The Next Morning: Part 2

“Hey…um, who are you?” Alexa asked as she looked at Mark and Mai with a confused look on her face. That question rang heavy in the room as Alexa stared at the two of them, waiting for an answer.

While Mark fumbled over his words and the flowers he was holding in his hand, Mai completely froze, like a deer in headlights. Accompanied by the eerie atmosphere and Mai’s uneasiness, Alexa’s question threw Mai into another memory she had been trying to repress.

“Hey, who are you?” Mai heard coming from a figure on the bed.

Mai found herself lower to the ground again and in the same hospital room from the last nightmare she experienced. This time, her hair wasn’t white like before. It was the pastel pink that she currently had.

“Dad, it’s me! Why don’t you remember me?” young Mai cried as she reached for her dad’s limp hands.

“What did you do with Mai? My daughter, where is she?” he asked as he looked up slightly towards Mai who appeared as her 18-year-old self.

“I’m your daughter! Dad, it’s me! Why don’t you remember me?” Mai continued to cry as she leaned closer towards him.

“You’re silly. My daughter is always so full of life and joy,” her father said weakly. “I’ve never seen her cry before.”

“I’ve never had a reason to cry before dad! You were always there for me!” Mai shouted as the tears streamed violently down her young face.

“And your hair is different. It’s got some pink in it. It’s very soothing,” her father continued, completely avoiding her last plea.

“You said that the color pink helps people who are feeling sad! I didn’t want you to be sad when mom left again!” she cried as her body leaned on the bed that her father was resting in.

Her father’s face stiffened slightly as he softly began rubbing her head softly.

“Mai, it really is you,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry for making you worry. Did you give me the shot?”

“Of course dad,” she said in tears. “You told me to do it in an emergency. Did I do good? Did I do the right thing?” young Mai asked as she looked into her father’s eyes, blurred by her own tears.

“You did what I told you to. That makes me happy, even if it was the wrong thing to do this time,” he said with a sad smile.

“I…did something wrong? It was my fault?” Mai asked slowly as her breathing became heavier and heavier.

“No, it isn’t your fault. You just gave my body and the nurses a scare,” he said softly as he started to go unconscious.

“No, don’t leave me alone dad!” she cried out as her voice strained under the weight of her own words.

“You’ll never be alone Mai. Even when I’m gone, I know you’ll always be in good company. Just don’t forget about me. That’s the last thing I’ll ask of you, my daughter,” he finished as his body went fully unconscious.

As she watched her father go unconscious, she closed her eyes tightly in pain. When she opened them back up, she saw Alexa, who hadn’t moved since she saw them.

“’Who are you?’ A-Are you talking about me?” Mark asked as he took a step closer towards his sister with concern and worry spewing from his mannerisms.

Mai had fully snapped out of her memory after hearing Mark speak. She felt slight tears forming in her eyes and quickly wiped them along with her emotions.

“What? Did you hit your head or something? Of course I know who you are Mark. Why wouldn’t I?” Alexa asked as she playfully bounced on the bed.

“Oh, I guess I was just being paranoid. I’m so glad you’re okay,” Mark said softly as he went to her and gave her a strong and firm hug.

“Ease up on me bro, I’m here for a reason,” she said as she tapped on his back to admit submission.

“Right,” Mark replied softly and released Alexa from his hold.

Alexa playfully let out a sigh of relief. Once she finished, she looked in front of her and saw Mai who was standing away from the two of them.

“Wait, Mark, how long have I been sleeping here? You have a girlfriend now? And here I thought Chloe would be the only girl you would think about,” Alexa teased. “You should be giving her those flowers, not me. They look expensive,” she continued.

“Oh, these are actually from her,” Mark said as he motioned back towards Mai nervously. “And no, we aren’t dating. This is Mai.”

“Mai Sasaki. It’s nice to meet you,” Mai greeted stoically as she walked over to Alexa and shook her hand politely.

“Alexa Reyes. You have such pretty hair,” Alexa complimented as she went to reach out to Mai’s hair, but suddenly stopped herself. “I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t be touching your hair.”

“Oh, it’s alright for you to touch it. I don’t mind,” Mai answered back as she nodded her head slightly.

Taking the opportunity, Alexa carefully played with Mai’s hair. Alexa’s eyes began to light up as she continued touching Mai’s hair.

“I wish my hair was straight like this. Even though you have it in a bun, I can tell you take care of it. It’s hard to get mine to work with me most of the time,” Alexa responded as she grabbed some of her own hair.

“Alright, let’s not mess up her hair,” Mark said as he tried to softly pry Alexa from Mai’s head.

When Mark grabbed her hands, he accidentally moved Mai’s hair as well. The bun that Mai had since his first encounter with her came undone.

“Oh no,” Mark thought as he felt a sense of regret swell from within him. He quickly tried to pull his hands away, hoping that what he did would’ve been reversed. Unfortunately for him, that didn’t happen.

Mai’s hair fell down past her chin and ended up near her shoulder.

“Mai, I’m sorry for messing up your hair. I-I didn’t mean to,” Mark stammered as he took a step backwards.

“Why are you apologizing? It’s just my hair,” Mai said softly as she turned towards Mark.

“Woah, she’s pristine…like a doll,” Mark thought when he saw Mai directly facing him. “Wait, what did I just say?”

“I know. I just felt bad is all,” Mark nervously apologized as he rubbed his neck.

“You’ll have to forgive him. That’s just one of my brother’s quirks. He’ll apologize for everything. One time, I almost burned a cake because I forgot to take it out, but he apologized for not reminding me. It’s so weird right?” Alexa teased as she was talking to Mai.

“H-Hey, you didn’t have to bring that up,” Mark interjected as an awkwardly nervous laugh escaped from the depths of his body.

“Wait, Mark, since when do you work in the morning?” Alexa asked as she saw Mark wearing his work polo shirt. “I can’t believe I just noticed it.”

“Oh, right. Recently, one of the staff had to move stores,” Mark started. “Since I couldn’t find a replacement, I took over the shifts that needed to be filled. So, until I find someone, I’ll be working most mornings and nights,” Mark answered exhaustedly.

Mai’s attention turned towards Mark even more after that, almost as if focusing on his previous statement.

“That’s a lot of work for somebody to do alone,” Mai thought pensively.

“Oh! You should ask Damian to work with you! By the way, where’s Damian? Is he at practice or something?” Alexa asked as she laid her head back down in the bed.

*     *     *

Back to Chloe and Damian who were discussing about Damian’s sketches.

“Are you sure that this is the guy?” Chloe asked while looking over the sketch again.

Damian started to grow angrier, and his body tensed up, including his toes which seemed to curl ever so slightly.

“W-Wait, I feel them.”

“Feel what?” Chloe asked as she fixed her gaze back towards Damian.

“My toes! I couldn’t feel them earlier. I think I moved them!” Damian exclaimed happily. “Let me pull my blanket up a bit. Can you tell me if they move?”

“Y-Yeah, sure thing Dami,” Chloe responded as she placed the sketch on the table near Damian and ran over to the foot of the bed.

“Are they moving?” Damian asked as he tried to curl his toes.

“N-No, I don’t think so,” Chloe answered softly, hoping not to upset him.

“Come on! Stubborn body. Stupid toes! Just, move!” Damian grunted forcibly through gritted teeth.

After a few more frustrating attempts, Damian relaxed his body, finally allowing himself to take in oxygen.

“Still nothing Dami. Maybe we can try again later,” Chloe said calmly in an attempt to relax him.

“One more time!” Damian pleaded in-between his panting and labored breaths.

There was nothing but sheer anger in Damian’s face and body language. He had an overflowing amount of frustration in his movements that could easily be misconstrued as determination.

“Damian don’t strain yourself. Please, I don’t want you to injure yourself anymore,” Chloe asserted, though an inkling of doubt and worry found its way through that assertion.

“The nurse told me that if I could move my toes, even a little bit, they could try giving me physical therapy. They want to keep me here until I can walk out of here safely, or until I agree with being in a wheelchair,” Damian responded as his breathing regulated.

“Like hell I’m going to be stuck in a wheelchair! I’ll walk myself out of here on my own two feet,” Damian commanded as he took another look at the drawing of the man sitting on the table.

Feeling a surge of anger and rage flowing through him, Damian bit down hard on his frustration, and attempted to move his toes once again.

“Stop! You look like you’re in pain! Dami-” Chloe pleaded as a nurse entered the room with some food for Damian.

“Damian, what’s wrong?” the nurse asked as she saw a slight wiggle coming from Damian’s toes.

“It moved. Right nurse? My toes moved?” Damian asked as he let go of his frustration to allow his body to breathe again.

“They did. That’s wonderful news. I’ll go let the doctor know. We’ll have to check it again later, but it seems possible that you may be eligible for physical therapy sooner than we thought,” the nurse explained as she put the tray of food down for Damian carefully.

“Thank you. You’re the best,” Damian replied to the nurse.

“You’re very welcome. If you need anything else, please use the call button,” the nurse said as she walked out of the room.

Damian, who was still trying to calm his breathing, looked over to Chloe.

“I think I’m going to fall asleep soon,” Damian finally let out as he looked at the food in front of him.

“Did you overexert yourself?” Chloe asked in an ‘I told you so’ manner.

“Definitely, but now I can say that I’ve made progress. That makes me feel better.”

Chloe slowly walked over and pulled a chair closer to Damian to have a seat. After making herself comfortable, she leaned over and grabbed the bowl of soup that was on the tray.

“Hey, that’s my food,” Damian said weakly as he looked over at Chloe.

Chloe, ignoring what Damian said, began to cool the soup by gently blowing on it. Afterwards, she took the spoon from the tray, and placed it in the bowl.

“Here, open your mouth,” Chloe instructed as she held out a spoon of soup carefully towards Damian.

“W-Wow Chloe. I never imagined you would ever serve me food. I guess this is one perk for being hurt,” Damian thought as his face turned pink with blush.

“What could you be thinking about?” Chloe teased as she pulled the spoon away from his mouth before he could eat any of it.

“You tease,” Damian said quietly as his blush seemed to drop almost instantly. “I was just thinking…how caring you are. It’s honestly something I envy.”

Chloe’s playful demeanor morphed into a more serious one as she held out the spoon again for Damian to eat from.

“I don’t understand. You’re a very passionate person Damian. Just selectively,” Chloe said while feeding him another spoonful.

“You and Mark are both like that. It’s something that I find annoying from him.”

Chloe shot a quizzical look at Damian and continued feeding him.

“I guarantee that Mark probably wouldn’t be mad at me for not letting him visit. The next time he sees me, he’ll just act like it didn’t happen and worry too much about me,” Damian continued as he continued eating food from Chloe.

“I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t let Mark visit you. He’s your brother after all. It upset me more than it upset him,” Chloe said softly, trying not to raise her voice.

Damian stayed quiet for a moment, picking his words carefully. His head hung low for a brief second, and then returned back to face Chloe.

“I blamed him,” Damian started. “I blamed him for what happened. How could I throw all of that on him? I was so angry and upset, and I threw it at him, like I always do!” he growled.

“Damian, calm down please. You shouldn’t be getting riled up,” Chloe said as she reached with a free hand to Damian’s head, running her hands through his hair soothingly.

“I didn’t want to hear him forgive me like nothing happened. I blamed a car accident on my brother who wasn’t even there. How weak do I sound?” Damian questioned weakly as frustrated tears welled up in his eyes.

Chloe served the last bit of soup to Damian, and then put the bowl down. Once her hands were free, she grabbed Damian’s face softly and wiped away his tears.

“You aren’t weak, Damian. You’re one of the strongest people I know,” Chloe declared, putting her forehead to his.

“Chloe,” Damian muttered as he fought the tears that tried to form.

“I have to go now. I promise I’ll visit again tomorrow. Until then, rest up,” Chloe commanded. “When the time comes, I’ll help you with your therapy. I promise.”

“Y-Yeah, okay Chloe. Thank you for always being there for me. I just wish I could do something to repay you,” Damian answered as he put his head down slightly.

“I’ll always be here for you,” Chloe thought silently as she kissed his forehead softly and stood up from the bed. After moving the chair back, she took a look at Damian, and then headed out of the room.

“Did Chloe just…kiss me? Does that mean- No, it doesn’t mean anything. She’s just showing that she cares about me,” Damian thought as he silently waved and watched Chloe leave the room.

*     *     *

Meanwhile, Mark, Mai, and Alexa began having a different conversation.

“By the way, where’s Damian? Is he at practice or something?” Alexa asked as she laid her head back down in the bed.

“Damian,” Mark thought worriedly as he walked over towards Alexa slowly.

Sensing the presence Mark carried with him, Mai politely moved out of the way, allowing him to kneel close to his sister.

“Alexa, Damian is also in the hospital,” Mark revealed in a serious tone.

Alexa took a brief double take and stared back at Mark.

“Is he hurt? What happened?” Alexa asked as if not wanting to believe what was being said.

“You don’t remember?” Mark returned as he leaned in closer.

“Remember what?” Alexa questioned. “I may be smart, but I don’t have Damian’s memory,” she remarked.

Mark took a deep breath in and exhaled loudly.

“Alexa, you know that I would never lie to you, right?”

“Mark, you’re scaring me. What happened? I fell asleep and woke up here.”

Mai, who was listening in on the conversation, held her head down slightly in an attempt to keep her focus away from the news Mark was going to deliver.

Mark had looked back at Mai and noticed the change in her body language. He fixed his gaze back to his trembling little sister.

“You guys were on your way to watch me play, and then you got into an accident,” Mark started explaining, his words getting slower and slower as he progressed.

“I-If I got into an accident, then why aren’t mommy and daddy here? Are they visiting Damian right now?” Alexa asked.

Mark took a shaky breath in. He wanted to turn around and run away from having to tell his sister the truth but was stopped by the small, yet firm grasp Mai had on his shoulder.

“They…aren’t in the hospital,” Mark answered.

“Why not?” Alexa asked, slowly starting to tear up.

Mark’s silence didn’t help Alexa. Instead, it fueled an even stronger flow of tears to leave her eyes.

“M-Mark, where’s mommy and daddy?” she pleaded.

Mark’s hallucination from the night before had come to fruition. This was no longer an image in his head, but a cold and harsh reality that crashed into Mark.

“They’re gone Alexa…they’re not coming back,” Mark cried softly as he hugged his little sister tightly again.

Alexa buried her face into Mark’s shoulder slowly. Even though her face was covered, Alexa’s crying was heard softly throughout the room.

Mai, seeing the two of them crying with each other, reached a hand out to Mark and rubbed his arms softly.

As time went on, Alexa’s crying grew softer and softer. After a long eternity of 15 minutes passed, silence fell in the room. Alexa’s body had passed out, falling limp on Mark.

Mai helped Mark lay Alexa down carefully in her bed, and then watched as Mark tucked her in. Once Mark stood up, he grabbed the bouquet that Mai had given him and placed it on the table next to Alexa’s bed.

Mark couldn’t help but stare at his heartbroken sister sleeping. He wiped the tears that were still by her eyes, and then took a loud breath.

As Mark and Mai left the room, they ran into Chloe who was about to knock on the door.

“Oh, is everything alright?” Chloe asked as she saw them try to leave Alexa’s room

Mark seemed hesitant to respond, but as he went to answer her, Mai stepped in.

“She’s sleeping now,” Mai responded softly.

“How is she taking everything?” Chloe asked as they began walking towards the elevator.

Mark was silent as they entered the elevator. Whether it was from anger, or sadness, Mark needed to calm himself down. As the elevator began its descent, Mark finally answered Chloe.

“She didn’t even know what happened…I had to tell her,” Mark muttered unenthusiastically.

“O-Oh. How do you feel?” Chloe asked Mark softly as she rubbed his hand smoothly.

Mai noticed Chloe reach for Mark’s hand. What she also noticed was that Mark had fell silent for the entire elevator ride down.

“It’s alright if you don’t want to tell us. We understand that it’s a lot going on,” Mai said gently as she held Mark’s other hand to show her support.

“I’d appreciate it. Can you take me to work now Chloe? I can’t afford to miss another shift,” he lied convincingly. “I don’t want you to see me cry Chloe. Then you would definitely worry about me,” Mark actually thought.

“S-Sure thing Mark…” Chloe answered back as they stepped out of the elevator.

The three of them, Mark practically dragging Mai and Chloe along, made their way to Chloe’s car.