Chapter19: Feeling betrayed.
Nami had struggled to wake up from her deep sleep, her eyes closed every time she opened them and her body was pulled towards the bed with a very strong gravitational force, it was all because of the treatment from her rehab, she took a pill every night before sleeping to numb her insomnia, but because of that, she fell into an endless sleep, and to get out of it, she had to fight with all her might to regain consciousness, she spent over half an hour turning left to right and right to left while lying on the bed, according to the rays of the sun that flooded her room, it must have been around noon, which meant that she had slept a little too much, to force herself to get up she crawled slowly before literally falling out of bed, she found it funny to see that even when she was recovering from drugs she was going through hangovers every day worse than the one that 'she lived before.
Due to the discomfort of the hard tile she was lying on, Nami stood up when her back started to ache and with slowly slow footsteps she walked to the bathroom, she looked at her reflection as she turned on the faucet with half-closed eyes, when she filled her palms with a quantity of water, she splashed her face before soaping it, then she rinsed it, she felt awakened as the water cooled her skin and she couldn't hold back the moans that escaped her lips, without further ado, she brushed her teeth and combed her long orange hair, she smiled when she looked at herself in the mirror again, she was no longer the yellow-faced zombie who entered the bathroom five minutes earlier.
However, her persistent headache had driven her momentary good humor and she remembered that she had to take the medicine of the morning of her treatment, but she had to fill her stomach before that, that's why, she quickly put on a blue dress with yellow flowers and a pair of sandals, then picked up the orange tube that contained the pills before rushing out of the room.
Strangely enough, the refectory was almost empty even though it was lunchtime, usually at this time the room is always crowded and noisy, unlike that day, the few people who ate were silent and had a depressing expression on their faces, As if they were in a funeral, Nami delayed investigating the prevailing mood as her stomach started to growl, plus she had to fill her stomach quickly in order to take her medicine.
After eating a varied salad and drinking a squeezed orange juice, Nami was ready to fill her curiosity as she was about to leave the table, a shiver ran through her when she remembered the mission of the day before, she had completely forgotten about it because of her personal problems, she deduced that something bad must have happened and that was the reason for the tense atmosphere, she hoped it wasn't a failure and that no one was dead or injured, quickly she rushed over to the two men who were eating at the next table.
"What is happening?" She asked them urgently, slapping her palms on the table which made them jump. "Why are you depressed?"
"During yesterday's mission," One of the men started to explain with a trembling voice; apparently he was frightened by the sudden and thundering appearance of Nami. "The boss got shot and now he's in a coma."
Nami's heart had started to shake strongly and her vision had turned monochrome, everything around her had lost its color, she could only see dark gray, not being able to control herself, she started to run and run until she found herself on the floor below, since it was her first time setting foot there, she got lost in the hallways as she searched for Law's whereabouts, and when she found a gathered group of men of which Shachi was one, she knew she had arrived at her destination, that's why she joined them.
"I just heard what had happened," Nami said to the red haired man who was standing in a corner staring into space, when he heard the woman's voice his eyes turned to her as he forced a smile. "How did it happen?"
"One of the enemies had managed to escape, he had managed to wound Law and the Straw Hat," Shachi informed her, his voice hoarse from the sadness muffled in his throat. "Luffy had been hit in the shoulder, but Law had been unlucky, the bullet had hit his abdomen."
"Tell me he's okay." She sniffled as tears threatened to fall from her eyes, she never expected to feel so sad if something bad happened to Law, lately she had started to like the man, he was nice to her and he helped her with her drug problem, he took care of her like a mother who stays awake when her child is sick, and that was something that had been marked in her heart for life.
"He's doing fine at the moment." He responded quickly to relieve the woman who was about to burst into tears, he was surprised to see that Nami was so affected, it made him happy because he knew his boss had a crush on her.
"I want to see him," She said between sobs. "Can I?"
"Of course, follow me." He started to guide her to a door where it is written forbidding to enter, when they entered the room behind the door in question, they found Penguin standing next to a desk, carefully reading something important on a clipboard.
"I said there will be no more visitors." Penguin growled, not even bothering to look up to see his visitors because during the last two hours he had stopped allowing his companions to enter the intensive care unit to see their boss, every five minutes someone would come begging him to let him visit Law.
"I know," Shachi said before clearing his throat to get the other man's attention, but it didn't work. "It's not for me." He pointed out emphatically.
"I want to see Law." Nami moaned determinedly, she had a concrete head, when she wanted something nothing could stop her from having it.
"You," Penguin stammered, his eyes hidden under the shadow of his hat were wide when he saw the visitor, he knew that Nami was an important person to his boss and if he didn't let her see him, it would be against Law's will. "I allow you to see him because you haven't yet, unlike the idiots who are waiting outside." He resumed with a serious tone, becoming the cold doctor again.
From the room they were in, there was direct access to resuscitation, tears flowed more and more upon seeing Law through the glass, his body was strapped to several devices that monitored his vital signs, his mouth and nose was covered by a mask that supplied oxygen to his lungs, it was weird to see him in that weak state, Nami could feel that the man's olive skin was cold without even touching it because its shine was gone, she wanted to stroke him and tell him that she was by his side, she wanted to see his golden eyes again and hear his voice.
Nami swore to herself that if Law didn't die, she would be nicer to him and she wouldn't try to oppose him anymore, she would be faithful for the first time in her life, because he was the person who had managed to make her mature in no time and he changed her mind, seeing the surgeon of death on the verge of death, Nami had received a strong slap on the cheek, she realized the cruelty of the world in which she lived, in the past, she had never been emotionally attached to someone, except her family of course, that's why, she hadn't felt any pain when someone in her gang died or got hurt, which was something usual for her, but now she realized that she could not live like this anymore because she would be upset if something bad happened to her new companions because of her attachment to them.
If an opportunity presents itself for Nami in the future, she will leave the crime world and return home to live a normal life, she knew that Nojiko was going to forgive her if she repented for real, besides, there is no longer Arlong in Cocoyashi and his mansion was burnt down after his death, luckily he had not bequeathed his property to Doflamingo, otherwise the mafia will remain in her native village.
But if she go home, she was going to have to leave Law, just thinking about it made her heart sank in her chest, she didn't understand why she felt bad about being away from him, was it just the attachment she felt for him or was it something she didn't want to admit even to herself, she wondered why there was Law in the peaceful life she dreamed of having?
Nami started to stroke the glass imagining it was Law, she didn't know how long she had been looking at him, all she knew was that Shachi and Penguin left her alone to give her some privacy, which was much better because she could cry without stifling her sobs from shame, she had forgotten when was the last time she had so cried, and even after releasing her sadness, the pain in her chest didn't want to shrink, the fear of losing Law was making her very upset.
When she heard the door open, Nami brushed off the tears that were flowing from her eyes quickly with her fingers and she took a deep breath to control the sadness that overflowed her heart, waiting to see Penguin or Shachi, Nami was surprised to see a young woman with short brown hair and glowing black eyes, watering tears and sniffing every two seconds as she wiped her runny nose with a tissue, a deep frown formed on Nami's face as she questioned herself about the identity of the unknown woman who seemed to be very close to Law, the redhead started making a guess list in her mind which didn't last long as the realization hit her, the unknown woman had to be Law's girlfriend, there was no explanation other than this.
Nami gritted her teeth as she felt her chest fill with a mixture of emotions, she was swimming in an ocean of sadness, hit by a wave of frustration and swept away in a whirlwind of anger as she choked with fear, she continued to stare dangerously at the woman who was focused on Law and wondered why she was so touched after finding out that Law had a girlfriend?
"Because he forgot to mention he has a girlfriend." Nami spat in her thoughts, Law had flirted with her lately and she even thought he had feelings for her, while he, he was in a relationship and god knows if there won't be other women who will come and cry for him.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting." Penguin apologized as he entered the room, attracting the attention of the two women.
"How is he?" The unknown woman asked as she continued to cry.
"Good," He replied with a voice filled with a reassuring false tone. "We are waiting for him to wake up."
"He's my only family," The woman said keeping her eyes on Law, Nami's eyes widened at hearing this. "Can I stay with him indoors? I want to be by his side when he wakes up."
"I can't refuse your request ..."
Nami hurried out because she couldn't bear to hear one more word, so Law had a wife not a girlfriend, the unknown woman had said he was her only family and from Penguin's response, it had to be true, the redhead wondered how she had never seen the woman before, she had a good memory and if she had seen her face before, she will remember without a doubt, a strong exhale came out of her nose as she analyzed the situation and after a few seconds, she deduced that the brown-haired woman probably lived in a peaceful town house away from her husband's criminal affairs, so that she would be protected and no one would know of her existence.
Nami made the floor shake as she walked through the halls, she felt stupid to have cried all the tears in her body for a lying man, she even grieved for him when he didn't deserve it, at that moment Nami felt betrayed and she was very offended because of it, she had believed that Law deserved a place in her heart and that he was unlike anyone she had met before in her miserable life, but unfortunately she had to relearn the lesson she had learned years ago, you should never trust someone because you always end up being betrayed.
Nami was for the first time in her life jealous of another woman, because of this, she had totally forgotten that Law was between life and death, now she was anxiously waiting for him to wake up to send him another time into a much deeper coma and he will never wake up again, she will make him pay for every drop of the tear she shed for him.
"Nami!" Luffy called as he walked out of a room to her left.
She stopped and forced her crumpled face into a polite expression.
"How are you? I heard you got hurt too." She said as she remembered what Shachi had told her after seeing the bondages around the shoulder of the man in the straw hat.
"It's just a scratch," He declared, raising his arm in the air to make his point, but the grimace on his face showed how painful the gesture was for him. "How is Torao? It's been over an hour since I sent Zoro to see him but he hasn't come back, he's probably lost as usual."
"He is still sleeping." Nami shrugged as her bad mood returned.
"Are you not with him?" Luffy asked, feeling a little surprised at the woman's cold reaction.
"I was," Nami growled a little loudly because her voice echoed in the hallway. "I left him with his wife because at times like this he needs to be with the people he loves." She continued after managing to control her voice.
"I didn't know Torao is married," He hissed with a surprised expression on his face. "I thought it was you he loved."
"Hn!" She exclaimed, closing the gap between her and the man, trapping him in the threatening aura she exuded. "What makes you say that?"
"It is," Luffy stammered, realizing he had blundered. "On the day of the party, everyone noticed how he was with you, he stood by your side leaving no man near you." He informed her because he had no choice when he saw her shoot him daggers with her chocolate brown eyes.
"It was comedy, he's with his wife right now," Nami hissed, uttering every word in hatred. "I have to admit he deserves an Oscar." She said to herself as she made her way back to her bedroom, turning her back to Luffy.
Nami gritted her teeth as she remembered the party, as Luffy had said, Law had been with her all evening and he had shown several signs of jealousy when another man tried to seduce her, he even knocked down Sanji, one of Luffy's men, purposely pushing him away from her, which almost started a fight if Zoro hadn't intervened by calling his mate's attention by insulting him, apparently the two men don't get along much, there was also the story of Shachi, since she had told Law that the red-haired man had been amazed to see her in her white dress, fireworks had exploded in the golden eyes of the surgeon of death and since that moment, he had treated his subordinate coldly for the rest of the evening, which was proof of his blatant jealousy, so why had he done all this while he was engaging with another?
Law had shown repeatedly that he was possessive of Nami, he had even literally declared it, then, he had started showing other feelings, like attachment and gentleness, she wasn't the only one who noticed this, Ikkaku had done it too, the other woman was encouraging her to have a romantic relationship with her boss, remembering this, Nami felt betrayed even more, if Law was married, his subordinates probably knew, which meant Ikkaku was pushing her to be Law's mistress.
Nami squealed as she tried to calm the volcano that was about to explode inside her, walking towards her bedroom as that was the only place she could be alone to think.