Nayeong shuffled over and wrapped Tiffany tight in her arms. For once, the girl just let herself be cradled and babied. The older woman could feel her neck and the cotton of her shirt getting damp and knew it was from Tiffany’s tears.

She would have been relieved if this meant Tiffany was finally letting her guard down. She really would have been. But Tiffany wasn’t, and it hurt Nayeong even more to see the young girl like this.

Tiffany wasn’t crying. Those were indeed tears, but this wasn’t crying.

Even in the face of such pain and anguish, Tiffany wouldn’t completely let herself surrender to the grief and mourning Nayeong knew she must go through. Her shoulders didn’t move in huge wracking sobs, her breathing remained smooth and even, her heart rate increased slightly but it was hardly noticeable, and she made not one sound as she buried her face into Nayeong’s embrace. In fact, a passerby would have assumed she was tired and resting her head on a friend’s shoulder.

Jessica just sat there, completely at a loss of what to do. Nayeong just looked over at her, giving her a sad but reassuring smile.

After a few minutes, Tiffany removed her face from Nayeong’s neck and got up and went to the bathroom without a word. When she came back, there was no trace of what had just transpired other than Tiffany’s slightly red eyes.

“Let’s go see Lexi then,” Tiffany said in a deadened voice.

Nayeong looked at Tiffany with concern written all over her face. Tiffany’s face betrayed no emotions. Nayeong sighed, troubled at the fact that she couldn’t read what the girl was thinking, but she nodded her consent. That was all Tiffany needed, without even waiting for the other two, the youngest walked out of the restaurant like she had never even been there.

Nayeong stared at the retreating back of Tiffany for a moment before sadly taking Jessica’s hand in hers. Jessica was glad Nayeong had done so. She felt like she needed the human contact, the comfort. But Jessica also knew Nayeong was drawing strength from her too.

They would both need to be each other’s support if they wanted any chance of picking up all the pieces that were Tiffany.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The car ride had been completely silent to say the least. Even Nayeong didn’t even try to make an attempt at conversation. Tiffany had opted to sit in the back seat, staring with glazed over eyes at the passing cityscape. Her face was absolutely marble-perfect, cold, dispassionate, and utterly unmoving. There was no trace whatsoever that the girl had been crying just a few minutes before.

At the hospital, Tiffany had walked ahead, completely ignoring Jessica and Nayeong behind her. When the latter two finally reached the room, Nayeong placed a hand on Jessica’s arm, telling her not to go in yet. They sat in the hall just outside the room, but Jessica could still see clearly into the room that Tiffany was in as the front wall was made completely of thickset glass.

She watched as Tiffany leaned in and tenderly kissed the forehead of the little girl laying in the bed, watched as Tiffany gently settled herself next to the child, watched as she slipped her arm underneath the child’s head and murmured into her ear. It was heart wrenching yet undeniably loving and beautiful at the same time.

Jessica was dying to know who Lexi was. She had heard the name many times before, murmured in Tiffany’s sleep-slurred speech. She had gathered Lexi and babygirl were one and the same, and it would be a fair guess that this was Tiffany’s sister. But she dared not ask to confirm. It felt like one word would shatter the world at this point.

But Nayeong, sweet, caring, perceptive Nayeong; she knew of Jessica’s burning questions. Nayeong also knew that the fact that Tiffany had allowed her to bring Jessica along meant she no longer minded Jessica knowing about Lexi. That, or she simply didn’t care anymore. Nayeong prayed it wasn’t the latter.

“Lexi is Tiffany’s adoptive sister. She means the world to Tiffany. When I first met Tiffany, she was beaten to an inch of her life participating in underground fighting so she could get enough money to pay Lexi’s hospital bills. From what Tiffany has told me, the two of them were involved in a car accident and it resulted in Lexi needing lung and intestinal transplants. The surgeries were successful but Lexi hasn’t woken up since. Tiffany is more than ready to give her life to this little girl and I am certain that if the doctor had asked for her to donate her own lungs and intestines, she would have done so in a heartbeat. I honestly have never seen anyone with such blind devotion and love for another human being. They must have been through a lot together. Bonds like this…sadly are hardly ever formed in sunny, happy, perfect families.”

Jessica thought back to those words she had thrown at Tiffany that horrible day outside their dorm apartment, and she just wanted to…she didn’t even know what would be punishment enough for having said those cruel words.

Nayeong must have seen Jessica’s despair, for she grabbed both Jessica’s hands in hers and rubbed them gently.

This woman is godsend.

“Come. Let’s go meet her.”

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