Chapter 13 - Deeper Than Heartbreak

The visitors in the waiting room looked up from their phones and magazines when they heard deep, mournful sobs. That huge wolf from earlier was being escorted out by two large horse nurses who held him under the arms. He was being dragged backward, his legs kicking weakly as snot and tears dropped onto his shirt.

"L-Lou...Lou...pl-please...n-n..."

They watched as the two nurses opened the doors and dumped him unceremoniously onto the concrete outside, brushing their hands as they turned around and entered the hospital once again.

…

Legosi shakily got up to his feet and quickly noted that one of the nurses was standing just by the entrance inside. The horse glared at him, forcing him away. Legosi slunk off, still shaking all over. He glanced up at the large building, trying to determine if there was any other way inside. Unlike the Horns building, the hospital was entirely vertical with no place for footholds. He jogged around the structure, trying to find something. Anything."

Eventually, a yak security guard lumbered over to him. "Sir? Sir, I'll need to ask you to leave."

"L-Lou. Lou's in there! I-I need to save him!"

"Sure, buddy. Look, the doctors there can take care of him. Go home."

"D-doctors. They did something to him. His head. His head. He was okay. He was okay. We were okay." Legosi paced back and forth mumbling into his hand, face still stained from tears and snot. The security guard said something into the radio on his shoulder but he couldn't hear it.

Legosi's chest hurt. It felt like his organs were going to spill out. He felt like his lungs were going to pop out from his mouth. His eyes were bulging out. His teeth burned. His feet were frozen. Spiders with thousands of needles for legs climbed up his arms. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe.

The wolf turned tail and sprinted off, leaving the yak to scratch his head and shrug.

Legosi didn't know how he got there, but the Hidden Condo soon appeared. He couldn't feel his legs. The lobby walls melted into each other and encroached upon him, threatening to swallow him. He held his head and whimpered. His stomach burned and his head swam. He was in the bathroom suddenly, retching into the shower drain. Nothing came up. His stomach grumbled and his throat was like sandpaper. The prickling feeling on his skin never left. He quickly shut the curtain and started to strip his clothes off, practically ripping the shirt to get it off. He let the clothes fall inside the stall, and once he was naked he turned the water on, ice cold as it hit him.

A long, mournful wail escaped him at the sensation. His chest still ached and his skin still prickled. His head was about to explode. He was going to die.

Legosi brought his sharp claws up to his shoulder, sinking them into the flesh as he exhaled slowly. Warmth ran down his arm, picked up by the water and fell to the ground. Red circled around his feet and exited the drain. He dragged the claws down, drawing long, red gashes as more red spilled. The pain from his arm registered as stronger than the pain in his chest, allowing him to breathe more steadily. His hyperventilation began to cease, and he stood in the shower for a few more minutes before shutting the water off. He stared down at his body, his vision blurry.

Drip.

Drip.

Blood still flowed from his arm. He picked up his mangled shirt and wrapped it around the wound. He pulled on the rest of his wet clothes with difficulty and stumbled out.

The trip to his room didn't register in his brain. He was just suddenly at a door that read 504. He opened it, realizing he never locked it. He stumbled in, not bothering to take his shoes off, approaching the futon and collapsing onto it, face buried into Louis' pillow. His scent was still fresh. Louis was there. He was there for him. He would help him.

Legosi smiled.

Legosi's mind drifted in and out of consciousness. He saw a fountain. Louis was there. His corpse was there. Legosi looked down at the blood on his claws.

"You're my favorite distraction." Legosi looked up to see Louis sitting there, smiling at him.

He couldn't speak.

"I love you."

Legosi looked back up. Louis' antlers were gone and there was a bandage around his head.

"Let's get married as soon as possible."

Legosi slowly looked down at himself, feeling a wet pain in his chest. The antlers that had been on Louis' head were embedded in his chest.

Knock, knock, knock.

Legosi jolted up, sharp pain shooting through his left arm. He hissed.

"Legosi-kun? It's Sebun. I'm here to see how your visit went." The sheep swallowed hard. She heard it from the receptionist. Legosi had run into the lobby around noon, looking as if he were rabid. She clutched a pair of scissors in her pocket. "Legosi-"

The wolf opened the door, staring down at her. He was shirtless, a bloodied and ripped green shirt tied around his arm. The rest of him was damp and he reeked. His eyes held no recognition in them.

"...kun."

"Sebun-san." The words came out as a croak.

"Wh-what happened?" Sebun covered her mouth and took in the sight before her. "What happened Legosi-kun?"

Legosi wobbled on his feet slightly and stepped inside. Sebun followed cautiously.

The room looked the same as it did the other day, only today there was a sizable stain of blood on the futon. She gasped. "LEGOSI, WHAT HAPPENED?"

The wolf sat on the futon, grabbing a pillow and sniffing it. "I went to see Louis."

Sebun stood a good deal away from him, listening.

"...He...he said it was over. Between us." Legosi rubbed a hand over the shirt on his arm. "I don't know. I don't know why."

"Oh..."

Nothing was said for a few moments. Sebun brought her hand out from her pocket. "Have you eaten anything?"

Legosi gently shook his head.

"Stay here, please. I'm going to get you something, okay?"

No response. Sebun turned and headed out.

Fuck, this isn't my responsibility! I have enough to worry about at work! I'm at my wit's end! So why can't I just leave this stranger alone?

Sebun put a pot on for some tea and bought some rice cakes from a vending machine, noting her carnivore coworkers being a fan of them. After fifteen minutes she came back, finding Legosi in the same position she found him in.

She set the food on the table. "Here, come over here, sweetie." She patted the seat of the chair, and thankfully the wolf slowly came over and sat down. He looked at the food with puffy eyes and Sebun turned the light on since the sun streaming in was rapidly falling behind the horizon.

Legosi sniffed at the food, and Sebun could hear his stomach audibly growling. She took a seat across from him and sighed in relief when he picked up one of the packages and opened it.

"So...your arm?"

Legosi took a bite of his food. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Who did it to you?" Of course, Sebun knew.

The wolf didn't answer, taking a sip of the tea and breathing out softly.

The sheep watching him eat, her mind trying to tell her about all the free time she was wasting.

Legosi finished the food, his face returning somewhat to normal. He stared deeply into Sebun's eyes.

"...Legosi-kun? How are you feeling?"

"Sebun-san...why? Why did Louis leave me?"

The sheep shifted in her seat, uncomfortably. "I don't know. I've never been in a serious relationship. Sometimes they just...don't work out."

"B-but this was supposed to be our new start. We were inseparable at school! Even at my grandfather's! But we come here and four days later it's...it's gone? Why is it gone? What did I do, Sebun-san?"

Sebun backed into her seat. Okay I very much did not sign up for this. "I don't know, Legosi-kun. Louis might just need some space. He just went through something very rough."

"I think the doctors messed with his brain! His antlers were gone and he had a bandage on his head! They must have thought he was sick for loving a male wolf!"

The herbivore cringed, hearing the wolf be so sure of himself in his delusion. "Legosi-kun...they removed his antlers as a safety precaution so he wouldn't hurt himself or others with them. It's pretty standard practice, but I wouldn't have expected you to know since it's a herbivore thing.

Legosi just stared blankly at her. "...Oh..."

Sebun decided to change the subject. "Legosi-kun, you need to get help. Do you have work?"

Legosi nodded, speaking in a monotone. "Sundays, but Mel-san might hire me for other days."

"Well you'll need to call him if you can't go in. Also you should call your grandpa. I can't take care of you all the time, okay?"

He nodded again. "Thank you, Sebun-san. I appreciate what you're doing."

Sebun sighed. It was impossible to be mad at this wolf. "I'm going back to my room. Text me if you need anything."

And with that, Legosi was alone again. He finished up the tea, forgetting that it was Sebun's cup. He moved to the couch and fell onto it, turning the television on. It was then that his phone vibrated.

Pina was calling him.