I Will Carry You
The doctor explained that the reason that FD was unconscious because of the heat from the springs and a disturbance of migraines. But the bleeding was a mystery. The doctors spoke of it being a minor bleed from the inside due to an injury, that it was minor and nothing could be done, but Mystel, who was hiding in the shadows in the windows, didn't trust that assurance in his gut.
FD was being tested on by the doctors for any other sign of illness, so she would stay there for a week. But what surprised Mystel was that she had not come to even when they stuck several needles in her arm. For Mystel, he would be kicking and screaming until they let him out. He had only been to the doctors once before, and that was enough. He never wanted to see another needle again. But he couldn't help but watch them take blood and put morphine in her arms. It was nasty.
Mystel left the hospital late that night, tired, and his muscles ached from hanging in the windows. He returned to the BEGA building quickly, trying to keep this little episode to himself, but it was hard, seeing how Garland was all up on him. Mystel, though, kept it a secret from everyone of what happened. Yet someone found out….
Mystel was at the hospital the next day, visiting FD. He was walking down the pale and undeterred halls, passing rooms of patients and doctors. There was this one room with glass walls instead of concrete, and that was the room FD was in. But to his surprise, he found a quiet little red head at her bedside, reading a very large book to a slumbering girl.
" '…Clarice held out her hand in order to take the file as the men tried to pull her away. Hannibal Lecter reached out to her, and she gripped the file from him, her eyes widened while her chest throbbed with fear as the ex-psychiatrist and serial killer stroked her finger briefly. The men carried her away, and then Lecter called out suddenly, 'Brave Clarice, you will let me know when the lambs stop crying, won't you?….' "
"Brooklyn, what are you doing here!" Mystel cried. The redhead looked up at the blond with an innocent smile.
"Visiting FD. Is that a problem?" he asked.
"No, but how did you find out?" Mystel asked.
"Like I've said before, I have my sources," Brooklyn teased. He placed the book down on the stand and stood up. He stroked away a few wondering strands from her face and smiled at Mystel.
"She and I have become really close. Not as close as you two, but…" he let his sentence wonder. Mystel knew what he was going to say. Brooklyn was totally flirting with her. What an ass!
Mystel would have lunged at him if he hadn't noticed the book. He picked it up and stared at it for a long time. The title was "Silence of the Lambs." Mystel looked down at the slumbering girl and then back at the book. There was a laminated card sticking out from the center of the book where she had last read.
"It's the book she's been reading for a month now. She's very fond of the actual movie, but never read the book, so she started. She's gotten as far off as into the middle, but never got any farther. I was called here just to visit her, but her father was here before me, reading the book to her. He's not really pleased with the chosen book, but she loves it, so they read it," Brooklyn explained.
Mystel looked at Brooklyn, then at FD. "Has she woken up at all?"
"Just briefly, like for fifteen minutes. It was right after her dad left to go get something to drink. I was just sitting there, reading the book, when she spoke to me. She insisted I read the book to her, and so I did," Brooklyn explained. Suddenly, Mystel heard a soft moan, and he looked down into the bed. FD was stirring, but moaning, like as if she was in pain. Her hand moved up to her forward, and she moaned sadly.
"Oh…my head…" she moaned. "…Hurts…"
At that moment, a doctor came in and rushed them both out, yelling at them for being in the room after visiting hours. Mystel groaned. He didn't have one minute alone with her, and now they were shooing him out. That wasn't fair. But when he gained a cold look from Brooklyn, he obeyed. Mystel left the room and walked down the hall, but then noticed that Brooklyn wasn't following.
"What's your deal!" Mystel asked.
"Your girlfriend's bulimic and you don't even care," Brooklyn spoke.
"What!" Mystel asked.
"Bulimic. She's seriously ill, Mystel. The migraines are signs from it. She fainted in the hot spring because of low blood sugar and a clot caused from it! Rika has an eating disorder, and you didn't even notice it!" Brooklyn yelled.
"An eating disorder? But…but…" Mystel was stunned. "I didn't even notice. The doctors didn't say anything about that."
"They did this morning when she coughed up blood. Mystel, Rika is very sick. She's not going to be leaving the hospital any time soon. They need to help her destroy that habit, the one killing her. I can't just stand here and watch this all happen, can you?" Brooklyn asked. Mystel shook his head. He was scared now. He didn't even notice it, and now he was being informed about it now. She was in the hospital, for Christ's sake!
"I…I don't know what to do now, Brooklyn. This…this is confusing. I'm guessing you have other explanations!" Mystel snapped. Brooklyn was taken aback by this, but recovered quickly.
"Yes, I do. Your girlfriend isn't happy, Mystel. She's stressed out. She told me so herself. Her father expects her to be perfect, to get the best grades, be in perfect shape, and be perfectly healthy. While at school, she's class president, everyone depends on her to help them, to pull them through in difficult trials. She's on the cheerleading squad and band site, plus her art and swimming classes, her position on the school editor. It's stressful to her. To top it off, she hasn't gotten any word from her mother. She's so upset and stressed out. The only thing she can control is her eating habits, and she killed them. Mystel, in my personal opinion, she needs to drop a few things. Maybe even her relationship until she can get her life back together," Brooklyn explained. Mystel was shocked by this, but he looked down in agreement. As much as he hated to admit it, Brooklyn was right. FD needed to drop a few things of her life, possibly including him. Yet another question ached in his mind.
"Brooklyn! Do you…do you have affections for her?" Mystel asked. Brooklyn looked at him for awhile, then smiled.
"Yes, Mystel, I do, but not in the way you think," he said slyly and then walked off. What did he mean by that?
FD was in the hospital for about three weeks, each day Mystel going to visit her, and after those three weeks, she was released. She would be later found at either the river or the beach, thinking, drawing, or reading. Several times Mystel found her alone with Brooklyn, but there was no sign of anything intimate. At least, not yet. He still questioned Brooklyn, hoping deeply that it wouldn't go down the wrong path, but over the next couple of days, FD had been acting really strange. Whenever Mystel came up to her room to see her, she wouldn't even look at him. She would be lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling, and wouldn't even say hi to him. Trust it, it hurt to know that. Especially from his own girlfriend. But it wasn't going to end any time soon. When Mystel returned to the BEGA building every night, it felt like something was missing. Something inside that was killing him.
"Mystel, did you talk it out with FD today?" asked a voice. Mystel looked up to see the red head boy looking down, his turquoise eyes sparkling. He shook his head.
"She wouldn't even look at me. Am I nothing to her now?" Mystel asked. Brooklyn looked at him, and then looked away. He closed his eyes behind his mask, and he saw crimson. Why'd he see crimson? He knew that color well from the posters in FD's room and her artwork. Was it because he's seen so much of it?
"Mystel, I'm telling you. I think you need to talk to her. Get her to say something to you. This girl is holding in many emotions. She holds anymore in, I'm afraid she'll become even more sicker than she already is," Brooklyn warned. "Try checking out her school. It's right down the street from her home. See how she acts at school."
Mystel hated to admit it, but that wasn't a bad idea.
Mystel hid inside the trees along the school. It was actually quite a large school, a large, three story building with a huge parking lot filled with all kinds of cars, and a rather large bus parked against the wall. Mystel watched carefully, hoping to see FD walk by. And sure enough, as he jumped to the next branch over that was leaning over the wall, he saw a beautiful, young girl walk into the parking lot, her black hair pulled up into a rather long ponytail. Her cold eyes stared ahead, while her school uniform (which really caught Mystel's attention) swayed around her. A plaid, quilt pattern skirt with a polo white shirt under a maroon vest. She held her books up to her chest as if she was hiding something.
She approached a group of girls crowding around a small door on the side, and the girls looked up at her, smiling in a mean way.
"Well, if it isn't Miss Drama!" teased one of them, a girl with dark skin and curly brown hair in a bun. "What are you gonna do today! Fake a faint?"
FD ignored her, but then a girl with the longest black hair ever seen came up behind her, and pushed her hard onto the ground. This caught Mystel off guard. He gripped the branch and would've jumped from there to defend her if he didn't see what happened next. FD got back up from the ground, no tears in her eyes, no pain, and no emotion. Her face was blank, even when she picked up her books, and the girls around her were mocking and making fun of her.
"I bet your momma left because you were so dramatic she couldn't take it!" teased another girl with braces and long black hair, but hers were curly. FD ignored her.
"Yeah, and Todd'll expel her from the Drama Club because he can't take her!" another teased. FD didn't respond to it.
Mystel gritted his teeth in anger. How dare they…! Then a boy came up to them, a tall boy, with sleeked back blond hair and solid blue eyes. Mystel was amazed how handsome he was, and all the girls looked up at him. He had a real affect on them.
"Why don't you guys leave Rika alone, huh?" he demanded.
"Rika? Don't you mean F-Dork, Lars?" one girl joked.
"Or I can tell Sergeant about your little fiasco with Kirosho, nay, Loa?" the boy asked. The girl shut up. Then she signaled the others to follow her away from them. Mystel was happy that guy stood up for FD, but why?
"Thanks, Lars, but I can take care of myself," FD snapped softly.
"I know, but I didn't like how that scene looked. Listen, seeing as how I saved you, how about you save me from being alone this Friday?" he offered. Weird pick up line, but catchy. Why didn't Mystel use it? But then reality snapped back to him, and he realized what that jerk was doing. He was hitting on his girl!
"Sorry, Lars, but I've already got plans with someone else," she said. "And he just happens to be my boyfriend."
The boy's face turned an automatic red, and then he walked away in embarrassment. Mystel smiled at this. What an idiot. Of course, a girl like her would have a boyfriend. A girl that beautiful…, charming…, nice…, clever…, and artistic…and…and….Mystel couldn't take it anymore. He wanted to go down there and embrace her. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her. But he had to focus on what his goal was. Watch how she acts at school.. See if she really is holding everything in. So far, it sure looked like it.
The school bell rang and all the children went inside. As soon as he made sure the coast was clear, Mystel jumped from the branches and landed perfectly on the asphalt. He was surprised by how many kids went there. There weren't that many. In fact, this school was a private school that took in all ages, but taught some of the older kids college classes. There weren't that many kids that went here. Only seventy or so, but not much compared to most schools. Mystel looked up at the building. He saw FD go climb the set of stairs outside that went up to all floors. There was a rather large, but rusty door at the top that he saw her go through. That must have been where her class was.
Mystel jumped up and landed on the banister of the stairway. He then jumped and leaped onto the top step, and looked at the door. He gripped the hot metal handle and pulled, but it was hard to pull it open. What the…? Mystel looked up and saw the windows aligned. Perfect. He leaped up and gripped the drainage on the edge of the roof. He hissed out of pain and gripped his hand, the metal of it searing hot. How was he going to get up there? He already had a blister on his palm from it. Crimson red.
He sighed reluctantly. Then he gripped the white hem of his clothing and tore it gently. Then he tore it two and wrapped the separate pieces around his hands. He had to be quick, now. With how hot the metal was, the cloth would be burned through real fast. He jumped up again and clenched the metal edge of the drainage with much caution. Quickly, and with great pace, he pulled himself up and onto the tiled roof. He sighed with relief, rubbing his hands in a caressing way, and took a deep breath. He knew spying on her would get him in so much trouble, but he had to prove Brooklyn's theory wrong. He didn't want to break up with FD. She's the first girl he ever felt this way about. But if she was holding everything in, than she had to ease her life. And that included getting rid of him.
He just wanted her to be happy. Was that really so wrong? He sighed, then thought of how he was going to do this. How was he going to get inside the building and watch her? He knew the windows would be helpful, but how will he get a chance to look into them without burning his flesh to black ashes? Damn, this was as confusing as a jigsaw puzzle.
Mystel then saw it. A pipe on the drainage that was soaked with water. He cautionally touched it, and sighed. It wasn't hot. Actually, it was really cool, thanks to the water. He could use that. He gripped the edge of the pipe and leaned over the side of the roof. He was right under a window. This was just too perfect. He could watch FD and not be seen. Most people can't handle hanging upside down, but he could, and for a long period of time, too.
He hung over the side of the edge, and looked straight into the window. He saw FD sitting at her desk with a computer really close the window. But her eyes were so focused on her screen that she didn't even notice him. Next to her was another girl he recognized in the group, but she didn't do anything. This girl was rather pretty, the ends of her short brown and black hair curled and her bangs combed to the side to cover her left eye. She looked like one of the actresses from some old American sixties movie. The girl looked over FD's shoulder, and then smiled.
"FD, you should stop that. You work too hard on everything else, you don't focus on your real work," she said. FD looked up at her, and then smiled.
"Hush you," she said playfully, pushing the girl softly on the hair. The girl laughed, and then wacked the back of FD's hand with her pencil. This girl seemed really nice. Next to FD was another girl that Mystel thought was even more pretty, her short brown hair curled perfectly and her dazzling brown eyes flickering softly. She watched the two of them play.
"Stop it, FD. You, too, Angy-chan," she demanded.
"Come on, Sarah, we're just having fun," Angy-chan said. Then, when FD looked at Sarah, Angy-chan lunged at her from behind and caught her in a friendly embrace around the neck. "This chick works so hard, she doesn't have time for her own life."
"That's true!" Sarah laughed. Mystel watched the three of them fool around, smiling at how happy she seemed. Wait, was that an act? Like Brooklyn? Was she just acting it out to make it seem like she's a happy and healthy girl? He really hoped not. But what was he to do if it was an act?
Mystel watched her class carefully, but mostly watched her. He was really relieved no one had noticed him yet. Especially FD. What would she do if she saw him? Yell? Scream? He didn't know. And he didn't want to find out. He watched her for three hours, the class getting a ten-minute break every hour because of working on the computers for so long. Then their lunch came. The whole class left for their lunch, all except FD. She was still at her computer, working.
A young girl with really short and curly black hair came up to her, her dark skin being shined on by the sunlight. This girl Mystel heard FD call her Tiffy-chan earlier during one of their breaks when she went over to talk to her. FD hadn't smiled much that day besides when she played with Sarah and Angy-chan. She seemed really sad and solemn lately. Poor girl.
"FD, you have to come out and have lunch," Tiffy-chan spoke. FD looked up at her, and then shook her head.
"I can't, Tiff. I've got so much work to do, plus the band is expecting me to top the D-minor before this weekend. I have to master that pyramid formation by this Thursday, then I have a meet coming up, and another person from the museum wants to see another piece. The newspaper crew is putting me through so much, I just don't have time for eating anymore," FD spoke.
What! Not eating is what got you in that condition! It's what got you in the hospital! Mystel kept yelling in his head. He couldn't take this anymore.
"But you have to eat. Phys. Ed. is up next, and the last time you didn't eat before it, you fainted right in Amber's arms," Tiffy-chan spoke. "You have to at least eat something."
"No, I don't want to. I want to get all my work done first. Once it's done, then I can eat," FD spoke. Mystel gripped the pipe he was holding on to even tighter. Brooklyn was right. She was killing herself. But what could he do about this? There was nothing he could do.
"What's the real reason you don't want to eat, Rika? Is it because of cheerleading? Or something else? I heard that you have a new boyfriend. Is he putting you through this? Is he making it seem that you're not perfect for him?" Tiffy-chan asked. Yeah, that blew Mystel out of the water. Her? Not perfect for him? She was perfect! More than perfect! He would never put her through something like that!
Then what was the real reason? He wanted to figure it out.
