Lightning-Dono: Chapter 4 was kind of hard for me to write because I don't know anyone with a drinking problem and I've never seen what's happened to them. ;; This chapter might be a bit easier because...I dunno. I just get a feeling. Besides, I like the idea of shedding light on Rick's personality. I'm tired of people dissing Rick, so maybe this fic will get them to like him better...Hopefully.
This chapter is kind of short because I have ideas for the chapters ahead and not this one.
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"B-But I promised her that I would stay here and keep her company!" I sputtered, knowing that I sounded whiny and terrified.
"I'm sorry, but you must leave. You've given her the comfort that she needs for now, but she must go through this on her own. It's the rules that the room must be isolated during surgical processes. How would we know if you're not carrying a disease or something?"
"...Please, can't you bend the rules...Just this once?" I beseeched.
"Young man, if I bent the rules for everyone if they begged me to, there wouldn't be any rules to reinforce. Now shoo!" He made a shooing motion with his hand, smothered them with soap and washed them thoroughly, casting me an expectant look over his shoulder.
"Fine." I got up stiffly, squeezed Karen's hand one last time and exited the room.
"Rick, what happened?" Tim asked. He was one of the doctors and most of the time, he tended to be quite emotionless and dutiful.
"I was...kicked out," I said, trying to keep calm.
"Ah. The rules. I see. Well, you best be going home now. Can't let your mom worry about you staying up late," he smiled, showing me out the door. I frowned back at him and walked out onto the desolate road. There were no cars on this island, so it was very quiet at night. I kicked up the dirt on the road angrily as I walked back home, hands in my pockets and eyes glued onto the ground. Just because they had some inane rule about not being able to stay in there while they did surgery I had to break my promise to Karen. What would she think of me now? She certainly was short-fused and wouldn't take it too well if she had discovered that I had just begged once to stay and had given up on it.
When I got home, my mom was sitting in her favorite rocking chair and looking back at me through her bright brown eyes.
"How was it, Rick?" She asked like a child would. But her voice was filled with concern. I stopped acting manly right then as I remembered how exasperated that surgeon had as he had told me to leave, how rude he was about the promise I had made. I ran up to my mom and hugged her. She nearly fell backwards on the rocking chair in surprise.
"What happened?"
"They wouldn't let me stay with her! Karen...She was so happy when I talked to her before they made her go to sleep. It was like she was finally going to find a cure for it all. And part of her happiness was because I promised I would stay and over-see her surgery and keep her company...But now I can't!" I sobbed unshamefully into her shoulder. She hugged me back and kissed me on the cheek as she would when I was younger.
"She's going to be okay, Rick...Only a week...That's what they said on the phone call...You'll be able to see her tomorrow, but she has to stay in the hospital for a week for the tissue to heal in."
"Mom, what if it doesn't work?"
"Oh, Rick, don't be so pessimistic! They've done this tons of times before and it's worked everytime! It won't be any different with Karen." Instantly, I felt my pulse drop back to normal and I started to feel a lot better about the days ahead.
"I wish Popuri were here," I said, comforted.
"She'll be back. I don't know where she is, but I know she'll come back sometime. Besides, that girl can't live for a long time without her mother. She'll be back before you know it."
I laughed.
"I love you, Mom."
"You too, Rick." She flattened my hair and planted a kiss there. "Now get to bed before something else happens!"
The thing that my mom would never understand was that it was hard to get back to sleep when it was three o'clock in the morning and you were scared and excited about something.
Over breakfast the following morning, mom was smiling.
"Your worries are over, Rick! The doctors called in this morning to report that Karen is in perfect condition and she'll be out in a few days!" She was eating some scrambled eggs. I smiled back and sprinkled some salt onto my scrambled eggs carefully.
"That's good news. I'll go see her today." I didn't know what to expect from Karen. A slap or a smile. She was an unpredicatable person.
"Yes, and before you go, feed the chickens and run over to Barley's."
"Why?"
"He wanted to know if he could come here today and take a look at the chickens. Wanted to see if he could buy some for his family for eggs."
"Sure."
Once again, while I was feeding the chickens, Jack stopped by.
"Hey, Rick! What's crackin'?" He said, trying to sound as laid-back and cool as possible. I raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing much," I replied, still staring at him as though he had been walking around in a pink tutu.
"What? You don't like my new style of talking?" He sounded offended, but I had to tell the truth.
"It's just not...you."
"Oh, fine. Well, I got you something today, too." He searched his Rucksack a bit and pulled out a jar of honey.
"Jack, why-"
"Just take it. It's for your mom. It might make her better." He shrugged, shoving it into my face. "It's the least I can do for her."
"Huh. Well, I don't have time to talk now," I said, sprinkling the rest of the grain into the chicken coop. The chickens scurried excitedly to the pile of grain and started pecking at it. "Look, I have to go, okay?"
Jack nodded and ran off towards the beach.
"Got some fishing to do!" He shouted vivasciously, grinning at me. I waved to him, tossed the empty grain sack onto the ground, and walked towards the Cow and Sheep Farm. Otherwise known as Barley's place.
As I approached the house, I was knocked over by a strong scent of cow dung.
"They could really use some cleaning up," I muttered, shaking my head. The cows mooed contentedly at me and continued to chew.
I strode in through the open door and saw Barley standing behind the counter, counting his money with a thrilled look in his eyes.
"Uh, Barley?" I said, breaking in through his personal little holiday.
"Oh, yes? May I help you?" He shoved the money back into the cash register and smiled innocently at me.
"My mom says it's okay that you check out some chickens at our farm today," I told him in a business-like manner.
"I'll get over there in a bit. But first, I need to count the gold!"
I shrugged and walked back out, forcing myself not to breathe as I speed-walked away from the farm.
Finally, I arrived at the hospital, panting. I had ran there, relying purely on the vain hopes that Karen wouldn't be too mad.
"What took you so long?" She inquired, patting the seat next to her. She was sitting in the empty lobby, somewhat slumped over.
"I had to do some things before I got here."
"Well, I want a word with you. Sit down." She indicated the seat once again. I sat down, resisting the urge to bite my nails in nervousness. /Here it comes,/ I thought.
"Why didn't you stay with me yesterday?" She asked forcefully.
"The doctors wouldn't let me stay. They say they can't bend any rules just because I made a promise."
"Tch. Why listen to them? Like I've been meaning to say, and this appies for everyone, no one directs your life but yourself. The most they could do to you would be to maybe call home and tell your mom or something."
I knew Karen would say that. She always told me that there was no fun in anything if there wasn't a risk to follow. But I never believed in that because I always thought that the only things that were worth doing were the ones that I couldn't harm others in. Besides, I wasn't the troublemaker I had always seen my friends to be. It was like I was in my own little world while they followed the crowd with everyone else and ended up being naughty and getting in trouble all the time. Looking at me was like taking a look at their future 60-year old selves.
"I don't think-,"
"Don't give me that 'You're not worth my getting into trouble' trash. If you mom reprimands you, it won't be something too harsh. She's a kind woman."
"What I was going to say is that I don't think that getting into trouble is...Forget it."
"I'm not going to forget it, Rick."
"You wouldn't understand!" I burst out. Elli turned her head towards us from behind the reception counter. Anna, who had just walked in, glanced at us, probably thinking about what an odd couple we were. I sighed and lowered my voice.
"You've always been a happy-go-lucky person. Never had a care in the world. You'd go along and do anything you wanted because your parents don't look out for you as much or care about what you're doing. But my mom cares. And I care. I don't want to grow up to be some person that gets thrown in jail at the age of twenty for nicking a crate of imported wine." I hadn't meant it to sound quite so offensive, but it came out that way.
Karen gave me a look that made me feel like she were burning holes through me.
"Are you saying that that's what you imagine I'm going to do when I get older?" She whispered dangerously.
"Look, Karen, I don't want to argue about something so stupid all over again-,"
"Rick...Do you know what? I don't care. When I first met you as a little kid, I thought you were way too nice for your own good. And too serious. You really need to lighten up."
"Being nice is-,"
"I don't give a-,"
Elli advanced upon us and grabbed us both by the shoulders.
"Why don't you two take this outside?" She suggested.
"I don't think I'll be going." Karen sat still in the chair, not looking at me. I wondered exactly what I had done wrong.
"Well...See you tomorrow."
No reply.
Getting home was boring. I didn't want to think about what had happened at the hospital, because it plagued me with a constant feeling distress every time I thought about it.
I knocked on the door to me house and felt the door knob turn roughly. Strange. Maybe mom had taken some muscle building programs? Or maybe it was Kai. Great.
"Rick! Great to see you, son!"
It was my dad.
This chapter is kind of short because I have ideas for the chapters ahead and not this one.
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"B-But I promised her that I would stay here and keep her company!" I sputtered, knowing that I sounded whiny and terrified.
"I'm sorry, but you must leave. You've given her the comfort that she needs for now, but she must go through this on her own. It's the rules that the room must be isolated during surgical processes. How would we know if you're not carrying a disease or something?"
"...Please, can't you bend the rules...Just this once?" I beseeched.
"Young man, if I bent the rules for everyone if they begged me to, there wouldn't be any rules to reinforce. Now shoo!" He made a shooing motion with his hand, smothered them with soap and washed them thoroughly, casting me an expectant look over his shoulder.
"Fine." I got up stiffly, squeezed Karen's hand one last time and exited the room.
"Rick, what happened?" Tim asked. He was one of the doctors and most of the time, he tended to be quite emotionless and dutiful.
"I was...kicked out," I said, trying to keep calm.
"Ah. The rules. I see. Well, you best be going home now. Can't let your mom worry about you staying up late," he smiled, showing me out the door. I frowned back at him and walked out onto the desolate road. There were no cars on this island, so it was very quiet at night. I kicked up the dirt on the road angrily as I walked back home, hands in my pockets and eyes glued onto the ground. Just because they had some inane rule about not being able to stay in there while they did surgery I had to break my promise to Karen. What would she think of me now? She certainly was short-fused and wouldn't take it too well if she had discovered that I had just begged once to stay and had given up on it.
When I got home, my mom was sitting in her favorite rocking chair and looking back at me through her bright brown eyes.
"How was it, Rick?" She asked like a child would. But her voice was filled with concern. I stopped acting manly right then as I remembered how exasperated that surgeon had as he had told me to leave, how rude he was about the promise I had made. I ran up to my mom and hugged her. She nearly fell backwards on the rocking chair in surprise.
"What happened?"
"They wouldn't let me stay with her! Karen...She was so happy when I talked to her before they made her go to sleep. It was like she was finally going to find a cure for it all. And part of her happiness was because I promised I would stay and over-see her surgery and keep her company...But now I can't!" I sobbed unshamefully into her shoulder. She hugged me back and kissed me on the cheek as she would when I was younger.
"She's going to be okay, Rick...Only a week...That's what they said on the phone call...You'll be able to see her tomorrow, but she has to stay in the hospital for a week for the tissue to heal in."
"Mom, what if it doesn't work?"
"Oh, Rick, don't be so pessimistic! They've done this tons of times before and it's worked everytime! It won't be any different with Karen." Instantly, I felt my pulse drop back to normal and I started to feel a lot better about the days ahead.
"I wish Popuri were here," I said, comforted.
"She'll be back. I don't know where she is, but I know she'll come back sometime. Besides, that girl can't live for a long time without her mother. She'll be back before you know it."
I laughed.
"I love you, Mom."
"You too, Rick." She flattened my hair and planted a kiss there. "Now get to bed before something else happens!"
The thing that my mom would never understand was that it was hard to get back to sleep when it was three o'clock in the morning and you were scared and excited about something.
Over breakfast the following morning, mom was smiling.
"Your worries are over, Rick! The doctors called in this morning to report that Karen is in perfect condition and she'll be out in a few days!" She was eating some scrambled eggs. I smiled back and sprinkled some salt onto my scrambled eggs carefully.
"That's good news. I'll go see her today." I didn't know what to expect from Karen. A slap or a smile. She was an unpredicatable person.
"Yes, and before you go, feed the chickens and run over to Barley's."
"Why?"
"He wanted to know if he could come here today and take a look at the chickens. Wanted to see if he could buy some for his family for eggs."
"Sure."
Once again, while I was feeding the chickens, Jack stopped by.
"Hey, Rick! What's crackin'?" He said, trying to sound as laid-back and cool as possible. I raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing much," I replied, still staring at him as though he had been walking around in a pink tutu.
"What? You don't like my new style of talking?" He sounded offended, but I had to tell the truth.
"It's just not...you."
"Oh, fine. Well, I got you something today, too." He searched his Rucksack a bit and pulled out a jar of honey.
"Jack, why-"
"Just take it. It's for your mom. It might make her better." He shrugged, shoving it into my face. "It's the least I can do for her."
"Huh. Well, I don't have time to talk now," I said, sprinkling the rest of the grain into the chicken coop. The chickens scurried excitedly to the pile of grain and started pecking at it. "Look, I have to go, okay?"
Jack nodded and ran off towards the beach.
"Got some fishing to do!" He shouted vivasciously, grinning at me. I waved to him, tossed the empty grain sack onto the ground, and walked towards the Cow and Sheep Farm. Otherwise known as Barley's place.
As I approached the house, I was knocked over by a strong scent of cow dung.
"They could really use some cleaning up," I muttered, shaking my head. The cows mooed contentedly at me and continued to chew.
I strode in through the open door and saw Barley standing behind the counter, counting his money with a thrilled look in his eyes.
"Uh, Barley?" I said, breaking in through his personal little holiday.
"Oh, yes? May I help you?" He shoved the money back into the cash register and smiled innocently at me.
"My mom says it's okay that you check out some chickens at our farm today," I told him in a business-like manner.
"I'll get over there in a bit. But first, I need to count the gold!"
I shrugged and walked back out, forcing myself not to breathe as I speed-walked away from the farm.
Finally, I arrived at the hospital, panting. I had ran there, relying purely on the vain hopes that Karen wouldn't be too mad.
"What took you so long?" She inquired, patting the seat next to her. She was sitting in the empty lobby, somewhat slumped over.
"I had to do some things before I got here."
"Well, I want a word with you. Sit down." She indicated the seat once again. I sat down, resisting the urge to bite my nails in nervousness. /Here it comes,/ I thought.
"Why didn't you stay with me yesterday?" She asked forcefully.
"The doctors wouldn't let me stay. They say they can't bend any rules just because I made a promise."
"Tch. Why listen to them? Like I've been meaning to say, and this appies for everyone, no one directs your life but yourself. The most they could do to you would be to maybe call home and tell your mom or something."
I knew Karen would say that. She always told me that there was no fun in anything if there wasn't a risk to follow. But I never believed in that because I always thought that the only things that were worth doing were the ones that I couldn't harm others in. Besides, I wasn't the troublemaker I had always seen my friends to be. It was like I was in my own little world while they followed the crowd with everyone else and ended up being naughty and getting in trouble all the time. Looking at me was like taking a look at their future 60-year old selves.
"I don't think-,"
"Don't give me that 'You're not worth my getting into trouble' trash. If you mom reprimands you, it won't be something too harsh. She's a kind woman."
"What I was going to say is that I don't think that getting into trouble is...Forget it."
"I'm not going to forget it, Rick."
"You wouldn't understand!" I burst out. Elli turned her head towards us from behind the reception counter. Anna, who had just walked in, glanced at us, probably thinking about what an odd couple we were. I sighed and lowered my voice.
"You've always been a happy-go-lucky person. Never had a care in the world. You'd go along and do anything you wanted because your parents don't look out for you as much or care about what you're doing. But my mom cares. And I care. I don't want to grow up to be some person that gets thrown in jail at the age of twenty for nicking a crate of imported wine." I hadn't meant it to sound quite so offensive, but it came out that way.
Karen gave me a look that made me feel like she were burning holes through me.
"Are you saying that that's what you imagine I'm going to do when I get older?" She whispered dangerously.
"Look, Karen, I don't want to argue about something so stupid all over again-,"
"Rick...Do you know what? I don't care. When I first met you as a little kid, I thought you were way too nice for your own good. And too serious. You really need to lighten up."
"Being nice is-,"
"I don't give a-,"
Elli advanced upon us and grabbed us both by the shoulders.
"Why don't you two take this outside?" She suggested.
"I don't think I'll be going." Karen sat still in the chair, not looking at me. I wondered exactly what I had done wrong.
"Well...See you tomorrow."
No reply.
Getting home was boring. I didn't want to think about what had happened at the hospital, because it plagued me with a constant feeling distress every time I thought about it.
I knocked on the door to me house and felt the door knob turn roughly. Strange. Maybe mom had taken some muscle building programs? Or maybe it was Kai. Great.
"Rick! Great to see you, son!"
It was my dad.