Don't worry, Riko will be alright. Hope you all enjoy the chapter! I'm short on time (yet again) and unable to reply to reviews.
~CWA
Chapter 52
I'm still wheezing and heaving with each breath as I finally reach Haruhi's apartment. It feels like it took forever to get here. The sun is already beginning to set which means it probably took me a few hours to just gather my things and get here. I can't really say I'm surprised. Considering how much everything hurts, I'm almost surprised it didn't take longer really. Adjusting my weak grasp on my bag, I take a deep breath before I knock on the door lightly. I can only hope she's still up at this point. I can feel the burning in my chest quickly growing more and more painful. My knees are weak and I sway side to side a bit as I stand in front of the door. I don't know how much longer I can stand here. And this is after finding enough loose change around the house so I could take a late bus over here instead of walking. Though I got enough looks there to last a life time, but there were a few brave enough to ask if I was alright (which included a mother holding a one year old and the bus driver) which makes me feel a bit better. At least with people like Ursula in the world, there's still a lot of good people left. The hosts, and by extension my boyfriend and even Ranka, being such people as well.
When the door finally does open, I shift my weight from foot to foot as she looks me over. Her eyes are as wide as plates. I don't blame her- I must look pretty shocking. Her eyes take in my messy hair, the blood on my face and hands as well as the blood that's leaking through my shirt. I probably look like a murder victim come to life. A zombie. I sure feel like one. Though I don't think you can feel pain as a zombie. I groan slightly and my free hand is shaking as I grasp at my hurt side. God this hurts so much. I still can't believe that I even made it this far. How have I not collapsed yet? Oh yeah, I wince, I already did black out once.
I think back to the bus ride here. I blacked out for a few moments on the bus. Or at least what I thought was a few moments. Ended up falling asleep past Haruhi's stop the first time around and had to take the entire bus again. At least the bus driver was nice and took pity on me so I when I explained I fell asleep past my stop, he let me ride for the second time around free of charge- I just had to wait until we reached that stop again. And now here I am. Bloodied. Bruised. Broken. And in a lot of pain. Oh God why won't she let me in all ready? I need to sit down.
"Hurts," I wheeze, my voice raspy and broken, "Imouto, please..."
That snaps Haruhi out of her daze as she quickly whisks me away into the living room, quickly closing the door behind me as she gently sets me down on the couch. She carefully gets me to lay down with my head on the arm rest and I can tell from how much her hands are shaking that she's just as nerve wrecked as I am. If I look, I can see the tears that are threatening to spill in her eyes as her hands hover over me in an unsteady manner. She's trying to figure out what to do next and apparently, she can't figure out what the next step is. My heart sinks and I gently take her hands in my own, looking into her eyes the best I can since my perception is a bit off at the moment. A side effect of my glasses breaking and having no time to try to find my extra pair.
"I'll be okay," I whisper softly, "Haruhi please don't worry, I promise I'll be okay."
My voice cracks as I let out another series of rough coughs that cause my chest to flare with fire. She winces and her hands tighten against my own briefly before she lets my hands go, whispering softly that she doesn't know what to do before she disappears from the living room all together. Crap. She's getting Ranka. I can hear his tired, groggy, what the heck is going on voice from here. I wince as I see him appear in the doorway, Haruhi flocking behind him. I can tell he's pretty tired and I'm almost sorry that I woke him up. He has stubble on his chin and his hair is pulled into a loose ponytail. He doesn't look as extravagant as he usually does since he's only in a pair of sweats and a loose t-shirt. Still, as his half lidded eyes take me in, he seems to become more and more aware of what's going on. He lets out a small yelp.
"Riko! Dear! What has happened to you? Are you alright? Who did this to you? Do I need to call the cops?"
He continues to ramble on as he rushes over to my side, looking me over again and again. It seems every time he does look me over he finds some new injury or bruise as the frantic look on his face grows and grows. Haruhi is hovering behind him, looking just as concerned as he does as she scratches at her arm a bit nervously, unsure how to handle this situation. Seeing Haruhi of all people so frazzled makes me wince. I must look worse than I thought I did for her to be so fazed.
"Help," I wheeze, cutting Ranka off to keep him from interrogating me, "Mother she... I just…"
I can't even get the words out as tears start to form in my eyes again. Though what I do manage to say seems to be enough as Ranka gets the most angry look on his face I ever saw. I didn't think he could even get that angry. His eyes are dark and hooded, his lips in a thin and tight line. There's a tension in his body as he leans over me, whispering into my ear briefly that my mother will face justice if he has anything to say about it. Yet after the mysterious promise, he snaps back up and barks for Haruhi.
"Haruhi! Call the hosts, Riko will need all the support she can get right now and maybe with everyone here, she can feel safe. I'll get the first aid kit and we can work on some of her injuries while the others are on their way. I don't know about hospitals because her mother could find her there and take her away and right now, that witch will burn if I ever meet her."
Judging from the way she jumps when he addresses her makes me think she's a bit off from all this. Though as soon as his words register, her phone is out and after I give her a quick okay, she calls up everyone as Ranka mumbles angrily under his breath, leaving the room only to come back with a basic first aid kit. I can still hear Haruhi on the phone as Ranka kneels beside the couch and gently peels away the layers of clothing I have on, starting with the jacket and the tie so he can reach the injuries a bit better. Left in pants, shoes and a basic white shirt, I feel a bit off. My head's starting to get a bit dizzy and I can barely even feel the cotton ball that Ranka presses into a few of the scrapes. They sting a bit so he must have put something on them to keep them from getting infected.
"Riko," Ranka coos at me softly, "Riko dear, you have to stay up, okay? You can't fall asleep on me now. I don't know how much blood you've lost, but it seems like you've bruised a rib as well popped your shoulder out of its socket and broke at least one of your wrists. I'm trying to clean up some of the other scrapes and I know it stings, but you're a tough girl, okay?"
He continues to coo words of encouragement that fill me with a bit of strength as I try my best to stay awake for him. I look back toward Haruhi to see her still on the phone, frantically whispering into it. If I have to guess, I'd say she's talking to Tamaki. I can hear his voice from here, though I can't quite make out what he's really saying. Though from what I've heard from the other calls, she's told them the basic information. She told each and every one of them that she just got a text from me asking if it's okay to crash at her place and that I need help. I gave her a silent tell them during each call and listened as she told them that something happened between me and the witch, but she didn't go into specifics or tell them what shape I've arrived in when I came over. Though she called Urusla my mother, which leaves me with a nasty taste in my mouth. Though that may be blood I'm tasting. I don't know if she's already called Takashi or not. I know that he won't be happy to hear about this. I don't think he'll be mad at me, or at least he hopefully won't be, but I know he will be angry at Ursula.
I'm not sure how the others will react exactly. I know all of them will feel different levels of sadness and anger, which is understandable since I'm angry myself. But they each express such emotions differently. The twins will probably be sobbing into each other's arms and offer me anything they can to help if they feel generous today. Hunny may sob the loudest. Tamaki will be promising up and down that Ursula will see justice and that she won't be getting away with this. Kyoya will probably call that police force of his. Takashi will be the most angry, but I hope that when he gets here, I can just lay in his arms. That always makes me feel better.
I sigh a bit, but it turns into a hiss when I feel Ranka grab my shoulder. His eyes are shining with sympathy and understanding and after a moment, I realize what he's about to do. He's going to pop my shoulder back into place. I do enough research to know that this is going to hurt like hell and thankfully Haruhi is off the phone. She sees what's going on and wastes no time to be by my side and gripping my hand with her own. After giving Ranka a brief nod to let him know I'm ready, he pops it back into place with a sickening sound. I have Haruhi's hand in a death grip as I let out a shrill scream of pain before taking a few deep breaths. At least that's one thing taken care of.
Though I don't have to wait long before hosts come. By the time they arrive, Ranka has taken care of what he could, but he sadly can't do much for what he suspects is a bruised rib and a broken wrist. I think he's right about that though. They sure feel in that bad of a shape anyway. Though when I see the hosts come in, I'm overcome with a sudden nervousness that causes me to grab Haruhi's hand again as I look at her. She gives me a soft, weak reassuring smile that causes me to relax and with a small nod, I greet them the best I can as I drop Haruhi's hand, not having the strength to keep holding onto it. At least I was holding it with my better wrist.
"...What happened," Takashi's voice cuts through the silence like cold iron.
His eyes are frantic and he's at my side before I can even blink, practically pushing Haruhi out of the way so he can reach me better. His hands are in my own and I can see him critically eying every inch of my skin, every bruise, every blood drop, every scrape and cut, everything. The more he sees the more tension I can see in his body as he lets out shaky breaths, his body practically shaking in a violent manner.
"...Your mother did this to you."
I don't even have to say it because he already knows. He knows. They all know. Especially after Haurhi saying that something happened between Ursula and I and after what happened at the club, there's no hiding it. Though I wouldn't hide it anyway. I refuse to hide anything anymore. Biting my lip, I nod slowly to confirm his words, causing everyone to suck in a tight breath.
The hosts act like I suspected them to, for the most part. Kyoya is already on the phone with what he tells us is his personal doctor that's signed a strict confidentiality agreement so this won't go public yet. The twins are sobbing into each other's arms. Haruhi surprises me by leaving me entirely to sob into Tamaki's chest and I'm shocked that Ranka doesn't even stop the two, he just stands to the side occasionally looking at them, but there's no anger there. Nothing. Just understanding. Hunny is not sobbing at all. It's like, just like it is with the rest of them, all the humor has left. Everything that's made them hosts in the first place is gone to just leave their raw, real emotions and feelings. He squeezes himself onto the couch between my legs, shaking just as much as Takashi is as he grips Usa-chan tightly before he hands the stuffed animal over to me. There's a look in his eyes that tells me he wants me to use Usa-chan for now as if he understands that I need something of comfort.
Takashi has settled himself as close to the couch as he possibly can be. It's close enough that my arm rests limply against his chest before he grips my hands once more. His eyes are baring into mine with such raw passion that I'm a bit taken back for a moment before flushing and breaking eye contact. The amount of love and caring in his eyes were almost too much for my fragile state to take.
"Explain," Takashi says curtly, "everything."
I take a few deep breaths and for the briefest moment, I almost told them a lie before I remembered that I have told myself, as well as them, that I will tell them everything if Ursula ever crossed that line…. And she's already crossed the line… I open my mouth to speak and it seems to be a moment before I finally find my voice.
"...When I was a kid, it wasn't like this," I begin softly, weaving my tale like one of my own books, "...Believe it or not, she used to be a good mother..."
I tell them everything. I start at the beginning and I leave nothing out. I tell them about the Mom and Dad I knew as a child. The creepy Uncle that I used to have nightmares about and slowly, what started as a happy family turned into something from the depths of Hell. I told how Akane spiraled out of the family picture into the business world like a quick storm. I spoke of Akane's affair with my father's brother, which caused all of them to blanch in minor disgust and horror. But that was only the tip of the iceberg. The words just pour out. The story… my story… that I never really got to tell is finally being spoken. I just can't help but speak with such a passion that almost makes me forget about the pain in my chest.
"-My uncle had his eyes set on more than just my mother… A few years ago, he sneaked into my bedroom like a shadow crawling through the night..."
I tried to leave out the messy details, but there were still a few that came out that made the tale even more gruesome. I spoke of the nightmare that has plagued me since that night. Of Uncle's assault. Rape. Whatever the word I use it means the same thing. He is a monster that took it away from me. But he took a lot more than just my purity. Took away my safe of mind. My sanity. Took away the dreams. Took away my sleep. My sense of security. My courage. He took everything away from me that made me into a shell of a person.
"-And if that wasn't bad enough," I croak, breaking into a short sob, "-I thought maybe if I told someone, it would get better. So I went to the one person any child goes to when they need to tell an adult something. I want to Mother…. But she didn't believe me… And she slapped me for telling a lie… When Dad found out, he just… left. Not a single word. Nothing. Just left. When he left, Akane got worse. She put me in the small house and told me to work for my living like everyone else…. And from there, she just slowly got worse and worse. I still haven't heard from Dad and the so-called-Uncle of mine seems to have vanished from the Earth."
I breathe heavily when I finish. My heart is pounding and my chest is heaving with pain. I don't care. I could care less about any pain I feel right now. The important thing is that it's out there. That they know. That I actually told someone I trust. I look up at everyone, trying to gauge their reactions. Kyoya is sitting in the corner with a dark aura radiating off him in waves that could make the Devil run. There's a look in his eyes that make know that he's up to something. For once, the idea of Shadow King planning something is actually bringing me a bit of comfort because whatever he is planning, I know it will work. The twins are shaking from fright, clutching each other with teary eyes as they rock back and forth slightly. Tamaki seems to be one of the most composed. He's letting out the occasional shuddering breath, but he seems to be holding it together quite well as he holds Haruhi tight, allowing her to sob into his chest. Ranka is shaking from anger, a snarl on his face and I'm sure he's biting back every curse on Earth. Hunny is shaking as well and I'm almost unnerved by the aura that's coming off from him because it's so similar to Kyoya's own aura. He has a dark look in his eyes as he clenches his fists at his sides.
But as much as some of them are trying to hide it, I can still see the tears in their eyes. I'm well aware of the tears streaming down my own face, but now that I'm done talking, I can feel the absence of Takashi's hand from my own. I look toward to the one person who I haven't glanced at yet. He seems to be taking this all the worst. He has the most angered look on his face, his jaw tense as he clenches his fists tightly enough to draw blood from his palms. His whole body is just shaking so much that he's even shaking a bit of the couch.
With a concerned look on my face, I grab his hands with the one hand I can move a bit more freely and slowly feel his fingers away from his palm before bringing his hand up to my lips and giving it a gentle kiss that snaps his attention back to me. The anger lingers for a second more before he relaxes and slumps down, his head hung low before I find myself in a gentle, yet firm embrace. His arms are wrapped tenderly around me that bring me comfort, but doesn't irritate the wounds. I rub small circles on his back with my free hand, resting my chin on his shoulder as he buries his face into the nape of my neck.
It takes me a moment before I hear his soft, muffled sniffling in my ear.
