A couple of minutes into searching through kids and other people, I hear a familiar cry. “Amee!”
I whip my head to a sobbing Sabina, her face red and puffy. She reaches her arms out for me, pushing and shoving through other kids between us.
I let out a gasp, my heart jumping to my throat. I stretch my arms out to her, choking up from the relief. “I’m here!”
I kneel down and scoop her up when she runs into my arms. She clings around my neck, burying her face into my shoulder. Her body shakes violently against me. My throat tightens, wanting to weep for her.
I draw in a sharp breath. I need to be strong for her.
My embrace tightens around her. “It's okay. I got you.”
I lift her up as she weeps, swaying her from side to side. I wish there was a way to comfort Sabina besides talking her down, but there isn't. I can't blame her for her tears.
That was too much for a kid to bear.
“Are you two okay?”
The familiar concerned voice makes me lift my head. An amber eye through long, messy hair greets us.
Clara!
After that brief second of relief, I realize her left eyelid is bleeding. So is her nose, her forehead and some of her neck.
“You're bleeding,” My brows bunch with an ache growing in my chest. I don't recall seeing her after she left.
I reach a hand out to tuck some hair out of the way of her bleeding eye. Then I reach for her chin and tilt her face up slightly. It looks serious.
Her cheeks tint red and her lips part. “I'm… okay...” She gently pries my hand away from her chin. Her gaze softens as she meets mine, before scanning me up and down and forming a scowl. “Areyoualright?”
I nod quickly, but I'm too focused on her wounds to answer. “You need to go to the hospital!”
She scrunches her nose. “Youneed to go to the hospital.”
“But-”
She knocks my hand away from her cheek. “I can handle it myself.Youshould go to the hospital.” Her glare disappears when she looks towards Sabina. She lowers her head to Sabina's level.She frowns. “Is she okay?” She says in a concerned murmur.
“Yeah.” I then coo at Sabina. “It's okay, Sourdough. It's okay.”
She continues to sob, as she turns on her left cheek. “You’re hurt!” She nearly chokes the words out.
My throat closes in on itself, struggling to find the words to comfort her. Clara beats me to it. “I'm good. See? Just a little scratch is all.”
Sabina cries into my shoulder again, and I give her a comforting pat on the back. I suppress my own sorrows for her, though the burn in my throat threatens otherwise.
Sabina’s already been through too much. She's lost her family and she knows she nearly lost us.
Clara's arms wrapping around me and Sabina, pulling us in a firm embrace Clara offers a soft smile before looking back at Sabina. “Everything’s going to be alright. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you.”
Sabina’s cries have become quieter. “But… I don't want you hurt!”
“It's okay Sabina,” I whisper.
Clara soothes, “I know, I know…You don't need to worry about us. I'm here and though it looks bad, I'm not hurt a lot.”
“But you-”
“It feels like getting scraped when you trip on the ground.” Clara smiles. “It stings a little but it will heal quickly. You've felt that before, right?”
