AN: I admit it. I'm a liar. I said I would type up this chapter since 2 years ago, but it's about 3 years later until I update… sigh. Since I can't reply to the reviews that are three years old (or less) on the fanfiction either, I'll reply to the reviews directly. Anyways, to those who are still reading it, here's the next chapter. Sorry for the very long wait!
Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblades, MacDonalds, and the movie, "Agent Cody Banks" and the Beyblade characters except for my own. Chicken wings don't fly, but with umbrellas they do!
'Thoughts'
"Speaking"
-----Time change-----
Running Out of Time
Chapter 4: Disappearing Act
The next morning, the sunlight shone through the curtains of Mariah's room. But it wasn't the sun that woke Mariah up; it was the knocking at the door.
"Come in!"
The door handle turned and in came Ray with a bouquet of flowers, a MacDonald's bag, and a movie.
"Ohayo Mariah-chan!"
"Ohayo Ray-kun! Where is everyone else? I thought they would be with you."
"Well, Tyson is still snoring his head off, Max went for his morning jog for some air, if you know what I mean. Kenny and Dizzi are testing some new launchers they created, and Kai is looking for some hot pepper to get Tyson to wake up just as I left. By the way, these flowers are for you, and I rented Agent Cody Banks so we could watch it together."
"The roses are beautiful! Arigato Ray! Hilary Duff is one of my favourite actors in that movie!" Mariah smiled.
"I knew that, so I rented it out for you. Want to start watching it right now?"
"Sure!"
Ray inserted the video into the VCR and as the video was going through the previews, Ray took out two breakfast burritos, and two steaming cups of coffee, handing one to Mariah. She cuddled up to Ray as the movie began and Ray placed an arm around her. Throughout the movie, Ray commented on Frankie Muniz's martial arts moves, and Mariah laughed at the humorous parts. As the credits rolled at the end of the movie, there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" Mariah asked.
"It's Max, Emily, Tyson, and Kai." Max's voice answered.
"I'll get the door." Ray got off the bed and turned the doorknob.
"So that's where you've been all this time! Cooped up with Maria for about three hours! We thought you were being considerate, buying the groceries for me so I wouldn't have to go! Ow!" Tyson teased, then winced in pain when Kai smacked Tyson on the head.
"It was you who said it." Kai said with a huff. "Don't drag me into your stupid thoughts."
"Why would he do that anyways? It's your turn this week. Anyways, he would rather be with Mariah than look at leeks. Right Ray?" Max looked at him, and Ray smiled and gave he thumbs-up sign.
"Wah! Mariah-chan! How are you doing? Are you getting better? Max told me all about it! The Dark Vipers are so evil, trying to kill you! How could they do that to you and Ray?" Emily was hugging Mariah as she was saying this.
"I'm doing okay. Just felt a little abdominal pain then. But otherwise, I'm fine."
"A little abdominal pain?" Ray rushed over. "Does it hurt a lot? I'll get the nurse."
"No need to worry. It's gone now."
"It might come back. I'll get the nurse anyways."
"Ray is fussing over Mariah like a mother hen and her chick. Isn't that sweet Maxie?" Emily sighed as she took hold of Max's hand. The couple that she was referring to blushed.
"Well, Max and you make such a cute couple." Mariah replied. This time, the other couple's cheeks turned pink.
"Ack! This is getting too mushy for me! I'm going to excuse myself to get some Dill Pickle Chips." Tyson left the room.
"I'll wait outside." Kai also left and he shut the door behind him.
"We should get going too. Everyone's planning to go Edo Amusement Park. Do you want to come along?" Max asked.
"Sure. Just give me a few minutes."
"Okay. Get well soon Mariah-chan!" Emily hugged her once more and the couple walked out of the room.
"I'll get the nurse." Ray pressed a cube-shaped button near Mariah's bed.
"Yes?" The speaker cracked into life, and a voice was heard.
"Hi, I would like a nurse in room 209 please." Ray spoke into it.
"A nurse will be there in about seven minutes."
"Okay, thanks." He released the pressure from the button. Ray sat upon the bed again, and beckoned Mariah to place her head on his lap.
"So, what should I do now Mommy?" Mariah teased.
"Well, first off, you will need lots of rest. Second, you need this." Ray leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "My grandmother once told me that for every kiss you place on someone, it has to be sealed with a promise or a wish. So my first promise is to be with you as long as I live." He then gave Mariah a kiss on the cheek. "My wish to you is that you will heal quickly." Finally, he placed a chaste kiss on her lips. He was about to speak when he was cut off by three sharp knocks of the door. The knob turned and a different nurse walked in.
"The nurse at the desk said that there was a cal from here." She explained. "Anything wrong?"
"Just a little abdominal pain, that's all. But a certain someone thought it was serious." Mariah smiled at Ray, who put his right arm behind his head embarrassingly.
"Hey, I'm just looking out for you."
The nurse chuckled. "Let me get it checked for you."
"Okay." Mariah replied.
"I should get going. You know how Tyson is when he's not eating." Ray rolled his eyes as Mariah laughed. As the laughter subsided, she remembered something.
"Oh yeah, what was that third wish you were going to tell me?
"I'll tell you when you're out of the hospital."
"Pinky promise?"
"Of course." He clasped his pinky finger with hers. "Now you get better."
She nodded and with a final wave, he left. The nurse waited for them to finish and when Ray walked out of the room, she smiled at Mariah. "Now, tell me where the abdominal pain is."
-----
Ray got home at around eight o'clock. The amusement park was fun, but he felt that it wasn't as great without Mariah there to enjoy it also. He dropped the house keys on the table, and noticed a note from his mother.
'My friends and I have gone out to play mah-jong and won't be back until midnight. Your supper of spaghetti and meatballs is in the fridge. Put in the microwave on high for three minutes. Love you!
Mom'
He went to the fridge, took out the spaghetti and meatballs and went to microwave it. While it was heating up, he went over to the answering machine to see if there were any messages. A monotone voice spoke as he pressed the button.
"You have one new message." With that, clicks were heard and the message was played.
"This is Dr. Evans from Urmeshi Hospital calling to tell you that Mariah has been moved to another hospital. It seems that the pain was from the stitches last night. They have come open so we have to do an operation on her. Unfortunately, our technology is not state of the art, so as said before, she has been moved. Please come talk to me later. Thank-you. Goodbye." The message ended.
'I knew something was wrong with that pain!' Ray thought to himself. 'I need to find out where the hospital is.' The microwave dinged and he placed the contents into a plastic container to take on the go. With that, he took the house keys and rushed to the hospital.
-----
Out of breath twenty minutes later, he told the receptionist that he wanted to speak with the doctor.
"He'll be out shortly," she replied. "Please wait."
"Thanks."
Ray paced around the floor until Dr. Evans came out to him.
"What can I do for you son?" Dr. Evans asked when he walked up to Ray.
"I got a message from you on my answering machine saying that Mariah got transferred to another hospital. I was wondering which hospital it is."
The doctor stared at him blankly.
"What message? I didn't make a phone call to you regarding about Mariah at all."
"What?"
"In fact, she was in her room when I last checked on her about forty-five minutes ago."
"That's weird…"Ray commented.
"Would you like to come along? I'm making my hourly rounds right now."
"Sure."
They headed off to Mariah's room, Ray's heart racing madly. 'If he didn't leave the message, who did? I hope she's alright.'
When the doctor opened the door to the room, both gasped. Ray dropped his container to the floor with a resounding clack.
The wind blew hard on the curtains, which were covering the wide-open window. Upon the bed was a white envelope with Ray's name on it, her hair ribbon lying on top of it.
There was no one else.
Dr. Evans quickly pressed the emergency button in the room. "Call security immediately! A patient has gone missing!"
Ray stood there unmoving, pale as death, mouth agape.
The wind continued to blow.
-----
Translations:
Ohayo: Good morning
Arigato(u): Thanks
AN: Five pages! Uwah! Read and Review! Until next time, ja ne!