The Blind Leading the Blonde
By Ruki Minamoto
Disclaimer: I Don't Own Digimon.
Chapter 4: The Betrayal
Tai moved into the doorway of his little sister's room and looked at her sadly. It was his fault. He had promised her, so many years ago, that he would protect her, but he had failed. She had still been injured in that fire…he could protect her from Myotismon, the Dark Masters and Apocalymon, but a fire could hurt her so badly…
Kari looked up from her Dictaphone and pressed stop. She had been recording her diary, like she did every night.
"I know you're there, Tai," she said. Tai was shaken from his world where he was the sole person to blame.
"How did you know?" Tai asked quietly.
"I would have to be blind and deaf not to be able to tell when my older brother's in the doorway." Kari said with a smile.
Tai nodded sadly.
"I suppose…"
Kari climbed to her feet and reached for her cane. She unfolded it and Tai moved out of the doorway to let Kari past.
"I'm going over to TK's…is that okay?" she asked.
Tai nodded.
"Of course…do you want a lift?"
Kari shook her head.
"Nah, I'll be alright."
"But what if you get hit by a car or something?" Tai cried. "What if someone mugs you?"
"Tai!" Kari snapped as she turned to Tai. "I'll be fine. I'm not an invalid just because I'm
blind. I know this town inside out!"
Tai nodded and watched as Kari left.
"I suppose," he said again.
TK sat in the living room, holding the syringe in his hands.
He didn't know what to do. He had managed a week, but he was already suffering heavy withdrawal. Just yesterday, he had yelled at Mimi for no reason at all. All she had been trying to do was get him caught up in math, but he had pushed her away.
TK covered his eyes as tears fell down his cheeks. It was too hard. He wished he hadn't done this. Four years…and it was only now he was feeling the burden of this.
"You were right, Kari, you were right!" TK sobbed relentlessly into his knees. "I'm a jerk!"
The doorbell rang and TK sat the syringe, without thinking, on the couch beside him.
He ran to the door and opened it.
"Kari!" he exclaimed happily. Kari smiled and hit him lightly around the ankles with her cane. TK laughed and suddenly the whole drug problem was forgotten. "Come in, come in."
Kari let TK lead her through the house into the living room. He sat down on the couch and Kari sat down beside her. Kari jumped up suddenly and rubbed her bottom.
"Ow…" Kari mumbled. TK looked at her worriedly.
"What is it, Kari?" he asked her. Kari felt on the couch until her hand met with the plunger of the syringe. Her eyes filled with horror as she picked it up. She ran her hand along it, but didn't touch the needle. She turned her eyes to TK. She stared at him with disbelief.
"I don't believe it…what is this, TK?"
"A…uh…syringe." TK answered nervously.
"I know that!" Kari cried as she felt hot tears in her eyes. "I don't believe you! TK, be honest, what is in that syringe?"
TK mumbled the answer quietly, and Kari looked at him in horror.
"You're doing drugs? This whole time, you've been doing drugs? TK, you are the greatest low-life I've ever met! I don't believe the nerve of you! Don't you know what can happen when you use drugs? If you get a bad batch, you can end up with brain damage, or even blind! Don't you see how hard it is?" Kari was in hysterics now.
"Kari!" TK cried. "It isn't what you think! I've been off the drugs for a week now!"
"A week?" Kari cried. "I can't stand it when people who are perfectly healthy abuse their bodies like that! When were you planning on telling me? Or were you going to keep it a secret forever? Doing drugs is so dangerous, TK. You could've gotten something! What about dirty needles? Hepatitis B, TK!"
"I…I…I…" TK began, but Kari refused to listen. She unfolded her cane and threw the syringe hard at the wall.
"Don't justify it, TK." Kari whispered. "You were the whole world to me, TK. You were my eyes when I couldn't see, as Celine Dion put it, but you've been stabbing me in the back all this time. Thanks, TK. Thanks for taking the rest of my world away."
Kari began to leave, using her cane. As she closed the door, she decided to slam it.
TK fell onto the floor and began to cry heavily.
He realized what he had to do.
TK sat in the room silently. He was on one of those bed things that people would lie on while a psychiatrist would ask them how they felt about that.
The man walked inside and shook TK's hand.
"Hello. My name's Dr Hiroshi Saito, but you can call me Hiroshi. Now, I understand that you've got a problem?"
TK nodded and curled into a ball.
"I've been doing drugs for four years, since I was twelve. I was living in New York City
when it began. I was living with my single mother, while my father and brother were here.
So were most of my friends.
"I was going out with this great girl. She loved me, and it was meant to be, for sure. But then, she left me. It all fell apart, but that isn't all. Just after she left me, mum got sick.
She had breast cancer, and it looked like she would die. Somehow, she survived, but I had to stay strong for her, and I couldn't do it alone.
"So I turned to drugs for the answer." TK finished. "I've tried to give up, with now my most recent attempt, but it's just too hard."
"Why did you decide to come here and see me?" Hiroshi asked.
TK looked out the window and drew in a deep breath.
"My girlfriend found a syringe." TK told him. "My girlfriend is blind. You may know her. She was in the headlines apparently. Her name's Kari and we fought when I first came here, but she forgave me when I helped her through something hard. Now, she said that I've taken away her world or something like that. I love her so much, and now she's gone!"
Hiroshi nodded and put down his pad.
"We can help you. If you go to see a doctor, you don't have to do it alone, then we can help you to give the drugs up."
"It isn't too late?" TK asked, looking up to meet Hiroshi's eyes. The man nodded.
"It's never too late."
And suddenly, TK had new hope for winning Kari back.