Alex Carter: A Red Band Society Fanfiction

Rejection

Kara looked down and fixed her white pleated skirt as she walked down the hallway. Erin watched her from the nurse's station, tracking with her eyes where Kara was headed. When she realized it was Hunter's room, she hurriedly rushed to intercept. "Are you going to check on Hunter," she asked, as if she didn't already know the answer. 

"Smart and pretty," Kara replied with mock politeness. "Boost those babies up to a C cup and you could be a triple threat." 

Erin let the last comment slide, not to be deterred from the real subject at hand. "You can't go there right now." 

"Why not?" Kara asked, her fake politeness quickly slipping away. 

"It's nothing bad," Erin said, trying to ease her. "It's just not a good time." Kara stared her down, her eyes commanding Erin to explain herself. "Dr. McAndrew is in there talking to his parents." 

"That sounds like the perfect time to me. The only way to find out what's really going on is when the parents are around." 

"That's not true," Erin rejected. Kara looked at her knowingly. "Okay, that's sometimes true."

Kara nodded and pushed past the perky redhead. "But--," she called after her already retreating figure. 

"So how high was his fever?" came a woman's voice from inside Hunter's room. Kara stopped by the doorway, not daring to enter. Now didn't seem like the best time for a meet-the-parents. 

"It got up to 103," was Dr. McAndrew's response. Finally, some solid information. "We did a chest X-ray, ran some tests, did blood work, and there's no sign of infection." 

Kara could feel the tension ease slightly. "So what caused the fever?" The man who asked the question was presumably Hunter's dad. 

"We stopped a medication we gave on admission which had fevers as a known side effect, and he's been fine today, so we assume that was the cause." 

Hunter spoke up finally. "You guys need to relax, I feel totally fine. Aside from the bunk liver and the life-threatening illness, I am the picture of health." This earned a weak smile from his mother, who was clearly the most visibly anxious one in the room. Hunter didn't just say this for his parents' sake, though. He knew Kara was standing there watching and shot her a quick smile of reassurance. She smiled back, gratefully. 

"I just gotta ask," his mother said, emotion lacing her voice. "What's my son still doing here. I mean, I know we're waiting on a new liver, but since we have no idea when it'll come--" 

"We just wanna take him home," his dad finished. 

Please say no, Dr. McAndrew, Kara thought. Find some reason to keep him here. She knew she was being selfish, in fact this might be the first time she was aware she was being selfish, but for just this once she thought it was warranted. 

"Well, I wanna keep an eye on him for a few more hours, but after that I don't see why you can't take him home."

His mother quickly turned to Hunter excitedly. "I mean, it's up to you," she said, as if she already knew the answer. "Wherever you'd like to be." 

Hunter's smile faded as he looked at Kara who was still standing in the doorway. She was so frustrated this was even a question, but at least there was some hope for Hunter to be able to stay. To follow his heart. 

But as soon as he said, "I wanna go home with you guys," Kara's hope shattered. Her stomach dropped, and she looked down at the floor. 

Hunter's parents gushed with happiness at their son's decision, and Kara turned and left, no longer wanting to see what happened next. She knew she only had a few hours left with him, but at that moment she didn't want to be anywhere near him. 

***

The five that were left gathered in one of the makeshift classrooms to discuss Emma's discharge from the hospital. "I just can't believe she left, without saying goodbye," Jordi said sadly. Alex slipped her hand into his, in a discreet sign of comfort. 

"She said goodbye to Leo," Dash said bitterly. He knew Leo was her boyfriend or whatever, but he had known her just as long. 

"Somewhat," Leo said sadly. He was clearly upset by her leaving. Everyone knew he'd be hard to be around, but this seemed worse than they'd expected. 

"Yeah, but to just take off? That doesn't sound like Emma," Jordi said, not letting it go. 

"It sounds exactly like Emma," Kara said bitterly. No one knew about Hunter, and Kara wasn't going to tell them until someone cared to ask. "She was all about being elusive," Kara continued. "You thought that you knew her, but you didn't. None of us did." 

"Just give it a rest, Kara," Leo said harshly. He realized she was being extra harsh today, but wasn't emotionally available to ask why. 

"Why, you think I'm wrong?" Kara challenged. 

Leo finally looked at her, exhaustedly. "I just think that no one is interested in listening to your crap today." 

"Testy," was all Kara said. 

Jordi spoke up once again, having a hard time to get a grasp of the situation. "Did she say anything to you, Leo?" Alex grabbed his arm in an attempt to silence him, because this conversation was far from productive. 

Leo looked off in the distance as if remembering something, but said, "Not really." 

"Who picked her up?" Dash questioned, hurt still in his voice. 

"Her dad. I don't think her mom's been here since she was admitted." 

"What, I didn't know that," Jordi butt in. He couldn't help himself. 

"Like I said, we don't know jack--"

"Shut up! Shut the hell up for once in your life," Leo yelled tiredly.

 Kara stayed quiet, not quite sure if she had the energy for this argument. 

"Alright, well," Alex said diplomatically. "Clearly we're all feeling certain ways about this, and this conversation doesn't seem to be productive anymore." She was proud of herself for putting down those boundaries, especially since she knew no one else would.