Revised yet again. This is by far the most comfortable I've been with this chapter.
Don't own Death Note.
The thought of sleep was almost laughable at this point.
Shit, she thought as she wiped the nervous perspiration from her forehead with her shirt. Going all out in an effort like that, and all for one single piece of information…!
She shook off the bitter chill that was crawling up her spine and sat on her bed, massaging her pulsating temples in desperation. Laying down on her back, she stared up at the ceiling and ground her teeth. But who am I to say anything in opposition? He's doing more right now than I've done in my whole life…
Amelia pulled the thin flannel covers over her head, clutching the side of the bed for support. Sleep. If she had just gone to sleep, her thoughts would have spun their usual droning weave instead of this frantic Ferris wheel that would not slow down, would not tire for even a second in spite of how very exhausted her entire body was.
And yet, something in her was screaming out to do something.
Her memories of the pale, sickly boy from her childhood were few and minute, attacking her only in the middle of a restless dream or boring tasks, like making coffee or taking out the trash. When he had left for greater opportunities outside of the orphanage, she had only been thirteen and he sixteen, and their lack of any form of solid relationship had left no room for sentiment. She did remember, however, their intense rivalry, their need to defeat and desire to win against the other, and that had been all there was to their relationship, or whatever they had called it…
Still, she could not help but worry.
She suddenly threw back the covers and sat on the edge of the bed, staring straight ahead with narrowed eyes. She had already deduced that Kira needed a name and face to kill…it was obvious, due to the fact that Lind L. Tailor had exposed both his appearance and name on the news. L, whom Amelia knew for a fact had never exposed himself as the title to the outside world, had taken one hell of a chance, seeing as no one except Kira himself knew just how he brought about death to his victims. But just how much of Lind L. Tailor's death had been a coincedence…?
Reaching up to run her fingers through her dark auburn waves, she cringed at the feeling of the oil that resided in her strands. She had to be wary of showering too often in her apartment in order to save money, but she had reached her limit of filth and realized that she wanted nothing more than to stand under the water and forget about the Interpol broadcast.
She trudged sleepily into her bathroom and pulled her shirt off over her head, causing her hair to fall in front of her face like a dirty web. She fully undressed and caught sight of herself in the mirror. Cocking her head, she remembered what she looked like the last time she saw L, and grimaced upon realizing that in a sense, it was almost exactly the same.
Flat. Thin. Washed out and pale with a head of woolen, tangled hair and nervous blue eyes. Her nose was still straight and narrow, her mouth still small and constantly pursed in agitation, and her hands, still so very restive and reaching out to something that she could not name. Exactly the same.
Turning away from the mirror in annoyance, she stepped into the shower and turned the water knob, but much to her dismay, no water came out. She stared in disbelief up at the shower head, coming to realization that her water had been shut off due to her bills. "Are you fucking kidding me!" she hollered, stomping out of the shower and putting her grimy clothes back on.
There was nothing for her to do. Amelia collapsed onto her futon and held her frustrated tears back. Of course, she had expected that her water would eventually be dismissed. She had been lagging in her bills for many months by then…but she had not expected L to be speaking on live news, especially when it involved the deadly Kira.
She spotted her cell phone out the corner of her eye.
No.
But, then again, yes…
She hesitated before flipping the phone open and scanned through her phonebook (consisting mainly of her apartment landlord, the downtown cleaners and a handful of fast food places), biting her bottom lip in anxiety.
Her breath caught when she reached the last contact.
W.
She stared at the initials and recalled her last day at the orphanage that had claimed her childhood, before she had clambered onto a train with a single bag in her hand. "If you ever need my assistance, Amelia…but please, keep this secret. I do not do this often…"
Amelia felt her heart rise in her throat. There would be no possible way that Watari would answer…it had been five years since he had given her the number. Still, her finger was hitting the dial button on her phone, she was placing it expectedly against her ear. She listened intently to the dial tone, biting her thumb nail apprehensively.
Riiing.
This would not work. She could not get her hopes up.
Riiing.
It would be better if she hung up…five years and she had never thought of contacting Watari before. There was no point.
Riiing.
Her finger was reaching for the end button. She could not believe she actually thought that this would work…nothing worked for her.
"Yes?"
Amelia felt her throat constrict. Her grip on the phone went weak and she dropped it into her lap. Quickly collecting it in her hand again, she swallowed hard and tried to speak, but something held her back from doing so. She felt as if her head was spinning on her neck like a mad top, while her stomach had turned into a warm mass of nausea.
"Yes? Hello?"
Amelia opened her mouth and uttered a feeble response. "Watari?"
There was a silence on the other end, causing Amelia's heart to thump so heavily in her chest that she could hear it in her head.
"Since I have only given this number to two people, I assume that this is Amelia Lasswell?"
Something in Amelia's chest broke at the sound of her own name, the sound of being remembered. "Y-yes, this is…this is Amelia, b-but…." She ran her fingers through her hair again and closed her eyes, blocking out any sound besides Watari's voice.
"It has been a very long time, Amelia. Are you well?"
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Well?" A nervous laugh broke from her lips. "I, er…I'm not entirely sure."
"Are you ill? You sound rather-"
"Oh! Oh, no, I'm fine, really, but…" Amelia cleared her throat and tried to calm her breathing, which was hitching up in her chest and blocking her words. "I'm sorry, I'm just…"
"It's quite alright, Ms. Amelia, but might I ask what's so urgent? You sound as if you're in a great hurry."
Yes. I am. Kira's on a killing spree and L is on the top of his list. To say that I'm in a hurry is the understatement of this day and age.
"A hurry…yes, well…"
"Yes?"
"The broadcast with Interpol," Amelia blurt out. "Involving L and Kira. Kira killed a man named Lind L. Tailor under the assumption that it was L, thus fooling him into giving away his location, but L's method of going about this is…it's putting his entire life at risk…!"
Watari was silent for a few moments before speaking quietly, his voice soothing and paternal. "Ms. Amelia, I can assure you that L has a very clear understanding of just how much of a risk the broadcast was. It was, after all, his idea of going about it."
Amelia felt her hands turn clammy. "Y-you…you're still in contact with L?"
"I trust that you will not exploit this information, seeing as you came from the same background, but I must press that you do not speak of this outside of this conversation. Do you understand, Ms. Amelia?"
"Of course," Amelia said hastily, nodding to herself. "I would never, but…I-I need to be sure of one thing first."
"What is it?"
And just like that, her words soared into the air and were strung together in a chain that flew off her tongue without doubt.
"I need to see L. I need to help. I know I can help with the Kira case, and I can only do that if I meet with him again. I want to work with L, just like we used to years ago, but I can't do that unless I know how to find him." She sighed and tried to relax her twitching leg muscles, but her anxiety was sending her body into a spasm. "Please, I know how much of a stretch this is on both of our parts, but…but I know that this is all that I can do."
"Ms. Amelia, I don't think that-"
"Please!" Amelia pleaded, voice cracking. "I know how ridiculous this sounds, more than anything in the world, but sounding ridiculous and solving cases is all that I know how to do!"
Much to her surprise, she heard Watari give a quiet laugh. "You don't sound at all ridiculous, Ms. Amelia."
At this, she let out a quivering sigh wiped her shaking hands on her lap. "Thank you."
"But be very aware of this before we take any further steps. This is a very long and difficult case with the possibility of death. Until Kira is caught, your life would be at a constant threat."
"I know," Amelia whispered weakly. "I know that, believe me. And I…I know that L knows that, too..."
There was a grave silence as Amelia's breath hitched higher and higher, her bony fingers trembling, before Watari finally spoke. "If we are planning on taking any action, please be ready by nine o'clock tonight."
Amelia's head snapped up, a sharp blaze of pain bursting in her neck at the sharp movement. "W-what…?"
"Please have a bag of neccessities with you to bring for the night. It would be too risky for you to return home until at least tomorrow."
Amelia's eyes flit around her small apartment rapidly, taking frantic note of anything that she could toss into a bag in time. "Are you…are you being serious?" she breathed out. "You're letting me…?"
"I will leave it to L whether or not you may stay on the case, but yes, Ms. Amelia, I am being entirely serious."
Words failed her yet again as she clenched and unclenched her fists nervously, trying to moisten the dry cave of her mouth but finding nothing behind her lips bit bitter air. "O-of course…I suppose I should give you my address-"
"I already have it taken care of," Watari said with a light air of amusement. "I must go now, so please be ready by nine o'clock and meet me outside your apartment complex on the dot."
"O-on the dot," Amelia repeated, her voice weak and stunned out its strength. "Yes."
"I will see you then. Goodbye, Ms. Amelia."
"Watari!" Amelia said, gripping the phone tighter in her hand. Hitching higher and higher, surely to burst within her ribcage…
"Yes?"
"I, um…" She cleared her throat and felt her face soften. "Thank you. Truly. I can't even…begin to describe it, but…thank you."
Her eyes found the clock as Watari accepted her gratitude with another light chuckle. Five-thirty. Hell.
Goodbyes were given, phones were closed, a singular pulse raced and flurried within Amelia's pale wrists. And with a heavy head and dizzy thoughts drowning her ears, she simply collapsed back onto the bed and eluded sleep until six o'clock chimed.
Man, my writing style sure has changed since the first draft of this…