This is a lot shorter than I intended and it did not go the way I thought it would either. At this point in my life nothing ever does though so why do I even bother anymore? LOL. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and has read this craziness I call a story. XD I'm so sorry if you guys ever have "WTF?!" moments in here. Please let me know if you any of you do, because any feedback usually helps me out in some way. XD I was going to have it split perspectives midway through this chapter, but, I think I'll save that for the next installment. ;) So, for now, enjoy this update and have a lovely time, wherever you are in the world. Stay safe, happy, and healthy everyone! Much love! 3
Chapter Eleven: In the Heat of Battle
Kai charges up to me the moment he finds me sitting in the waiting room. He looks just as worried as I do. That face brings forth a question... Just who is, or was, papa to him? He seems to hold something for him, but I'm not sure exactly what.
"I got your text." Kai says, sitting down in the chair next to me.
I tuck my phone away, peering up at him briefly before looking up at the clock on the far wall. The hands of it are moving much slower than usual, at least to me. I'm unsure how long I've been here, it's many hours at least considering all is quiet now but the sooner papa wakes up, the better. Kai gets up to talk to the exhausted looking receptionist behind the front desk about something I don't care to hear. I pick up something along the lines of a question but after that, the local weather captures and keeps my attention.
Kai comes back over to me and sits back down. "I've got it set up so that, depending on his condition, you can stay the night here. You'll get some room to breathe, think properly."
That wording sends my mind into an assortment of random directions and I look at him before going back to the speckled tiles of the floor. As the nightly staff gradually come and go, my mind finally lands on something tangible and I shift in my hard plastic seat, making it squeak.
"What did you mean by, raised?" I ask, the last word coming out slowly, my voice doing somewhat of a mumbly thing.
Kai clears his throat, nervousness written all over his being. With a deep breath, he says, "I..."
I wait patiently, picking up that this isn't easy for him. Just then, a doctor approaches us, distracting me. Out of my peripheral I notice that Kai looks rather relieved, that's kinda odd. I turn my attention back onto the man in the baby blue scrubs with matching hat. He has on a white surgical mask and long gloves to match.
"Hello, I'm Sergei Petrov, this hospital's head doctor. Just call me Spencer if you can't say Sergei."
The ash blonde, broadly built man, who clearly isn't Japanese, looks down at me with a warm smile. His bright blue eyes speak of some sort of news while his body is stiff, acting like a brick wall. His actual name sounds somewhere along the lines of Russian-Bulgarian. He's about Kai's height but it seems he could beat him in arm wrestling easily. Like with Kai, I get military vibes from this guy. And with that, I start to sweat. I will do no smart-mouthing here, that's for sure.
"Hello, Dr. Spencer." I extend my hand to him as I speak, and he gingerly takes it. As we shake hands I add, "It's nice to meet you. Any news on my dad?"
The doctor looks at Kai, wide-eyed and certainly baffled. That's the funniest face I've ever seen, but I refrain from laughing.
Turning back to me, the calm doctor says, "He's out of surgery."
I grin, relieved, but the doctor makes my smile smaller, then eventually it fades.
"However, he's not out of the woods yet. You won't be able to see him for at least a few days. Maybe a week or two."
"What?! Why not? Can I stay the night with him still?" I say, not thinking anymore. I'm scared, just like I was the moment I found him.
The doctor shakes his head no, feeling bad that he's hurt me more. "He's in the Intensive Care Unit, otherwise known as the ICU-"
"I know what it is!" I snap, royally pissed.
"Gou!" Kai growls out.
Kai pops me in the mouth with the back of his left hand, leaving room for the doctor to elaborate further. Meanwhile, I'm left rubbing my stinging and swelling lips.
"You can't see him because he's not Stable, he's in Critical condition."
"Define Critical." Kai says, though he seems to be kindly demanding the information, if that's possible.
"Internal bleeding, his left hip is shattered, possible head trauma including but not limited to a concussion, and horrid external wounds. We'll discover more as time goes by. How's that for a definition?"
Kai nods, gulping down his emotions. He then speaks to the one called Spencer in a dialect I'm unfamiliar with before telling the man thank you in English. The doctor turns and walks off, presumably going to do more of his job. Before I can react to any of the goings-on, I'm ushered out to the Visitors' parking lot, and into Kai's car. His doors are motion censored, meaning they automatically open and close, leaving no room for me to run off. Deep down, I don't want to though. Truthfully, I'm tired of fighting, I just want things to be normal again. I want things the way they were before this year began.
The car comes to a soft stop and Kai leads me inside, oh-so-familiar terrains under my feet. We take off our shoes and I trudge tiredly up the longer looking steps to my bedroom, the journey arduous. All of me feels like a lead weight. I immediately face-plant into my cold bed and press my head into the pillow. Traces of papa's cologne shroud me in comfort, hugging my nostrils. I relax into to the nice scent of Tino Cosma, and in a matter of milliseconds, I'm sound asleep. The fragrance notes of it lull me into varying stages of calm, keeping me still. The ever-changing smells that surround me are: Bergamot, Calabrian citrus, Lavender, Russian sage, Brazilian nutmeg, Galbanum, Balsam, Mysore sandalwood, Ylang-ylang, and Virginia cedar.
The following morning, I wake to the smell of bacon and waffles. It's been a good few weeks since I've had that amazing combination. As soon as I sit up, still in my clothes from the prior day, I'm coughing my lungs out. I hack into my trash can a few times and then once I'm steady I head downstairs. Besides my arms and thinner physique, my complexion has become paler to the point most think I'm seriously ill, and I have trouble breathing first-thing in the morning. After two plates of breakfast, I take a long shower and change back into my clothes. While doing that I go through my things and soon see all that was on the table at Kai's is in a white trash bag in the hallway. I discretely snatch it up and rush back into my haven. While checking my stash, my door opens, but I don't look up. Instead, I scowl and wanna burn the intruder.
"Ya know, it's polite to knock first." I say, biding my time until the lamppost called Kai inevitably pushes me too far.
"And since when do you care about being polite?"
"I don't. But you're the adult, shouldn't you be setting an example for me?"
"Hn, I am, but you've got your head shoved so far up your ass you can't see it."
I give up and spare him a glance. Bored, I rest my face in my hand while my elbow digs into my thigh.
"If you say so." I say, my voice dull and uncaring.
"I do."
Kai leans against the door, silently telling me that I'm here to stay until he moves.
"Are you done?" I bite, standing up.
"No."
"Then say what you want and leave. I've got better things to do than waste my time being stuck inside with you."
"You mean being a degenerate dumbass? Why go out when you can do that just as well by staying in here."
"Why do you care anyway?" I ask, confused. This guy is too weird.
Without answering me, he points to the bin bag, "Throw that shit away."
I guess I look at him like he's grown a second head, because he walks over to me and roughly shoves the bag in my arms.
"Dump it. Every last bit of it."
"Yeah, you're going senile, and I'm out. Smell ya later."
Kai backs away, looking me over. Before I can hop out the window, I'm flung over his shoulders and carried downstairs, the bag somehow still in my grasp. So much for keeping his distance from people.
Setting me down, Kai boxes me in. He then screams out, "I don't care what you do with it, but I want that stuff out of your possession!"
"Oh, we're doing this now? Like you didn't act out like this when you were my age?!"
"No, I didn't! My addictions came later and I regret every single one of them for making me make my life what it is!"
Later? I think, my mind flip-flopping on whether to ask him about it. In the end, anger fills me back up. No one person can make me feel better anymore, but substances can.
I square my shoulders and say, "Who cares? What the hell does that have to do with me?"
Kai stands firm, unmoving from our tiny spot in between the couch and coffee table. "A lot actually. You could learn from my mistakes! You're going to ruin your life! You'll end up in prison! You've already lost one family member, don't lose yourself too!"
"Again, why do you care so much?" I icily say, feeling snippy.
"Because I'm your father and that's what dad's in their right minds are supposed to do! I'm being there for you as best I can! It's what Max did! Whether you see it or not, we both care!"
The room's intense, hot and humid air comes to a sharp and abrupt still chill, our tempers suddenly snuffed out by sheer shock. I never understood where I get my temper from. No one else in my family has as quick a trigger. It's just another thing to add to my growing list of reasons, reasons why I don't belong anywhere, or to anyone at all. Did my real parents abandon me? Were they murdered? Was I ever wanted, loved by them? Is my life just one big lie? If it's not, why wouldn't papa tell me anything?
Then, my brain replays all Kai just said and a very awkward silence ensues.
After some, extra long feeling and weighted, minutes, I blow another gasket. Though this time I'm able to, miraculously, refrain myself from throwing another hard hit. Oh, how I want to wring his neck!
"This is some kind of joke, right?" I wait a minute, but the mute man says nothing. That makes me shout, my voice booming about the room, "Why didn't you tell me about this before?!"
"... I wanted to protect you."
"Protect me?" I angrily mock, "From what?!"
Kai tries to speak, opening his mouth a few times, but nothing comes out.
With my last nerve frayed away, I finally say, "You should've told me."
Fighting the urge to knock Kai out cold, I race out of the house. Kai's not too far behind, but he stops his pursuit once he realizes it's all falling on deaf ears. At times like this I wish I was faster than a speeding bullet. Fast like Superman, it'd be so nice to speed away in a blur, nothing able to catch me.
With my bag swinging freely at my side, I run aimlessly to nowhere. My only hope is that wherever my feet decide to take me, I'm left alone.