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Carina bounces her leg anxiously as she sits in the driver's seat of her mother’s car on the far side of the parking lot. It’s already close to 8pm but Maya’s father still has her running laps around the track in the dark and the pouring rain.
Maya is coming to stay with her for the weekend since they have a project to work on. Even though Maya had already said she’d walk (or most likely jog) over to Carina’s after her training session, Carina had taken one look at the weather and decided to borrow her mamma’s car to come and pick her up. She’s only had her driver’s licence for a few months and she doesn’t use it all that much, but times like this she’s glad she has it. Especially because Maya isn’t old enough to learn yet.
She’s also brought a change of clothes and a towel, knowing that Lane won’t have thought of those things and Maya won’t have had a chance to grab anything.
She keeps watching as Maya goes around and around the track. She can’t hear Lane’s voice over the sound of the rain on the roof of the car, but she can see Maya struggling and she can see Lane starting to get frustrated with her.
Carina winces as Maya stumbles off the track, leaning against a post and emptying the contents of her stomach into the grass. Anger surges through her as Lane marches over, grabbing her by the arm and hauling her upright.
Most people would put a stop to the training at this point, but Lane Bishop isn’t most people. He’s been known to push and push Maya past what the point of what is healthy. Carina grits her teeth as Maya starts to run again, her movements sluggish and slow and she practically drags her legs around the track.
If Carina weren’t so scared of him, she’d get out there and give him a piece of her mind.
Her stomach lurches as Maya stumbles, crashing to the track and breathing heavily. She doesn't move to get back up fast enough and Lane marches over, grabbing her by the arm as she pushes herself to her feet, visibly shaking even from this distance.
He grabs Maya's chin and forces her to look at him while he screams, and Carina clenches her fists.
She hates that Maya has to keep running.
Eventually after another ten minutes Maya stops, bent double with her hands on her knees. Lane simply walks away, stalking towards his own car and then speeding out the parking lot.
As soon as he’s out of sight Carina grabs her umbrella, a towel, and Maya’s clean clothes before getting out of the car and making her way over to her girlfriend.
In that time she’s sat herself down on the track, her pale skin almost sparkling under the floodlights. Her elbows are resting on her thighs and her head hangs between her knees as she breathes heavily.
“Maya,” Carina calls gently, but her girlfriend still jumps.
“What are you doing here?” she asks as Carina crouches down next to her, holding the umbrella over them both. Droplets of rain are dripping off the end of Maya’s nose, her lips are blue and her hair is plastered to her forehead.
“I came to pick you up, I borrowed my mamma’s car.”
Maya blinks at her slowly, clearly exhausted and probably sick if the throwing up earlier was anything to go by.
“Come on. Let's go home so you can warm up and sleep.”
“You can't come to my house,” Maya mumbles. “My dad is already so angry at me.”
Carina frowns in concern - Maya is usually perfect at remembering when she's coming to Carina's house. It's often her only true escape from her father.
“We were going to my house anyway bella, we have that history project to work on,” Carina explains gently, running her eyes over Maya and realising that her hands and knees are bleeding, presumably from when she fell earlier.
Maya's brow furrows. “I probably can't come. My dad will want me to do extra training because I didn't do well today.”
Biting her tongue, Carina stops herself from saying what she really wants to. Instead she takes a deep breath, trying to reassess. She has to figure out a way to convince Maya to come back to her house and, ideally, stay there so she and Lucia can do their best to nurse her back to health before Monday.
“At least come with me for a little while, bella? We better get you cleaned up before your dad sees you.”
Carina holds her breath as Maya raises her head and looks at her. She's so pale she's practically translucent and Carina wants nothing more than to scoop her up and carry her to the car. But this version of Maya is like a flighty animal, and she has to be careful.
“You have some vomit on you,” she points out gently. “And you're bleeding.”
Maya looks down at herself, as though she's only just realising the state she's in.
“He’d get so mad. This gear was expensive.”
Carina smiles softly, trying to reassure her. “So come with me for a bit. Mamma can work her magic on your clothes, you can have a shower and get warm without having to worry about what he might say.”
Maya nods, starting to get to her feet but clearly struggling. Without saying a word, Carina transfers her umbrella to the other hand and wraps her arm around Maya's waist, helping her get to her feet.
“Wait - do you have your overnight bag?” Carina asks but Maya shakes her head, gripping onto Carina’s forearm with more force than she'd admit.
“It was in his car.”
“That's okay. You can borrow some of my clothes.”
They start to move again and Maya limps towards the car, her teeth chattering loudly enough to be heard over the rain.
Maya is very quiet on the drive home, still shivering despite the towel Carina wrapped her in and the fact she turned the heat all the way up. She's also incredibly pale, bordering on green. Carina is pretty sure she's going to throw up again but she hopes Maya waits until they're home because Maya throwing up in Lucia’s car wouldn't be ideal.
“We're back bella,” Carina says softly as she pulls onto the driveway, turning the car off.
“Huh?”
Carina’s concern grows, Maya is so out of it and it’s not like her at all. She’s normally hypervigilant of everything and it’s just another sign that she’s more than a little bit sick. “We’re back at my house. Let’s go inside and we’ll get you warm and clean, sì?”
Maya nods wearily, fumbling to undo her seatbelt for so long that Carina is outside the car and standing by Maya’s door by the time she manages to release herself. Carina wraps her arm around Maya’s waist as she walks her inside, her girlfriend barely protesting at the support which makes Carina even more anxious.
She fumbles to unlock the front door of her house but they get in eventually, Carina calling out for her mamma.
“Sono qui … dio mio what happened to you?” Lucia exclaims, putting her hands on Maya’s pale and clammy cheeks, giving her a once-over and taking in her bedraggled experience. Maya tries to answer but it doesn’t really work as she struggles to string words together into a sentence.
“Maya is sick, mamma. Her father was still making her run in the rain, she tripped and fell too. She’s thrown up at least once-”
“Twice,” Maya interrupts, her limbs shaking. “I threw up twice.”
“Dio mio,” Lucia breathes again, her hands hovering over Maya’s arms, still trying to assess the situation. “Va bene, you’re freezing and dirty. Do you feel like you can shower safely?” Lucia asks.
Maya nods, still shivering and looking like she might fall over at any moment.
“You go and shower Maya. Carina will get you some clean, warm pyjamas and I will get some supplies to look after you va bene?” Lucia instructs, her voice gentle but firm.
Carina watches in despair as Maya shuffles away, her shoulders hunched as she clutches at her stomach and stumbles her way up the stairs.
“Mamma, è così malata [Mamma she’s so sick],” Carina whispers, tears filling her eyes as she turns to look at her mamma.
“Lo so, tesoro. La faremo sentire meglio, ma non possiamo farlo finché è ancora sulla difensiva. Perciò le ho detto di farsi una doccia così può rimettersi in sesto e possiamo procurarci i prodotti che la aiutano a sentirsi meglio. [I know, sweetheart. We are going to make her feel better, but we can’t do that while she’s still on the defensive. Therefore I told her to shower so she can regulate and we can get supplies to help her feel better.]”
Carina takes a deep breath, still twisting her hands anxiously but she nods in agreement - her mamma is right, she always is. However Carina can’t help but worry about her girlfriend, she knows that Maya isn’t “allowed” to be sick so she must be feeling really unwell to allow herself to be even a tiny bit vulnerable in front of Lucia and Carina.
“Pensi che si sentirebbe più a suo agio in salotto o in camera da letto? [Do you think she’d be more comfortable in the lounge or in your bedroom?]” Lucia asks quietly, taking Carina’s hand and giving it a squeeze.
“La mia camera da letto, con la mia coperta appesantita, [My bedroom, with my weighted blanket,]” she decides, nodding her head slightly but then again more decisively. “Si sente agitato, immagino? Quindi vorrà uno spazio sicuro e tranquillo, il salotto è troppo aperto. Posso accendere le lucine in camera mia, e in più è più vicina al bagno se dovesse vomitare di nuovo. [She’s feeling triggered, I guess? So she’s going to want a safe quiet space, the lounge is too open. I can put the fairy lights on in my bedroom, plus it’s closer to the bathroom if she needs to be sick again.]”
Carina looks at her mamma apprehensively, not sure she’s made the right decision but her mamma is nodding. “Sembra l'idea migliore. Vuoi impegnarti a rendere la tua camera da letto confortevole e sicura per lei, e io raccoglierò il necessario per farla sentire meglio? [That sounds like the best idea. Do you want to work on making your bedroom comfortable and safe for her, and I will gather supplies to get her feeling better?]”
After a hug, which Carina is definitely in need of, they part ways and Carina goes up to her bedroom. She turns on the fairy lights that are strung across her ceiling first, casting the room in a warm, soft glow. She then grabs some of her own pyjamas for Maya, she first goes for a fuzzy pair but then she grabs a thin cotton pair too, knowing that if Maya does have a fever then they will be better.
She then pulls the blankets back and grabs her weighted blanket, draping it out on the bed ready for her. Finally she grabs her own battered teddy from the end of the bed, knowing that sometimes if Maya stays over and has a bad dream, she likes to hold onto it to make her feel better.
Just as Carina finishes she hears the shower turn off with a squeak and she looks up. A few seconds later the bathroom door opens and Maya appears, wrapped in a towel with her hair dripping down her back. She’s a bit less pale than she was but she’s still shaking and Carina beckons her closer silently, leading her into her bedroom.
“I thought you might feel a bit more comfortable here rather than downstairs, is that okay?”
Maya nods silently again, standing in the middle of Carina’s bedroom, her hair dripping onto the rug while she still shakes. Carina reaches out her hand, leading Maya to sit down on the bed and getting another towel, putting it on Maya’s head to try and soak up some of the excess moisture.
“My mamma just went to get some supplies to get you feeling better and we can relax in here. Do you want some privacy to get changed into some pyjamas?” Carina asks, gesturing to where she’s laid them out.
Maya nods silently again, so Carina squeezes her shoulder gently and then steps out of her bedroom, pulling the door to behind her and taking a deep breath.
She tries to blink away the tears in her eyes - she knows that Maya has issues with her mental health but she’s never seen her fully shut down like this before, and it’s hard. She’s also never seen Maya truly sick before - Maya had claimed she doesn’t get sick, and while Carina does believe that she gets sick less often than average due to how in shape she is, she doesn’t believe that Maya never gets sick.
She just hides it.
So how sick must she be to allow herself to show it?
“Carina? Come sta? [Carina? How is she?]”
Carina looks up at the sound of her mamma’s voice and she bursts into tears, leaning into her embrace.
“È così malata mamma, è così malata. Sono preoccupato per lei, non ha detto niente. [She’s so sick mamma, she’s so sick. I’m worried about her, she hasn’t said anything,]” Carina hiccups, rubbing her nose.
Lucia looks at her for a long moment, reaching up with her free hand to wipe Carina’s tears from her cheeks. “Andremo piano. Chiamerò suo padre e troverò una soluzione che le permetta di restare qui per un paio di giorni. Ci prenderemo cura di lei e le daremo spazio, ma senza forzarla. Bene? [We will go slow. I will call her father and come up with something that lets her stay here for a couple of days. We will take care of her and give her space but not push her. Okay?]”
Carina nods, taking a deep breath. She has to be strong for Maya right now.
She knocks lightly on her own bedroom door. “Maya? Is it okay if we come in?”
“Mhmm,” Maya’s reply comes quietly, her voice still shaky so Carina opens the door slowly, smiling gently at her and then walking over to sit by her. Carina’s pyjamas are big on her, and normally she would find it adorable but right now it just makes her girlfriend look even more vulnerable and sick.
Carina wraps an arm around Maya’s shoulders, holding her close while Lucia kneels on the floor in front of her.
“Did the shower help, amore?”
Maya nods slightly, looking at Lucia’s first aid kit apprehensively.
“That’s good. Is it okay if I check you over so we know how sick you are and we can give you some medicine to get you feeling better.”
Maya shrugs.
“I will tell you what I’m doing before I’m doing it, and if you’re not comfortable you can let one of us know.”
Maya shrugs again and Carina glances at her mamma in worry, getting a reassuring but concerned smile back.
“Can I take your temperature first Maya? The thermometer will go in your ear.”
Maya nods silently, her eyes fluttering as she leans more heavily into Carina.
She must be exhausted.
Lucia slides the thermometer into Maya’s ear, waiting until it beeps and then she takes it out and frowns at the number. “You do have a fever Maya, quite high but not hospital high. I will need to give you some medicine to bring it down though.”
Maya opens her mouth to protest. “My dad doesn’t let me have medicine. He says my body can fight things off by itself, it makes me stronger.”
Carina bites her tongue, knowing that saying anything about that right now will not help.
“He won’t know, amore. It will give your body a kickstart into fighting this so you can feel better faster, sì?”
Maya just shrugs again, resigned to things now and her body getting heavier as she fights exhaustion.
“Va bene. Now you said you threw up earlier, can I feel and listen to your pancia [belly] to see how that is?”
Maya shakes her head sharply at that, wrapping her arms tightly around her middle and leaning away from Lucia.
Carina exchanges a look with her mamma and shakes her head subtly while rubbing her hand up and down Maya’s arm softly.
“That is okay, amore. Can you take this medicine for me and then you can sleep?”
Maya shrugs subtly, but she takes the pills that Lucia hands her and swallows them dutifully with a sip of water. Carina then guides her up the bed and helps her get under the blanket, getting a little tangled in the process. Carina then slides in next to her, opening her arms for her.
Her girlfriend hesitates, just for a moment, so Carina whispers a soft encouragement.
“It’s okay bella. You’re safe here.”
That’s all it takes for Maya to shuffle forward, pressing herself up against Carina and burying her face in Carina’s shoulder. Her skin is burning against hers but Carina doesn’t care, pulling her close and rubbing her back as Maya’s tears start to soak into her clothes.
Out the corner of her eye she catches Lucia shuffling closer, reaching a hand up tentatively, putting it on Maya’s back.
The blonde’s breath hitches and Carina squeezes her tighter.
“You are safe now, amore. You can rest, we won’t let anything bad happen to you.”