"It's amazing, Molly. The love inside, you take it with you."

~Ghost

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Becca saw Ethan sitting in the hallway, head down, shoulders slumped. She slowed in her tracks, inhaling sharply, but holding back her emotions.

"Hey," she said.

Ethan looked up. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was as white as the sterile walls surrounding them.

Ethan rubbed his face and straightened. "Hey."

Becca gulped and placed her golden clutch in her jap before sitting down next to him.

The hospital made her skin crawl. The pink and turquoise color scheme was almost maddening, especially up against the bright multicolored handprints lining the floor. But she tried not to think about it.

She was here for Ethan.

And Kelsey...

"Have you heard anything?" she asked.

"No," he replied weakly. His voice sounded like he had a cold, or as if he'd been crying for a long time.

Becca put her hand on his shoulder. "C'mon, she's gonna be fine, honey."

Ethan shook his head miserably. "The doctor said she had fluid in her lungs and a crap ton of other things wrong with her." He met her gaze for the first time, his face the image of the pain Becca felt on the inside. "It was a bad wreck, Becca."

Becca swallowed. Kelsey couldn't die. That wasn't how it worked. "I think we need a cup of coffee, don't you?"

She grabbed his hands and hauled him to his feet. "There you go, buster."

They made their way down to the cafeteria and Becca subconsciously picked up the bright green bustle on her skirt to keep it from dragging the floor. There was no telling what was on this disgusting tile.

"I'll get it," Ethan offered. "What do you want in yours?"

Becca eyed the Mr. Coffee pot and the generic sugar packets. It wasn't exactly her French press. "I'll just have it black, sweetie."

She sat down at one of the many empty tables in the corner and folded her hands across the surface.

She bit the inside of her cheek, fending off the tears that sprung to her eyes when she thought about Kelsey. She'll be fine, she'll be fine.

"Here you go." Ethan placed a steaming cup in front of her and she wrapped her chilly hands around the warm Styrofoam.

"You know, I assumed the hospital in Grey's Anatomy was just a stereotype," she quipped, "but this is worse. A patient could have a heart attack just from the lack of color coordination."

Ethan offered a smile that barely reached his cheeks before settling back into silence.

"What happened between you two?" Becca ventured.

Ethan blinked and looked at her. He sighed heavily. "It was all my fault."

"Did you get into a fight?"

Ethan nodded. "Althea showed up."

Becca gasped and launched to her feet. "No! Please tell me you're joking?!"

"Woah, Becca, calm down," Ethan said.

"I will not!" Becca cried. "If she ruined things, I swear I'll get back at that little two-faced—"

"It was my fault," he repeated.

Becca ground her teeth and plopped into her chair, crossing her arms with a huff. No matter what Ethan said, she was already planning her attack regardless.

"I played right into her hands, like I always do," he explained.

"That girl doesn't have anything on you, E."

"She did tonight."

He told her about everything that happened. About how Kelsey bought into Althea's manipulation, but it wasn't her fault. How Ethan accused her of trying to fix everyone. And how he finally let go of Althea once and for all.

"And now look where we are," Ethan said, gesturing around him and letting his arm fall back in his lap. "Is this what it takes to make me see it all? What if Kelsey doesn't make it?"

"She will," Becca assured him.

Ethan turned his heavy eyes on her and she squirmed. "How can you keep saying that?"

"Because she can't not be okay!" Becca cried, her voice cracking. She bit her lip and clenched her fists into a ball. "She has to be fine."

The cafeteria door swung open and the doctor walked in.

Becca and Ethan stood up at the same time.

Becca's heart hammered in her chest and her knees felt weak.

"Mr. Glenn, I—" the doctor stopped when he saw Becca. He cast a somewhat worried glance at her outlandish dress and blinked.

Becca put her hand on her hip. "You didn't get a doctorate just so you could stare. Close your mouth and tell us what's happening."

The doctor quickly averted his gaze and addressed Ethan. His face grew somber and he glanced at his clipboard. "Things aren't looking good, I'm afraid."

Ethan's face paled. "What does that mean?"

"We're trying to keep her lungs from collapsing, but she's too weak to fight back. We're having to artificially help her breathe, which is very risky."

Becca rubbed her arm absently, willing herself not to cry. "You'd better be doing all you can."

The doctor nodded. "We have our best staff on the case."

He nodded to each of them before retreating back into the hall.

Becca turned to Ethan. She didn't have words this time.

They both wandered back to the waiting room like zombies, shoulders slumped, feet barely lifting off the floor.

Bile churned in Becca's stomach as they sat down in the worn chairs.

A chill ran down her skin.

This couldn't happen.

"Hey," Ethan said, "are you okay?"

Becca was about to answer, but had to get up and race to the bathroom to vomit.

Once she was finished, she knelt in front of the toilet and cried.

Long, hard sobs racked her body.

It wasn't fair, wasn't fair, wasn't fair.

She didn't realize how much Kelsey meant to her until she was snatched away.

A knock sounded on the door, but Becca ignored it.

A few moments later, it opened and Ethan peeked his head in. "You okay?"

Becca got to her feet, sniffling and blubbering like a baby.

Ethan extended an arm and Becca fell into it. "She can't die, Ethan!"

Ethan hugged her tightly. "It's okay. It'll be okay."

He held her for a moment before they went back into the waiting room.

They sat quietly for a few moments.

The windows in front of them were dark. Hollow. The stupid off-colored tile was too shiny and the ugly pastels mocked Becca.

Ethan drew in a wavering breath. "Having something and then losing it is almost worse than never having it at all." He looked down at his clenched fists. "And then once you lose that thing, it's like losing a part of yourself."

Becca sniffled. "Don't talk like that."

Ethan looked up at her and gave a half smile. "But it turns out that the one thing you lost made everything else so much better, even when it's gone."

Becca mirrored his smile and nodded. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and said, "You know, the only person that's ever seen me cry like that was Kelsey." She laughed shallowly. "It was when me and Mack broke up. She gave me macaroni and cheese, and I really think she thought that it would make me feel better."

"And it helped, didn't it?"

Becca blew her nose and chuckled. "It did!"

"She gave my sister some sort of coffee drink and got her to spill all her darkest secrets in like three minutes."

"I believe it," Becca nodded. "Her fashion choices are atrocious, but I think she works some sort of dark magic into her food."

They settled into silence and Becca rubbed her thumb across the surface of her pink nails, having to swallow back another sob. "Why are we talking about her as if she's gone?" she asked.

Ethan covered her fidgeting hands with his. "Because she should be here with us right now."

He clenched his jaw and looked down. "But she's not. And it just isn't right."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Again, I'm sorry guys...

~What'd you think of Becca's POV?

~Emotions?

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