Untouchable, an Amanda's Shorts ficlet.
Disclaimer: As always I do not own Kyle XY
Amanda should have known better.
As she sighed, pain racked her small frame.
Over a year ago, had she not witnessed Jessi pick up Nate in one hand, by the throat? Had it not been crystal clear that Jessi was not someone even remotely of her skill level, despite the year of learning martial arts and an intense training schedule?
Amanda found herself in hospital with ten cracked ribs – thankfully not one was broken – and more bruises than she could count. Her body was a mosaic of multi-colored bruises. Only her chest and her privates seemed totally devoid of bruising.
She exhaled and coughed from the pain of her ribs and her numerous bruises. The right side of her chest seemed to hurt more than the left.
For the millionth time, she wondered, what could have possibly made her lash out at Jessi and expect no retribution, or in Jessi's case, simple defense? She knew the answer and it really surprised her, even now. She wasn't even dating Kyle anymore but when she'd witnessed them making out it had burned her so badly – seeing Kyle exult the way he had – that the very next time she saw Jessi she had tried to whack her upside the head from behind.
It was a dishonorable attack however one analyzed it. Her sensei would be senseless if he ever learned of this. She didn't really see a way around it though. He was coming to pay a visit in a few hours to see the extent of the damage. On the phone, she had claimed it was a training accident.
Yeah, right. Amanda tried to chuckle at the terrible ruse, one that would never work. Her ribs protested and she tried to fold into two in response.
Even without warning though, Jessi had sensed the attack and fought back with deadly precision. The strikes she had made had been lightning fast. Even the two she had blocked she had been sure she had heard bones snapping under the strikes. Her vision had clouded in moments as she collapsed almost immediately to the ground.
Amanda looked at her hands and arms and wondered how she was even in one piece. By all accounts, by her own memory, she shouldn't even be conscious.
She closed her eyes and tried to sleep as the doctor had advised.
When she opened her eyes, she vaguely thought she was dreaming. Just as she had been dressed all in black, the figure in front of her was in the same attire, with the exception of the face. "Jessi?" she asked.
There was understandably no smile on the girl's face but she nodded. Amanda's blood started to pump faster in her veins, worry and excitement fought for control of her emotions. Jessi's passive face took the form of consternation. She stretched her arm out, palm forward. "I didn't know it was you, Amanda," she whispered.
Amanda tried to laugh. "If you had, you probably would have killed me!"
Jessi's sudden reaction to her words, to her jest, made the hair on her arms stand on end. "I would never have killed you," Jessi said. Jessi frowned and stepped away, towards the door.
It was then Amanda noticed the blinds had been shut and that it was dark outside. How long had she slept and why hadn't her sensei come as promised? Unless…
Jessi blurted out something barely intelligible, of which Amanda only really understood "didn't see" and "injury".
Amanda tried to keep her neighbor from fleeing the room. She raised her arm and saw the needles attached there. She took a deep breath and for the first time felt the stitches in the middle of her chest, to the right of the sternum. The pain, excruciating before, was now nearly unbearable. She only then noticed she wasn't even in the same room as before. Something serious had happened.
Jessi's stare was full of empathy. "You died from internal injuries but they brought you back. I'm so sorry."
Amanda wouldn't accept her apology for something she'd initiated. "What for? I attacked you!" she said in a strong whisper. It was hard to breathe.
"I healed your bones but never saw the internal bleeding behind your lung. It collapsed yesterday and the doctors had you in surgery for nearly eight hours. Kyle donated his blood to keep you alive." Jessi took several steps closer. "I'm so sorry Amanda; I should have noticed it was you."
The medical details were unimportant for the moment. She felt dizzy and breathless. She opened her mouth to help her breathe. The machine she was hooked up to started beeping faster.
"You have to relax Amanda," Jessi said urgently.
"I can't breathe," she tried to say, basically pushing it out with the air in her remaining lung. Amanda started to panic, fighting for breath.
Jessi almost growled before muttering, "Sorry Kyle," and putting her hands on Amanda's chest. "Focus on Kyle's smile, Amanda," Jessi said. "Picture it. Taste it."
For what seemed like an eternity, the only thing she could see was Kyle's lips. At times they smiled, at times they frowned, but at others, she could almost feel them on hers, kissing. Her whole body tingled and she drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Dreamless if you didn't count disembodied lips kissing you interminably a dream.
Amanda woke up in her bedroom, her breath unusually foul and her mouth dry as dust.
"Amanda," her mother yelled from downstairs. "Amanda!"
She tried to call back but it took her a couple tries to moisten her mouth and throat sufficiently to do so. By then her mother had already started climbing the stairs in a mad dash to her bedroom. "Good, you are here!" she said when she opened the door and saw her.
Amanda tried to shake the fog in her brain; that had been one hell of a dream. "What's wrong mom?"
Her mother was usually calm, collected. It was somewhat strange to see her as dishevelled and frantic as this – so early in the morning anyway. "When I first saw the news reports of an unidentified girl in hospital who looked remarkably like you – with countless bruises and swelling everywhere – I had to rush home as quickly as I could. Why didn't you answer the phone when I called you if you were here?"
Amanda's jaw dropped as she tried to figure out what her mother was talking about.
Carol Bloom's eyes narrowed. "Were you out with that boy again?"
"Kyle?" She shook her head. Her throat was completely parched. "No, I was with Jessi."
Carol's head cocked to the side and her eyes narrowed further. "You never play with her…"
"We—" started Amanda, conjuring up the only lie she could. "We were sparring at the gym all day yesterday."
"And the day before?" Carol asked.
She took a quick breath. "The same." After a quick pause, she added, "She's really good, she's untouchable." The hairs on her arms stood on end.
"Really," Carol asked, her curiosity piqued. "How long has she been training in martial arts?"
"Don't know, mom, I'll have to ask her." She exhaled slowly. "Do you mind if I go visit her right now?"
"Sure."
***
Kyle sprinted home as fast as he could. Worry had wormed into his gut to such a degree he felt the urge to go to the bathroom. He resisted it though as he had to get a few questions answered and only one person could do so.
He opened the door and ran upstairs to Jessi's room, opened the door without knocking and said, "Jessi, where's Amanda? I was just at the hospital and—" In his haste he hadn't even heard Amanda in the house.
Amanda stood only feet away from both him and Jessi. She was quiet for a few moments and he noticed Jessi's eyes telling him not to say another word. Finally Amanda exclaimed, "It was real, I knew it! You somehow killed me and returned me to perfect health?" She turned to Kyle briefly before turning back to Jessi. "How did you do that?"
Kyle knew then there could be no more secrets between the three of them, whatever the cost.
