Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon…but I wish I did…coz then Tai'd be all mine…=)
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The doorbell rings.
"I'll get it," Joe calls from the kitchen.
"Hey Joe," comes a voice.
"Hey buggie!" Joe greets. "Come in." Joe's oldest brother, Schuu, walks over to us. Sora and I stand up.
"Hello Schuu," I say as I bow.
"Hey Kari!" he replies cheerfully. "Hey Sora! It's great to see you." Sora smiles warmly, "It's good to see you too."
"So, where's Tai?" Schuu asks, looking towards the bedroom.
"Right in front of you," Sora answers, looking down at the couch where Tai lay sleeping.
"Oh ok," Schuu says, following Sora's gaze. "So, we go now? The car's just in the carpark next to this building."
I nod. "Let's go." I kneel down next to Tai.
"Tai? C'mon, wake up Tai." I call, gently shaking his shoulder. Tai mutters something, before slowly opening his eyes. His eyes flicker towards me.
"Hi Kari," he mumbles, his words slurring slightly.
"C'mon Tai, let's get you up," I say to him as I place my arm behind his shoulders and help him to sit up. Sora grasps his left wrist, places his arm across her shoulders and lifts him onto his feet. Tai cries out in pain as his right arm touches the armrest. I lift his right arm and place it tenderly across my shoulders, placing a cushion on the front of my right shoulder to gently rest Tai's injured arm upon it. Tai cringes at the contact. Joe and his brother go to the front door and open it as Sora and I help Tai to walk out the door. Tai surprisingly walks there with little help from us. We slip on our shoes, and leave.
"So what's going on Joe?" Schuu asks quietly. Joe sighs deeply.
"I'm not entirely sure myself buggie," Joe replies. "This has become more and more complicated. Basically, Takeru Takashi, Yamato Ishida's brother, collapsed and became seriously ill around two weeks ago, and since then things have spiralled down. T.K nearly died, Kari collapsed after overdosing on expired medication, Matt overdosed on drugs, Tai slashed his arm after falling into depression after thinking Matt had died, and Kari's coughing up blood." A guilty feeling settled in my stomach as Joe finished the sentence. Sora pushes the button for the elevator. "Sora and Kari went to the hospital this morning to see T.K, and he woke. They also found Matt alive in the emergency ward. They returned with the good news, only to find Tai nearly drowning himself in the bathroom. When drying him off, I saw blood seeping through the bandage, and getting darker. That's when we found out it was bleeding badly. So now we're on our way to the hospital, and that's basically all." Joe finished. He'd been speaking rather quietly, trying to keep his conversation between him and Schuu. Tai's heavy breathing and occasional moan had silenced it from his ears, but I heard every word. The guilty feeling squirms around in my stomach. A 'ping' noise tells us we're on the ground floor. The doors open, and we walk towards the exit. The glass doors slide open. The sun shines merrily upon the landscape. The many windows on the tall buildings mirror the sunlight and reflect it down onto the roads and footpaths. I raise my hand to shield the light. It blinded me.
"You guys wait here and I'll get the car," Schuu tells us, as he jogs towards the carpark. A few scattered people walk by on the other side of the road. I watch them; wondering, wondering what the rest of my friends are doing. Wondering what's happening in the Digital World. Wondering what my parents are doing. Wondering…
"C'mon Kari," Sora's voice echoes around me, "let's get Tai in the car." I abandon my train of thought, and focus back on the cute yellow Volkswagen Beetle parked in front of me. Joe opens the front passenger side door and moves the seat forward for the three of us to hop in the back. Sora, Tai and I walk towards the car.
"I'll hop in first," I say to Sora, "and sit behind the driver. You hop in the middle, and Tai'll hop in behind the passenger side. He can lie on our laps if he can't sit up." Sora nods. I slowly and carefully lift Tai's arm off my shoulder and gently lower it back down. I quickly jump in the car and climb over to the driver's side of the back. Joe helps Tai keep his balance as Sora jumps in and sits in the middle. Joe then helps Tai lower himself into the back seat- trying to keep his right arm as still as possible. Tai swings his legs into the car and immediately falls onto Sora's shoulder. Sora sighs and helps him lie down. Joe fixes the passenger chair, hops in and closes the door. Tai lies his head on my lap and winces as the car begins to move.
"Shhh," I whisper, soothing his soft fringe out of his eyes, "It's ok. You'll be fine." I smile warmly, trying to ease his pain and troubles. I inhale deeply, enjoying the smell of fresh flowers, which were in a vase in the front of the car. My chest begins to feel heavy, (no…please…not now…) and I start to cough. Joe swivels around in his seat and Sora places her hand on my back. My head pounds as my chest tightens. My coughing becomes more painful as a warm liquid seeps into my mouth. Sora rubs my back as a single drop of blood appears on my hand. I cough once more, and blood trickles from my mouth. My head burns as I tremble with exhaustion. Joe's brother looks in the rear-vision mirror, and sees the blood dripping from my mouth.
"Are you ok?" he asks, alarmed.
"Do you have any tissues?" Sora asks as I attempt to swallow the blood in my mouth.
"Yeh…yeh in the pocket behind Joe," he replies shakily, turning his vision back to the road. Sora forages around in the pocket, before pulling out a box of tissues.
"Kari?" Tai asks as Sora wipes the blood off my hands.
"Yes Tai?" I answer breathlessly, trying to prevent any blood falling onto Tai.
"Are you ok?" he slowly asks, watching a drop of blood hang precariously off my lip.
"Don't worry," I answer, catching the drop of blood as it fell. "I'm fine." A dull pain throbs in my forehead.
"You lie," he replies, staring at me with a suspicious look. I look away.
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NeXt ChApTeR uP soon! =)