Fan Fiction |
by Gina
"Man, Tavia, you've been sleeping long enough. You better get your lazy butt out of bed," Michelle joked lightly as she sat down on the chair by the side of Tavia's bed. She took Tavia's hand and held it, not saying anything for a second. "I'm sorry I couldn't find the sons of bitches who did this to you. I've tried, but I guess I'm not a good cop." She paused again. "That's why I submitted my letter of resignation to the captain today. Well, that's not the only reason. My mom's really sick, Tavia. I have to go take care of her. Actually, there's really a third reason why I'm leaving." She stopped as her eyes filled up with tears. "You need Raymond. You need him more than I do. I know if you were awake right now, you would try to deny it, but it's true." She sniffed as her voice got caught in her throat. "And let's face it, he needs you, too. So that's why I'm leaving, Tavia. If I leave, I won't come between you and Raymond and you won't have to worry about hurting my feelings. The only regret I have is that I won't be here when you wake up."
"You were going to leave without telling me?" A deep voice startled Michelle out of her thoughts. She turned towards the doorway and saw Raymond staring at her with his sad eyes.
Michelle was so surprised that she couldn't say anything for a second. "It's for the best, Ray."
"For who? For me? For Tavia?" Raymond pointed to Tavia. "Please don't leave, Michelle. You're right, Tavia needs me, but she needs you, too."
"What about you? Do you need me anymore?" Michelle asked. Raymond didn't know how to respond. At hearing his silence, Michelle scoffed and shook her head at him. "You're just upset because I'm giving you up without a fight," she said coldly as she let go of Tavia's hand and got up to leave. "Now if you would excuse me, I have to go."
Raymond blocked her path and looked at her, but Michelle kept her gaze on her sneakers. "Please don't leave. Please."
Michelle smiled sadly. "You may not need me, Raymond, but my mom does," she said. With that, she walked away, leaving Raymond stunned. He wanted to chase after her, but his feet stayed rooted on the floor. C'mon, what are you waiting for? He urged himself to get moving, but a part of him knew that it was useless. His heart has always belonged to Tavia. He just didn't realize it until now.
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The Next Day,
Michelle checked her watch. One hour left before her flight. She walked through her empty apartment, checking to make sure she didn't forget anything. She had sold or given away all of her furniture since she would be living with her mom. After going through her whole apartment and saying good bye to each room, she grasped the handle of her carry-on bag and with a final glance around the living room, opened the door.
"Ray!" Michelle gasped, shocked that he was standing in front of her. His fist was raised, ready to knock on her door when she suddenly flung it open. "What are you doing here?"
Raymond didn't say anything for a second. His emotions were too mixed up right now. "I'm sorry," that was all he could say. "I'm sorry for causing you so much pain."
"Just take care of Tavia, okay?" Michelle said as cheerfully as she could. "When she wakes up, tell her I said hi."
Raymond nodded wordlessly.
"Actually, there is one favor I want to ask you," Michelle said. She hesitated. "Can you hold me, one last time?"
Raymond nodded slowly, feeling like he owed her at least that. He pulled Michelle into his arms and held her. "You've been crying," he said softly.
"Well, what do you expect?" Michelle replied. "I'm leaving my friends and everything in Hong Kong and moving somewhere I've never been before. Besides, I lost you."
Raymond looked away, ashamed to face Michelle.
"Aww, I didn't mean to make you feel bad," Michelle said. "We're still friends, though, right?"
"I would be honored to be your friend," Raymond smiled, glad that Michelle had forgiven him. "Here, let me bring you to the airport."
"You just can't wait to get rid of me, huh?" Michelle smiled to show she was just kidding. "Okay, can you carry my duffel bag?"
"That's all the baggage you have? A carry-on and a duffel bag?" Raymond said in amazement, picking up Michelle's bag. "I thought all girls have tons of clothes."
Michelle punched him on the shoulder. "Unlike most girls, I can't afford 'tons of clothes.' Now c'mon, let's go, I'm going to miss my flight."
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Meanwhile,
"Hey Leila, wouldn't it be funny if I drew on Tavia's face?" Ron grinned as he took out a pen from the breast pocket of his white coat and hovered it over Tavia's face.
Leila slapped Ron on the back of his head. "Are you crazy? That's not funny. You're the one who needs a make-over." She snatched the pen from Ron's hand and was about to draw on his face when they both heard a soft groan. They stopped what they doing and stared at Tavia. They watched breathlessly as Tavia slowly opened her eyes and turned to them. She removed her oxygen mask slowly.
"Ron, if you draw on my face, I will kill you," Tavia said hoarsely as she slowly sat up in bed. She looked around in confusion. "And why am I at the hospital?"
It took a moment for Leila and Ron to recover from the shock of seeing Tavia conscious again. They thought this day will never come. "Oh my god, Tavia, you're awake!" Leila squealed as she rushed to hug Tavia. She started sobbing as she put her arms around her friend and wouldn't let go.
"Leila, you're choking me to death," Tavia said, hugging Leila back.
"Yeah, Leila, you're choking her to death," Ron shoved Leila away and wrapped his arms around Tavia. "It's my turn. I'm so glad you're okay, Tavia. I knew you were going to wake up."
"Wait, how long have I been sleeping?" Tavia asked when Ron let go of her. She glanced back and forth at her friends, suddenly feeling very disoriented. The last thing she remembered was leaving work and going out for some drinks. The next thing she knew, she was waking up on a hospital bed.
"Five days," Leila replied, still giddy that Tavia was finally awake.
"FIVE DAYS!" Tavia practically shouted, her jaw dropping in shock. "I wasted five days sleeping? Why didn't anyone wake me up?"
"Because you were in a coma, silly," Leila smiled, glad that Tavia was back to her old self. "You don't remember anything that happened to you?"
Tavia shook her head, still looking very confused.
Ron and Leila looked at each other, wondering what to tell her. "Um...Tavia, you were stabbed and that's how you ended up in a coma," Ron explained.
Tavia didn't say anything for a second, too shocked to say anything. Her friends looked at her worriedly. "Are you okay, Tavia?" Leila put her hand on Tavia's shoulder
"Yeah, I'm fine," Tavia said distractedly, trying hard to recall anything that happened to her that night, but she just couldn't. She couldn't even remember who stabbed her that night. She brightened up when she suddenly came up with a prank that she could play on Raymond. "Hey, when Raymond comes in, can you guys look like the world's about the end? I've got something planned for him." She rubbed her hands together mischievously with an evil grin plastered on her face. "Hee hee, I've got just the prank for him."
"Um, Tavia, here's the thing about Raymond. He-," Leila was about to tell Tavia that Raymond had been worried sick about her when Ron stopped her.
"Hey, I want to see what she does," Ron grinned at Leila and turned to Tavia. "So, what do you have planned for Ray?"
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Hmm, what DOES Tavia have planned for Raymond? Thanks for reading and take care of yourselves. And to answer Thuy's question, I don't actually live in SF, although I would love to visit there if I ever get the chance. It's beautiful there.