XIV. END OF AN ERA.

2019.

It was silent in the infirmary. Utterly silent. The smell of sanitation products, bleach, and products used for cleaning wounds wafted around the air as it bothered one person in particular.

Sitting in silence were Aaliyah and Carmen. Neither attempted to say anything besides Aaliyah who'd just ended a call from their mother.

With an IV filled with electrolytes lodged deep into the flesh of her left forearm, Carmen could only stare at the wall with blank eyes. Still dressed in her tennis gear, the occasional movement of her fingers tapping against the chair was heard.

Art was there earlier  — and when she passed out he'd been by her side even when they transported her to the infirmary. Carmen did not know of that until Aaliyah told her. And it honestly surprised her.

Feeling a wave of deja vu cover her like a hug it reminded her of that very moment when it was Tashi in the infirmary — sitting in pain, her knee not going to be the way it once was. It bothered her that she was in the position years later.

Like a ghost of her past, Patrick comes rushing in, his eyes wide with panic. Slowly walking in he looked around for a bit since the last time he was in an infirmary for injuries that weren't his he got yelled at.

Aaliyah's eyes were immediately on Patrick who eventually glanced at her. Unspoken words are said between them with him looking at her with a slight grin.

Rolling her eyes, Aaliyah grabs her purse. "I'll be outside when you need me."

"Damn." Patrick began, taking the seat that Aaliyah was previously in. "You look like shit."

Carmen wished she could laugh at the moment, but since she was steadily being pumped with electrolytes, the energy she'd lost over the past few days was slowly coming back to her. "Ha, Ha, Ha very funny Pat."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there." Patrick apologizes with a sigh, his eyes meeting hers for just one second before looking at the IV drip. "I got caught up with the girl I'm seeing."

A smile made its way across Carmen's lips. "Look at you being committed."

"I never said I was committed."

"Once a whore always a whore." Chuckled Carmen. "Don't tell me that you're using her for a place to stay? Because if so that's real shitty of you."

Patrick looks at Carmen with a look almost similar to shock. "I am not using her for my gain. She's sweet if I might add."

Wanting to change the subject from his matters to what was the cause of Carmen even being there, he asks, "So what happened."

"I passed out due to dehydration, exhaustion, and slight malnutrition." She answers before pointing to the IV drip, "And this is pumping all the electrolytes needed so it doesn't happen again. Turns out only eating smoothies and heading straight to the court isn't the best idea."

Carmen hadn't realized her lack of self-care was this bad until the doctor came back with her report. She'd just been drifting away he says and if she hadn't been sent to the infirmary things might've gotten way worse than they should've. 

Even though she wished things hadn't ended like they did she still won and that meant she would temporarily be done Tennis and get the break she felt she deserved all too much. At least she came out victorious in the end.

Patrick looks at Carmen with a tilted gaze. "So what's next?"

The question alone makes her look up as if it'll help her think. Looking at him she could only grin, "What do you think?"