Chapter four

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"He appears to have a mandible fracture on the left side, multiple contusions and abrasions, his urine is nearly pure blood, several fingers were crushed, but …I don't see evidence of a cranium fracture…however, there may be some brain damage. He was deprived of oxygen for quite some time, I'm amazed he's still alive…"

What did he say?

"Someone needs to call the authorities, sir! No child deserves this, it's clearly abuse!"

Oh no…. no, no, no, no, NO! I didn't DO anything, honest!

"It's been taken care of."

But…

"So what will happen to the rest of the foster children? Were they hurt too?"

"No, I think the only one injured by the foster mother was the boy…the girls were in perfect condition when I looked at them."

Lucky bitches.

"Look! He's awake!"

Damn right, lady. Gods, my head is spinning…I can't see who or what's in front of me. Three nurses and twelve doctors? No, I must be seeing things…

"Hey hon, you had a terrible accident! But don't worry, you're safe now."

I don't like the baby talk this woman is using. "Why…" the woman and the doctor move closer to hear my voice because I can barely whisper, "Why am I still alive!"

Shocked, the woman takes a step back. The man adjusts his glasses like my question is something he hears every day.

"…Why?" I close my eyes. I can feel them, the sticky-hot liquid fire burning my throat and threatening to spill from tear ducts…no, not now. I won't cry over this. I won't friggin cry over something like this!

"What's your name, son?"

I glare at the doctor. "Don't call me 'son'."

"Sorry…what is your name, SIR?"

"Mitsuru."

"Last name?"

Why should I tell you anything? "Don't have one." Sucker.

"Everyone has one. Now tell me yours."

"I. Don't. Have. A. Last. Name!"

"That's okay, sweetie, you can tell him when you're ready."—Okay, this woman-nurse is REALLY testing my nerves.

"Why cant I move?"

More stares. "Y-you had an accident… and that's how you were injured."

Duh. These people must think they're talking to a two-year-old. "I know that. I mean why can't I feel my fingers? Why can't I open my mouth very wide? What's wrong with my vision? AND WHY IS IT SO COLD IN HERE!"

The doctor shakes his head. "Don't do that. Yell, I mean. Your jawbone is broken, you'll make it worse. You can't feel your fingers because the surgeons had to reconstruct some of the bones and cast them. Your vision will be fine in a few hours; you're just a little woozy from the blood loss. And hospitals are supposed to be cold, it's the law."

He laughs and pulls another blanket over me. The nurse checks her clipboard thing a few times then leaves shortly after the doctor.

I wonder what dad would do if he saw me like this. If he were to walk bye and look into my window, see my bleeding body stuck with tubes, covered with gauze and tape, …would he recognize me?

I look at the dust-covered TV in the corner. A pathetic looking Mitsuru stares back from the gray-brown glass. His eyes burn holes into mine as we both remember what happened.

Darley…

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I hate to admit it, but I am now officially afraid of humanity. And I don't like the smell here. Old people…creepy. All the chemicals, all the artificial lights, the noise of my pacemaker… it's almost too much. The only good thing is the food. It's cafeteria stuff, but god, it's cooked. That's all that matters. It's cooked and I love it.

I keep staring out my window into the hallway, half expecting Mother to come in and take me back to our dusty little living space. Come on, mom. I'm here. I'm alive. I won't cause any more trouble. Please…

"Whatcha lookin' at, kiddo?"

Crap. It's three o'clock, time for my psycho-therapist's half-hour of annoyance. "I was watching a kid eat some kind of candy. He's got some in his hair, too. It's nasty."

"Oh yeah, you're right. That is rather disturbing…" He sits down in a chair across the room and smiles at me. "How ya been?"

"People keep sticking needles into me. How do you think I've been?"

"Haha, point taken, point taken." I hate this guy. "Mitsuru, I need you to be serious now. You need to tell me what you remember before Ms. Darley tried to drown you. Can you do that?"

I can, but I won't. Here comes my best glare-stare-silent-act game…

"Well?"

"…"

"Mitsuru?"

"…"

"I know this is hard,… I know it's painful too, but you need to try."

Go get me some lunch. I'll eat it in front of you, pretending to think, and when you ask me again I'll tell you to screw yourself.

The nurse comes in. "Sorry Dr. Grays, but it's time for Mitsuru's medication. You'll need to leave…"

"Alright kiddo, I'll let you sleep on that. You can answer me tomorrow."

….and he's gone. I look at the nurse, waiting for her to stick me with some kind of needle or give me a few pills.

"What? …Oh! No, no, it's not really time for your meds, sweetie. I just noticed the tension flooding from your room and I decided to kick Grays out. Was that wrong of me…?"

I give her a slight smile. "Feel free to do it again. That guy has something seriously wrong with him."

She smiles sweetly. "Agreed."

AN: Sorry I didn't get to update sooner, I was having a bad month.

This chapter is dedicated to one of my dearest friends who was actually the inspiration for the story in the first place. I'm so glad I had the pleasure of knowing him even though he was rude and almost mean for the majority of our friendship. May he rest in peace…

Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter:

Saiyuki-Lvr

sorakeyblader03

psychedelic aya

Crazy Tengu

and Dancer122!

I love reading your reviews; they really cheer me up.

To anyone else who reads this, I thank you also for clicking the link, reading through the chapters…and thinking about reviewing? Oh wait, you're reviewing right now, aren't you? (say yes) Thanks! It really means a lot!

(as always, please forgive any errors, I will fix them right away.)