The events that happened after that seemed to blur together. Lottie called Reim as was somehow able to tell him what happened even though she was babbling through her tears. She wasn't aware of how much time had passed, but Reim and Sharon soon arrived to the scene. Lottie could remember Sharon shouting and starting to cry herself, and Reim trying his hardest to stay calm. Reim had easily picked up Xerxes and put him into Sharon's car, and Sharon pulling Lottie along with her, and pushing her into the back seat.
When they arrived at the hospital, Reim took Xerxes in while Sharon kept Lottie outside with her. She tried to get what had happened out of Lottie, but Lottie could barely speak, and that was making it difficult. After calming her down a bit, Sharon was finally able to get her to talk, and was horrified when she learned the truth.
Reim came back out a few moments later to tell the two girls that Xerxes was going to be fine, he just was just suffering from blood loss. Sharon was satisfied with this, and decided that she would go home and tell her grandmother what had happened before she got worried. Reim told her that he would stay and watch over Lottie, and give her any news about Xerxes condition if it happened to change.
With Sharon gone, Lottie was left alone with Reim in the waiting room until they were allowed to see Xerxes. She sat in her chair, her hands shaking from her anxiety. She felt like she would shake herself to death, but Reim placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Lottie, it's alright," consoled Reim. "He's going to be fine. Trust me."
"I know Reim, I know," Lottie sighed. "But that doesn't make me feel any better about this. I could have stopped this. If only I hadn't of gotten so scared I would have been able to warn him."
"Stop beating yourself up about this," Reim replied. "Xerxes won't blame you for this, so you should do the same."
"But-"
"No," interjected Reim. "You didn't do this. The drunk did. Xerxes knows that and so do I, so stop. Blaming yourself won't make him feel any better."
Lottie sighed and answered, "OK Reim." She turned to him and looked him straight in the eyes and asked the question that had been eating her alive through this whole ordeal. "Reim, why is there so much blood."
Reim's eyes lit up in surprise, and turned away from her before answering. "I can't tell you."
"What do you mean you can't tell me?" Lottie snapped.
"It isn't my place to," Reim answered in a solemn tone. "This is something Xerxes needs to tell you, not me. It's up to him when he decides to tell you Lottie, but be patient with him. There are things that he doesn't like to tell others, and this is one of them."
Lottie looked back down at her hands and thought, "So he has some secrets too huh?" Without looking back up at Reim she asked, "Do you think he will tell me if I ask him?"
Reim smiled and answered. "I think that if the time is right, he will tell you. You know how dramatic he can be. He wants the moment to be just right. Right now? I don't think so. But in time, yes I do believe he will tell you what you want to know."
"Thank you Reim," Lottie whispered. Their conversation died down, and Lottie continued to fiddle with the coat that Xerxes had lent to her until a doctor came and told them that Xerxes was now awake. He said that only one person could visit him at a time.
"Lottie you go ahead," Reim said. "He doesn't need to see me, and if he's awake already he must be fine."
"You're going to walk back home?" Lottie asked.
"Well not back home, but to my work," Reim answered. "My boss is my god father, so I'll be able to get a ride with him when heads home later tonight."
"Oh ok," Lottie replied. "Be safe."
"I will, I promise," Reim said. "You do the same." With those parting words, Reim waved good-bye and left Lottie on her own.
Following the doctor, Lottie went through many different winding hallways before finally reaching the door that had Xerxes name on it. The doctor told her that he was still a bit weak and might not be awake anymore before leaving her and going back to his work. Taking a deep breath before entering the room, Lottie pushed open the door and entered quietly
The room was simple. It was small, and nearly everything in it was a bright white. The room only contained one thin hospital bed, and small desk and chair next to it. Outside the window one could see the street, and watch the cars as they passed by.
Xerxes looked as if he were asleep. His eye was closed, and his face was serene. His hair was still slightly matted from where the blood was, but it was back to it's normal white color now. His left eye was covered by thick bandages that wrapped around his head.
Lottie's felt her heart fall as she watched him lie there. Even though he seemed so peaceful, she knew that he must still be miserable. Walking over to his bedside, Lottie moved the chair so she could sit down next to him. As she sat down, Xerxes eye flickered open and when he glanced over at her, he smiled.
"I though I heard someone coming in," he mumbled weakly. "I'm happy to see you Lottie."
"I'm glad to see you're alright," Lottie whispered. "I was so worried about you."
"Ah I'll be OK," Xerxes chuckled. "I've been through worse." His smile dropped, and he raised a hand to touch the bandages. "You must be curious about this Lottie."
"I would be lying if I said no," Lottie replied. "I asked Reim about it, but he said that you would tell me when the time is right, so I won't bug you about it."
"Thank you," he mumbled softly, staring up at the ceiling. "We both have secrets that we don't want to tell Lottie." His eyes moved to her and he smiled. "Let's promise that one day we'll tell each other what we are hiding. Everything."
"Yeah... yeah I promise," Lottie answered hesitantly.
"Good," Xerxes replied. "I'll remember this, so you can't go back on your word."
"I get it you moron," Lottie retorted, punching him playfully in the arm.
Xerxes chuckled and leaned his head back, shutting his eyes. "I'm sorry to cut this short Lottie, but I'm exhausted."
"No I understand," Lottie answered. "You need your rest if you're going to get better quickly."
"You better come and visit me," Xerxes added. "It's going to boring here fast, and I'm going to need someone to entertain me."
"If I have time I'll come alright," Lottie answered, standing to her feet.
"That's good enough for me," he replied. His voice trailed off, and his breathing slowed down. He had fallen asleep.
Lottie smiled at how innocent and peaceful he looked before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her. It took some time, but she was able to find her way out of the hospital. Moving quickly, Lottie headed back home before her father got back. If she didn't get home before he did, she would get in a whole lot of trouble.
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Lottie went to visit Xerxes nearly every day after that. On school days she would hitch a ride with Reim and Sharon, who also went to visit Xerxes everyday. On the weekends she would walk there herself since the hospital was only about a 20 minute walk from her house.
It had been over a week since Xerxes was first admitted to the hospital. His strength returned quickly, and that caused him to become increasingly bored. His bandages were completely removed, and he no longer had to wear them. He insisted that he was better, but the doctors told him that they need to make sure that the wound wouldn't open back up so they were keeping him a few extra days. This irritated him, and if it weren't for Lottie and the others, he would have made the staff's lives hell.
"Lottie I'm finally getting out of this place," Xerxes exclaimed joyfully when Lottie visited him on Sunday. "They are going to let me out!"
"That's great," Lottie replied, a large smile spreading across her face. "That means I don't have to walk here anymore."
"So you're more excited about being lazy then me actually getting out," pouted Xerxes. "That's so mean of you Lottie."
Lottie rolled her eyes and answered, "Of course I'm happy that you're going to be released you idiot. That means you're finally all better, and I don't have to worry about you."
"You worried about little 'ole me, how sweet of you."
"Of course I was you moron," Lottie retorted, her cheeks heating up. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Oh I'm just teasing you Lottie," chuckled Xerxes. Suddenly, his smile fell, and he stared at Lottie. "Can I see your hand?"
Ever since that day, Xerxes had been acting stranger then usual he would ask to check the hand that the drunk man had bruised, and constantly looked at it when they were talking sometimes. It was almost like he had an obsession with it. Lottie didn't mind at first since she thought he was just worried about her, but the bruise had cleared up already and he was still checking it.
Reluctantly, Lottie put her hand into Xerxes. His slender fingers glided gently over her skin as he looked at the place where the bruise was. When he was satisfied, he let go of her hand, and his normal smile came back.
The rest of the day they spent talking with each other, and bickering back and forth occasionally. He asked her about how her day had been so far and if she had any problems. She would ask him what he's done to make the staff angry today, and he would tell her as many stories as he possibly could. They were so focused on each other that they didn't even realize how much time had passed. Things were going fine until Xerxes doctor came in and told Lottie that visiting hours were over and she had to leave.
The color drained from Lottie's face. Xerxes noticed this and asked, "Lottie what's the matter?"
"I have to get home, I'm late" was all that Lottie said in response. She quickly got from her seat and tried to run, but Xerxes held her back.
"Lottie, why are you rushing so badly. I've never seen you like this. What's the matter?"
"It's nothing OK," Lottie snapped, ripped her arm from his grip. "I told you I have to get home."
Without waiting for an answer, Lottie dashed out of the room. Running passed doctors and nurses, Lottie made it out of the hospital with no problems. She sped down the streets, and tried to get home as quickly as possible. Her lungs burned, but she couldn't stop until she made it back. She was already late, but the sooner she got home, the less she would have to deal with. Hopefully.
She could barely breath when she finally made it to her front door. Her heart was beating rapidly, not just from running for so long, but from fear. Every part of her want to stay out the night and not deal with the hell that was sure to come, but she knew the punishment would be worse if she did.
Opening the door as quietly as possible, Lottie crept into the building and tried to sneak her way to the stairs. Her father wasn't anywhere to be found, so she thought she was in the clear. She wasn't that lucky at all. Sitting on the stairs with a bottle in his hand, her father's glazed eyes lit up when they landed on her. She could see the anger in his eyes, and they petrified her.
"What did I tell you about getting home so late," he asked, standing up unsteadily. "You know when, you should be home."
"I know but I-"
"Don't talk back to me," he screamed, throwing the bottle to the ground, the shattering making Lottie flinch. He stumbled up to her and clasped his hand tightly on Lottie's wrist. It was the same one that had been injured previously, so the pressure was twice as painful. It took all of her power to not whimper in torment.
"You are supposed to get back by a certain time, and that isn't questionable," her father continued. With one swift motion, he threw Lottie into the wall. She fell to the ground, and he slammed his foot on her other wrist, making her scream.
"Don't think that you can disobey me you worthless child," He screamed, pushing down even harder. "You live under my roof, and that means you follow my rules. Now get out of my sight." The pressure on her wrist was finally relieved, but the pain was still there. Lottie didn't look up, and only knew that he was gone from his heavy footsteps fading into the background. With all the strength that she had, she forced herself up the stair case and into her room. She immediately went to her bed and fell into it's soft embrace.
She didn't want to cry, but there was nothing she could do to hold it back. Warm tears fell down her now red face, and she cried out loud into the safety of her pillow. Every part of her hurt. Her body. Her heart. Her mind. She was so out of it that she began to ramble.
"I want- I want to go- see Xerxes again," she stuttered out through her tears. "I don't want- want to be here anymore. He- He makes everything- better. I want him- to take me away." She was already have unconscious as she spoke those words, and she barely knew what she was speaking. As she rambled on and on, her eyes began to grow heavy, and she let her mind fall into a deep sleep.
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When she woke up the next morning, Lottie's body was still incredibly sore, and her wrists were still throbbing. She groaned, not wanting to get up, but she knew she had. She still had little strength in her, and it was torture getting ready for the day. She made sure to wear longer sleeves so that the bruises couldn't be seen. Brushing her hair and teeth felt like someone was driving nails into her hands, and she could barely finish.
After getting all her things together, Lottie snuck her way out of the house without making a lunch for herself like she usually did. She just wanted to get out of that place as quickly as she possibly could. She just wanted to be with Lily and Fang, and Xerxes.
When she finally arrived on the school grounds, she realized that she had gotten there very early. There were few people wandering the halls, and most of the classrooms were still locked. Lottie sighed, and decided that she would just walk around until she could get into her homeroom.
As she walked around aimlessly, Lottie tried to push all the thoughts of last night as far away as possible. She didn't want to think about it. Nothing could change the past, so didn't find any reason to linger on the thought anymore. Yet, she couldn't let go of them no matter how hard she tried.
"Lottie?" She heard a familiar voice come from behind her. She turned to see Xerxes, his eye full of concern.
"I didn't expect to see you here so early," Lottie replied.
"I came early to see you," he answered, walking up to her. "You ran out so suddenly yesterday, and you looked terrified. Lottie, what had you so spooked?"
"It was nothing," Lottie replied curtly. "Just leave me be, I want to be alone right now." She began to walk away from him, but he grabbed her wrist. It wasn't tight, but it was enough to make her flinch from the pain. This shocked Xerxes, but he didn't let go. Before Lottie could get away from him, he quickly took her sleeve and rolled it up. His eye showed pure horror when he saw the bruise.
"Lottie, how did this happen," Xerxes asked, his voice far more serious then Lottie had heard before, and it scared her. "Who did this to you."
"It's none of your business," Lottie snapped, shacking his hand off of her.
"Of course it's my business," Xerxes retorted, his teeth clenched. "I won't allow you to get hurt like this!"
"Oh you don't allow me?" Lottie spat back. "You don't have control over me like that Xerxes."
"That's not what I meant Lottie!" Xerxes snapped, his voice starting to crack. There was a sadness in his eye, but Lottie was too angry to notice.
"I don't care what you meant, you've already said what you need to," Lottie replied. She turned away from him and started to walk away. "Just leave me alone, my business is my own, and nobody else."
"Lottie, wait!," Xerxes begged, but she didn't listen. She left him hurt, and even more confused then before.
