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Everything was heavy. His heart, his body, his conscience... his tongue. For the longest time he sat next to the bed, trying to find the right words, but unable to form them. It was his sister who ultimately spoke up.
“It's alright.”
And no. No, it wasn't alright. Not at all.
So he just shook his head, still not trusting himself to speak.
Mabel seemed to understand his inner thoughts though, because she offered him a genuine, though slightly pained, smile in return.
“Hey, I forgive you, bro.”
So forgiving, so generous... She didn't blame him one bit.
Dipper kind of wished she did. It would've made everything easier. As it was right now, her forgiveness only made him feel worse.
After all, it was his fault that she was even laying here in the first place.
His eyes roamed her body, starting at her shoulders, going over her left arm and ultimately coming to a stop at her legs. Even though her limbs were wrapped in casts and hidden away under the blanket, he could still vividly remember her injuries. The way her legs had been bent at odd angles, after her long fall onto the stage...
“I'm sorry.”, he finally whispered, almost inaudible. It was the first sentence he had said to her, after that day...
...the day he foolishly made a deal with Bill and put his whole family in danger.
It was fortunate that they were on stage, in front of a wide audience. That way their Grunkle was able to immediately intervene and fight “Dipper” into submission. At least enough for Dipper's body to submit to exhaustion, allowing the real Dipper to regain control of it. It was also fortunate that Wendy had her cellphone ready to call for an ambulance.
For a moment the boy tried to imagine how things might have turned out, had Bill fought Mabel somewhere more secluded; somewhere, where no one could've helped her. He shuddered at the images that entered his head.
“I'm sorry.”, he repeated once again, louder this time. “This is all my fault.”
For the longest time the twins kept staring at each other in somber silence. Then Mabel's smile slowly faded away, giving way to a guilty expression. She looked off to the side and out the window, pointedly not staring at her own limbs.
Then she finally spoke: “No... It's my fault as well.”
Dipper was surprised to hear that and even opened his mouth to protest, but something in his sister's eyes prevented him from doing that. Mabel almost looked... ashamed right now?
“If I hadn't ignored you, when you needed me, you wouldn't have been pressured to accept Bill's deal in the first place. I'm sorry...”
Again silence descended upon them. Dipper slowly closed his mouth. So that's how it was...
All this time, Mabel had been dealing with these same feelings of shame and regret as well. The boy gave a silent sigh, then finally put on an encouraging smile for his sister.
“Hey, cheer up now. No need to feel sorry. After all, I messed up way more than you did.” When his sister looked at him again, he continued: “Just focus on your recovery, alright? I'm sure you'll be up in no time and we can enjoy the rest of our stay here in Gravity Falls.”
But would she though? Would she be up in time? Would her injuries heal completely? Dipper hoped so, but there was always that little bit of doubt in the back of his mind. But he tried to squash that doubt for now. Right now, Mabel needed his support and he was ready to give it to her.
Even if it meant visiting her every single day at this hospital.