Chapter 8 – A World Away
It shouldn't have been possibly, but it simultaneously seemed like a brief second and an eternity before Mina's lips slowly parted from Justin's. Their hands, which had slowly entwined at some point she couldn't remember, remained linked and their faces remained a mere inch or two apart as they stood speechless and breathless in the dark, rainy night.
"I'm cold," Mina finally muttered softly just to fill the silence.
"You are?"
"No." She paused, realizing the she was not, in fact, cold and she really had no idea where the comment had come from. "I don't know why I said that."
Justin smiled softly and closed the small distance between them once more to further ensure that she would remain warm. Mina's lips responded to his without even thinking about it while her mind briefly wondered why this was starting to feel a little too much like real desire.
Suddenly, a shrill ringing sound erupted from the small bag that was sitting forgotten at Mina's feet and she pulled away from Justin abruptly.
"Don't answer it," he implored in a whisper.
"Uh," she stuttered, briefly considering obeying before her mind took control again and she removed her hands from his, bending down to pick up the bag. "I have to, it could be important."
Justin sighed, understandably disappointed by this development. "It could also be not important."
"I'm sorry." Mina's face echoed the words, her brow creasing apologetically as she silenced the ringing of the telephone and answered it. "Hello?"
"Mina?" Belle's yelled response came from the other end, sounding confused and upset.
"Yeah. Belle?" Mina mimicked, also confused. She couldn't figure out why or how Belle would be calling her on a telephone.
"Yeah. Where the hell are you?"
"Uhhh...out. Why? What's going on? You sound a little shaken."
"Um, yeah." Belle's voice was hesitant as she responded. "Look, we're all down at St. Merlin's. There was this big fight at the Werewolf and, well, you just better come."
"Wait, what?" A note of panic crept into Mina's voice at the mention of the largest wizard hospital in California. "What do you mean? What's going on? Are you guys okay? Is Ivy there too?"
"Yeah, we're all right. Ivy and Ralph had to be admitted and everything and...Jesus, this thing is freaking out like a pixie in a cookie jar. I've gotta go. Just come okay?"
"Belle, wait," Mina protested, but it was too late. Belle's voice cutout and there was a dull silence echoing on the other end. She pressed the "end" button on her phone and shoved it into her bag frantically. Looking around, she tried to figure out the best course of action. She needed to get there as quickly as possibly and normally she would just use magic, but there was a vague voice in the back of her head reminding her of the man standing straight across from her that told her she couldn't.
"I have to go," she told Justin succinctly.
"What do you mean?" he asked, concerned. "What's going on?"
"Uh, my, uh...my cousin's in the hospital. I have to go." Her hands found their way to her head in desperation as her mind continued to work frantically to figure out the situation.
"Oh my God!" Justin exclaimed. "Well, get in the car I'll drive you, which hospital is she at?"
The question just served as further reminder to Mina that she couldn't tell him the full truth of what was going on. Not now. Not yet. "You can't drive, you've been drinking."
"Well, then you drive, and I'll just come along," he suggested, unusually rational for a drunk person.
"No, I'm a little buzzed too. And I don't know how to drive."
"I'll call you a cab."
"I can't wait." Mina did the only thing she knew to do and began walking away before he could respond.
"Mina, come on! You can't walk the whole way!" he called after her.
"I really can't wait!" she called back, picking up her pace to put as much distance between herself and Justin as she possibly could.
He stood dumbfounded by her insistence and could offer nothing else but a weak, "Mina," in protest. As soon as she was out of eyesight, there was a sound like a strong rush of wind and she was gone.
***
"What the fuck is going on?" Charlie exclaimed as he and his little sister simultaneously arrived in front of St. Merlin's Hospital. Neither had known that the other would be there, but they strode up to multi-story, ivy-covered brick building together as though they had planned to enter at the same time.
"No idea," Mina told him truthfully, hurrying up the many steps to the entrance as fast as her legs could take her.
"I just get this freaky call at like 6 am in the fucking morning on that fucking whatchamadinger that Ivy gave me and what's-her-face is all like, 'Come to L.A. Ivy's in the hospital, so I came and you don't even know what the fuck is going on?" Charlie ranted, trailing behind his sister only slightly.
"No, I wasn't with them, I just got the same call from Belle. And what is with the language?"
"I'm stressed."
Mina merely shook her head at him and wearily pulled open the gigantic wooden door that marked the entrance to the hospital. The front lobby was buzzing with activity, all manner of magical people and creatures wandering around with various ailments, some more discernible than others. The woman standing directly next to Mina as she entered the lobby seemed to have a particularly nasty form of flaming hiccups and Mina had to jump out of the way to avoid getting singed. It became immediately apparent to the two McKinnons that they had no idea where to find their cousin.
"Uh, did Belle say anything to you about what exactly is wrong with Ivy?" Mina inquired, glancing at the directory that listed the locations of the various medical departments.
"Nope. Or if she did, it was sort of hard to discern through the weeping." Charlie's handsome features fell into a frown. "They have a whole wing for extra limbs? Jesus, we only have like two of those a week at my hospital in London. Maybe I should move to LA."
"Thank you for focusing." Mina couldn't help rolling her eyes at him exactly as she had done countless times as a teenager. She was about to suggest that they ask about their cousin at the front desk, but was interrupted by a voice that she still recalled vaguely from earlier that night.
"Mina?"
She turned around to see Adam Jones looking at her, brow furrowed in concern, and hands full with what appeared to be two hot chocolates. It took a moment for her mind to register who he was and how she knew him, but she soon remembered running into him at the club earlier in the evening. It seemed like it was at least a week ago by now. She didn't get a chance to respond, however, as Charlie immediately recognized the man standing in front of them as well.
"Adam Jones? How are you, man?" Charlie inquired, incredulously. He would have probably pulled Adam into a manly embrace if it weren't for the scorching hot beverages he held. He had been three years ahead of Adam in school, but the younger man had been the youngest member of the broom racing team at the time, so the older students had welcomed him more readily than they might have otherwise.
"Not bad." Adam offered a warm smile in response, recognizing Charlie easily. He had always respected the eldest McKinnon, though he hadn't made the connection between him and Mina until he saw them standing together right at this moment. "So you two must be looking for Ivy and Ralph, yeah?"
"Yeah," Mina confirmed hastily, anxious for any information that Adam may have.
"Follow me." Adam turned towards the elevator and jerked his head indicate the direction in which he was leading them. "I'm on my way up there anyway."
Mina and Charlie followed obediently, both glad to find someone who knew something about what was going on. Neither could wait to ask questions.
"So, I don't suppose you could tell us exactly what's going on?" Mina inquired as the three squeezed into the elevator along with two nurses and a wizard with an unnaturally small head.
"What floor?" A deep booming voice came from the unnaturally small head.
"Seven," Adam replied with a gracious smile before turning back to Mina. "Yeah. I was there, but I only saw snippets of what happened so you'll have to get the others to fill you in on the details later. Basically, this guy some how found out that your cousin can't do magic and started getting on her case, calling her names and giving her shit. She tried to just ignore him, but finally he called her an immunda-"
Everyone in the elevator gasped as the word left Adam's mouth and he was forced to pause to accommodate their shock as the doors to the elevator opened and they emerged onto the seventh floor.
"He did not!" Charlie exclaimed angrily, his hands forming fists so tight that his knuckles were turning colors human flesh should never turn. Adam nodded as he began to lead them down a hall filled with witches and wizards that Mina recognized from the night club - some had huge, seeping boils all over their faces, some couldn't seem to stop dancing, one had an extra arm sticking out of his head.
"He did. Anyway, so as you can imagine, that really pissed Ralph off and he immediately pulled out his wand and started shouting curses at the guy. It somehow erupted into a club-wide thing and as you can see," he gestured to the arm headed wizard, who seemed to be feeling pretty down about his situation, "A lot of people ended up here."
"I am going to kill him, Ivy. I am going to fucking kill him." Mina recognized Ralph's voice far before they arrived at room 702, where Ralph and Ivy were both laying in beds, both looking fairly unscathed compared to some of the others they had passed, as Belle looked on from an overstuffed dark green chair in the corner.
"How do you have the energy to still be this mad?" Ivy's weary voice responded as her cousins entered the room. A small smile appeared on her face when she saw them, but she seemed too tired for much more than that. "I am so glad that you guys are here."
"God, Ivy, I'm so sorry I left," Mina apologized the minute she could, making a beeline for Ivy's bed and dropping a kiss on her forehead. "Are you okay? What happened? What's going on?"
"I'm fine. I had some weird equilibrium issues for a while there, but I'm feeling a lot better. The doctor said he thought it was just my body's reaction to having about 50 curses hurled at it at the same time."
"Oh, yeah, that happens," Charlie offered his weak professional opinion from where he was standing, leaning against the doorway.
"I'm okay, though." Ivy nodded. "These things happen."
"These things do not just happen!" Mina's voice seemed much louder than she had intended in contrast to Ivy's calmness. Everyone the room looked at her in shock, Belle and Adam stopped the hushed conversation they'd been having behind her to listen. "People don't just randomly harass people for being different. He called you the worst possible thing he could think to call you and he doesn't even know you! That doesn't 'just happen.' Why are you not more upset about this?"
"Thank you!" Ralph agreed from his bed. He would have thrown his hands up to emphasize his exasperation, but it was just then that Mina noticed one of his arms was in a sling and the anger she'd been feeling only slightly began to boil more intensely inside of her. "This is what I've been saying from the beginning. Like, 95 people ended up in this hospital tonight because some asshole can't handle the idea that not being a witch doesn't automatically make you less than."
"Exactly."
"You guys," Ivy interjected, a little bit of laughter unexpectedly entering her voice. "I have been dealing with this shit my entire life. If I got mad every time someone called me a name or gave me a dirty look, I would never have time do anything else. It happens. Trust me. It does just happen.”
Mina was silent, just gazing down at Ivy sadly. She knew her cousin must be right. This sort of thing must happen to her all the time, it was just more noticeable when an entire nightclub got involved. Without saying a word, she took a few steps backward and slid into the remaining chair next to Adam.
“Come on, guys, don't be so morose,” Ivy requested earnestly. “It's really not a big deal.”
“Sure,” Belle appeased her friend with a smile. “We should probably go soon anyway. You guys need to rest.”
Mina couldn't help frowning in response, deep in thought. Adam reached over and rubbed her back comfortingly and handed her his untouched cup of hot chocolate. She accepted it wordlessly, the life she'd been living earlier in the night with Justin seeming a world away.
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