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Big thanks to RedLiteAlexi for his help with this chapter!
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Beastars – Into the spotlight 2.0
Chapter 12 – Not the whole truth (feat. RedLiteAlexi)
POV Bailey
It felt so unreal to leave the central train station in Tokyo. There was so much going on here, so many people heading into different directions, so many confusing signs I didn't understand as first sight.
I wasn't feeling as sure about this anymore, all this seemed a little too big for me all over sudden. I wasn't sure I really wanted to be here like this right now.
"…are you sure this is okay?" I asked Julian lowly, feeling like I dragged him into something he wasn´t entirely comfortable with either.
"I mean…my parents won't miss me anyway" he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"N-no, I mean…" I said lowly, "Is this really okay for you. Tokyo is a big city and I…I haven't really thought about what we would be doing here."
He just shrugged his shoulders once again, then he gave me a quick little kiss on the forehead. "Doesn´t matter as long as I´m with you."
Even though he was very sweet and I really appreciated him coming with me, this whole thing seemed a little over the top right now. I probably should just have stayed at home and cry it out. This slowly but surely began to feel like a mistake.
I took another deep breath, then I looked at him again. The red fox literally was the only thing that kept me from completely losing my mind right now.
"Has she answered yet?" he asked as I faced him.
I could just shake my head to that question. I knew she had read my message, the blue checkmarks indicated that very clearly, but for some reason she hadn´t responded yet.
This was just getting more and more unnerving for me. I was convinced she would understand once I had explained it to her in full detail, but it still felt so wrong to be asking for help like that. We had decided to come to Tokyo even before I had her affirmation, I just now realized how dumb I had been.
Of course this would put her into a somewhat inconvenient situation as well, I really asked myself how that has not been clear for me earlier. But going back home right away seemed kinda unsatisfying as well. I´ve never been to this city before, and it´s been on my bucket list for many years already. I still had a slight bit of hope she would understand.
Normal POV
"Is something wrong?" the maned wolf asked his daughter while carefully cutting the potato on his board into smaller pieces and putting them on the backing tray, "You seem quiet today."
"Huh?" she asked, looking up from her phone as she noticed she had been staring at that message yet once again.
Him asking what was wrong was actually what she had been waiting for this whole time, telling him about it now made it a little less uncomfortable.
"Hey Lucy, I really need your help. I had to leave home, Julian and I are heading to Tokyo right now. Is there any chance we can stay a night or two at your Dad´s? I´m really sorry for asking like this, but you´d do us a great favor."
There wasn´t any explanation why she had to leave her home, but it felt like she had a reason not to tell her in a WhatsApp message.
Lucy believed her that she needed help, no matter for what reason, but she didn´t know how to tell her dad about it without any details she could give him. Maybe he would ask why she hadn´t thought of reserving a hotel room before making a trip like that, maybe he would ask why she had to leave her house as well.
"…so I have this friend at school" Lucy began explaining slowly, "She´s from my dorm actually, her name is Bailey and she is very sweet…"
"Yeah?" Ookami asked with a friendly nod, taking another potato and cutting it into smaller pieces, "And?"
"She´s on her way to Tokyo right now" Lucy sighed, "She just told me she had to leave her home, but she didn´t tell me why."
"Oh?"
"Yeah" she affirmed with a shrug of her shoulders, "She had been kinda distant a few days ago, not like her usual self. I feel like it has something to do with her family."
"Why didn't you ask her?"
"It felt like she didn´t want me to. And it still somehow does."
"Hmm…" he said, "And now?"
Lucy looked at her dad again, it seemed like he slowly but surely had a bit of a foreboding coming up.
"…she asked for help" she said plainly, "She asked if she and her boyfriend can stay a night or two."
He now just shrugged a shoulder with a little smile. "I mean…if you´re okay sharing the couch with them…"
The thought of that made her smile with excitement a little bit.
"It´s a big couch" she said with a shrug herself, "I´m fine with it."
"Then what´s the holdup?" he asked back with an amused smile.
"You sure?"
"Haha yes" he affirmed, "It´s not like I´ve not been couch-surfing my fair share as well back in the day."
Lucy was really glad her dad was so easy about this. Not that it felt like he couldn´t not be easy about something like this, but it also still felt like this was a really big ask of someone for not having been discussed in advance.
Just when Lucy picked up her phone again to message Bailey, she received another text from her.
"Can you tell me anything already? I´d be really great to know. We´re already at the central station and we have no idea where to go."
Lucy could tell that she was real about this. Hotels here were not cheap here, even the shitty ones, and the train-ride here was not for free as well. Still not understanding why they came here in the first place, she now started typing an answer.
"There is a spot on the couch if you´re okay with that. Leon is coming here later this week as well…"
Her reply was imminent now.
"That´s more than ok! Thank you so much! Where do we need to go?"
Lucy sent her the address of Ookami´s and Fenneko´s flat, then she put her phone away and helped her dad with the cooking again.
"Thanks dad" she told him lowly, snuggling her head into his shoulder for a moment, "I´m sorry I didn´t say anything earlier."
"Should we make a little more?" he asked with an amused smirk, not being mad about it at all as it seemed, "In case they´re hungry too?"
"We have too many potatoes anyway?" she asked back with a little smile herself, "Couldn´t hurt, right?"
POV Bailey
My heart was beating faster and faster the closer we got to the address. Having exited the right train at the right train-stop, the instructions from zoogle maps lead us right to the really modern looking 35 story building their flat was in. A giant tower made from glass and concrete, I couldn´t even imagine how much a flat here must cost to rent.
There was a camera above the doorbells, I assumed they could see who rang on a screen up by their main doors.
I felt yet another little boulder of guild taking its place on my shoulders as the buzzer went off and the door gave way for us. I knew my mom would probably be worried sick very soon, I hadn't answered the last two of her calls already.
Just like Lucy had described it to us, I pressed the button to the 30th floor in the elevator and we just wordlessly watched the numbers on the display climb up during our ascent.
When we exited the car and went out into the big, fancy, by daylight flooded hallway, we took a look around and it didn´t take long until we spotted Lucy already waiting for us in one of the doors.
The maned wolf girl was looking as pretty as ever, I was so glad to see her right now.
She hugged the both of us with a friendly smile when we arrived her, then she waved us to follow her inside.
The decently sized hallway lead us into a rather big living room with a big cluster of couches in the middle, lowered down two steps in the middle of the room. To the right there was a kitchen area with pretty anthracite tiles on the floor, there was a huge kitchen island and it smelled like freshly cooked vegetables. The room was flooded with daylight, the huge glass panes on the opposite side of the room went all the way from the floor to the ceiling and allowed a stunning view over Tokyo. I was awestruck right away.
"Oh wow" I said lowly, not being able to take my gaze off the city view for a little while.
"It´s an awesome view, isn´t it?" Lucy asked me with an amused chuckle.
"Damn" Julian commented as well, "How many people live here again?"
"Almost 40 million" another voice suddenly told us, joining us by the big windows.
It was another maned wolf, it was no doubt that he must be Lucy´s father. They looked so alike it was difficult to keep them apart at first glance.
He really was the guy from the fashion ads Lucy showed me in the dorm back then, he seemed just as charismatic as he was in the pictures.
"…still the biggest city in the world" he mentioned.
"It´s so pretty" I said, still in slight awe about the beauty of this ridiculously gigantic place.
I´ve never been in any big city before, let alone the biggest city in the world.
"You guys had a good trip here?" Lucy´s dad now asked, shaking Julian´s hand and then mine when I turned towards them, "I´m Ookami by the way, this is Lucy, but I guess you´re acquainted?"
"Heh yeah" I chuckled lowly, "Thanks for having us. I´m Bailey, nice to meet you!"
"Julian" my boyfriend introduced himself shortly, "Nice place you have here!"
POV Legoshi
The mid noon sun was high in the sky and pushing its way through the closed curtains of our dark room. The soft warm fur of my girlfriend joined the soft silk sheets in forming a comfortable cocoon. We laid together in the post coital embrace and shared in the warm rush of euphoria. I wasn't sure how long she had been able to sleep after getting back from a late-night dining and dancing. For myself, I wasn't able to get too much deep sleep but that didn't matter. I would be able to spend this entire day relaxing. I was between shooting sessions and I was planning on using my time off to decompress and be with Juno.
Yesterday, as the boys and I were training, I could see the way she still stared at me with desire. Sometimes it seemed like she put on a show for guests by how much time we spent romantically joined at the hip but as long as we got moments like the one we were currently sharing, I knew that our love was still good and real. I had made decisions in the past that I regretted. There was a time we're I had been very unfair to her and I wasn't honest with what I wanted. I was happy with where we were. Choosing to remain unmarried and semi-monogamous while maintaining our family felt amazing. While our relationship wasn't perfect, I wouldn't want to live without my biggest fan and one of my best friends.
I pet the messy fur on her floppy ears and she cooed quietly with closed eyes. She quivered in slight pleasure as I shifted, still remaining inside of her. I blushed from the sound.
She opened her eyes and giggled. "God, you're so awkward." I said nothing and kissed her on the lips. Perhaps my acting helped me maintain a veneer of cold collected confidence. I was happy that Juno and Haru could see through it.
"Let's stay here all day" she whispered and held me close with both her arms and legs. I laughed and nuzzled her.
"I guess supposing that nothing crazy happens today, we might be able to make that work" I said. "Although I think that I might have to go get some strawberries. We can eat them in bed if you want."
"Hmmm, okay. Don't be gone too long." She smiled.
I had just pulled myself free from her when the telephone suddenly began ringing.
"Oh come on" I muttered, "I told my agent I wanted this whole week off from anything! Who is this now?"
Juno just shrugged her shoulders with a contented hum, her tail was waving behind her while I was trying to turn myself onto the other side of the matrass and reach out for the phone on my night stand.
"Hello?" I asked with a little sigh, hoping I didn´t sound too disinterested.
"Yes, hello!" a male voice on the other end greeted firmly, "Is this Legoshi speaking?"
"…yes, who am I talking to?"
I actually had a slight foreboding already, I believed I´ve heard that voice and it´s not that sympathetic owner quite recently.
"I´m sorry for disturbing" he got straight to the point, apparently not feeling the need to introduce himself, "Julian hasn't returned home since yesterday, his girlfriend´s Family doesn't know anything either. Apparently, she´s missing as well."
"Oh?" I asked, trying to get into an upright position on my matrass now.
"I mean, it´s not that I expected this good-for-nothing brat to cause anything else but trouble, but I was hoping you might have any information about his whereabouts?" he explained, sounding like he neither wanted nor truly had any interest himself in resolving this situation.
I guessed Bailey´s parents asked him to call because he still had my number somewhere in his phone.
"I don't" I said sternly, "I dropped him off at Bailey´s house last evening, that´s all I can tell you. Furthermore, I really don't enjoy the way you talk about your son. I felt in great company having him around yesterday, very much to the opposite of this phone call."
I took a deep breath, the other end of the line stayed quiet after that comment of mine.
"…so" I began again, "Is there any other place he might have gone to? Have you tried calling him?"
"They responded to none of our calls, they´re just gone" he explained, now less firm and more respectful, "If we don't hear anything by this evening, we´re getting the police involved. I´d like to avoid that option of course."
I stood up from the bed now and walked towards the bathroom slowly but surely. I looked at my naked reflection in the big mirrors on the shelves, I noticed that Juno behind me was sitting upright as well in the meanwhile, looking a little concerned about my phone-call as well.
"Is there any reason for them to just disappear?" I asked. I wanted to add "…other than the apparently really toxic household he has to grow up in?" but I restrained myself from doing that right now.
"I have no idea what´s going on inside that kid´s head" he said with a disinterested sigh.
"Might be a good time to start wondering" I said coldly, shaking my head in pure disbelief about this small-mindedness. "…have you a phone number I can reach Bailey´s family with?"
"Yes" he affirmed with a sigh, "Hold on…"
While he searched for it, I breathed against one of the mirrors a couple of times so it would fog up a bit, when he began telling the number I wrote it down onto the glass quickly.
"Alright" I said, "I´ll look into it. Take care."
With that I hung up the call and quickly put in the new number before it disappeared from the mirror again.
"What´s going on?" Juno asked me with slight concern in her voice, "Julian is missing?"
I nodded slowly, "Bailey too apparently. I´m trying to reach her family right now."
"I´ll see if Lucy knows something" she suggested. I nodded in agreement while pressing the green button and waiting for them to answer, Juno went on her way as well.
POV Leon
This felt very awkward. I was sure this couldn't be that big of a deal, but it was a science of its own as it turned out.
First there was not enough light, then it was too much when I changed the angle, and then when I was finally happy with the illumination, the rest of the shot looked totally crooked and unappealing anyway, at least in my opinion.
Not owning a proper tripod didn´t make the whole process any easier. I stacked up a few books and other heavy things I could find in my room and propped them up on my sink in a way so the camera of my phone would film at the right angle, being tilted enough to have everything important in the frame but not fall over once I pressed record. Not being able to see the screen while filming was quite a pain in the ass as well, but I still was determined.
"How is this so fucking easy for her?" I asked in slight frustration, reviewing the latest video I had taken.
Hadn´t that stupid app deleted her short but very hot clip she sent me this morning after me watching it once, I probably would be still looking at it right now. She was just filming herself in the bathroom for ten seconds maybe, and those ten seconds were the best thing I had seen in the last two days.
She slowly filmed her entire nude body, starting from her legs and going all the way up to her face, where the video ended with her showing me a mischievous and also horny little smirk.
Had I been there this morning, I would have fucked her through Ookami´s entire bathroom, probably not even being bothered about waking anyone up.
I was really horny ever since watching her snap, feeling very badly teased and unsatisfied because I couldn´t watch it even one more time.
Now I was standing nude in my bathroom, having locked both the bathroom door and the door to my bedroom, being on half-mast for almost two hours in the meanwhile. This all took way too long already.
I wanted to reply something to what she sent me within half an hour originally, but I still just wasn't satisfied with the result.
"Of course, this is easy for her! She´s gorgeous, she´s hot, she´s perfect no matter what light she´s in! Of course, it´s easy for her to get me aroused, she knows how to tease the hell out of me!"
Looking at myself in the video files just made me want to delete everything all at once, but I also had the feeling she would appreciate something in return no matter what. Maybe I was being too critical with myself, even if it was sub-par to what she sent me, it would be deleted after she watched it anyway.
"Leon?" my dad suddenly yelled into my bedroom from outside in the hallway, giving me one hell of a scare.
I quickly grabbed myself a towel and wrapped it around my waist, tucking my boner away in a way I hoped he wouldn't notice.
"What?" I asked while unlocking the bathroom door quickly.
"I need to talk to you, can you open the door please?"
"What now?" I asked with a deep sigh.
"Yes now" he said, "It´s urgent!"
I took another quick look at the phone in my hand, I really wanted to send her something and don't keep her waiting any longer. I already knew which of the clips I made I hated the least, I figured cutting it to a good length and uploading it shouldn't take too long anyway.
"Can it wait five minutes?"
"Five" he agreed sternly, "Meet me in the living room."
"Okay" I sighed as I already heard him going back down the stairs.
POV Lucy
Julian and Bailey sitting next to each other on the couch like this made me so unbelievably jealous right now. It´s been three and a half days without Leon for me in the meanwhile, and I wanted nothing else but being close to him.
But it seemed Julian and Bailey didn´t feel entirely comfortable right now either, even if they weren't without their partner like I was right now.
I didn´t want to be the one to start the conversation right now, it felt like I should let her come forward with the reason they traveled all the way here in the first place.
My phone suddenly vibrated in my hands and the screen turned on. I checked it out quickly, it seemed like Leon finally returned something to the snap I had sent him this morning. He had thoroughly enjoyed seeing the nude clip I made of myself in the bathroom, I had been teasing him to send something back all forenoon already.
It appeared he had finally jumped over his shadow and made a tasty video for me as well, but now I didn´t have the privacy to check it out, sadly.
As she still wasn´t speaking up, I now decided to put my phone away and ask her. This awkward silence was getting us nowhere, we all were done with our food in the meanwhile as well.
"So what brought you to Tokyo?" I started the conversation, trying not to sound too pushy.
It took her a little while to prepare her words, she obviously was still very nervous about this. But then, after Julian had reached out for her hand carefully and nodded towards her, she looked me in the eyes and finally spoke up.
"M-my parents are getting a divorce."
"Oh no."
"They´ve known it for quite a while as it turned out. They never said anything, but now it´s all over and done already. They told us yesterday, it appears my dad already had an affair with someone else."
A tear was running down her cheek as she spoke, I could imagine how utterly disappointed she must be to hear this. I was just left nodding understandingly, now it made a little more sense why she didn't want to tell me sooner.
"I´m so sorry for bothering you here!" it then suddenly burst out of her, "I just couldn't take it being at home anymore."
I got up from my seat and went over to give her a little hug. I knew that probably wouldn't help much, but I at least wanted to show her that I cared.
I still wasn't entirely convinced that running away to Tokyo was the right thing to do though, and from the look my dad had on his face I could tell that he wasn't either.
"Please don't tell anyone we´re here" Bailey pleaded lowly, "We´re going back soon anyway."
"They´re going to worry about you" my dad now told her lowly, "If they´re not doing so already!"
"I know!" she cried, "And I feel so bad, but…"
"I understand you might not want to see them right now, but you should at least let them know you´re alright!"
She nodded to that statement in agreement, but it wasn´t really sure if she really wanted to do it. It kinda looked like she even wanted her parents to worry about her.
We just sat there awkwardly for another moment, nobody said anything while we were watching Tokyo through the big glass panels.
"I might know something that helps" Ookami suddenly stated, getting up from his chair and starting to collect the empty plates from the table.
We all looked at him with question-marks on our faces, he just smiled a little bit.
"Distraction."
"Okay…" I said in slight wonderment, "What are you thinking?"
"Oh, Toyko´s nightlife always has something interesting to offer!" he said with a smile, "Trust me, I know just the place for you to clear up your minds for a night."
POV Julian (later that day)
This was such a weird situation to be in. I didn´t want to not be on Baileys side about this of course, but I too believed that Lucy´s dad was right and we should tell our parents where we were in the meanwhile.
But she was convinced we should leave them worry about us a little bit longer. Even when Leon asked Lucy on her phone if she knew anything, Bailey pleaded her not to tell him.
I wasn´t sure if Lucy kept her word or has told them behind our backs in the meanwhile, but a little part of me actually wished she did.
I could tell this wasn´t easy for her either, I felt really bad to have created this much of a burden for them by coming here, but I was glad they somehow kept quite a good spirit nevertheless.
We followed Ookami when he told us about a good distraction, it turned out he brought us to some sort of fancy night club right in the middle of the city.
After having taken a little nap on his couch, which had turned into quite a long nap as we were rather tired from our Journey, the city now seemed to be waking up as the sun slowly was setting and the night-life filled the streets with colorful lights and people.
There was so much going on in this place, I was truly fascinated how much bigger and louder everything was here.
The street we were in right now had one club after the next one, music filled the sidewalks, colorful lights and advertisements made everything shine in beautiful glamour.
"Don't worry, this club is for teenagers under 18" Lucy´s dad explained to us while he led us into some sort of backyard, away from the bouncers and the line with the waiting people. "They won´t serve you any alcohol, but there is a big dancefloor and music. I know the owner quite well, maybe he´ll throw in some drink-coupons with the entrance fee."
"Oh nice!" I said, actually being quite excited about going to a club in Tokyo. I always wanted to experience some nightlife in a big city, and I didn´t even know there were clubs for people under 18 in the meanwhile. Our little town at home surely didn´t have those.
"…also" he then said while stopping in the back alley by a door all over sudden, "I´ve arranged a meeting with someone quite special."
"Oh?" Lucy asked.
"He´s the guy who made it happen that I found Lucy and found out she´s my daughter" he explained with a smile, "I thought he deserved to meet the both of us together."
"Oh cool!" Lucy said excitedly, "Kai is here?"
The other maned wolf nodded with a little smirk, then he turned towards the door we stopped at.
"Wait here for a moment, I´ll see if he´s in already…"
While we waited for him to come back, Lucy turned towards the both of us with slight concern on her face once again. It was pretty clear she was just acting cheerful as well right now.
"I just got another message asking if I´ve heard anything of you" she informed us, "I don't know how much longer I can keep it a secret. They are really worried."
"It´ll be fine" Bailey told her dryly, I found it almost scary with what naturalness she just waved that off, "I´m gonna tell them soon."
Lucy rolled her eyes a little bit now, it seemed like she had enough of this in the meanwhile.
But before we could discuss that topic any longer, the door to the backyard already got opened from the inside once again, out came Ookami and a mongoose who somehow looked quite familiar.
"Kai!" Lucy greeted him, now suddenly rather excited and energetic once again, "So nice to see you!"
"Lucy!" he greeted her back, opening his arms to hug her back gently, "Look who made it to Tokyo!"
"It´s about time" Ookami commented with a light hearted chuckle.
"I still can´t believe it´s actually true!" the mongoose told them excitedly, "I´m so happy for you guys!"
"Guys, don't be shy" Ookami now waved Bailey and I towards them, "This guy is actually quite friendly, even though it doesn't always seem like it on TV sometimes."
The mongoose smiled at us in a friendly way, I kinda had the feeling I should be getting used to being introduced to famous celebrities in the meanwhile.
"Kai, these are Lucy´s friends from school Bailey and Julian. I thought I´d bring them here because it would be a good distraction from everything else going on."
He nodded once more. "I´ve heard they make some quite good cocktails in that under 18 club, even if they can´t put any alcohol into them. I think you´ll have a good time here! …just like this old man did back in the day…" he explained with a little grin, pointing at Lucy´s dad.
"Oh?" Lucy asked with great interest, "Are there stories you didn´t tell me about yet?"
Ookami just sighed with a little smirk, Kai just nodded with a big grin towards him.
"Guys" Lucy´s dad now changed the topic, "Let me introduce to you-"
"Jesse Pinkman" I interrupted him in great excitement, not being able to keep it in any longer, "Bailey and I watched season 2 recently, it´s really awesome! I…I mean, such an honor to meet you!"
"Well thank you" he said with a humble smirk, "…guess it´s picking up success more and more recently."
"I bet you´ve been asked about it quite a lot just now, haven't you" Ookami asked him, rattling his shoulders a little.
"I can´t even remember how often I´ve been asked to say ´Jo!´ and ´Bitch!´ already…" he waved it off with a little smirk, "Guess this will be the legacy I´ll leave behind."
"I guess we should think of more original questions to ask you then…" Lucy said in slight amusement. It was pretty obvious she´s met and talked to him previously, she was by far not as nervous as Bailey and I.
"Oh, I got one" I said with a big smile, feeling somewhat confident right now, "Can you spell Albuquerque correctly?"
This question made Kai grin pretty widely as well, I was glad this wasn´t getting on his nerves, "Wait, let me try… A-L-B-U-K"
I already shook my head with a big smile. I didn´t knew how to spell it either until I looked it up, I would never have guessed it correctly either if somebody had asked me.
"Well…shit" he chuckled light heartedly, "Nevertheless, I do know how to cook meth though. I think that makes more cash than winning a fuckin spelling bee, right?"
"Haha yeah" I agreed, "I mean…probably."
"Yeah, but therefore you had to dissolve a dead body with acid in a bathtub…" Lucy reminded him.
"Yeah…" he said with a smirk, "That was an interesting day on the filmset for sure."
"No, but honestly" Lucy told him, "It´s a seriously cool show."
"Thanks" he said, still staying quite humble about it, "Oh! How has your premiere been going by the way? Romeo and Juliet!"
"It was good" Lucy affirmed with a nod, "I think it was worth the effort."
"Totally!" Bailey agreed with her.
"So virgin-colada boy finally got out of his shell?" Kai asked her with a grin, bringing a really big smile to Lucy´s face with that question as well.
"You bet he did!" she affirmed proudly, "Still not sure he likes the rum though…"
"Where have you left him anyway?" the mongoose wanted to know, "The under 18 club should be just his thing if he doesn't like the rum, right?"
"He´ll come to Tokyo with his dad in a few days" she told him, "Legoshi is here for some sort of event anyway."
"Oh, right" he said with a nod, "He talked about that. So anyway, I hope you guys are gonna have a great time tonight! Was nice to meet you!"
"Likewise" Bailey said with a big smile, "Nice to meet you too."
I nodded with a friendly smile as well, then the Mongoose turned around slowly and went back towards the door he came from. It appeared he had people waiting for him in there, but that wasn´t too surprising considering who he was. I was kinda surprised a celebrity like him even took the time to go to a night club and meet old friends and acquaintances.
"Busy guy" Ookami said with a chuckle, "Always has been a real hustler."
He now grabbed something from one of his pockets and reached it over to us. He handed everybody a glow in the dark ribbon to strap around our wrists, apparently they were the tickets to get into the youth club next door.
"You guys have fun in there, there should already be a DJ in by this hour" he explained.
We all nodded, he smiled at us contentedly.
"Thanks!" Bailey told him, "What do we owe you?"
He just waved it off with a little wink. It seemed like he got us covered, I found that really cool of him.
It seemed like he wanted to be going towards his own event as well in the meanwhile, he already had sort of turned towards the door Kai went in again just a minute ago.
"I´ll be just here next door" he explained while pointing at it, "You guys have fun now. Call me anytime, you know where to find me?"
We all nodded, he winked us one last time and then he opened the door already.
"Let´s go!" Bailey said, her voice was filled with excitement and enthusiasm. It seemed like she had totally forgotten about all our earlier issues already.
Having strapped the rubber bands around our wrists, we went towards the other back entrance a few meters to the left, and just like the one Ookami had entered we could just pull that one open as well and get inside without anyone asking or hindering us.
The music was getting louder, haze and colorful lights indicated that we were coming closer to a dancefloor as well. It was just like we were magically pulled closer towards it, I wasn't even trying to slow her down anymore.
Maybe Bailey was right. Maybe we just had to let go a little bit, maybe we just had to be ourselves for a few hours.
POV Lucy
That first initial excitement didn´t hold on as long as I thought it would. I had tried to forget about this whole, really messed up situation, but soon the music and the crowd became quite overwhelming for me and I sort of wanted to leave again.
The song had changed to something I really didn´t enjoy, every seat at the "bar" was taken right now and I really wanted to get out of this stuffy room in the meanwhile.
As excited as I had been earlier when we met Kai, as low I was feeling right now.
Seeing Bailey being so unbothered about everything going on around her, about the people who worry about her, just ignoring it all while dancing with her boyfriend, it just felt wrong on so many levels.
I was getting a little fed up with her in the meanwhile. I kept thinking it was because of jealousy because I was alone here and not with my boyfriend, but I really just wanted her to take the five minutes and call home already.
I couldn't understand why Julian was supporting her with this so stupidly. I could tell he didn´t like this too much either, but I guessed he rather wanted to be her hero and stick with her rather than speaking up. Or he was just really dumb.
I remembered the way out into the backyard, and luckily there still was a door-stopper in what would usually be a fire-exit. I didn´t want to be a killjoy, but they couldn't blame me for getting a few minutes of fresh air. They actually couldn't blame me for anything.
"Stupid coward!" I cursed lowly, not quite being able to tell myself who of the two I really meant with that. I probably really meant Julian as Bailey was just a sore idiot right now and he just didn´t have the balls to tell her.
"Boohoo" I muttered to myself, "My parents are getting a divorce! My life is so shitty I have to run away and never talk to them ever again!"
I shook my head a little more, trying to calm myself down, but it was not easy. "I´ve been waiting for sixteen years to at least meet one of my real parents!"
I took a closer look at my surroundings now, it looked like I was not alone out here. The fire exit to the adult´s club next door was opened as well, some people were standing outside in small groups, having a smoke or looking into their phones.
I took a few steps closer towards the real club, trying to see if I could spot Kai or Ookami by any chance.
They weren't anywhere in sight and neither was Fenneko who promised to join us later this evening as well. My guess was she was inside with the others, sadly I couldn't go in and find out. My dad had told us we could text him anytime we needed him, but I didn't want to just ask him for company for no defined reason.
A female wolf was leaning against the wall next to the entrance, one leg over the other, looking rather bored while just putting her phone back into her pocket. It seemed like she had been watching me for a little while, she seemed to have an interest in me for some reason. Probably it was my quiet cursing from earlier.
"Not having too great of a night I guess?" she asked me dryly. Her voice sounded just as rough as she looked like, she seemed tough and hard to impress, not in an unfriendly way though. She had some streaks of fur-color in some parts of her body, her light clothing didn´t hide an awful lot to gazing eyes. It wasn't cold in this warm summer night, but she surely was dressed a lot more freely than all the other women around here.
"Could be better" I said with a shrug of my shoulders.
I wasn't all that keen of a conversation with a complete stranger right now, but as I wasn´t really motivated to do anything else either, I would probably engage in it if she started a conversation.
She just eyed me for a little while though. I could tell she wanted to say something, but it took her a little while until she found the right words.
"Girly, you remind me quite a lot of another maned wolf I know…" she told me then, "The resemblance really is uncanny."
"Haha really?" I asked, now actually being interested in what she had to say.
"Oh yeah" she said with a nod, "Just as pretty as you, the charisma of a rockstar, the body and fashion-sense of a model, fucks like a- …I mean…uh…he´s a very good lay…"
I smiled a little bit, having a slight foreboding about this already. I wasn't quite sure why she was feeling the need to tell me all those details about some other maned wolf she thinks I reminded her off, but I was curious already what else she was about to tell me. Maybe she really was talking about my dad after all.
"…but then he thought I wasn´t good enough for him anymore" she said with an almost melancholic little sigh, "Little asshole."
I just pulled a little bit of a smirk now, not being entirely sure what to think of this now.
"Men can be real douchebags" she told me with a little wink, "It´s just the ugly truth."
"Have you been like…in a relationship with him?" I asked her, "Or was it more of a casual thing?"
"Oh he fucked around a lot" she chuckled, "And I was cool with that, I´m not the monogamous type myself you know…but I enjoyed it whenever he gave me his attention."
I found this a really strange lifestyle, especially for a woman, but I wouldn't be the one to judge her.
I rather was curious if it could actually be possible that she was talking about Ookami.
"What happened to him?" I asked.
"He got hitched…" she sighed, "…I´ve never thought it would happen, but he was committed and held on to it ever since."
"Must be one lucky girl then, no?" I asked, still trying to find more clues.
She just rolled her eyes a little bit, I wasn´t quite sure if she was being ironic or actually salty about this.
"Egoistic bitch is keeping that dick all to herself" she muttered.
There actually was a moment of silence when she said that.
"But maybe its for the best" she then continued, "Turned out the dumbass got caught up by his past."
"Oh?" I asked, now truly struggling to play dumb as it was pretty much clear what she was talking about at this point. I was pretty sure it was just a matter of time until she would find out who I was now.
"…turns out he got another maned wolf chick pregnant about 17 years ago and found out about it just a few weeks ago."
"Really?" I asked with actual great interest, "How do you know about it?"
"People here know him" she said with a shrug of her shoulders, "And I think I´ve even met the kids mother in a hospital once."
"Wait!" I suddenly couldn't hold it in anymore, "You know my mom?!"
There was a short moment of silence and she expectedly looked quite surprised all over sudden, but I was even more surprised than her about what she told me just now.
"…you…you´re his daughter?" she asked in slight disbelief.
"Yes, yes! I´m his daughter" I affirmed hastily and with an impatient nod, "What´s she like, when have you met her?"
She still didn´t have everything in order as it seemed right now, she looked a little bit concerned all over sudden.
"She was…" she began, now slower and with less volume, "…she was in a psychiatry when I met her. I was waiting for my therapist, she was sitting next to me."
"What?!"
"She´s very unstable, very broken" she said with sad eyes, "She´s a good girl, she just never had it easy. But she´s an honest soul, I could tell by the look on her face."
She almost looked a little heartbroken all of a sudden.
"W-which hospital was it?" I asked impatiently, "Maybe they know where I can find her!"
It seemed like she was even more uncomfortable about answering that question right now, but I just had to know this detail. This was my chance to find her if I ever got one.
"I…I…" she said, "…I don't understand. I don't understand!"
She put both her hands in front of her face now instead of answering my question, I almost had the feeling she would have a nervous breakdown in a minute.
"Why would he ruin her life like that?" she asked, now louder, "He fucked her and then he left when she told him she was pregnant!"
"What?!" I asked in great shock and puzzlement, "Is that true?!"
"I…I don't know…" she said, "I…I…the poor girl hasn't seen her kid anymore ever since she gave her to the foster home! Knowing that douchebag…I can´t think of it being any other way. He must have broken her! It´s all his fault!"
As much as that probably made sense to her right now, she sadly also sounded like an outright crazy person. I believed that there was some truth to that, but knowing Ookami and what he told me, and now knowing that my mom really was in a psychiatric institution, I was convinced there were two sides to the medal.
This wolf lady looked like she didn´t have it too easy in her life either, I figured there was a reason she was seeing a therapist as well.
But I really just needed that one last piece of information right now. Everything else around me was just a blur, I didn´t even really care if it was true what she said about Ookami. I wanted to find my mom.
"W-where did you meet her?" I asked her again, "Please, I need to find her! She´s my mom, I´ve never seen her before! She needs to know I´m alive and well!"
She now took a deep breath, then she slowly focused her gaze on me again.
"Hiroo" she then told me lowly, "She was in Hiroo Hospital. It´s in Shibuya, not too far from here."
I immediately looked it up on my phone, she was right, it really was just about 25 minutes by feet.
"Thanks" I told her, already starting to walk into the direction the maps app pointed out, "I gotta find her!"
"I uh…" she said behind me, "Wait…are you sure you…"
I wasn´t even slowing down for a single moment. I had just one goal right now, and everything else was not my problem anymore. The rest would sort itself out later.
POV Ookami
"Guys, excuse me for a minute, please" I told the group of friends I was sitting at the table with, leaving my half empty glass on the table and getting on my feet slowly but surely, "My daughter and her friends are in the club next door, I just wanna make sure everything is alright."
"Look at responsible daddy Ookami now" Retsuko chuckled, "Since when are you so much of a grown up?"
I just stuck my tongue out at her with a little wink for that comment.
"By the way" Haida asked, "Didn't you want to introduce her to us?"
"Sure" I said with a nod, "I´ll go see if I can find her, I´ll message you if she´s in the backyard."
They all nodded with big excited smiles, I went on my way towards the backyard exit.
I passed Kai once again on my way there, it seemed like he was still busy talking to fans and giving autographs. I gave him a little wink, then I opened the door and stepped into the warm summer-night air outside.
There was not much going on here as usual, but I couldn't see Lucy or her friends out here either. I took a few steps out in the yard to get a better viewing angle, but there was just a bunch of other teens outside.
"Oh there is the baby daddy" someone suddenly approached me from the right. It already gave me a little bit of a scare, but then I noticed who it was and it became even worse.
"Vera?" I asked with a mixture of displeasure of surprise. This already spelled trouble, the way she grinned gave me chills already. This would be bad, no matter what she was getting at.
"Sixteen years until you realized it. I always though Laureen was talking about someone who didn't exists in all these therapy sessions, but it´s actually true! She´s a mother!"
"WHAT?!" I yelled at her, multiple questions shooting into my head all at once.
"She´s a mother and you´re the guy who fucked and left her" she said coldly.
"I…I…" I stuttered, trying hard to not get really aggressive, "She left me! She never showed herself again, I was trying to make contact!"
Her grin just went even wider now, "Is that what you told Lucy as well?"
"It´s the truth!" I yelled at her with deepfelt rage, people in the backyard were looking at us in the meanwhile.
"Laureen has been in Tokyo for many years now" she told me dryly, "I think you could have found that out if you really cared about any of this!"
"I do care!" I said, shaking my head in pure disbelief, "I just never knew she…I had a daughter! She never told me, she just left one day, never saying a single word again!"
I took a deep breath in order to calm down a little, my heartrate must be at something like 200 beats per minute right now.
Then I took another look over towards the back exit of the youth-club next door, but I still didn't see any of them.
"…she´s just as pretty as her dad I must say" she now told me with a big dirty grin, trying to scratch something out from between her teeth with one of her claws as it looked like.
"Have you talked to her?" I asked, ignoring her teasing bullshit.
"Just a minute ago. I told her she looked like somebody I knew, then it turned out she actually is that kid that resulted in you fucking a mentally unstable woman without protection."
"Yeah" I said dryly, "You bet talking. Cut the crap, Vera. Where is she now?"
"On her way to her mom I guess" she grinned, shrugging her shoulders a little bit, "Hiroo Hospital is not too far away from here."
"Oh no" I sighed, already pulling my phone from my pocket, "This is not good."
I searched my contacts as quickly as I could, already getting a few steps away from Vera before I pressed the call button.
I waited and waited, let it ring as long as it went until her mailbox took over, but it seemed she either was too busy or just not bothered to answer me right now.
I sent her a text that it was important she would call me back, but even though she received it, she ignored that quite effectively as well.
I took another quick look around the backyard, then I spotted Lucy´s friends just leaving the back exit of the youth club just by chance.
"Hey!" I addressed them while walking over quickly, "Can you please try to call Lucy? She just ran off trying to find her mom, she´s not answering my calls."
"Oh?" Bailey asked with a mixture of surprise and excitement, "Her mom lives in Tokyo too?"
"Yes…apparently" I confessed lowly, "I never knew about it, she never tried to make contact with me. But now Lucy´s gotten a tip where she is."
The chocolate brown Labrador already had her phone in her hands and searched for her number as well, moments later we listened to that same ringing again.
POV Lucy
The address that wolf chick gave me wasn´t even that far away from the club as it turned out. It was only 25 minutes by foot according to zoogle maps, so instead for searching for a subway connection, I decided to just walk for it and sort my thoughts for a moment.
Was I just about to meet my mom as well tonight? Has she been in Tokyo all these years without him knowing about it? And if Vera knows him, why hasn´t talked to him about it sooner?
I really needed to ask him about his side of the story again as well, it seemed like he hadn´t quite told me everything there was.
I felt the slight buzzing from my cell phone in my pocket. I took more steps and I could feel tears beginning to leak from my eyes. I just couldn't handle all the emotions that I was being forced to address right now. I pulled out my phone and saw that Ookami was trying to call me alongside a slew of text messages. Perhaps I spoke too soon, because I really didn't want to hear from him.
Only now did I reflect on what I knew about my father. By fate, we had happened to connect but I really knew very little about his past. It was clear that he had slept around a ton.
I guess I didn't think much about my mother´s life. I had only known her name and that she was mentally ill. Otherwise, I knew nothing. I assumed that she had skipped town or maybe even died.
A mentally ill girl and a fuck boy met up and I was the result of their fling. More tears leaked from my eyes as I angrily declined the call. I had to admit that those attributes seemed to define my existence.
Just about half a minute later my phone began buzzing again.
I looked at the screen, this time it was Bailey.
"Yes?" I asked lowly, "Bailey?"
"Uh…hi Lucy, it´s me" she answered, "Where are you? We´re worried about you!"
"…oh yeah?" I asked rather coldly, "I bet so are your parents. I´ll be fine, see you."
"Wait!" a male voice suddenly yelled, actually stopping me from hanging up right away, "Lucy!"
It definitely wasn´t Julian´s voice, and since he had just tried to reach me it was pretty obvious Bailey must have had the call on speaker. Ookami probably asked her to call me because I didn´t answer.
I didn´t hang up on them, but I didn´t feel the need to say anything either. I just kept on walking, listening if there would be more.
"…I just met Vera as well" he panted, now lower and trying to slow down a little, "I swear I never knew about her being here! You have no idea what state she might be in, it´s been pretty badly up and down with her back then already…"
"Even so" she said sternly, "I wanna get to know my mom, no matter what state she´s in. You better get your shit straight with that wolf lady."
"Vera and I have a complicated history, she´s not as innocent as she might have made it sound like!" he said, now becoming louder again, sounding really very stressed out about this actually, "There is a reason I´ve been taking my distance from her, she´s-"
"Calm down, okay?" I sighed, trying to calm him down at least a little bit so he would try to call the cops or do anything else fantastically stupid. I wasn´t interested in his stories of the past right now, I wanted to meet my mom.
"I´m almost at the hospital, I´ll call later."
"Lucy please be careful alone out there" Bailey told me now, "Tokyo is a big scary city and you´re on your own."
"She´s right" Ookami agreed with her right away, "Please don't-"
"I´ll be fine!" I almost yelled into the phone in slight anger now. Some passing animals looked at me before they went on their way.
"…I´ve made it on my own for many years just fine. Bailey, Julian, please get your own shit together and call your parents for fucks sake!"
"Lucy, please-"
I just hit the red button on my screen and the call was over with that. I didn´t want to hear a single further word right now.
I put my phone away for a moment, waiting until the pedestrian lights for the crossing went green with all the other people who were around in these crazy wide, lively and by night life flooded streets.
Then I thought about it again and made a pretty radical decision.
I opened up a new text message and typed it out to Leon. I considered it once again and stopped in my tracks. I really didn't want him to worry about me or drag him into this mess. I decided to message Legoshi instead. I would be brief and not reveal too much. I began to type.
"Bailey and Julian are in Tokyo. Ookami took them in when Bailey asked us for help. I didn't know she hadn´t told her parents, and when she told us she asked us not to tell them just yet. Can you please let them know they´re here and well? Also: Leon didn´t know anything about this, at least not from me. Sorry I didn´t tell anyone sooner. ~Lucy"
The lights now finally turned green and I went on my way again, following the flood of people crossing this multi-lane street as well. I believed I was able to see the hospitals signs already, zoogle said it wouldn't be much further either.
POV Ookami
I just didn´t know what to do with myself right now. There were so many different emotions running a total stampede all over my nerves right now. I wasn´t sure if I should head towards the hospital as well, Lucy probably didn´t want to see me anyway. I didn't lie to her when I told her I didn´t know Laureen was in Tokyo, and I also didn´t lie to her when I told her I had tried to make contact.
Had I known Vera that psychopath nymphomaniac has met Laureen in her therapy sessions, I would have tried to make it happen on my own, but I didn´t know that and I couldn't have known as Vera never really had tried approach me again after she had tried to rape me ten years ago.
"Bet she hasn´t told Lucy about that when the topic of me being her father came up. Bet she just complained about me not fucking her anymore."
I didn´t say it out loud, Vera was still standing outside, probably having tried to listen to our phone call just now as well.
Lucy now knew a whole lot more about my past, a whole lot more stuff I never really wanted her to know obviously, but now it was out and I couldn't hide from it anymore anyway.
I told Fenneko in a quick text that there was an emergency and I had to leave the club, and then I went on my way towards Hiroo hospital after all. There was no other place I needed to be right now if I was totally honest with myself.
While I was walking down the street, my phone suddenly buzzed as I was getting a call. It was from Legoshi as it turned out.
"Hello?" I asked, probably sounding a little out of breath.
"Yes, Hi" he greeted me, "It´s Legoshi. Lucy just told me Bailey and Julian are alive and well?"
"Yeah" I affirmed, "…they just arrived at my door in the early afternoon. I assumed they had told their parents in the meanwhile, but it turned out they haven't. I…I´m really sorry about that."
There was a moment of silence now, I couldn´t quite tell if from anger or from relief. Probably both.
"…I´ve just talked to their parents, they are relieved but still worried. There is some sort of family crisis going on as it looks like, Bailey probably had a good reason to get away for a while."
"Her parents are getting divorced" I told him what I knew, "It seems to have hit her quite badly."
"I see…" he said slowly.
"Yeah."
"Can you make sure they stay safe for now, please?" he asked me, and that really brought me into a big quagmire right now.
"To be honest" I said, "No. Lucy just ran off when she learned her mother was in a hospital in Tokyo this whole time. I didn´t know either, but an old acquaintance of mine knew about it and told her. I´m trying to find her right now, it feels like it´s getting out of hand here. I´m very sorry."
"Okay…" he said, followed by a moment of silence, "I need to visit Tokyo anyway for an event next week. I´m taking the next train tonight. And I´ll take Leon with me, I think he really wants to see Lucy. I´m sure there are a few free hotel rooms nearby?"
"That´d be really great! Lucy probably doesn´t really want to see me right now anyway, I think there is a lot she needs to know about my past so she can understand" I explained. I wasn't quite sure what sort of reaction I had been expecting or hoping for, but I felt pretty dumb afterwards.
"…there are a lot of Hotels around" I added after a short moment of confused silence, "I´m sure you´ll find something adequate."
"Uh…okay" he said, trying to sort all that information. I felt like a really dumbass asking him for help like this, even though he´s concerned about something entirely different, "…where are Bailey and Julian right now? Do they have your contact information and home address?"
"They´re at an under 18 youth club right now. They know the address and they have Lucy´s and my phone numbers. I hope they´ll speak up if they need anything."
"Okay" he said with a little sigh, "Best of luck, see you soon!"
"Thanks" I said, "You too."
With that he ended the call and I put my phone away again. I had a lot of stuff expected to happen tonight, but nothing like that. Not at all. But this was the way it went, so there was no turning back anymore.
POV Lucy
This hospital was just huge. At night there wasn´t a whole lot going on in the hallways, but in the entrance hall I found somebody at a reception who could lead me into roughly the right direction.
After asking three more people I met on the way, I finally ended up in the psychiatric wing, but finding somebody here who knew what was what turned out to be quite difficult as well.
When I finally caught one of the nurses, I described the situation to her and her eyes widened with every sentence I spoke.
It seemed like Vera hadn´t been lying, Laureen indeed was here.
The nurse told me to wait here for a moment, her doctor was still in anyway and she was pretty sure she wanted to talk to me about this as well.
I just had to wait for about two minutes and then I was already being approached by a friendly but also quite official looking Doberman lady in a white lab coat.
"Good evening!" She greeted me.
"Hello, uh I was wondering if you could help me find a patient."
She looked a little shocked.
"Oh well, the visiting hours are over and many of the psyche ward patients require notice and approval." She said somewhat disappointed.
I felt like I got a punch to the gut. I looked at the Doberman's nursing uniform. She had a little blue name tag with white writing.
"Penelope", I said aloud, "Can I at least explain?"
I spoke before getting an answer. "My name is Lucy and I'm looking for a maned wolf patient. Her name is Laureen and she might have been here a few years ago." I said quickly.
The Doberman rose her hands to calm me down. She looked like something clicked in her head. "Settle down, you said you're looking for Laureen the maned wolf?"
"Yes, can you tell me if she is here?" I said.
The Doberman stood and looked over her shoulders.
"Well, I'll tell you this. We have had a patient that is a maned wolf named Laureen. She has been living here for the past 15 years. I've been her nurse for the better part of six of those years. And in that time, she has not received one visitor. She doesn't have any family on record aside from a father who passed away a few years before. So I'm slightly curious as to who you are to her."
I was a little shocked. Not only had my mother been here so long, she was truly alone as far as she knew. I almost wanted to start bawling on the spot. I held down that urge, I had to keep going.
"Well, my name is Lucy. I was born without knowing anything about my parents. I recently reconnected with my birth father and he told me that my mother was a maned wolf named Laureen. I also came across some information that she was possibly living at this hospital."
She said nothing, standing there uncomfortably. The canine looked as if she wanted to say something but had to be careful about the things she could say.
"I have to admit, that sounds rather convenient. At the same time you said your name is Lucy?"
"Yeah" I affirmed with a nod, "I swear I'm her daughter. Could you please tell me more about her or possibly see if I could talk to her. I could even…" I reached for my wallet and slowly went to pull a few dollars out of it.
"Please, put your money away." The Doberman sighed and looked over shoulders. "The reason I asked about your name is because it's a name I've heard before.
"From where?" I asked.
"From Laureen" She replied, "She mentions your name a lot in sessions.
I was awestruck at this revelation.
"Please tell me everything." I said desperately.
"Laureen sometimes will talk about her daughter Lucy. In her sessions she has this story about giving birth to a pup that she named Lucy. We didn't have anything on record from any hospitals so we assumed it was part of her condition." She said.
I was still fighting back tears. "Would she do that?"
"Let me ask you, what do you know about Laureen's reason for being here?" She asked.
"I…I know people said that she was crazy. I was told about that back in my foster home already, my dad said something pretty similar independent of that…" I said, kinda embarrassed.
"Well we don't really use that kind of terminology in a place like this. Laureen appears to suffer from a severe mania. She is prone to very emotional bouts of anger and sadness due to stress. Another aspect of her illness is a tendency to be unable to distinguish reality from her own perceptions. Secondly, her reasons for living in the hospital stem from an incident nearly a decade ago. Apparently she had been in the midst of a traumatic episode. She wandered into traffic and got into an altercation with a driver. In a panicked state she attacked and severed his hand."
I held up my arms in terror. I had no idea of any of this. It hadn't occurred to me that this could have even been a possibility.
"Did she…" I asked.
"No, she didn't eat it… in my opinion based on observing her, it was merely a reaction to the extreme stress and more accurately an accident. Nevertheless, Laureen was deemed a danger to the public and was admitted to our care, thankfully avoiding prison."
"Is she dangerous?" I said as tears now found their way out of my eyes. The doberman held my hand.
"Laureen is a very sweet animal. Part of what has made being her nurse so difficult is not knowing which Laureen you are going to get. Most of the time she is a calm and courteous wolf. She has a reasonable grasp on her situation and is easy to deal with. But she can quickly spiral into depressive episodes and has attempted self-harm. On her worst days, she has exhibited a tendency to become aggressive. During some of those sad spells, she talks about having a daughter named Lucy."
I said nothing as the canine nurse continued to hold my hand. "It's difficult to tell if she's making progress because she can seemingly slip into these episodes. Which is why, I'm going to allow you to see her."
I looked up at her. "What?" I asked dumbfounded.
"If you're comfortable with doing so, I would like you two to meet."
"To see what happens?" I responded.
"Essentially yes. Our goal at this hospital is to heal animals, treat them, and if possible rehabilitate them into being able to rejoin society. Laureen has been with us so long and at the same time she remains one of the most difficult patients because she can be so well adjusted at times. Maybe if she can connect to someone on the outside. It could help her retain a stronger grasp on reality."
I stood still holding the nurse's hand. All the things she had just told me were flashing through my head. My mother was alive and just beyond several doors and hallways. She was real and she had some form of memory about me. Could it be possible that she'd recognize me?
"Yes, I wanna see her." I said, wiping my remaining tears. The nurse nodded.
"Okay, well it's nearly 10:30. Laureen is in her room but it's likely she is still awake. I will be with you the entire time. However, I will need you to wait in the lobby. I am going to prepare her the best I can."
"What are you going to tell her?" I asked.
"Just enough to see if she is calm enough to proceed with this." Nurse Penelope added.
"Okay…" I turned and began to walk. I quickly glanced over my shoulder and saw the nurse stride down the hall presumably to talk to my mother. She left me waiting in the hallway with that, and since it looked like it would take a few minutes, I took a seat in the little waiting area and checked my phone once again.
There were multiple unread messages from Legoshi, Leon and Ookami, but I had taken a short look at them earlier already.
There was a new one from Bailey though.
"Are you okay? Your dad seems really worried!"
"Have you told your parents where you are yet?" I asked back, following it with another message right away:
"Because if not, how dare you lecture me about this right now? Do they even know you´re alive? Are you just trying to hurt them so bad that you'll feel better? Or maybe this is your master plan to get them back together? Come on, stop with this bullshit already."
I was done talking around the bush in the meanwhile. I needed her to know what I really thought of her behavior.
I saw that she had already started writing a response, it seemed to be quite a wall of text.
"You have no idea what I'm going through! And it's not just me, it's my sister, my family home, my extended family. All of that is being upended!"
This just got me even more aggressive for some reason. Probably the stress was getting too much for me in the meanwhile. I almost yelled out loud what my fingers hammered into the touch keyboard right now.
"You still have a family! Your parents are still there and love you. I didn't even realize I had a dad that wanted anything to do with me until a few weeks ago. At least your parents loved you and were part of your life!"
I typed out in response, a sole tear running down one of my cheeks when I hit send. I was getting defensive right now, even though I knew I was not being entirely fair to her either.
I wanted this to be over but I felt it was getting too hot. This was a fire that could only burn itself out.
"Well that's just it, you can't understand what it's like to have your family split up! Your parents never loved each other like mine did so you have no idea how hard it is!"
She wrote back, and now it truly felt like we were crossing a line in this fight.
"You know what?"
I wrote, using multiple different messages now,
"Fuck you!"
There was a short pause in this text fight we were having right now, but I wasn´t done yet.
"I already told Legoshi you´re in Tokyo by the way. They´ve all been worried sick this whole day already, now at least they know you´re alive. Thank me later!"
And with that I closed that chat and the entire message app, not waiting for any further response of hers. She left it at that anyways as it seemed; there was everything said that needed to be said for now anyway.
I already knew this would need a lot of apologies from both sides later, but that literally was a topic for another time, maybe even another day.
I was about to meet my mom tonight. For me, there was nothing more important than that, and nobody would be able to stop me now.
Oof. This is getting complicated, isn't it?
Tell me what you think, I´m curious!
Chapter 13 has been in the making for quite a while as well already, hopefully it won´t take me too long to finish it.
Hope you all stay safe and healthy!
Catch ya later,
~furr