Chapter Text
In the aftermath of her performance in Swan Lake, Nina is in a hospital bed recovering from a self-inflicted stab wound to the stomach. Lily and three other dancers were surrounding her, trying to see if their friend had recovered. “She’s waking up...she’s ok...Thank god.” Lily gasped in excitement as her best friend slowly opened her tired eyes. “Where am I? Why are all of these tubes in my arm?” Nina mumbled as she grabbed her IV and the blankets covering her. “You’re in the hospital, Nina, you’re recovering from surgery. You were stabbed with a shard of glass, the antithetic is still in your system.” Lily responded as she diverted Nina’s hands away from the tubes coming out of her arm. “It’s alright. The nurse said you’ll be discharged in a couple of days. He just needs to run some tests to make sure you’re responding to the antibiotics ok.” Nina was silent as her fingers grazed over her scar, memories of the previous evening started pouring in. “Was I perfect?.” She asked, her innocent eyes wide open. Lily suddenly becomes ghostly pale. “You were phenomenal.” she smiled, holding back tears. “I was perfect...for once I was perfect,” Nina muttered under her breath, falling back asleep.
The next day, Nina was on the verge feeling better when her mother, Erica came into the hospital lobby demanding to see her daughter with a news crew following behind her. The staff quickly became overwhelmed, making it easier to intrude on the small hospital room belonging to a still-recovering Nina. By the time the police are called to break up the large crowd, Erica makes her way to her daughter’s room with her hands open wide for an embrace. A nurse guided Nina back to her room for safety reasons. Her erratic mother was then escorted off the premises by two police officers. “I have the right to see my child! You can’t keep her from me. The public deserves to know what happened !.” She yelled at the top of her lungs, her voice rang throughout the first floor. The altercation was over as soon as it began. The staff members, patients, and loved ones continued with their routines as if nothing had happened. “Are you alright?” one of the hospital staff noticed Nina cowering in a corner, her shaking hands covering her face. The words escaped her, she starred into oblivion wishing the world would disappear.
The rest of the day was filled with blood tests, x-rays, and psychiatric evaluations. A barrage of questions surrounding her childhood and her mother ensued. Becoming overwhelmed, Nina excuses herself to get some fresh air. The last words her mother said before being dragged out of the hospital echoed in her head: ‘the public deserves to know what happened !’. “Mom was never that angry about anything before, even when I was a child,” she mumbled to herself. “What did she mean by that?” as she returned to her room, she saw a black-dressed figure asking for directions to see a relative. The person was tall, extremely pale with dark eyes. She looked away out of fear that the person would look back at her unexpectedly. Once the encounter was over, she headed back to her hospital room to answer the doctor’s questions. Later in the day, some of the ballerinas from the New York Ballet Company came to visit. The majority of them were in tears once they laid eyes on her. They were all thankful that she was recovering well. Lily managed to get through the crowd of unfamiliar faces to see her friend. “I was the only one who knew what hospital you were staying in so everyone came with me.” she had a beaming smile on her face as she gave Nina a hug. “Thank you, all of you. I wasn’t expecting this at all...I appreciate you guys coming out to see me.” Nina managed to say through her tears of gratitude. “I just hope I can return the favor someday.” All of the ballerinas joined Lily in a snuggly group hug when a doctor came in with discharge papers and a prescription for strong pain-killers and antibiotics to pick up at the pharmacy. She knocked on the doorway to break up the commotion. “Excuse me, Miss Sayer, may I have your signature, please?.” she asked, handing the clipboard to Nina. “Yes, where can I find the pharmacy?.” she replied as the doctor gave her directions to the pharmacy upstairs. Nina gave her fellow ballerinas goodbye hugs, except for Lily, who offered to spend the day with her.
As they dispersed, both Nina and Lily headed to the cafeteria before making their way upstairs. “This pizza is amazing, I didn’t know they had such good food here. We should come here more often.” Lily joked as she ate her slice of cheese pizza. Nina chuckled as a pepperoni slice was on the verge of slipping off of her pizza. “Nina? Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?.” Lily asked with a concerned tone in her voice. Nina looked up, her eyes glinting in the light. She slowly put down her food, almost afraid to answer. “S-sure, you can ask...I don’t mind.” Lily placed her hands on top of Nina’s. “Are you okay?. Have you ever felt pressured or hurt by anyone for any reason?” Nina froze, her hands were shaking. “I’m fine, really. I haven’t felt pressured or hurt by anyone; don’t worry.” She returned to eating the rest of her pizza at a faster pace than usual. Lily withdrew her hands after that. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I was worried when you asked me if you were ‘perfect’. At first, I thought it was the performance, but now I think it stemmed from something deeper than that. I just wanted to make sure you were ok.” There was a long silence between them as Nina left the table and headed to the pharmacy. Lily started to follow when Nina stopped her. “I think it would be best if I went alone. I have to head home soon, my mother must be worried sick,” she stated before hugging Lily goodbye. Lily understood and hugged her back in return. Lily looked away fighting back tears as her friend walked off. “Please be ok, Nina...Please.” she murmured.
On her way to the train station, Nina felt light-headed and nauseous. She was still feeling the effects of the drugs. Her phone wouldn’t stop ringing so she answered it. “Hi, mom. I’m- She was cut off by her mother as she screamed into the phone: “Don’t you dare say hi to me! I have been scared out of my mind all-day only to find you in a hospital bed surrounded by strangers. Do you have any idea how that makes me look? Well, do you?” Erica continued to rant into the phone, leaving her daughter’s ears ringing. “Don’t even think about coming home!” She yelled, “I am too upset to even look at you.” Erica then hung up the phone, leaving her daughter speechless and in tears. “I hate it when you’re home anyway. You never notice or care about me unless I’m on stage.” Nina sobbed as she dialed Lily’s number. “Hey Lily, it’s me. I’m really sorry to bother you right now. Is it okay if I stay with you for a couple of days? My mother is a bit irate right now.” Lily answered, “Yeah, of course, you can stay for as long as you want. Where are you right now, I can pick you up from there.” Nina cleared her throat, “I’m across the street from the subway. I can wait inside the Starbucks behind me if that’s okay with you.” She could hear her friend’s car keys rattling in the background. “Yes that’s fine, I’m on my way to you now.” Lily hung up. Nina went inside the Starbucks and ordered a simple coffee with milk, hoping no one would recognize her. She immersed herself in her phone to keep busy until Lily came to pick her up. “At least, I blend in with the crowd here. I’m just like anyone else. No one to notice my mistakes or put me down. Here, I feel safe.” Nina thought to herself as she sipped her hot coffee.
An hour passed before she saw a familiar face, it was the man from the hospital, only he wasn’t wearing all black like before. He wearing a powder-blue dress shirt with short-sleeves with matching black shoes and pants. He was ordering a Ham & Cheese Croissant along with the orders from his co-workers. “That’s the guy from the hospital, he must’ve changed clothes.” Nina thought as she continued to observe the dark-haired man. As she left her table to approach him, Lily had stepped in front of her with her arms splayed for an embrace. “L-Lily, Nina blurted, I didn’t know you would come so quickly.” Lily then gave the small woman a bear hug. “You sounded like you were crying on the phone so I was really worried. I’m glad you’re ok.” Lily smiled as she let go and moved some loose strands of hair out of Nina’s face. Her eyes focused on the mysterious man. “Nina? Are you okay? Is everything alright?” Lily asked hazel eyes widened with concern. “I’m fine, it’s just been a long day.” Nina’s voice quivered as she and Lily walked out of the cafe. The man soon vanished as Nina turned around to catch a glimpse of him.