Author's Note: Here you go, guys! I was hoping to make this chapter a bit more violent and show one of the character's merciless side...
Chapter 7:
~Erica's POV~
New patient? That was one of the many thoughts on my mind at that moment. I had been casually walking down the hallway to get to my next patient when my aunt stopped me in the middle of the corridor. She had said only three short sentences. "Erica, following recent events, I had discovered that you are the only one that is responsible enough to handle this job. Therefore, you're gaining another patient. Ryo Bakura, room 4A." With that, she walked off.
For some reason, I was thrilled at the thought of caring for Ryo. But he was Josie's patient, why was he mine now? And what did Aunt Jane mean when she said that I was the only responsible one? Also, what was that secret Josie was hiding from everyone? I really needed to talk to my sister…
Fortunately, she was the next person I saw. However, it was no happy reunion, for her face was tear-streaked and she was curled up against the wall, like a child who'd been betrayed by her best friend. Immediately, I ran to her side and kneeled next to her.
"Josie! What happened? Why are you crying?" Normally, it's a common sight to see someone cry. But that wasn't true for my cheerful sister. The last time I had seen Josie cry was when she was 10 and got a bloody nose while trying to protect me from a bully. And even then, she'd only teared up for a few seconds. Josie was tougher than the strongest man alive and always optimistic. She never cried. But now she was bawling and barely able to speak.
"A-Aunt Jane t-t-took away Akefia…" She sniffled and burst into a new round of whimpers and tears. I hadn't the slightest idea who this "Akefia" was, but he must have meant an awful lot to her. So instead of questioning her, I hugged her and sat with her until her cries subsided and she was able to stand without trembling.
"So… You wanna tell me who Akefia is?" I walked her back to our room and helped her into bed. Glancing at the clock, I saw it was 6:50. Josie and I had both finished our checkups, so we had free time. And it seemed all of our time would be taken up by crying and explanations. I looked at Josie as I sat on my own bed.
She looked at me sheepishly and spoke softly. "H-he… He… He was my first kiss…" Even through the tears on her cheeks, I could see a light red beginning to glow on her face. I knew she was miserable right now, but I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to tease her.
"Well, finally!" I laughed softly, "I thought you'd never settle for someone!" She smiled a bit and her blush grew brighter, and she even giggled softly.
"Oh, there was no settling done. Akefia is WAY out of my league." I rolled my eyes and smiled. Trust me, there wasn't anyone out of Josie's league; she was beautiful. But she liked to think she wasn't.
She went on to explain to me that Akefia was Ryo's "brother". It was similar to the Marik and Melvin situation, which I also told her about. After that, she told me her whole story about her first kiss and how much she already liked him. And about her second kiss and how it was ruined by our aunt. At that point, she burst into tears once again.
"E-Erica, I can't stay away from him! I-I think I love him!" She looked at me with an expression of utter despair. I bit my lip and thought, then sighed and looked at her.
"Jo, you know I'm a goody-two-shoes and don't like to disobey orders. But because this boy means so much to you… I'll help you. Aunt Jane assigned Ryo to me now that you got in trouble. And I know that everyday, at 8:00 sharp, Aunt Jane personally goes and checks to make sure each patient's door is locked. Since our key cards can only open our own patients' doors, I'll give mine to you at around 8:30. Then you can sneak up there and unlock the door, then have your time with Akefia." I smiled and laid down in my bed. "But not tonight. She'll expect it tonight. We'll try it tomorrow. And I'll explain everything to Akefia while doing my checkups." I looked at her for her opinion, but the only response I received was a blank stare. "Uh… Josie?"
She blinked, then smiled. "That's the most I've ever heard you talk at one time…" She giggled. "And that's why you're a straight-A student! My little sister's a genius!" I laughed and shook my head, then sat up.
"It wasn't exactly NASA quality, Jo. Now go to sleep." I turned out the lights and got under my blankets. She complied for all of about 10 seconds before she turned the lights on again.
"Wait a minute, it's only 9 o'clock! Josie doesn't go to bed at 9 o'clock!" She laughed and sat up, then pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them. "How about you talk about that Marik person?"
That caught my attention. I bolted up and looked at her. "Okay, how do you know about my patient and what do you want me to say about him?" She rolled her eyes and stood up, smiling the way older sisters do.
"Oh, c'mon Erica, I read your journal whenever I can! You wrote a story about a 'handsome, caring prince' named Marik, and, according to your files, you have a patient named Marik. You have a crush, don't you?!" She squealed and threw a pillow at me.
I groaned and blushed. This wasn't the first time she'd read my journal, I was used to it by now. "Josie! Stay out of my stuff!"
"I'm not a hearing a no…" She sung her words and giggled, then looked at me, "Though, I really think you'd be good with Ryo. I can't judge because I haven't met Marik, but you and Ryo are both quiet and nerdy. You'd be good with him." She smiled as I threw the pillow back at her face.
"Josie! I'm single! No one likes me!"
"What about 'King Melvin'?" She smirked. So she'd read that part, too…
"Good night, Josie!" I turned the lights out again as my face began to heat up. I heard her chuckle and lay down. I blushed more and buried my face in the pillow. But, as I began to drift off to sleep, the only thoughts that danced through my mind were of Marik and Melvin. And Ryo…
The Next Day...
I woke up the next morning and looked at the clock. 7:00. I groaned and sat up. Smacking Josie as I walked into the bathroom, she jumped up.
"Akefia!"
I smiled as I brushed my teeth. "Gee, I wonder who you dreamt about…"
She giggled and stood up. "Oh, shut up!"
The rest of the day went pretty smoothly. My patients were all well-behaved at breakfast and during their free time. Though Melvin didn't come out at all, Marik and I told each other about our pasts and just random things. And he then began to tell me how Melvin was looking through some books to find a way to give each of them their own bodies. He said that Melvin wasn't having too much luck, but he wouldn't give up. I pondered this as I walked to Ryo's room.
"Hm… If Melvin finds a way to give him his own body, then Akefia, Ryo, and their other brother could probably get their own bodies, too… I should tell them about that." I unlocked the door and walked in, expecting to see either a tall Egyptian or a shy, cute albino. But what I saw was a boy that looked like a combination of both. He had long white hair, like Ryo, yet his was more spiky and not as fluffy. He was a bit taller than Ryo, yet shorter than Josie. His eyes were brown, but they were narrower than Ryo's and therefore gave him a more wicked look. He was scowling and stabbing the pillow with something. It appeared to be the arm of the wooden chair, yet sharpened.
"Oh, uh, hello…" I walked in and slowly closed the door behind me. The boy looked up and paused his stabbing, then smirked.
"Why, hello there…" He had a British accent like Ryo, yet his was rougher and thicker. His voice was coarse and deep. He stood and walked over to me, the top of my head coming to his eyes.
"Um…" I gulped and took a step back, looking up into his eyes. I saw nothing but pure evil in them. Well, there was a bit of something else in there, but I couldn't quite place it. "I-I'm your nurse, Erica…" I glanced down at the wooden stake he possessed. He followed my eyes and chuckled.
"Oh, pay no mind to that. Just something I do in my free time…" He tossed it onto the bed and I felt a bit safer. But upon speculating his muscular build, my fear quickly deepened. "I'm Bakura. The middle brother. And the real reason we're here." He smirked proudly and folded his arms. I frowned at him and placed my hands on my hips.
"You're proud? That's horrible. How could you be proud of ending someone's life? And how could you be proud of getting your innocent brothers in here?! You heartless thief!"
He growled slightly at my outburst and scowled at me. But I wasn't going to back down, no matter how scared I felt. I was angry at most of these criminals already, but the fact that he was proud about his murderous ways pushed my anger into rage. He didn't exactly seem happy either, though… "Look, I don't know who you think you are, little girl, but-"
"I'm your nurse! Actually, I'm your innocent little brother's nurse! I don't know what you had to have thought when you murdered someone, but then to go and let your little brother take the blame for it?! AND be proud about it? You're a monster. A sick, cruel monster. You must have been born without a heart, because no humane person would ever do that!"
His eyes widened in fury and he sprang forward, his hands jerking up to my neck and grabbing it forcefully. My own eyes widened in fear and shock, realizing he was beginning to press down on my trachea and cut off my airway.
"Shut up! You don't know anything about me…" His voice was spewing venom and he was coming closer, pressing down harder. I gasped for air, but found none. There was a burning sensation in my throat and I trembled, not being able to see anything except the hatred in his eyes. His voice was commanding and deadly. "You don't know what I've been through, and you don't know what people have done to me! You don't know me! Think before you speak, you stupid girl! You don't even know how easily I'm going to kill you…" With that, he smiled wickedly and lifted me off the ground by nothing except my neck. I clawed at his fingers and tried to escape his grasp, but to no avail. He was much stronger than I was, and all the breath I had was leaving my lungs. My sight began to grow fuzzy and black, and my lungs and throat ached and burned as if I'd breathed in fire. I could no longer communicate and my eyes began to close as the last bit of air left me. I gasped out two final words.
"I-I'm… S… s… s-sorry…" The feeling in my body was dissipating and everything was going numb, until I felt the grasp on my neck loosen, then completely disappear. I fell to the ground, landing roughly on my back but not caring, for I instantly gasped and took in a deep breath of sweet, fresh air. I rested limply on the ground as I heard a thud, and felt a presence beside me. I weakly opened my eyes and looked to my right, seeing a familiar pair of big, brown, tear-filled eyes looking at me sadly.
"I'm so sorry about t-that, E-Erica…" Ryo was back and almost as weak as me, "Oh, I-I could never live with myself if he had actually managed to kill-" At this point, he choked up and burst into tears. I smiled feebly and looked at him.
"It's o-okay, Ryo… It wasn't y-your fault…"
He sniffled and nodded, then weakly took one of my hands. "W-we both need to rest, Erica. But I don't think either of us can make it to the bed…" It was then my turn to nod, and I let my eyes close, voluntarily this time. And that's where we laid for another few hours, never letting go of each other's hand.
I just hoped greatly that Ryo could keep control. And, more importantly, that Bakura wouldn't try to kill me in my sleep…
I hope you guys liked that one! And I really appreciate you guys' comments, so PLEASE REVIEW! XD Bye!
