A/N: Hey guys! I'm still alive! Sorry this chapter took so long to reach you all. I finished my exams a couple of days ago and I've officially started my summer holidays which means I'll hopefully be able to update more frequently! I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's a little sad, but I suppose that's to be expected.
2 Days Later:
Katara's POV:
"Aang!" His name is the first word I gasp out when I come to. I jerk my body forward, but instantly regret the action when pain slams into my skull and black dots flutter across my vision.
"Katara!" Sokka exclaims as he enters my line of sight. I scrutinise him with unfocussed eyes and the first thing I notice is the stress lines across his forehead.
"Sokka?" My voice is barely above a whisper as my brother sits on the chair beside my bed and takes my hand in his.
"Hey there. You were making us worried." The ponytailed man utters lightly, but from the crinkles around his eyes, I can see the underlying meaning of his words.
"I'm sorry." I croak back and close my eyes when another wave of pain assaults me. Before I know it, I feel something cold being pressed into my hands and I begrudgingly re-open my eyes. "What's that?" I mutter as I glance down at the small device between my fingers.
"Patient controlled morphine. Just hit the button when you need a dose of pain relief." Sokka explains with deeply furrowed eyebrows and I press the button almost immediately. I almost exhale deeply when I feel the jagged edges of agony ebb away with the medication.
"Thank the spirits for medicine." I mumble as I sink deeper into the mattress. The sound of shuffling has me re-opening my subconsciously closed eyes to find Sokka on his feet.
"I'll leave you to rest." He says when he catches me looking, but I shake my head, only to regret it when my vision blurs.
"No. Stay." I utter as I squeeze my eyes closed. Warm fingers rest on my knuckles and it helps me forget the discomfort I'm in. "What happened?" I ask when the dizziness fades and I'm able to re-open my eyes. I'm met with Sokka's serious gaze as he shakes his head.
"Later. You need to recover." My brother voices sternly, but I pierce him with a disapproving look.
"What happened?" I repeat, my voice still sounding scratchy and unused. Sokka's face morphs into displeasure before he glances away.
"You dumbly ran into a falling building that's what." The ponytailed man regales angrily. I squint at him, knowing he's trying to take it easy on me, but it isn't working as well as he hoped.
"I couldn't just leave A...oh my gosh Aang! Is he ok?!" I fire back and try to lift my back off the bed, but Sokka is reaching forward and pushing my shoulders back onto the mattress.
"He's fine. You on the other hand were lucky to get out of there alive. How could you be so reckless?! Don't you care what could've happened to you?" Sokka snarls, but I'm so overwhelmed with relief that Aang is fine that his words barely affect me.
"I'm sorry Sokka." I apologize earnestly and the older boy instantly deflates.
"I could've lost you. Don't you know how scary that would've been for me?" Sokka whispers as his grip around my fingers tightens. I swallow, unused to his brotherly love. I try to give him a reassuring smile.
"It's ok, I'm right here." I murmur as I lift an arm to settle it on his forearm.
"You nearly weren't." He chokes back as tears start swimming in his ocean blue orbs. I bite my lip and start to wonder whether I was in worse shape than I thought I was.
"Hey, it can't have been that bad." I offer flippantly, but it turns out to be the wrong thing to say as the man glares at me.
"Not that bad?! You've been unconscious for over a week!" Sokka retorts brashly. I stare at him as I feel my lips parting in shock. Instant regret contorts his features as he blinks.
"It doesn't matter. You're awake now." He rushes to cover up his slip, but I feel my hand sliding off his arm as I stare at the bandages winding up my arm.
"A week?" I echo back in disbelief. My brother rubs the back of his neck unsurely.
"I shouldn't have brought it up; it's too soon." He mumbles. I can't seem to wrap my head around the fact I was out for that long.
"Spirits, I really was in bad shape then." I whisper, suddenly feeling vulnerable and scared. I hear my brother curse under his breath as he comes to sit gingerly on the edge of my bed.
"It's why I was so scared." He mumbles as he wraps an arm around my shoulders in a gentle hug. I close my eyes at the embrace and swallow.
"Is Dad...ok?" I ask quietly. Sokka hesitates as he pulls back.
"He hasn't been sleeping or eating much. At the moment he's at some council meeting, but he should be back soon." He explains uncomfortably. I almost kick myself at hearing the pain I caused to both my Dad and brother.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." I trail off when Sokka shakes his head slowly.
"You save people, that's who you are. It's hard for me to fault you for being so heroic." My brother praises with a small smile, but the worry is very much still etched into his face. I bite my lip and close my eyes. "Hey, are you ok?" Sokka asks, his tone coated in concern. I crack open one eye.
"Yeah, just tired. I feel like I broke every bone in my body." I try to joke, but the man doesn't share my same amusement as he crosses his arms stiffly.
"Don't joke about that. You broke your leg and some ribs. It will be a while before you're able to do anything." Sokka utters sternly. I sigh at that ugly truth.
"At least that horrible gang is gone." I mutter, but instead of the relief I expected to see on my brother's face, his eyebrows twitch slightly. I frown and try to lean up onto my elbows until I realise what a terrible idea that is when my chest complains in protest.
"What's with the face?" I croak as I drop back against my pillows. Sokka gives me a half-hearted shrug.
"What face?" He deflects lamely. I frown at him.
"That face." I repeat firmly with a jerk of my chin. He purses his lips.
"That's just my face." Sokka retorts dumbly. I scowl at him.
"Sokka." I warn sharply. He rolls his eyes before answering.
"Get better first and then we'll talk." My brother says as he gets ready to stand, but it doesn't take a genius to work out the implications of those words. I inhale sharply and screw my eyes tightly closed.
"Some of them are still out there." I conclude with a strangled voice. Another curse escapes my brother's lips before he rests a hand on my shoulder.
"Well, just a few. The police are trying to track them down as we speak." The ponytailed man reasons, but I'm not naive to believe that.
"It's been over a week. If they haven't caught them now, then they aren't going to catch them at all." I retort in frustration, but Sokka motions with his hands to calm down.
"Hey we have Ozai, the guy who ran the entire operation. That's the most important person. Everyone else were just pawns in his games." Sokka voices smoothly, but his voice is a little too loud for everything to be that simple. I squint at him before scrunching up my nose.
"Oh, and what about Yon Rha?" I spit out the monster's name, even the thought of him has me feeling twisted up. Sokka freezes and drops his head, obscuring his face from my line of sight.
"He...he got away." I hear him mumble. My heart stops for a brief moment before it kick-starts into hyperdrive and the monitor by my bed has the curtsey to alert my brother of my distress as it starts beeping loudly. "Shoot. Katara, it's ok. He can't run forever." Sokka reassures earnestly, but I narrow my eyes at him.
"He was hiding for months and now the only lead we had is gone." I croak back, hating the slither of fear that crawls up my spine at the thought that he's on the loose. "He knows where we live." I add in sickening realisation. Sokka's lips part silently before he snaps his jaws closed again.
"Ok, yeah that's something I should bring to Dad's attention." Sokka agrees sheepishly. I would've slapped my forehead if it didn't hurt just to breathe, let alone move.
"You need to tell Aang too." I press earnestly, but the older boy is already flicking his wrist.
"Don't worry, he already knows." My brother voices smoothly, but now that I've had time to think about the younger boy, I can't help but notice the weird lack of his presence. I frown.
"Where is he?" I ask cautiously. I watch as the man opens his mouth, only to purse his lips a moment later.
"I'm not really sure, probably back at uni? He didn't want to leave until he saw you were awake, but I told him it would be better if he was back at uni." He admits shamefully. I quirk an eyebrow at him.
"Because it's safer?" I conclude, but Sokka shakes his head.
"No, because he wouldn't leave your bedside. It was bordering on becoming seriously unhealthy." My brother confesses with a knowing look. I glare at him as I feel my cheeks heating up.
"But is he ok?" I press, not giving Sokka room to tease me. The question sobers up the man as he gives a helpless shrug of his shoulders.
"I...think he needs a lot of time to process everything. Roku's funeral was a couple of days ago." Sokka discloses. My heart plummets when I realise I wasn't there for him.
"Oh spirits no. I should've been there." I curse and I bite the inside of my cheek hard from being able to understand the type of pain he's going through as Mum's funeral flickers to mind.
"Hello, you were kind of in a coma. There's nothing you could've done. Besides, Dad attended with him." Sokka reminds sarcastically. I shoot him a sidelong glower.
"Trust you not to understand." I mutter under my breath which elicits an eye roll from the man.
"Gee that's the thanks I get for missing a week's worth of lectures." My brother mumbles and I instantly feel bad.
"I'm sorry. It's just...he doesn't have anyone to be there for him." I half explain as byway of an apology. Sokka rubs the back of his neck uncomfortably.
"Yeah. Poor kid was even blaming himself for what happened to you. He really needs some therapy." My brother utters to himself, but my body immediately stiffens at those words.
"He was what?" I echo numbly back. Sokka glances up at the anxiety in my tone before he shakes his hands frantically in front of him.
"Not saying I agree with him! Of course, it wasn't his fault, but that didn't stop him thinking it." The older boy explains, but that does little to alleviate my fears. With a puff of air, I struggle to sit up as I grasp the hand rails. Sokka's eyes widen in alarm as he rushes forward to stop me. "What are you doing?!" He exclaims as he tries to push me back down.
"I need to see him! He needs to know he's wrong." I argue desperately as images of his slashed wrists cruelly taunt me.
"Are you crazy?! You've got a broken leg. You're not going anywhere!" Sokka orders loudly as he presses a firm hand down on my shoulder. I bite my tongue as I'm forced to lie back down. Sokka must've caught the borderline panic on my face as he snorts. "Jeez calm down, it's not like he's going to jump off a building or something." He jokes, but if anything that makes the blood rush down my face at the terrifying thought.
"I have to talk to him." I beg with scared eyes. My brother blinks in surprise as he cautiously takes his phone out of his pocket.
"Ok? But what's the urgency?" He asks as he scrolls through his contacts.
"I just have to talk to him. I need to make sure he's coping with what happened to Roku and...me." I mumble earnestly. Sokka pauses as he raises an eyebrow.
"You think he's not coping?" Sokka asks with furrowed eyebrows.
"You think he is?" I fire back, feeling mildly annoyed that he can't see how much Aang has been through. The older boy scratches his neck as he drops his gaze to his phone.
"Well, probably not. Kuzon might also get jail time from what I've been hearing too." Sokka utters as he chews his lip. I didn't know my heart could drop any further, but it does. 'Shoot, shoot, shoot. That's the last thing that boy needs.' I struggle back up to a sitting position which prompts a scowl from the ponytailed man.
"What did I tell you about lying down?!" He barks, but my eyes are too busy focussed on his phone. He glances down at the device in his hands before sighing and tapping the screen. I hear it ring for a moment as Sokka brings the phone to his ear. But a frown graces his features a moment later as he pulls the phone away to stare at the screen. "That's weird." He mutters. I grip the railing of the bed tightly as I pierce my blue orbs into him.
"What?" I demand as something akin to fear crawls through my insides. Sokka purses his lips as he tries dialling again, but again there's no answer. My brother's frown deepens as he scratches his head.
"It keeps telling me that this number has been disconnected. But I just called him a few days ago before the funeral." Sokka discloses as he lowers his phone to his lap. I bite the inside of my cheek hard.
"Do you think he's alright?" I ask worriedly. The man stares at his phone for a moment longer before waving his hand in an attempt to soothe my fears.
"I'm sure he's fine. He probably thought it was a good idea to change his number for tracking purposes and forgot to give me his new number." My brother suggests with an easy-going smile, but I feel my eyebrows scrunching together tightly.
"What if that's not it though?" I press. I watch as he chews his lip before leaning against the back rest of his chair.
"I'll go check in with him at uni next week." Sokka ushers lightly, but the rock in my stomach doesn't seem to disappear. "Don't worry. He's a tough little guy." He adds when he sees the concern is still on my face. I give him a weak smile.
"Yeah." I echo back as my stomach continues to churn anxiously. 'He's fine.' I try to convince myself, but all of a sudden I wish I had pressured him into telling me more about his cutting patterns. 'How often does he do it? Has he ever gone too far? Does he ever have...suicidal thoughts? Or worse still, suicidal intent?! How can he keep being hit with brick after brick and not shatter? He doesn't have one single person in the whole world to check in on him. Roku was the only one. Maybe Kuzon would've counted, but I don't really know what kind of relationship he has with Aang or what Aang feels about him now. And even if everything was fine between them, he's going to stand trial which means he probably won't be allowed contact with anyone that's involved with the trial which includes Aang himself.'
I close my eyes at the bombardment of all these thoughts. 'How can someone so young be so alone?' I wonder as I swallow thickly. I hear Sokka talking, but his words wash over me as I stare out of the window, praying that I'll be able to get out of here soon to see the Air Nomad.
1 week later:
"What do you mean I'm being escorted out by an officer? I already said I'll attend my trial next week." I look up from the anatomy textbook that Sokka dropped off for me and crane my neck to see past my open door to find Aang's family friend grumbling to himself as he taps his foot impatiently. When his gaze flickers across, his foot stops tapping as he widens his eyes in recognition. He spares a glance to something on his left before entering my room.
"Hey! It's good to see you're awake." The man beams, as if he wasn't just complaining to himself.
"Erm, hi?" I answer awkwardly. 'All I know about this man is that Aang knew him for years and that he had something to do with his parents' death. Oh, and he tried to save me.' I clear my throat. "Kuzon, right?" I query as I set my book down. The firebender glances briefly at the title before grinning at me.
"That would be me. Anatomy huh? That was one of Aang's favourite topics when he was a kid." The man reminisces. I freeze, realising that through this man I could finally get to know more about the young airbender. 'He's the closest person that Aang has left.' I think dumbstruck, but before I could venture further, my mind automatically takes me back to his earlier mutterings.
"Why are you being escorted by the police?" I ask with a frown which elicits an exaggerated sigh from the firebender as he snorts.
"You're in a gang and they automatically treat you like scum. I'm supposed to attend a trial next week, but it looks like they don't trust me to not do a runner, so I'm getting assigned an officer to escort me to my own house." The man grumbles as he kicks at some imaginary dust on the ground. My jaws slacken. 'So Sokka wasn't exaggerating.' I swallow.
"That's not fair." I mutter. My words makes the firebender's eyebrows shoot up to his hairline as he gazes at me.
"I was in a gang." He points out cautiously, as if hesitant to remind me. I purse my lips
"You also saved me." I throw back before dropping my eyes to the bed sheets. "Thank you for that by the way." I murmur softly as one of my hands subconsciously strays to my side where one of the whip marks have seemingly remained. 'I guess Aang was right. Healing only speeds up the natural body's repair system. It doesn't stop scars that would've otherwise formed regardless of healing. Which means my body is now littered with raised ragged lines.' His face drops when he catches my arm movement.
"I wasn't quick enough." He mutters with the slight scrunching of his nose. I blink, surprised at the bitterness in his voice, especially since he doesn't even know me.
"Why'd you do it? You got hurt trying to protect me." I finally ask the question that's been nagging me for days. He scratches the back of his head as he glances to the side.
"I'm not sure what Aang has told you about me, but we were really close when he was young. And I've been following him from a distance for a while. He...he doesn't open up to people after what happened to his parents. And it got worse after the fire at the orphanage. From how protective he is of you, I could tell you mean a lot to him and I wasn't going to let him lose anyone else." Kuzon explains with a half-smile as I feel my cheeks burning red at his observation.
"I..." I trail off, unsure how to respond to that.
"Please look after him for me. Who knows how long they'll put me away for, if he has you then that will ease my worries slightly." The firebender urges with intense amber orbs. I swallow and drop my gaze to the bedsheets.
"I'm worried he won't let me." I mutter as I stare at the plain white duvet. The man furrows his eyebrows.
"What do you mean?" He asks with a tilted head. I bite my lip.
"My brother said he hasn't been to any of the lectures for the past week. I'm worried about him and..." I chew my lip and grasp the sheets tightly at the thought that crosses my mind. "...what if he does something that he can't come back from? Or what if he...he disappears from my life altogether." I whisper, the very prospect scares me. That is, until the man shakes his head.
"He's fine. He came to visit me last night. Maybe he's just having a lecture break. After everything that's happened, I don't blame him." Kuzon reassures easily, but if anything that has me clenching the material more tightly.
"He did?" I echo back tonelessly, making the man blink.
"He did. I assumed he popped in to see you too?" The firebender utters unsurely as if slowing catching onto the reason for my quickly dampening demeanour. I drop my head further down until my chin is resting against my sternum.
"He's avoiding me." I state numbly and somehow the realisation is a sucker punch to the gut.
"Woah now, maybe he's just waiting until you're feeling better." Kuzon suggests with his hands out in some sort of attempt to calm me down. But if I've learnt anything from all my time with Aang, it's that he always withdraws from people. And this time I can't do anything to stop him from doing so.
I try to swallow, but the lump gets stuck in my throat as tears prick my eyes. 'Aang has all his credits to graduate from uni. For all I know the last time I saw him could very well have been it. My last memory of him is his tear-streaked face and that shattered expression as I hugged him.'
I press my lips tightly together as I try to ignore the way that my fingernails dig into my palms. 'He said he'd cut off things to protect me. And it was so easy for him to ignore me when we were in that cell. Now it looks like he's doing it again.' I'm broken out of my thoughts by the snapping of fingers and look up to find Kuzon looking very unsure of himself.
"Give him some time and space. He's still not over what happened with Roku. And you being in here doesn't help. Focus on getting better and then go and talk to him, ok?" The firebender suggests lightly. My mouth fails me, but fortunately my neck moves for me in a rigid nod. "Good. Now, I best go before the officer gets mad for waiting. But! I do have one very important question to ask you before I go." The man utters seriously, but the twinkle in his eyes betrays him. I quirk an eyebrow and lean back into my pillows.
"Oh? And what's that?" I ask, penetrating the man with my blue orbs.
"Are you and Aang just friends? Or is there something more?" My body jerks forward at the question and I stare at the firebender with slack jaws. I'm flushing hard as I reply.
"Just friends." I mutter, my voice sounding scratchy to my own ears. Kuzon quirks an eyebrow at me.
"Are you sure?" He presses and I give him a glare.
"Is that really your business to ask?" I retort sharply, leaving a bemused expression on the man's face.
"Right now I'm the closest person he has, so while it might not be my business I would like to know if there's someone in his life." The firebender answers, sounding a lot more calm than I gave him credit for after my outburst. I look shamefully at my interlocked hands that rest over my lap.
"I...might feel something for him. But he's found it hard enough to call me his friend, forget anything else. Couple that with his distance then I don't know what he feels." I mumble as I scrunch up a corner of the duvet. "I wish I didn't feel anything. It would be so much easier." I murmur with tightly furrowed eyebrows.
From the corner of my eyes, I catch the man rocking on his heels as he contemplates his next words.
"Why would it be easier?" He finally asks. I flicker my eyes to meet his gaze.
"Because then it wouldn't hurt when he's not here." I croak back and suddenly I feel so pathetic. 'I've never been one for romance, always too busy achieving the top marks and not wanting anything else. And then I met Aang. Someone who drew me in with his easy smile and mysterious past. And as his layers unfolded painfully slowly, I saw how much tape he used to keep the broken pieces of himself together. It made me want to help more than ever and along the way I fell for him.'
I bite my lip as curiosity nags at me. 'When did I get so attached? Was it when he fell asleep on my shoulder? Or when he helped me with my frustrating assignments? Or that time he gave me the fruit pie that was meant to be for his parents? Maybe it was when he fastened my flower to my mother's gravestone and bowed so low as if he deeply respected a woman he never met.'
With that thought it suddenly strikes me how much Mum would've loved and spoilt him. 'She'd have mothered him and fix him in a way that I probably couldn't do.' My heart aches with that familiar pang of painful grief that I've slowly grown accustomed to. A sad weight that never really goes away. I can just feel my throat closing in on itself as I try not to let the whole situation overwhelm me.
"Katara?" I blink rapidly at hearing my name and look up.
"I'm sorry. I just wish he would say something to me." I voice with a pained sigh. The firebender gazes me sympathetically before giving me a tentative smile.
"The next time I see him, I'll mention it." He offers lightly and somehow that thought eases the heavy weight resting on my chest.
"Thank you." I breathe out, but the man simply shakes his head.
"He's lucky to have you." Kuzon says, but the twinkle in his eye takes on a whole other meaning. I open my mouth, ready to protest against his implications, but he beats me to it. "I get the impression he thinks of you very highly. He cares about you a lot and I think he's trying to suppress any feelings he may have for you in a delusional attempt to protect you. When he realises he doesn't need to, he'll come running I'm sure." Kuzon explains with a wink. In that moment I can't decide whether to punch the man or duck my head in embarrassment. I do neither and just sigh.
"I'm not too sure about that. But I shouldn't keep you any longer. I would hate it if you got into more trouble on my account." I utter sincerely. The firebender smiles, but the corner of his lips quickly sink.
"One more thing. Did you..." He pauses to cough in his hand. I watch him kick at the ground as he avoids my gaze. "...did you ever notice Aang doing anything...odd?" His words come out static and rushed. I stare at him in confusion.
"Odd how?" I question wearily. Kuzon turns his head to the side, giving me a clear view of his throbbing jaw line.
"Odd as in doing something he shouldn't. Like an unhealthy coping strategy." The firebender elaborates, his wording sends a chill down my spine when I realise exactly what he's referring to. My mouth goes dry as I lick my lips in an attempt to moisten them.
"I mean, have you noticed anything?" I ask, trying to sound casual. 'For all I know, Aang might not want Kuzon to know anything about him.' I reason with myself as Kuzon's eyes narrow at me.
"So, you do know." He utters lowly. I freeze and glance away.
"By the sounds of it, so do you." I mutter.
"Shoot. I was hoping it was a recent thing. Do you know how long..." He trails off, but he doesn't have to say it for me to fill in the blanks. I shake my head helplessly.
"I-I don't know. I never got the chance to grill him about it. But he's got a lot of faded white scars up his arms." I reveal quietly as the rock settles on my chest once more. The firebender blinks at me as he cocks his head.
"You mean you saw them? How?! He barely gave me the chance to glance." Kuzon asks in bewilderment. I shift on the mattress in discomfort.
"I kinda caught him off guard when he was topless in the..." I trail off when I realise what I was about to say and immediately snap my jaws closed as a rush of heat crawls up my neck which only gets worse at Kuzon's stunned expression. "It wasn't like that!" I snap, feeling angry at his continued insistent illusion of my relationship with Aang. The man immediately raises his hands defensively.
"Ok ok, but I mean what else do you expect me to think..." He trails off at my heated glare and takes a cautious step back. "Being quiet now." He squeaks and I have half a mind to throw my pillow at him. Instead, I just sag against the plush and massage my forehead.
"Why are you even asking?" I mutter when the slightly charged air dissipates. The firebender crosses his arms and taps his foot.
"I need to know how bad it is to decide whether I should tell councilman Hakoda." I frown at hearing that.
"Why would you need to tell my Dad about that?" I ask in confusion. The man immediately snaps his jaws shut as if realising he said something he shouldn't. He gives me a useless shrug.
"Right. I forget he's your dad. Erm..." I watch him cough into his hand as his eyes dance from side to side in thought. "He's still responsible for Aang's welfare." Kuzon mutters with a proud nod to himself as if mentally giving himself a pat on the shoulder for saying the right thing. I eye him suspiciously.
"No, you were going to say something else." I point out firmly as I push myself forward. My ribs scream at the effort, but my gaze is fixed on the man who's shaking his hands in disagreement.
"That's the truth. And if you don't know, then it's something I'll have to figure out myself." Kuzon utters seriously as he takes a step towards the door. My eyes widen and I sit up more.
"You're going to tell him?! I don't think Aang will appreciate that." I protest, only for the firebender to quirk his eyebrow at me.
"This isn't about what he wants, it's about keeping him safe." Kuzon retorts. I frown at him.
"You have to speak with him first." I insist so harshly that it takes the man by surprise. His lips part before he shakes his head.
"I don't think..." He starts, but I cut him off.
"No way are you doing this behind his back!" I grit between my teeth. I push my sheets back and swing my unbroken leg over the edge of the bed to emphasise my point. The firebender rushes forward anxiously.
"Ok, ok! Just lie back down, you're still injured!" Kuzon begs with his hands up in surrender. I scrutinise him for several moments before nodding my head and easing back onto the bed. All the while I keep biting the inside of my cheek to stifle my groans of pain at my reckless behaviour. 'Ouch, ouch, ouch.' I think silently as I wrap an arm around my waist. "Spirits, you're stubborn." He mutters under his breath. I shoot him a glower.
"And you're a backstabbing hypocrite." I fire back hotly, making the man drop his jaw.
"How on earth am I that?!" He squeals back in indignation while I stare him down.
"You're supposed to be on Aang's side. Going behind his back wouldn't do him any good. It will just push him further away and stop trusting you altogether. I don't know what he thinks of you right now, but if he's still visiting you, then you still mean something to him. Betraying his trust like this will destroy that. Don't let him regret forgiving you." I rant with fiery eyes. The man balks at my words before hanging his head in shame.
"I... hadn't thought of it like that." He mumbles with another kick to the ground. I snort and cross my arms over my chest, only to grimace at the tug of pain.
"Well, next time think before you destroy that poor boy further." I growl back protectively. Amber eyes glance up to meet my firm expression. A smile tugs at his lips as he gives me a knowing look.
"I think you're good for him." Kuzon says with a nod. I feel my jaws slacken, but before I can voice any words of protest he's backing out of the door with a wave. "I hope you get better soon Katara." The firebender bids sincerely and he sprints out of my room just as I open my mouth to spew out an angry tirade. I curse under my breath as I throw myself back against my pillows, but I instantly regret the action.
"Who does he think he is?" I mutter to myself angrily as I glare at where he once stood. "How did Aang even put up with that guy?" I wonder quietly with a shake of my head. But as soon as I say the boy's name, my heart freezes up and Kuzon's unwanted words echo strongly in my mind.
'Is there something more?'
'I want to know if he has someone in his life.'
'What do you expect me to think?'
I clench my hand tightly. Angry at him for bringing the topic up. Angry at Aang for not coming to visit. And angry at myself for wanting something more with the boy. I slap my forehead. 'He's a boy.' I hiss to myself. 'Only a teen. And I'm legally an adult. This has to be wrong.' I try to convince myself, but all I have to do is recall the airbender's infectious grin and my stomach flips backwards. 'Shoot. Why does it feel right, then?'
I groan inwardly as I rub my eye with the base of my palm. 'It doesn't matter. Aang doesn't feel the same way. What we said in that cell was just a knee jerk reaction from all the stress, pressure and fear. It didn't mean anything.' I think reasonably, but if anything that just fills me with sadness, because...'what if I did mean it? What if...I wanted him to mean it too?'
I shake my head quickly and grab my anatomy book. But as I stare at the flexor digitorum muscles of the hand, I know my brain refuses to focus. I squeeze my arm, forgetting about the gash there and wince when it flares with tenderness.
"If Mum was here, I could ask her." I whisper to myself. 'Heck, if Aang was here I could ask him. But no, he's too busy avoiding me to even see how I'm doing. After everything we've been through, the least he could do is drop by.'
In a flash of rage, I chuck my book to the opposite end of the room, watching as it smacks loudly with the hospital wall before gravity drops it to the ground with a massive thud. My body aches with the strain, but I'm too busy fuming to care. And the worst part of all this is I can't even leave this bed with my broken leg.
It makes me feel so trapped and after spending days in a literal prison cell, being trapped is the last thing I need. I push my hands into my closed eyes in agitation. 'I need to get out of here. I need to speak to someone who understands. I need...Aang.' I think with a hiccup. 'He's the only one that knows what happened. About...' I trail off with screwed up eyes.
As much as I like to tell myself that the memories of being whipped isn't that big of a deal. I know deep down it is. 'Why else would I be waking up at night gasping for air after another horrid nightmare? Or why does my body scream with pain from the burns that now mark my torso when I'm on the highest dose of morphine? Or why do I find myself withdrawing when both my father and brother press me for details on what happened while I was captured?'
I close my eyes. 'But I think they know. It's in their eyes when they look at me. The horror. The anger. The guilt. I don't know who told them. The arrested gang members? Kuzon? Aang? It doesn't matter because being told something is very different from being the one who went through it. And there's no one I can talk to about it. Telling my family isn't an option because they're one stone away from breaking. I can see it when they visit. Maybe I should've said something to Kuzon while he was here. But then again, I don't know the man and neither does he know me. The one person I could talk to isn't even talking to me.' I echo numbly as I find myself crawling into a foetal position, ignoring the protests from my battered body as I dig my face into my knees.
"Uni was supposed to be the best time of my life, but it's been one horrible nightmare." I utter thickly as my vision blurs with tears. "I just want my Mum." My voice cracks as I sob into my knees.
Aang's POV:
My lips are pressed so tightly together that they tinge white as I stare at the waterbender breaking down from the gap in the curtain of her room. The crack in her voice as she sobs for her mother has my heart shattering in a million pieces as I make sure to keep out of her line of sight. 'I did this to her.' I think in despair, my face pained.
The urge to comfort her is overwhelmingly strong, but I take a quiet step back. 'Everything she went through is because of me. Her mum's death, being kidnapped, then tortured, the coma, being stuck in hospital, her injuries. That's all my fault.'
I grasp my chest, my fingers dig into my shirt in an effort to still the continuous beating of my heart as it rams against my ribcage. 'When I first met her, she was a bright eyed, confident and innocent young woman. And now? She's a broken down, traumatised girl.'
I continue to watch her through the crack in the curtains, I think it's partly as a way to torment myself. But as her cries rip at my heart, I find myself unable to listen any longer. Of their own accord, my feet start moving backwards and before I know it I'm sprinting out of the room.
A/N: I couldn't help but add in that last part in Aang's POV, the urge to complete the drama was strong XD Idk why I enjoy torturing these guys so much, but I hope you enjoyed it regardless XD I'm not going to give estimates of when I'll post the nect chapter because I'll be working soon, but I'm hoping for weekly updates or so. There's literally only 2 chapters left. I've written 53 and I'm currently working on 54. It's crazy that it's almost finished and I really appreciate all your support. I am intending to do a sequel which will tie off loose ends XD anyway, I hope you're all doing well and see you next time.
Flexor digitorum = muscles in the hand that allows you to bend your fingers.
15/7/22