Sydney POV
Stay calm.
He just asked you to come to the hospital.
You don't know that he's hurt.
I walk into an open elevator and smash the button for the 6th floor.
Why would he ask me to come here?
Per his text, he asked me to come to the 6th floor and tell the lady at the desk that I'm here for him.
Nothing else. No other details.
"Hi. I'm here for Austin Harper?" I smile, trying to look like the cute girlfriend and not the nervous wreck I am on the inside.
"Harper…Harper…"
Oh come on lady.
I told you the name. It's not that hard. Austin Harper.
"Found it. You can go on in. He's in recovery."
"Okay, thank you." I say.
RECOVERY?
I walk in and follow the signs and eventually go thru some double doors.
Where Austin is sitting with a gigantic ice pack wrapped around his elbow.
"Hey." I say softly when I get close enough to touch him.
The second he turns I see that he's not all here.
He has a faraway look.
Usually he is sharp as a tack. That's one of the first things you notice about him.
Very alert.
"Hi. These drugs have messed me up. The doctors said they would." He said.
"Doctors?" I say.
"I had my surgeries today angel." He said.
I lean forward and see that his other arm is in a sling.
"Surgeries?"
"I didn't want you to worry about me. You know how I am." He smiled goofily.
"Are you hurting? What'd they do?" I ask.
"They fixed my arms." He said, and then shot me another lopsided grin.
"I thought the right one didn't need it?"
"It did, that's why we did this today. Otherwise we would have waited for my other arm to have less swelling. But what's done is done." He said, then reaching forward and groaning while trying to grab his water.
I spring forward and grab it for him.
"Thanks. I'm out of school for a week. I'm not supposed to really do much of anything for a week. As little movement of my arms as possible." He explained.
"We can do that. Do you need me to drive you home?" I ask.
"No…it's my dad's day, but I don't want to go. Can I come home with you?" He asked.
"Of course you can." I say, and then quickly kiss him.
"You're the best. I know you're mad at me, but I just don't want you to worry about me." He said quietly, then laid his head on my shoulder.
"One of these days I'll get you to understand that telling me and worrying me are two different things."
"Bulllllshit. That's complete BS and you know it!" He laughed, then smiled.
"You're so high on drugs right now. You never swear around me unless you're mad."
"Yeah. And I plan to be until my arms start feeling better." He said, looking slightly tipsy.
"Do you have painkillers?"
In response, he waved a bottle at me. "Enough to get the whole house high."
"Let's not do that. Do I have to sign you out?" I ask.
"Nope. Just hold onto me and make sure I don't go wandering off. I don't exactly trust my feet right now."
"Are you dizzy?"
"No, but I don't feel right. I feel like I did when I got drunk."
"And that is…" I ask.
"Not good." He replied, then got to his feet.
Together, we make our way back to the car.
Once inside, he buckled himself up and then leaned his chair back.
"Ahh. Much better."
"Are you hungry? I know Mom will want to feed you." I say, starting the car.
"I've never wanted to eat less in my life, but I probably should. So I don't know."
"Okay."
I quickly text Mom.
"Austin has gone off the reservation. You'll see when we get home. Everything's good, but you probably won't be happy with him."
…
…
I glance over at Austin and see that he's got his chair reclined as far as it can go, and has his eyes closed.
"Okay honey. Hope he's okay." –Mom
Thankfully, the hospital isn't far from home and I pull into the driveway.
There's a car I don't recognize here.
"Oh, we're here? Did I fall asleep?" He asked.
"Nope." I reply, getting out.
"Wait. Please Syd."
I stop and turn around.
For a couple of minutes, he sipped water and blinked. And slowly he started looking more like himself.
"Alright. Let's light this candle." He smirked at me, and then led the way to the door.
"We're home!" I call out as we walk in.
Immediately mom appears.
"Hi—AUSTIN HARPER!" She shrieked.
In response, Austin groaned and hung his head.
Jade, Tori and Dad all rushed in behind Mom.
"Whoa." Dad said, as Beck appeared.
"What on earth did you do?" Aunt Jade asked as Mom got right next to Austin and started intently looking at him.
"Surgery. Please don't kill me." Austin said to Mom.
"I might. Come here. And talk fast." She led the way back to the kitchen.
Everyone else fell into line behind us.
"What's the big deal?" I hear a familiar voice say as I round the corner.
It's grandma.
"Grandma! Grandpa!" I smile.
"Hey!" Grandpa hopped up, beaming and came to hug me.
"How are you?" I hug him back.
"We're great. Just got back from Hawaii. What about you?" He asked me, as Grandma appeared and pulled me into a hug.
"Uhm, not much. School's great, music is almost ready—"
"Your father mentioned some big secret you're keeping. But apparently it's good."
"It is. But I really can't talk about it." I say.
"And you must be Austin. Hi." Grandpa hopped up.
Austin, who had zoned out jumped in fright.
"Oh. Whoa. I'm sorry. Hi." He said, then extending his arm and cringing. "Austin Harper."
"Ryan Shapiro, and this is my wife Lindsay."
"Are you okay?" Grandma immediately asked.
"Yeah, before we get Olivia down here, what happened?" Tori asked.
"Oh, uhm okay. Well I did an MRI yesterday, to see how my elbow was after the swelling went down. My UCL was partially torn, and we repaired it today, along with fixing my other arm."
"Fixing?" Dad asked, as footsteps came downstairs.
"The elbow isn't dislocated anymore. Everything is as it should be."
"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?" Ellie yelped.
"It's alright angel." Grandma said to her.
"Dr. Frankenstein got his hands on me." Austin joked, causing everyone to laugh as footsteps pounded down the stairs.
"Oh no. You're hurt again." Matt stopped at the front of the kitchen, as Kevin appeared holding Olivia.
"Aga?"
"You're really gonna be mad at me. I can't hold you."
"You can't?" Corey asked quietly.
"Nope. Supposed to minimize moving my arms for a week. Out of school for a week." Austin said quietly, and then sipped some water.
"It's not that I'm mad you're here Austin, but why'd you come here?" Jade asked him.
"It's my Dad's week, and I don't want to go there right away. I'd rather just be here, if that's okay." Austin said.
"Of course honey. You're always welcome." Mom said softly.
"Sorry this is how we're meeting. Not how I planned it for sure." Austin grinned at my grandparents.
"Don't worry about it. Are you hurting?" Grandma brushed his concerns aside.
"Not right now." He said, then shaking the bottle. "I've got enough painkillers here to take an elephant down."
"Seriously?" Kevin asked.
"I don't know. It's an expression."
"Are you hungry? Dinner is almost ready." Dad said.
"Not really, but I know I probably should have something."
"When is the last time you ate Austin?"
"Dinner last night. But these drugs I'm on supposedly curb your appetite." He said.
"Well eat what you can, and don't worry about the rest of it." Mom said.
"You're the one with the famous mashed potatoes right?" Austin asked my grandma.
Grandma smiled. "That's me."
"I'll have to try those. I've heard nothing but rave reviews."
"Well thank you." Grandma smiled.
Next thing I know Mom and Dad have whisked Austin away.
"Did you know about this?" Aunt Jade asked me.
"Nope. I just got a text as I was coming home from him, asking to come and get him. Then I found out. He was a lot more loopy when I got him."
"He's definitely a little off." Andre said.
"What do you mean?" Grandpa asked.
"Usually he's on top of everything. Nobody gets the drop on him, eyes are sharp, whole thing. Now he seems…"
"Zonked out on painkillers?" Beck said.
"Let's go with that." Andre said.
Quickly, Grandma and Grandpa started working on dinner, and Austin reappeared with my parents.
We got shuffled into the living room as people worked on dinner. I mostly sat with Austin as he and grandpa talked about elbow surgery.
Wonderful topic I know.
Grandpa mostly went over what happened to him, which I didn't know exactly.
Dad mentioned that he used to be good at football, but didn't say much outside of that.
In the process, I learned something new about Austin.
He used to want to play football, but his Mom and dad said no, just like Mom keeps saying no to Kevin.
He doesn't anymore, but he used to, until he realized he was really good at baseball. Then using his words "it just kind of died off".
Eventually I end up looking stuff up on my pearPad. Brushing up my memory of the Hunger Games books. I haven't read them for a while.
There's a lot to go on.
The epilogue that was written was pretty specific about when Katniss' kids were born, and that the girl knows about the Games. She knows a little of what actually occurred. Clearly not the truth though.
The only homework I have since the meeting was to come up with some things that I think Willow would think or feel.
I don't even know her age.
I don't know how long I skim thru pages of fan sites and other pages of information. But I do come up with some, after using a lesson from back when I took my first theater class.
The easiest way to slip into character is to put yourself into their shoes and start walking.
Willow thinks her Mom is weak.
Willow thinks she is above others.
Willow doesn't much care about the fact that her home is right over essentially a graveyard.
I type all these up, with a few other ones that I don't like as much and send them off.
My mental picture of Willow Everdeen is one of arrogance. Superiority. Unknowing the crucible that her current world emerged from.
For better or worse, she's basically a Capitol teenager.
Without the Capitol.
Dinner passes by without much incident. Austin is still…off. He mentions that he knew where my grandparents lived, which is the same neighborhood he lives in. Which gets him odd looks, but eventually are discarded and attributed to the drugs he's on.
Eventually he disappears, and I'm back on my pearPad while everybody else talks around me.
I'm not up for much conversation.
Nobody seems to mind, and they don't bother me.
I do pull myself together when everybody gets up to leave.
I get hugs from everyone but Tori and Andre, but only because Olivia is asleep and they don't want to wake her.
"Night sweetie. We'll see you soon I'm sure." Grandma hugged me, then smiled.
"I will. Sorry…about not stopping by. You guys do live close by."
"Don't worry about it honey. You're busy and normal. We'll be here whenever you want or need us." Grandpa smiled at me.
I thinly smile back, and then they're gone.
I quickly go upstairs to try and find Austin. I find him in the last spot I look.
My bed.
He's on top of the sheets, and has his eyes open.
"Hey." I say softly, scooting next to him.
"Hi. You okay? You were awfully quiet tonight."
"I…yeah. Just did research tonight. That stuff gets in your head." I say quietly.
He smiled. "It does."
I quickly curl up to him and kiss his cheek.
I kiss his face until I hear footsteps coming towards my room.
I beat them to my door, only to see its Dad.
"Hey, can you come down? Your mother and I want to talk for a second." He said quietly, thinking Austin's asleep.
I nod, and then follow him into their room.
"Hi. What's up?" I ask.
Mom mutes the TV and dad sits on the edge of the bed next to her.
"We just wanted to make sure you're okay. You got quiet after we all started dinner." Dad said.
"And you didn't eat much." Mom added on.
"I'm okay. I guess. Just a long day."
"You know, you don't have to put up a façade Sydney. It's okay." Dad said softly.
"I know."
"Don't worry. It's my natural instinct too sweetie." I hear Mom say.
"I'm just worried about him." I mutter.
"He's in pain. And didn't tell you about another thing because he didn't want to worry you." Mom said.
I look up to see her, oddly smiling.
"Why are you smiling?" I ask.
"It's normal when you're in love."
I quickly tense up, and a moment of silence follows.
Then Dad laughed.
"You know, the way you react, it's like this has all been a secret. It's easy to see, and that's not a bad thing." He said.
"It leaks out. Just like it apparently does with me." Mom smiled.
"You guys aren't mad?" I say quietly.
"No, why would we be?" Mom replied.
I open my mouth to reply, but nothing comes.
"Syd…you're happy. That's all we really want. Successful and in a good place would be nice, but if we get happy, we really don't care about much else." Dad said.
Mom got up and pulled me into a hug I return.
"He's going to be okay. Just give him some time, and he'll heal."
"I…I don't like how he's always broken." I say, trying not to cry.
I feel Dad approach quietly as Mom asked "Always?"
"First his family, then physically. Just when he finally gets to be happy with himself." I say, then wipe my eyes.
Mom quickly hugged me again. "Sweetie…he's going to be fine. He loves you too, that's why he protects you so much."
"I'm trying to get him to not do that."
Mom and Dad both laugh.
"That's never going to happen. You just incrementally get better." Dad said with a laugh in his voice.
"Plus, I don't think he cares much. He was happy when he got hurt a couple of weeks ago, and he's zonked out happy now." Mom said.
"Hmm. I wonder why…" Dad said sarcastically.
"Me." I say flatly.
I know this game.
They used to love to play it when I would have a nightmare.
"You know our game too well Syddo." Dad tapped my nose once.
"Can I sleep with him? In the theater room?" I ask, then look to Mom.
"Ehh…" Mom opened her mouth, but I quickly cut her off.
"Nothing is going to happen. I…those drugs, I read that they don't help you sleep. I just don't want him to be in any more pain." I say, practically pleading with them.
"We know that, your mom was on them after she had Kevin and Corey." Dad replied simply.
"I had nightmares they got dropped or died." Mom said, then shaking her head.
"You're not helping your own cause. I don't want him hurting. So?"
A moment of silence passed.
"Fine…if he needs something big, wake us up." Mom said.
I smile and hug her.
"Thank you." I say.
Mom just smiled back.
Dad did the same once I hug him.
"Night." Dad called after me.
I wave, then go upstairs and set up the theater room for us to sleep comfortably.
Then I go and shake Austin.
"I'm awake. What's wrong?" He asked, rolling to face me.
"We're sleeping in the theater room. C'mon."
"Why?"
"I don't want you sleeping alone tonight. C'mon."
"Did your mom and dad say yes?"
I nod.
With a groan, he got to his feet and followed me.
Once we got there, he laid back down and curled up.
I put the blanket down and curl up next to him.
"You okay? Need something?" I ask quietly.
He shook his head.
"Are you hurting?"
He paused for half a second, then nodded.
"Take your pills. Where are they?" I question him.
"Kitchen. But I won't be able to hold a decent conversation with you. I'll be okay."
"No. We're going to sleep. You need to rest. Please take the pills." I tell him.
"Fine. Can you get me some water too please?" He asked.
I nod, then hop up and go to the kitchen.
I fill up a water bottle for him and grab the pill bottle and walk back up.
When I walk in and turn on the light, he's sitting up.
"Here you go." I say, and he takes the water and pill bottle silently.
He then took the pills and set everything to the side, and I turn off the lights.
"No movie. Just sleep please." He said quietly as I slip next to him.
"Okay. I'm here if you need me." I say.
Wordlessly, Austin wrapped his arms around me and closed his eyes and started trying to relax.
I don't know how long it was before he stopped biting his lip in pain, but it was after he fell asleep.