dead blog.

— She doesn’t remember, she doesn’t remember a lick of the attack and that’s really why she’s upset. She’d actually want to remember, to know why bruises marred a path on her skin, purple and black blurring together to create a new shell. She wants to know if it’s mafia related – so she knows who to blame, because without that knowledge of who to be righteous angry at, this just isn’t fair. With that empty space of recollection inside her head, the only person she can find ire with is herself. Molly nodded, the numbness taking hold, she’s a timid little bird in that hospital room. 

The fact that Molly wasn’t saying anything was almost as concerning as the fact that she was attacked in the first place. What happened to her? Did someone in the Cacciatore do this? Aria was more worried about Molly than anything, but that nagging question remained in the back of her mind, terrifying her slowly as she tried to treat the other woman. “Molly.” She whispered her name, as she knew that if she spoke much louder her voice would crack and break with worry and fear and she didn’t need to upset her anymore. “Molly, sweetie. Can you talk? I need you to say something..” She spoke once more, only with a little bit more conviction than she did before.

Lili frowned at her question, uneasiness rising. “I’m eighteen, I’m an adult, you know.”

“I understand that, but this is something I have to do for all patients, regardless of their age, especially considering the injury you came in with. We just need a name on file, an emergency contact.”

“Well it’s not really in your job description to be comforted is it?” Lili laid quietly as she was worked on, following any of Aria’s instructions. “Well it’s Lili, if you must know. I suppose it’s nice to meet you, Aria.”

Aria ignored her words opting to keep her mouth shut as worked on her cut. Biting her lip, she nodded. “Likewise, Lili.” Glancing up at her, she tilted her head to the side. “How old are you? If you don’t mind me asking.” She added, merely as a courtesy. 

“Yeah, like I said, not my first time for this kind of stuff” Lili watched her move around the room, and nodded before the girl sprayed, “I won’t, at least not yet”  Lili half smirked, looking at Aria. “No, you don’t have to use up meds on me, I’ll be just fine” Lili reassured her. Lili sat patiently, refusing to flinch as she was fixed up.

“Yeah, you mentioned that. And I have to say, that’s pretty far from comforting.” Aria glanced up at her as she started to cleanse the wound and the needle. “How sweet of you.” She nodded, starting to sew up the cut on her abdomen. “You never told me your name.” She mentioned, trying to keep her distracted from the pain. “I’m Aria.”

“I was just mugged, I didn’t see a thing.” Lili insisted again, her determination to stick with one story taking up most of her focus. So much so that she didn’t even think that carrying a purse with her might tip off that she wasn’t being completely truthful. “No, nothing that I’ve encountered so far, and I’m AB negative” Lili answered without hesitation, her trips to the hospital nd doctor growing up and even in recent years had the knowledge she needed to hand off always at the tip of her tongue 

“Alright, just asking.” Aria held up her hands, wheeling herself over to the counter to get the spray and the morphine for the stitches. “I take it you’ve been stitched up before.” She guessed as she started to spray, stopping just before she did so. “This might sting, just please, please don’t punch me.” She lamented, remembering the more than annoyed man on the fifth floor that left her with a pain in her side all day. Spraying the wound quickly, she reached for her arm. “You want pain meds or you want to do deal with the stitches without it?” She asked, knowing that with a lot of people who’ve dealt with a lot of injuries could handle a few stitches without any medication. 

Lili followed along silently and tried not to speak unless it was necessary. “Well I, no.. I was mugged, remember? What kind of friend stabs you?” Lili had faltered for a moment, forgetting what she had told the older girl earlier. “I don’t really know, I think it was, like, just slightly.” she muttered as she laid back, trying to ignore the pain as she was examined.  

“Some people have fucked up friends and a lot of people, druggies mostly will attack people they know for money and whatever.. Just wondering if you recognized them.” Aria had no intention of going to the police, though it was protocol if someone came in and said they were mugged. More than anything, she was fishing to see if this was some kind of fucked up Cacciatore getting their rocks off on attacking a kid, or if it was one of her family’s associates fucking up. It was more likely it was just a run of the mill mugger, but Aria could never be too careful. She nodded, looking back up at her. “Okay, well I’m just gonna disinfect this, any medical allergies that I should know about? And do you know your blood type. You haven’t lost that much blood but.. just in case.”

“Well I’ve been bleeding in here for well over an hour. This isn’t my first time, I know that something deep in there is nicked that shouldn’t be. I would like to be fixed before blood started to gather in my abdominal cavity.” Lili went quiet and followed the nurse along, obeying as she instructed her. 

Aria rolled her eyes at the utter lack of organization at the hospital, nodding to her in apology. “Sorry about that.” She nodded as she spoke, leading her into on of the rooms. Biting her lip, she glanced at her wound. “You know the person who did this? They a friend of yours or something?” She asked, concern piqued at the sound that this wasn’t her first time in a situation like this. “The knife- was it rusted?” She asked, moving the girls arm away as she inspected the wound closely, rolling on her gloves.

“Well I’m so glad I would have the pleasure to bleed out among gang bangers. And I wasn’t a moron or shot. I was stabbed, well sliced really.” Lili hid her fear and pain with blatant agitation and lashing out, but she nodded at the girls request, “That’s kind of what I came here for, for someone to look at me at least.”

“Not saying you were, I’m simply pointing out, ma’am, that non-fatal wounds don’t typically get priority.” Aria nodded, crouching down to inspect her wound. She stood, offering the girl her arm for support. “Right well, some people have an issue with dealing with a nurse rather than a ‘real’ doctor, but I can patch you up if you’d just follow me, please.”

Was that doubt caught in the back of her throat? The words are thick in her mouth,  Aria’s speaking to her and she’s supposed to speak back but all that comes out is a twisted breath and a sound without a name. What could she possible say. She feels sheepish. Peeling her gaze away, she looks forward, then down. Her palm spans over the gaping wound in her ribcage, fingers spread wide to protect the vermilion from escaping.

Aria recognized Molly after a second glance over at the woman, causing her to jolt to her feet without a second thought. She walked over to her, taking her by the arm as she led her to a more secluded area. Knocking once on the door of a free room before pushing it open, Aria led Molly into the room, sitting her down in a chair. “Let me see your ribs. I won’t ask what happened but you need to get that cleaned and patched now.” She held up a hand, walking over to the lock the door as she searched the counter for anything she might need. “Molly, I’m not going to take no for an answer. I’m no Doc, but I can patch that up.”

“I said I got fucking mugged. Are you deaf? Are you going to help me or are you just going to gawk as I bleed out??” Lili snapped at the woman, her hands clutching at the gash in her side.

Aria nearly rolled her eyes at the girl’s tone, but suppressed it in favor of calling for one of the doctors. “My apologies, typically one of the doctors would have seen you immediately but..” Eyeing the crowd in the ER, she pursed her lips.