her, kind and understanding in ways she didn’t deserve. Leah, who was supposed to be safe at home, not lying in a hospital bed somewhere with injuries Alessia knew nothing about.
She didn’t know how bad it was.
Didn’t know if Leah was in pain, if she was awake, if she was-
No.
She couldn’t think like that.
Her hands curled into fists on her lap, fingernails digging into her palms so hard it hurt. Beside her, Ella was speaking. Soft reassurances, words meant to comfort, but Alessia barely heard them. They drifted past her, lost in the panic pounding in her chest. She wanted Ella to drive faster, even though she was already pushing the speed limit.
Wanted to be there already.
Wanted to see Leah.
She pressed her teeth into the skin around her nails, biting anxiously until the sharp sting of pain bloomed, the taste of blood hitting her tongue. Still, she barely noticed. Not until Ella glanced at her, her brows knitting together in concern before she reached out, prying Alessia’s hand away from her mouth and lacing their fingers together instead.
Ella rested their joined hands on Alessia’s thigh, giving a firm squeeze. Alessia sucked in a breath, the sting of Ella’s nails pressing into the back of her hand giving her something to focus on, something to cling to.
She finally found her voice, though it barely sounded like her own.
“I-“ Her throat felt tight, her voice hoarse from lack of use. She swallowed hard. “I don’t- I don’t know what I’ll do if-“
“You don’t have to finish that sentence,” Ella interrupted, her tone firm. “She’s okay. She’s alright.”
Alessia’s breath shuddered out of her, the panic still clawing at her insides. “What if she’s not?” she whispered, barely audible.
Ella’s grip tightened, grounding, reassuring. “She will be,” Ella said, and Alessia wanted so badly to believe her. She wanted to hold onto that hope, to convince herself that Leah was fine. But she wouldn’t know until she saw her. Until she got to the hospital and saw Leah with her own eyes, breathing and alive.
Finally, finally, they get to the hospital, and Alessia had never moved faster in her life.
The moment Ella pulled into the hospital car park, barely putting the car into park, Alessia was out of the passenger seat, nearly tripping over herself in her haste. Her trainers skidded against the concrete as she sprinted towards the entrance, her chest tight, her pulse hammering so hard it drowned out every other sound around her.
She shoved through the glass doors, barely registering the cool sterility of the hospital before her eyes landed on Beth. She was sat in one of the plastic waiting room chairs, her head tipped back against the wall, looking exhausted. But the second her gaze met Alessia’s, she was up on her feet.
Alessia barely had time to stop before Beth’s arms were around her, pulling her into a firm, grounding embrace. She melted into it for just a second, gripping onto Beth’s hoodie like it was the only thing keeping her upright, before she pulled back, breath coming in short, uneven gasps.
“Tell me she’s okay,” she begged, barely able to get the words out. “Please, Beth, tell me she’s okay.”
She felt Ella step up beside her, a steady hand on her back, but she couldn’t focus on anything but Beth.
Beth, who softened immediately, her hands coming up to rest on Alessia’s shoulders. “She’s okay,” she promised. “She’s alive. She’s awake. Talking.”
Alessia’s legs nearly gave out beneath her. A sob tore from her throat before she could stop it, her body folding forward into Beth’s arms once more.
Beth held her up, stroking her back gently as she spoke.
“She’s got a pretty nasty cut on her forehead, but they stitched her up, and the concussion’s only minor,” she murmured. “Her ribs are bruised, and she’s got scrapes and cuts on her arms and legs, but the worst of it is her leg. It’s broken-not a bad break, but she’ll be out for at least two months.”
Alessia squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her face against Beth’s shoulder as relief and exhaustion crashed over her all at once.
She wasn’t dead.
She wasn’t-
“Can I see her?” she choked out, barely able to get the words past the lump in her throat.
Beth nodded, pulling back slightly as she turned towards the double doors leading to the wards “Yeah. She sent me out here to wait for you.”
Alessia nodded, still trying to catch her breath.
Beth stepped away to speak to a nurse, and Alessia glanced at Ella, who was watching her carefully.
Without a word, Alessia slipped her hand into Ella’s, gripping it tightly.
Ella squeezed back.
Beth returned a second later, nodding towards the doors as a nurse buzzed them through.
Beth’s arm slipped around her waist, steady and reassuring, and Alessia let herself be guided forward, her feet heavy, her heart hammering as they made their way towards Leah.