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"But… I want to."
The sentence kept working its way around her skull. She felt the emotion well up in her chest when the slight girl had uttered those words. Naomi was trying to convince herself that the rush of feelings had to do with the medications she was on, and had nothing to do with the cute red head in front of her. It just couldn't be, could it? The blond was lost in her own mind for but a moment, but she recalled every touch, every feeling, every time she nearly pressed her lips to Emily's… but now things were different. She was damaged goods now.
"I'm going to go grab some coffee. Emily, would you like anything?" Gina's voice rang out as she figured these two could use some privacy, and for some reason, she felt her daughter was in safe hands. Which seemed strange, she hadn't even heard of this friend of Naomi's until she popped in the door to introduce herself.
"No thank you." The red head offered up a sparkling smile before the mother walked out of the room, leaving them alone. Emily wanted to say something, anything really, but instead she sat down in the chair that was just vacated by Gina and reached her hand forward to softly take Naomi's. She began to feel a tingling sensation moving through her fingertips and down her forearms. Emily didn't pull away, nor did she even want to. Her hand felt as if it fit perfectly interlocked with Naomi's, like they had been molded specifically to be holding onto one another. With the exception of the gleeful feeling racing through her body, she also held sorrow, and pain. This girl, this beautiful girl was hurt so badly that she was paralyzed. She didn't know a whole lot about injuries of the sort, except that if a horse were to break its back, they would have to put him down. Emily was glad that there were more options for humans.
Crystal blue eyes had moved down to look at her hand that was now intertwined with the red head's. Maybe it was the drugs that forced the question out, or maybe it was something she had wanted to ask all along. "What's going on here… with us, Emily?" Her light eyebrows lifted only slightly in question. She could feel Emily's hand tighten in her own and she noticed the red head looked away.
"I… I don't know, to be honest." Emily's voice was so soft that it barely made its way to Naomi's ears. Her chest twisted nervously, worried about both what was going on between them, and also what the blond's reaction would be to her answer.
Naomi was slightly amused, but more glad that Emily didn't have a clue either. She had never felt this way before for someone, definitely not for any of the many boyfriends and one night stands that she had had over the past few years. The blond head nodded only once before her voice spoke out, only slightly louder than the red head's had been moments before. "I don't either, but I like it." Her jaw tightened after the last word fell from her lips and she tilted her head back to look at the blank white ceiling.
Relief flooded through her slight form, and a bit of a smile touched her lips. Expressive brown orbs looked from their connected hands up to sky blues. The light sapphire eyes had so many emotions running through them that she was having a hard time telling one emotion from another. "We'll get you through this, Naomi…" she licked her lips as if she could taste the blond's name on her lips, "… I promise I'm not going anywhere."
Naomi's breath hitched when she heard Emily promise that she wasn't going anywhere. Tears began to fill her eyes until she had to look away when a single tear fell from each orb. This was too much right now. Her throat cleared. "You don't have to. I appreciate it, but it's going to be too much work. I… I'm damaged… you deserve better."
Emily slipped her hand from the warmth of the broken girl's own before getting to her feet. That same warm hand reached to turn Naomi's face toward her, wanting… needing… to look into the crystalline pools. The sentence died on her lips as she opened and closed her mouth a few times to try to get the words out, but they never did. There weren't really any words that could make things better, and actions spoke louder than words. With her hand still caressing Naomi's cheek she leaned down to softly press a kiss on the corner of the blond's mouth. She lingered there for far too long letting herself get lost in the scent that solely belonged to Naomi. As she went to pull back she felt fingertips at the base of her neck, keeping her there. Blue and brown melted together for a few seconds before the pressure on Emily's neck brought her back forward, connecting their lips in a soft kiss.
The kiss was soft, almost tentative, but Emily had been right about it speaking louder than words ever could. It was a promise; a promise of things to come, and a promise to be there through thick and thin. The red head couldn't suppress a slight moan that ripped from her throat before she pulled back feeling breathless and light headed. She took a step back and the chair behind her caught the backs of her knees forcing her to fall back into the chair. Her face was flushed and she could hear her quickened heartbeat pounding in her ears. Emily managed a quick look up to Naomi who looked to be feeling exactly how she was, red faced and all.
The door opened and both blushing girls looked over to see Gina making her way back inside the room. The mother looked from one red faced girl to the other with a quizzical expression on her face. She didn't voice the question though, which both Emily and Naomi were thankful for. "I met your friend JJ out there Emily, he seems like a nice boy." She said with a smile on her lips.
The red head nodded to the elder Campbell before standing up to relinquish her seat back to the mother. "We've known each other since we were little; he's like a brother to me." That was her way of letting both Naomi and Gina know that there was nothing going on between them, just the love of a brotherly figure.
"Well maybe you could introduce him to Naomi." Gina said with a smile over to her daughter.
Naomi's eyes rolled so far in the back of her head that Emily began to wonder if they'd ever return. The blond girl spoke, "Stop trying to set me up with a boyfriend, mum. I do quite well on my own…" by instinct her blue eyes looked over to the standing red head before returning to the eyes of her mother. "… yeah?"
"Whatever dear. JJ just seems like a nice fellow, better than all those other boys you date."
"That's enough, mum. Not now, okay?"
The older blond woman's head nodded a few times before she took a sip of her coffee. "The doctors said that you can go home today if you're feeling up to it."
Naomi looked relieved. She had been ready to leave since she had woken up, but now the fact that she might actually get to go home was eating away at her. "Mum…" her voice was small, now void of any anger that may have been present in it before. "… I… I'll have to be in a wheelchair, yeah? Our house has stairs…"
Emily broke in. "Well, we'll get you up the stairs and you can wheel around all you like. I'll go to your college to get your assignments and bring them back to you until you're ready to go back."
"That's nice of you, Emily." Gina smiled before turning back to her daughter. "Why have you never mentioned her before?"
"Just never got around to it, I guess. She doesn't go to my college, and that's usually what we talk about when I get home, so she never came up." Her eyes flick over to Emily, hoping that she will pitch in some sort of lie, because she knew what the next question out of her mother's mouth would be… and sure enough, she was right.
"So where did you two meet then?"
Emily had noticed the look given to her from Naomi, but she wasn't about to make up a story, she figured the truth was always better. "I met her at one of my competitions. She came with a couple of her friends and I ran into her in the burger and hot dog line."
Gina's head tilted to the side, "Competition?"
"Yeah, my family owns a farm, I ride horses. I was going to get Naomi to ride…" her sentence stopped as the memory of the day the blond had come over flashed across her vision. All the sirens and ambulances that went by her house… those were for Naomi... it wasn't just a coincidence. Her feet moved backward a few steps until her back hit the wall. Her throat was suddenly bone dry and her gaze fell to the floor at her feet. Her voice was now small, all the strength that had just been evident in her voice was now gone, "It was you, wasn't it…"
Gina seemed lost. She had no idea what had happened. Her azure eyes moved from her daughter to the red head that was now almost pressed against the far wall with her eyes downcast.
Naomi wasn't as confused as her mother. She knew exactly what had stopped the slight girl in her tracks, and when she asked if it was her, her eyes welled with tears yet again. Her voice was almost as small as she replied, "Yes."
"I'm so sorry. It's my fault. You would have never…" Her voice broke as she tried to hold back her guilt and tears that were fast approaching, "… been out there. You would have never gotten into the accident, it's all my fault."
The blond's voice that had been so soft a moment ago now carried a strong conviction in it, "No." After a few moments she continued, "It wasn't your fault, Emily. It had nothing to do with you, didn't involve you. Not at all."
Emily's head shook back and forth a few times, "You would have never left in the state you were in if it wasn't for me and my sister." Brown eyes were now red with unshed tears as she looked up to Naomi, completely forgetting that the girl's mother was still in the room. "If it wasn't for the lake, and… and…" she couldn't finish the sentence. Her hands flew up to her face and she turned to head out the door, not even hearing both Gina and Naomi calling after her.
Her feet brought her right into JJ's chest and her arms went around his waist. The frizzy haired boy put his arms around her, slightly confused as to what just happened. He heard her voice, muffled from her head being pressed against him, "She's like that because of me…"
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