Hope Lost
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A/N: This will probably be the last update until Saturday, as I have to get ready for the PSAT.
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Chapter 3: Confusion and Sorrow!
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I woke up in a hospital room. The curtain was open, and light entered the tiny room. Ulrich was sitting in the corner of the room, his face tear-streaked. Even though he was hunched over, I could tell that he had been crying. Did he like me? Why should he pick me over the other girls?
"Ulrich?" I asked weakly, and tried to move my arm. This action caused a large stab of pain. I involuntarily let out a gasp.
I saw Ulrich walk up to me, sitting down on the bed.
"Hey, Yumi." He said, hiccupping slightly. I saw a few scratch marks on his arms, as well as a couple of bruises.
"What happened, Ulrich? What's wrong?" I asked.
"It's... it's your father. He thought I did this to you, and we got into a rather large fight. I... I went a little overboard. He's alive, but barely." Ulrich said, sobbing. He knew that, no matter what I said, I loved my parents. I guess that he was feeling guilty.
I tried to move a little to hug him, but couldn't. When I tried to move nearly any part of my body, there was a sharp burst of pain. Apparently the attackers had done more damage than I expected.
Suddenly, I heard a loud commotion in the emergency hallway. There were the sounds of people dashing around, trying to find something that sounded important.
"Ulrich? Can you check what's going on outside?" I asked weakly.
"Sure, Yumi." Ulrich replied, walking over to the door to my room. He made it so that I could see the people running around.
They were talking about a patient, a male. Apparently, he had been taken in for a rather severe wound. Hang on, didn't Ulrich say that he had hurt Father? Could it be? I felt tears trickling down my cheeks as I realized the reality of what Ulrich had done. He put his life and freedom on the line? Why?
"Why?" I gasped out, as sobs racked my body. I felt my ribs aching, but it didn't matter to me. All I knew was that Ulrich had hurt, possibly even killed, my father. I pushed myself carefully out of the bed, but Ulrich told me that I should stay there because I had a lot of broken bones. Sighing, I decided to listen to him.
A doctor barged into the room, telling me to stay on the bed as well. He then shooed Ulrich out the door, and proceeded to check if my physical exertion caused any problems, but it didn't. Leaving the room, he dropped what looked like keys. Ulrich then reentered the room, but I turned away. I wanted to make my disappointment in him clear, but I didn't expect his reaction. He slumped over, crying.
"Please, Yumi. Please don't be angry at me. He attacked first. It seems that he thinks I'm responsible for the situation on Lyoko..." Ulrich said, tears leaking down his cheeks.
"Ulrich, I'm sorry. But I can't betray my parent's trust. How can I? Wouldn't you do anything for your parents? I hope you understand. I can't stay as a member of the fight against X.A.N.A. if it means losing my parents' trust. I'm leaving." I said, and hit the button to call a nurse.
When the nurse came, I told her to evict Ulrich and not let him back in. The nurse followed my request to the letter, and I sighed. Did I do the right thing? I know for certain that I upset Ulrich greatly. But did I do what I wanted to do, or what my father wanted me to do? Worst of all, did I just sacrifice Ulrich, as well as the entire human race, to death?
The next few days were painful. I was refusing to eat. Mother asked if I was feeling all right. I wanted to tell her I wasn't. But how could I bother my mother with my problems when Father was nearly dead? And worse, I couldn't tell her that it was my fault. If she knew that I was hurt because I had foolishly wandered into the ghettoes, she would blame me. And while that would take the blame off Ulrich, I would never be trusted to be on my own again. And I may as well just give up school, because my parents would force me to be home-schooled.
When I was released, my mother let me take an extra day off to rest. While I didn't want to stay, I stayed anyway. I wanted to apologize to Ulrich, but I didn't. I was afraid of what I would see. What if I saw Ulrich going out with Sissy? Or Millie? I wasn't prepared for such a heartbreak. So I stayed home. Maybe if I hadn't, things would have turned out differently.
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A/N: I hope this chapter wasn't too boring, but this isn't an action fic.
Trillinka, I'm sorry that things aren't going well in this fic so far. However, I wrote the story in a manner that it isn't practical to go into a romance at this point. If I did that, it would seem a little unrealistic. So, I apologize, but you'll have to put up with the angst for a few more chapters. Then, it will be a gradual wind-down that will eventually end the story, possibly leading into a sequel. But I promise a few YxU scenes other than the lunch room scene and the start of this chapter before the sequel.
To all the reviewers so far, I thank you for the reviews. However, I would like some reviews pointing out any negative points you saw, ranging from a misuse of a word to putting someone OOC, or even just a part you didn't like. So far, I only know what my audience likes in a story. However, I don't know what you don't like, so I can't try any variations in chapter structure.