I didn't know what they were doing with him at the hospital, and didn't want to. We just sat in one of the waiting rooms, silent as they worked on him or whatever. I'd say more about what they were doing if I knew. That was one of the worst times that I have ever known, those few hours when we didn't talk. And after they did whatever they did to help him someone came in to tell us that he was doing okay and said that we could come in and see him, even though he wasn't conscious. And so we did that and walked into the room. Upon seeing him my stomach flipped. Saphrin began to cry again and Amber just looked overly worried. He wore an oxygen mask and breathed slowly. His skin was still very pale and sickly looking.
None of us looked to his wrists and made a special effort to keep our gaze away from them. The guilt I felt as I sat there, seeing him so weak, was overwhelming. But at the same time I knew that we all blamed ourselves. It was my fault for not being quicker and Amber's fault for ripping off Saphrin's shirt and Saph's fault for yelling at him and for listening to Paul. And poor Scott…he was stuck in the middle of all of this. And he turned out to be the one hurt most by it all when it wasn't his fault at all.
Again we sat in silence, this time with him, though, so it wasn't as bad. It felt better. After a long time Saphrin finally stood. She placed a hand on his and gently slid her ring onto his little finger; his own ring was worn right beside it.
"I'll be back in a little while," she whispered. She leaned over him and placed a kiss on his cheek. When she stood back up she looked down at him for a moment, twirling her fingers in his red hair. I saw her crying again. Then she looked up at me. "Kane," she said. Her voice was strong now. "I need you to bring me back to the hotel…there's business I must tend to." I recognized the repetition of what I had said earlier that evening.
"For what?" I asked her. Her face darkened.
"That isn't important now," she said bluntly. She straightened herself and put her jacket on, which she'd thrown over the back of a chair. I nodded and began to walk out of the room. Amber informed us that she'd stay with him while we were gone. Leaving the hospital was the best and worst thing to happen. It felt so good to be out of there and in fresh air but terrible and guilt ridden to leave him there. We were like magnets almost.
We climbed into the car and I started it. She was very solemn as I pulled out of the parking lot and also as we drove to the hotel. In the short few months I'd known her I'd seen her like this. I knew that she was planning something. It was the expression in her eyes. They were cold and fixed on nothing. She was somewhere else. And her muscles just barely flexed.
She had a tendency to do this before promos. Just thinking and planning on what to say and how to say it. What to do and how to do it. But right then I didn't have the heart to ask when she was thinking about. We drove in silence. My eyes locked on the road except for a few occasional glances to her. At red lights and stop signs I would look over to see her moving her fingers just slightly, then curling them into a fist only to let go and do it again. I didn't understand and couldn't tell what she was doing.
The moment I had parked she stepped out of the car and began to walk away. I got out after her and walked quickly to keep up with her as she crossed the parking garage and pushed open the metal door. She frightened me doing this. She walked with a purpose as if she were out to kill. But I followed her nonetheless.
Through the lobby she walked straight to the elevator. Conveniently no one was in it so they wouldn't have to see her like this as well. She stood right in the middle, hands and her sides. If I hadn't just gotten in beside her she may have gone without me. In fact I don't think she even saw me. She still wasn't herself. She was somewhere else. Her eyes were locked on nothing.
"What's wrong?" I asked her. She slowly turned her head to look at me. Her gaze seemed to pass through me.
"Absolutely nothing," she said monotonously. For a moment her eyes came into focus and she looked at me, but then just turned her head back to the doors of the elevator. A few seconds later it opened. She stepped out, me following, and made her way down the hallway. This confused me completely as I had no idea where she was going now. And she was walking so fast, never breaking into a run. Sometimes, not just then, either, keeping up with her was intoxicating. She was an exciting person. And right now I was literally trying to keep up with her when normally I just meant that in terms of keeping a conversation.
Finally she stopped and turned to one of the doors. With the side of a fist she pounded on it, then took a step sideways as not to be seen through the peephole. I did the same. When I heard a high pitched whine asking who was there my blood ran cold. But then I looked at her, and knowing Saphrin I had to grin.
The door opened and Paul stepped outside. She glared at him, letting him see her. He smiled and looked at us and asked what he could do for us. He began to say something about Amber being a prostitute but was cut off by a fist hitting him in the mouth. I knew then why Saphrin had been clenching her fists in the car. And I smiled, taking a step back from her and not bothering to break up what I witnessed.
She punched him hard in the face again. "You fat fuck!" she screamed, and kicked him between the legs. His face turned bright red as he fell over, falling down to his hands and knees. She kicked him in the ribs now. He let out a cry. I burst into laughter when I saw him there. And she kept going. She kicked him in the face. And then again and again. That was when my smile faded, when I saw that this wasn't comical at all. That she meant what she was doing and was taking out all of her aggression on him.
I couldn't see his expression. All I saw was her repeatedly bringing her boot up to his face, and then the blood that came on the toe of her boot and the blood that splattered down onto the carpet. But then she reached down and grabbed him by the hair, pulling him up so that he looked at her. I shuddered. His face was swollen, misshapen and just red. Blood everywhere. When he opened his mouth to let out a cry I saw that teeth were broken. One was missing.
She punched him in the face again, making a sickening splatter sound. And again and again she punched him. Blood covered her hand and even splashed onto her shirt and a little on her face. When I saw the blood on her face I also saw her expression. Total hate in her face, in her eyes. But she was crying. There were tears running down her face. And I understood her for once. That enigma that I'd always seen her as, that intoxicating feeling that I got from her, that mystery…through it all I never really understood her. But now I did.
She dropped him and kicked him again in the ribs. After a few moments of this she dropped to her knees and did as good of a hammerlock as she could considering his…size. He wailed. When she stood she looked up for a moment and I before going back to him I saw her eyes lock on something. She stepped over him and made her way into the room, moments later coming back into the hall and holding a glass lamp with a metal base. She held it by the metal part and smashed the glass over his shoulder. The shatter was beautiful. She threw the metal down so that it hit his back. When he moved she kicked him once more in the head. And that was when he blacked out.
With the back of her hand she wiped blood off of her face. And then she sighed and looked at me. "Let's go get Raven his glasses," she said, as if nothing had happened.
"Alright," I said to her.
"He'll want them…" she said softly, and walked off calmly to the elevator.