Acceptance

Tossing the crumpled can in his hand, catching it right after reminded Yvann of the night he was on that same beach with Szeina.

The sound of the waves from the distance helped jogged his memory of her victorious grin upon picking up the trash she threw only moments ago.

There was a twinkle in her eye and he smiled, recalling how the simple act brought her so much joy.

It has only been a few days since they met. Yet, for some reason, Yvann felt like he had known her his whole life.

They started off on the wrong foot. But gradually, they warmed up to each other.

Mrs. Avery was right about one thing: they could be good friends.

It was already building between them.

Unfortunately, it was cut short.

Just when Yvann was hoping to have a genuine friend for once, they took her away from him in a blink of an eye.

"What am I doing?" Yvann asked himself.

He was just there, leaning on the hood of his trunk, staring the darkness that lay in front of him.

The school mourned for Szeina and her family. The tremendous explosion didn't escape the media or the police.

It was still a mystery how that happened. But everyone was already speculating that their entire family died inside.

No remains seemed to be present, though. Which had the rest of the claim became null.

Rumors spread inside the campus about Szeina's disappearance. But at the very least, none talked about what happened at Shantel Academy.

It was a relief.

Yvann was ready to defend her if anyone was to make a fuss about what went down there.

He didn't really know what exactly happened, either. But hearing the hurt and sadness in her voice when she accidentally confessed about her reason for moving let him know that whatever it was, she was guiltless.

Yvann refused to believe the inevitable. He didn't want to think that she was dead. He would like to believe that she and her family made it.

The explosion happened after he had driven back and a good twenty minutes or so already passed by then.

It was enough time for Szeina and her family to escape.

Whatever went down inside, Yvann wanted to believe that she was alive.

"Please let her be alive." He murmured.

Tossing the crumpled can in his hand for the last time and catching it, he was aiming to throw it away, littering the beach and not wanting to care, when a vibration from his pants pockets stopped him.

Pulling his phone out, he squinted his eyes at the unknown number flashing on his screen.

"Hello?"

"Hi, am I speaking to Mister Lorenzo?"

"Yes, that would be me. Who is this"?

"I'm Officer Von and I'm calling from a hospital. It seems that a friend of yours got into an accident. Your name came out of her lips and there is no other contact whom we could find."

Confused, Yvann couldn't think of anyone who would remember him in a crucial time of their life.

To add, he didn't really have much friends.

"I'm sorry, who are you talking about?"

"Miss Clementine."

--

The sound of screeching tires, bright lights, and voices had her to wake.

Blinking, she tried to adjust her vision. From what she could hear, a monitor kept beeping beside her.

Oxygen pumped up and down on her other side, allowing her to breathe somewhat properly.

Not knowing what was going on, Szeina tried to recall how she ended up in a hospital bed and assisted by several tubes attached to her body.

With a gasp, she started fumbling with the tubes, the heart monitor beeping loudly as her heartbeat escalated.

It caught the attention of the people outside her isolated room.

A nurse held her, halting her attempts to remove the dextrose and other tubes.

"Let me go!" she screamed, her mind fetching the memory of what happened before she came to the hospital.

It was too fast.

So fast, she hardly had time to blink when things went south.

At first, the three of them, Granola and Neyandro, were peacefully making their way to the safe place which Granola mentioned.

She promised them answers once they got in there.

Sometime after they have set forth on their course, leaving civilization behind, one of those cloaked figures jumped in front of the car, sending it to a screeching halt.

The next event that took place became a blur.

But Szeina briefly recalled Granola dragging her and Neyandro before an oncoming car horned loudly and crashed right into their broken vehicle.

She remembered seeing something red before she lost her consciousness.

This had her screaming to be freed even louder.

"No! Let me go!"

"Szeina." Hearing a familiar voice somehow calmed her down, her eyes falling towards the familiar stormy greys.

Seeing Yvann, she sobbed.

With the permission of the nurses present, Yvann came near and sat on the edge of the bed. He gathered her in his arms and held her.

"They're gone." She murmured. Tears continued to fall from her eyes.

Her insides felt like a mess. Her heart felt heavy.

She wasn't certain what really happened right after or if Granola and Neyandro made it out alive, just like her.

She was brimming with so many questions.

But she knew she was in no position to start asking. No one would and could give her the answers she was seeking.

However, not wanting to get her hopes up on the slight chance that Granola and Neyandro were fine, she slowly let the truth that they might be gone sink in.

She let that inevitable fact sink deep into her that the weight of that unverified matter consistently let the tears flow from her eyes.

"They're gone." She whispered, her eyelids closing.

The nurse stared at Yvann and had him lay the unconscious Szeina down.

With his help, they were able to inject the sedative into the dextrose attached to her.

"She'll be under observation for a few days. But, it's a good sign that she's already awake."

"Thank you," he expressed his gratitude to the nurse.

After fixing the tubes that Szeina managed to pull out, the nurse left. Yvann let his gaze fall on the man who accompanied him.

His father held his gaze for a few minutes before turning his attention to the police officer, Officer Von.

With him distracted, Yvann stared at Szeina's unconscious form. He held her hand in his.

A bandage covered her head. The lower part of her lips has a minor cut. Her right leg was wrapped in a cast. Bruises left and right spread on her body.

"Whatever happened to you, Szeina?"