Duck and cover, week(month) from hell incoming! End of terms, which means exams. Which tends to also mean no time to write. So I make to promises to when my next update will be. Butttt don't fret for here we have another chapter! Hopefully it will interest you until my next update.. ha ha . Enjoy!
Old Day's
Chapter Four
Athrun stared at the unconscious blonde for what seemed to be forever. The shock paralyzing him to the spot.
"Dr. Zala?" the intern repeated, trying to shake him from his thoughts.
"Uh…Sorry" he said walking into the room. He was unable to rip his eyes off the glaring contusion on her cheek. It looked painful to say the least. He made his way over to the bedside, taking a quick glance at the monitors beside him. Normal vitals, that was good. No other apparent injuries aside from the glaring swollen bruise. Reaching for his penlight he proceeded to check the most worrying of symptoms, unresponsive pupils. Usually signifying extensive damage was dealt. Checking the right eye he was relieve to see it dilate under the light. A loud sigh of relief was heard at the discovery.
A sudden jerk beneath his hand startled him. Making him jump. The blonde having woke at the disturbance. She immediately sat bolt upright, coming to her senses incredibly fast.
"You've got to be kidding me" Cagalli said as she looked up at Athrun. Her brow furrowing in anger.
"Why hello to you too" he said sarcastically as he picked up his clipboard, writing various notes on it. "Nicol, can you go find me Ramius please" fewer people in the room would ease the stress for the blonde. She hated people watching her. Within seconds he was gone.
"I'm leaving" the blonde said, quickly reaching for the I.V in her arm. Luckily Athrun caught her hand prior to ripping it out.
"Relax, it's just me" he said, frowning at her behavior. She needn't dare challenge it. He'd keep her here at any cost. She stopped, turning to glare at him. "Look forward" Once again checking her eyes. "Can you remember what happened?"
"Yes" she said in a cold tone. Clearly displease with the situation.
"Are you going to tell me?" Athrun said, continuing in his examination. "Follow my finger"
"No" he frowned at the stubbornness. Now was not a time to be prideful. Most likely upset of being found so vulnerable in her position. Showing weakness at any time was strictly prohibited for her.
"You have any pain anywhere? Neck?"
"No"
"Dizziness? Blurriness? Memory all okay? Name, date, where do you know me from"
"Cagalli Yula Attha, Febuary 28th, I do believe I slept with you last night" she chuckled.
"This isn't funny at all" Athrun said with a frown. "Did you get mugged?"
"No" she sighed, not liking the direction the conversation was going. He raised an eyebrow, unsure what to make of the injury. Just where did it come from then? And why wasn't she saying why herself? It all made no sense.
"What happened?" he pressed, once again jotting down notes.
"Athrun, I'm fine. Can I go now?" Cagalli said with a huff as she once again tried to stand up. He tried to recall what Nicol had said earlier.
"No. You're getting a CT just in case" clicking his tongue in disapproval. An assault that's not a mugging. What was she hiding? She groaned in annoyance at having to stay longer. Maybe she was still mad at him for being deceptive earlier on about his relationship. A sudden click could have been heard as it hit him.
"Boy…Friend?" he said, watching her closely. Her mouth dropped to protest but quick snapped back shut. Bullseye. "Cagalli..."
"Don't even" she said dangerously, crossing her arms. He frowned at the defensive response. She probably wasn't going to talk.
"What are you thinking?" he sighed, putting down his clipboard. He wasn't going to let this drop. Nothing about this was okay on any level.
"I'd like to get out of here" she said, leaning back onto the bed. Knowing all too well she wasn't going anywhere any time soon. She could hardly look at him.
"Not a chance" he shot back, taking a seat across from her. He'd wait it out. She wasn't getting off the hook scot free. Ending up in the hospital was pretty serious. "This the first time it's happen?"
"Mm" she said as she watched the monitor beside her, anything to keep her from facing him.
"You okay?" Athrun asked. It was puzzling she was so resigned to the incident. He'd never imagine her take a beating and be so docile. It almost felt like sadness, such a rare thing for the blonde to express. She was more likely to retaliate but he didn't know too much about the situation. Then again in even the more basic logic, it was far from pleasant to be knocked out by someone you cared about. Even if you were Cagalli.
"I'm fine" she said with a loud exhale. Obviously annoyed with all the questions. "No need to worry"
"I'm not" he stated plainly. He knew she was more than capable to handle herself. He needn't intervene. He sighed as the door to the room swung open.
"Zala what did you want?" came the firm voice of none other than Ramius.
"I'll be back" Athrun said to the blonde. She merely hmphed in return, not wanting to go into any more detail on the embarrassing ordeal.
By the time he dealt with his other patients for the night, Cagalli was gone early morning. Not giving him another chance to pry for any more information. He went back and checked her scans himself. Just to make sure she was fine. Sure enough she was, just having some minor bruising. Nothing too concerning.
He sighed once again as walked out the front doors of the hospital, unsure of what to do. There was no one home waiting for him now. It was lucky of him to be able to get out so early, the day having been a tad on the slower side. The night being relatively young. It was debatable going to the bar a second night in the row. It probably wasn't the best idea to get into a habit of. Then again, he owed himself. Having gotten his apartment back together prior to going into work.
Walking into the bar his eyes instantly landed on the blonde. He shook his head as he approached her.
"I'll be taking that" he said, grabbing the drink from in front of her.
"No you don't" she said, reaching to grab it back.
"Alcohol, greatly increases bleeds. Causing blood vessels to constrict while thinning blood" he said, raising an eyebrow. It wasn't the smartest thing to do after such an incident.
"You're not kidding are you" she said in disbelief, resting her head in her hand.
"Not. At. All" he said with a smile. Emphasizing every word. Someone had to be an adult here.
"You're the worst" Cagalli said as she brushed the hair from her face. Shockingly having her hair down for once. No doubt using it to draw attention away from the glaring bruise on her cheek.
"You going to tell me what happened?" Athrun said, taking a sip of his stolen beer. The blonde flagging down the bartender to get herself something to quench her thirst.
"Nope" she said smugly, tapping her finger on the bar impatiently as she waited for her drink.
"You're no better" he said, watching the blonde from the corner of his eye. She was behaving as if nothing had happened. "What's the worst that can happen if you tell me" He wasn't one to judge nor did he have any authority over the situation. Merely someone to help shoulder the problem. He just wanted to make sure everything was okay and that it wouldn't happen again.
"Persistent aren't you" she said, shaking her head disapprovingly.
"Happens from being around you" Athrun with a laugh. The blonde always got it her way. It was no wonder why she was so cut out to be a lawyer. She'd argue to the very end. She paused, thinking about it. Not use to having someone to talk about such matters with.
"I didn't come home Friday" Cagalli said as she took a sip of her soda. His eyebrows rose in shock at the statement.
"Oh…"
"He got worried so when I got home the next night he flipped"
"So he knows what happened then I take it?" I made a bit of sense now. Everything seemed so silly now, it was careless on his part.
"No, didn't even ask. He was too hung up on me not calling" she sighed, finishing her glass. Definitely not her preferred choice for such a conversation. "He's not a bad guy"
"Didn't say he wasn't" Athrun said, watching her carefully. She was conflicted on the matter, her expression a mix of emotions. She was defending him. She must really care a lot about him. "I take it that you're staying within him"
"Mm" she said hesitantly. "I can't blame him after what I did"
"You're crazy you know that right?" he said, shocked at her response. He couldn't understand why. He physically hit her. The blonde wasn't someone to take that kind of behavior for one moment. Then again if it was someone she really cared about, who knew? "Don't get in over your head" The blonde knew her limits. If she thought she could prevent it from happening again, then by all means it wasn't his place to interfere.
"That's relationships for you" she said, resting her head in palm. "There not perfect"
"Tell me about it" Athrun said finishing his beer. He didn't agree with her way of thinking on the matter one bit. No amount of right or wrong could justify lashing out like that. But he had little force of persuasion over her. All he could do is hope for her to solve the problem. Unable to think of what of the possibilities should that not be the case. There was little reason to doubt her choices. Time merely having caused a slight shift in her personality.
"Speaking of which, spill on yours" Cagalli said, watching him intently. Not bothering to get another anything but satisfying drink
"What you want to know?" Deciding to hold off on getting himself another beer as well. Pacing himself would be best.
"How'd you two end up meeting? Coworkers?" She said. Lightning up now that the focus wasn't on her.
"Mother was a patient assigned to me 2nd year. She had reoccurring cases of Glioblastoma multiforme that kept her hospitalized a lot" he sighed as he recalled the memory. It was all too soon to be dredging this up from the depth of his mind. It stung.
"Figures it would have to include work" it was rare for someone to except such a lack of dedicated time to relationship. Between work and sleep, there was little time for much else. "How's the mother doing, you still on her case?"
"Passed away couple of months ago" Another searing pain could be felt across his chest. Maybe that's when everything started falling apart. It would make sense that losing her mother could have left her in the void of loneliness. Losing the ties of communication as she had no reason to stick around the hospital while he worked his ridiculously long weeks. He never realized it before.
"Sorry to hear" Cagalli said, frowning at the situation. It was incredibly terrifying how vicious the waters of relationships were. Athrun's had already watched his disappear in an instant before his eyes. No warning, completely gone without a chance. While Cagalli's circled the drain ever so slowly, trying to go against the flow that it had already fallen into by the day's predicaments.
"What can you do" Athrun said, glancing at his watch. "I'm going to head out" The thought of it being months while he never noticed anything was unbearable. Maybe it was his fault. He didn't want to dwell on it.
"Already?" the blonde protested. They'd only been there for maybe an hour tops.
"Yea, have things to do" he said, fishing around for his wallet. In all honesty though he didn't feel like talking anymore. The recollection of the memories being increasingly consuming, dragging him into a well of sadness. He didn't feel like moping out in public. "Seeya around…be careful" giving her a quick pat on the back before disappearing through the mass of people.
Booom, a little bit more on the history. I get the feeling that my attempt at humour is terrible as of yet. Argh. Gotta work on that a bit... Hrm!
For those of you that don't understand why Athrun didn't voice concerns of the terrible boyfriend is cause it would most likely anger Cagalli, potentially ending the friendship. Which wouldn't do anything so it was better to stay around should anything happen. Because she'll just do whatever she wants, regardless of what he says. Make sense? Hard concept to write about. Anywayyyyyy. I'll seeya next time! Thanks for reading
