Sutton quickly pulled her twin out of the bus station bathroom and led her to the car. Sutton had originally expected it to be a joy-filled car ride of laughs but upon sensing something had to be seriously wrong with her sister, Sutton's protective instincts, which she didn't even know she had, came into play.
Sutton tried to subtly wrap her arm around Emma's waist to help support her wait without being obvious that she knew her sister was hurt. Emma's breathing hitched and her whole body tensed. She tried to pull away from Sutton's gentle arm that was meant to be a comfort. Sutton quickly took notice of her sister's concerning reaction to physical contact.
"Emma…Is there something you want to tell me or talk about?" Sutton asked in a concerned tone.
"No, n-no everything's fine. Just in s-shock to finally meet you." Emma stuttered, cursing herself for not being a more convincing liar.
"Emma, My dad is a doctor. I know when someone is hurt and obviously you're hurt." Sutton told her, wishing Emma would tell her what happened.
"It's nothing Sutton, I twisted my ankle running, don't w-worry about it okay?" Emma said, started to worry Sutton was catching on.
"Look, I'll let the physical pain drop until we get home and I can take a look at you. Now let's move on to the fact that your muscles are tense and your entire body is shaking." Sutton said in a 'duh' tone of voice.
"Sutton please, can we just t-talk about this later?" Emma begged as they reached the car.
Sutton released her grip on Emma and tried to help her into the car but Emma pulled away. Sutton sighed and walked around to the driver's seat. Sutton sat down and pulled a blanket out of the back and handed it to Emma. Emma gave her a grateful smile and pulled it around her sore, shaking body.
"Fine, but as soon as we get home Emma, you have to tell me everything." Sutton said in a soothing voice, placing her hand on top of Emma's.
Emma closed her eyes and leaned her head back before nodding "Okay" she said in a broken whisper.
The ride to the Mercer home was quiet except some basic small talk about the weather and things both sisters liked. It was peaceful but Emma was still shaking, nervous and obviously in pain and Sutton was trying to both drive and analyze her sister.
When they finally arrived, Sutton hurriedly walked to the passenger's side to help Emma out of the car. Sutton leaned down and wrapped her right arm protectively around Emma's much too small waist. Emma struggled again.
"Sutton, Its nothing! I can handle myself." Emma said, her voice annoyed.
Sutton gave Emma a sad smile "I have a feeling you've been doing that for way too long Em."
"And what exactly does that mean Sutton?" Emma asked, getting defensive.
Again, Sutton only smiled and pulled Emma into a tight hug, causing Emma to tense up again and her breathing to become shallow.
"It means you wouldn't ask for help, no matter how much you need it." Sutton whispered.
The two girls eventually made their way inside to Sutton's room where Sutton sat Emma down on her bed and sat in the chair opposite her.
"So are you ready to tell me what happened to you, Em?"