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“So, how are things going with Callie? Feels like I haven’t heard about that in a while.”
“Have you heard that one of the female athletes is trying to qualify for the olympics, how exciting is that!”
“Oh, that bad”
“No, things are fine…”
“But?”
“But I can’t shake the feeling that I’m always in competition with this Sloan guy! He’s already a resident at Seattle Grace and I’m not even in medical school yet. The way he looks at her, the way she talks about him! She says he’s just his best friend but… do you want me to keep going?”
“No, that’s ok,” Carina says, laughing a bit.
They continue organizing their things in a comfortable silence, both lost in their thoughts.
“Just wait until she sleeps with you”, she says, winking at her friend, “she won't even remember him.”
“Carina!”
“Mi dispiace” she respond, laughing “s ometimes I wish you weren’t dating her…”
“You, my friend, need to get laid” Arizona says laughing.
“Argh!” Carina groans, collapsing in her chair
They were waiting under their little tent, on the field by the track, for the athletes to start arriving for their warm-up and for the competition to start. Being pre-med students, Arizona Robbins and Carina DeLuca were requested to assist sports events throughout the year, even during summer vacations, to accumulate more credits. They were there in case something physical went wrong for the athletes or even just to tape an ankle before a game. That weekend, they were attending a track competition. That wasn’t a sport where there was a lot of action, at least for them. Sprained ankle, pulled muscle, dehydration… really boring stuff.
“Stop looking at her Delucs” Arizona said, laughing.
‘Wha.. What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yeah right” she paused, and with a smirk she added. “you’re drooling”
“Argh fine! But have you seen her? Her legs, her arms and her long blonde hair… She’s so hot!” Carina listed, lost on the girl’s body
“Yeah she is but she looks a little too up tight if you ask me.” Arizona said, giggling a bit. “Go talk to her then”
“No, I can’t” The italian said, blushing
“Oh my god! You are shy! Carina DeLuca is too shy to go talk to a lady!”
“Stop it Robbins! Oh look, our first patient” the brunette gave Arizona a look, an italian look, like the blonde would say.
***
“Come on kiddo! Eyes forward!” That was her father, Lane Bishop. He was there for every single one of her races, shouting at her to push, to go faster. Why couldn’t she just have a father and a coach, and not just a father as a coach. Run. Even when all the muscles in your body are burning. Even when you can barely breathe. Eyes forward, always forward. "Come on! Let’s go!” All she could hear was his voice. “Push, push, push!” She pushed her body to the extreme limit to cross that finish line first. The pride swelling up in her chest, before she looked at the clock, was now gone. Her father was standing just beside that big timer. His face was neutral to anyone that didn’t know him as well as his daughter knew him. He was furious.
***
After saying goodbye to Arizona and wishing her a good night, Carina got in her car and plugged in her phone so she could enjoy some Italian music on her way to her apartment. Listening to these songs helped her remember her home in Italy. She missed her papa but mostly her mama and her sweet baby brother. She came to the United States to study medicine. She always loved to travel and when she heard about the international program she immediately signed up. But now that she was in Seattle she realized that she missed her family more than anything and she felt alone. Yes she had made friends, even a best friend but it wasn’t home.
When she saw someone sitting on the side of the road, she couldn’t not stop. More so when she recognized the figure sitting on the curb. She hitted the brakes, and put her car in park.
“It’s ok, it’s ok.” She got out of her car as fast as she could. “Just breathe, just like that, in and out” Yes she had seen her, but Carina didn’t know the girl and all she knew was that she wanted to protect her from the thing that made her have a panic attack. She first needed to calm her down so she could understand what was going on.
“Tell me your name.” Carina asks, trying to capture the blonde’s unfocused eyes.
“Maya… Maya Bishop'' She answered, regaining a bit of control on her breathing.
“Hi Maya, nice to meet you, I’m Carina Deluca '' She said with a bright smile. Maya smiled too, looking and losing herself in the deep brown eyes just a couple inches in front of her.
“If you want, we can sit in my car for a bit. It’s getting cold outside.” The blonde didn’t know what made her nod and get up but she did anyway. She knew she shouldn’t, she knew her father was waiting for her at home and she knew that if she didn’t get home soon, things would be worse.
“I’m sorry… you… I… I’m” Maya’s breathing spiked up again so getting a proper sentence out seemed like the hardest thing to do.
“You’re safe, I’m here bella, breath” The italian took deep breaths in and out to help Maya follow her breathing. But then, Maya started rambling.
“I’m sorry, you shouldn’t have seen me like this, it never happened in public before. I’m sorry again and thank you for your help but now I need to get going.” The blonde got out of Carina’s car and started running before the Italian could even say a single word.
“Wait! Something is clearly bothering you and I want to help you Maya. Talk to me please!” Carina was panicking, she had seen the girl running track all day long and now it was late, she just had a panic attack in front of her and still she was running again to go god knows where. She started her car and parked it just a couple feet in front of the blonde. She got out and asked the other girl to stop.
“Maya, please stop!” Carina said pleading. That's when the shorter girl snapped.
“You, stop! Stop following me, stop trying to talk to me! I said thanks for the help but I don’t need your help! I don’t even know who you are and most importantly YOU don’t know who I am so leave me alone!” Every single word was a punch in the gut for Carina. She nodded, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Ok, mi dispiace , I’m sorry. Have a good night Maya.” with hesitation she added,”Just know that if you ever want to talk, I’ll be there” Her heart was hurting as she watched her disappear in the night . She didn’t even know if Maya heard her, and the more she thought about it the more she found herself stupid. They didn’t know each other, how would she know where to find her if she needed to talk?