7 Six*

"So, how are you gonna call the taxi?"

We were now at the front of the hospital's main gates, and I was standing with her hand still held in mine. I tried not to think about that, but I guess my subconsciousness keeps thinking about it.

"They have a lot of cabs here and some of them are waiting for customers. We can catch that one right there." I said, pointing to the one at the front of the line of six cabs waiting for passengers. "You can make it there, right?" I asked her since she was sweating a bit. I would have suspected the weather, but it was only 23 degrees Celsius(71.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

"It's fine, I can get there. It's not much of a walk." Dawn said and smiled, probably trying to make me feel a sliver less worried.

I just took her hand by my left and wrapped my right arm around her waist, letting her put most of her weight on me. Her body was still tense though - I guess she didn't expect me to act like this - so I said, "You can lean on me anytime. It's fine."

I looked down to see her expression, and she looked a bit confused. So I added, "Physically or mentally, that's what I meant," hoping to reduce the amount of confusion she was feeling. I knew that by saying this I would surely get hurt more after her death. However, I don't want to think about the end while she's still alive. Also, since keeping her in the best physical and mental state I can is my priority as her caregiver, I don't mind a lot about it. For now. I think I don't have to state my point over and over, so - I think (and hope) - this would be the final time I'll say this.

By this time we made it to the cab, and Dawn said, "Take us to 213 Hank Avenue."

"That's where Gutta Atramendo is, right? The place where Jane works." I said, suddenly remembering a conversation I'd heard a few months ago.

"Who told you about that? I've lost contact with her ever since... You know, but I didn't know someone had mentioned it to you before."

I expected her question since when I had been told about her, she wasn't present at that time. I explained, "It was the day when you and Jane both didn't come to school. I'd asked James why both of you weren't present, and he told me that Jane had told him that you did the you-know-what. I then asked him the address of the place she works at, he told me the same address you told the driver. I went there after school since I know she goes straight there. That's how I got her to apologise to you."

I had left out a little bit at the end, though, especially about me having to force her a little bit to get her to apologise, which is the reason why Jane's apology had sounded a lot more forced than genuine. However, I don't regret forcing her because if I hadn't, she would have never said sorry. Since she is a Christian, my friends and I had anticipated that she would act out like that.

"Thanks for that, by the way. Although her apology sounded forced, I felt it's better than none." Dawn said, smiling at me with what looked like gratitude.

"I'm glad. I thought you might not have liked it because I think that a forced apology is the same as no apologies." I said, thankful that she didn't mind too much about the forcedness.

"Well, I used to think like that before, and only accepted apologies I thought were genuine. However, I've come to understand that the level of genuineness one can tell from verbal and non-verbal signs can vary a lot by the person. So now, I just accept most of the apologies, but I still refuse when it is forced or the apology doesn't cut it." Dawn said, and I had to say it made a lot of sense. It was possible to say that it is more effective, and good in a way, but I kind of worried that people might think of her as someone that doesn't mind backbiting and other things people would consider unforgivable.

When I told her about my concerns, she responded, "Well, I try my best to keep my opinions set to stone, so not a lot of people think like I'm dense."

"That's good to hear. I guess I should have known that from your personality, maybe. You're not the type to be called something like 'dense' or anything around it." I said, chuckling slightly as I cherished the memories of her snapping to people that talked trash about her or people close to her.

"We've arrived, that would be 10 in total." The driver announced, and I handed him the bill since Dawn hadn't brought her wallet.

We didn't enter and stood in front of the door. Dawn seemed to take in a deep breath and opened the door, ringing the bell on the top of the door.