Chapter 10: Grievous Encounter
Riiiiing… riiiiiing… riiiiing…
"Who could be calling at a time like this?"
Marie wrapped a white towel around her and stepped out of the bathroom. She was almost done with her half bath. Water dripped on the ragged floor as she walked across the living room, she noticed the wall clock. It was eight in the evening already.
"This better be important."
She held the receiver firmly and took a deep breath.
"Marie Mjolnir speaking. May I help you?" She tried to sound polite. She didn't want to give strangers a bad impression about her.
"Good evening, Ms. Mjolnir. This is Doctor Stein."
"Ah, the family doctor." She said quickly as she glared, sounding a bit disappointed. More like she wasn't amused that it was him for he used to be her boyfriend.
"I'm in your beloved nephew's mansion right now."
"WHAT? What are you doing there?"
"Surprised? You shouldn't be. I'm the family doctor after all. You just said so yourself."
"But you haven't been there for a long time already."
"Yeah, since we broke up." He smiled.
"Don't bring up that topic!" She heard him chuckle.
"So what happened there?"
"Nobody called you? One of his servants should have atleast informed you."
"As my ex-boyfriend, you should know that Kid doesn't like me." She heard him chuckle again.
"I know. I'm just messing with you." He grinned. "Anyway, let's catch to the chase. I'm here because your nephew is injured right now."
"What did he do this time?"
"This time? You mean he usually gets in trouble?"
"Not at all. He's actually well-mannered except to me, ofcourse. It's just that ever since she took in that Gorgon girl he has become more rebellious."
Stein felt his heart stop for a second. "Gorgon… girl? You don't mean the homeless pinkette, right?"
"Well, are there any other Gorgons in this town?"
He gazed around his surroundings to see if there was anybody around. He was in one of the hallways in the second floor of the manor. He calmed himself down before talking again. "I heard they were cleaning up a welcome party for the new maid when the carriage driver accidentally pulled down the chandelier in the foyer. Kid tried to save the maid and ended up getting the hurt."
"Tch," Marie uttered. "He shouldn't have risked his life for that dirty girl. So where is he now?"
"In his room, resting."
"And the pinkette?"
"She's probably with the cook right now."
"You haven't seen her yet?"
"Yeah, when I came here, I went straight to Kid's room to check his wounds. I might bump into the girl anytime now since Kid invited me to eat dinner here."
"I see. I heard you got rid of her mom. Why didn't you get rid of her too?"
"I thought it would be interesting to let her live. And I don't really have any reasons to kill her. She may be the daughter of that slut but she's a good girl."
"I can't believe you're complementing the daughter of the person you killed. If you killed her too, you could have done me a favor."
"What do you have against that girl?"
"She's a hindrance there. Slowly, she's becoming attached to Kid. We wouldn't want that not only because she's a contemptuous girl but also because Kid is already bound to marry a childhood friend."
"Interesting. So I paved a nice path for her."
"It's disgusting how you make it sound like you're a good guy."
"I would never claim that I am, Marie."
"Ofcourse, you always had some madness in you."
Stein smiled. "You really know me well than anyone."
Marie's face flashed red. "Fool. I'm hanging up. Thanks for taking care of Kid."
"Yeah, don't mention it. We should see each other sometimes."
"You brought a dead back to life. But you can't bring the past back."
He chuckled. "What made you so bitter?"
"I want that girl dead, Stein. If that happens, I'd be happy to see you. That's all. Goodbye."
Marie hung up and Stein was left standing in the hallway. Marie's last words to him reverberated in his mind. He started walking in the empty hallway and stood infront a large window. He gazed at the grinning bright moon. "It's not like I'm desperate to see you," Stein thought as he smiled, thinking about Marie. "But you know I'd do anything for you." He turned around and disappeared into the darkness of the night.
"I can't face him right now," Crona thought, her legs brought to her chest and her eyes widening with tears glistering at the sides. She was curled up in a corner of her room, a habit she always had since she was young. She felt more comfortable that way. Maka was standing outside her room for minutes already, trying to make her open the door, convincing her that everything's okay already. But it didn't budge Crona one bit, because in her head, the memory of what happened was lingering. The shout of Kid before leaping to save her still kept ringing in her ears. "It's my fault… it's my fault…" she repeated to herself unceasingly, ignoring Maka, and burying her face into her knees. Finally, Justin came and gave Maka the keys. Crona heard the clanging of keys and raised her head. "Don't come in here please!" she finally shouted to Maka who was already trying to get the right key.
Maka didn't say a word anymore. She already realized that it was futile to talk to her while still out of her room. Justin sensed Crona walking across her room.
"I have a feeling she's about to do something stupid," he whispered to Maka.
Maka sighed. "Hurry before it's too late."
Justin dashed off in an instant.
As Maka turned the doorknob and swung the door open, Crona hurriedly pushed herself out of the window with her hands on the stool.
Maka ran to her and reached for her arm but she grabbed hold of her ankle instead. Unfortunately, Crona slipped away from her grasp. Maka gasped. "CRONAAA!"
"GOTCHA," Justin said in relief as he held Crona in his arms. He was standing on the balcony of the second floor, waiting for Crona to fall. She looked into Crona's eyes. "That was dangerous, little girl. It's amazing how much you panic."
Maka unwillingly anticipated a loud bang from downstairs but she never heard it. She slowly stepped towards the window and looked down. She sighed deeply when she saw that Crona was safe in Justin's arms. Justin smiled up at her.
Later, they were all back in Crona's room. Crona and Maka were sitting on Crona's bed while Justin stood in front of them.
"He's hurt because of me… if only I didn't daze off… if only I didn't feel paralyzed… if only I wasn't brought here… he wouldn't have been hurt."
"Crona, it's not your fault. If Black Star was a little more careful, that accident wouldn't have happen. And besides, we're the ones who prepared the party. It's not that we regret doing it ofcourse. It's just that we're actually the ones who should take responsibility so don't feel so bad. "
"Yes, Ms. Gorgon," Justin said. "The master is alright now. His personal doctor came and fixed his wounds so don't worry; he'll be back to normal after a few hours."
Crona faced down. "Even so, I can't face him anymore."
"Why not? Master Kid will be happy to see that you're okay," Maka said, trying to cheer her up. "He was really worried about you. When he woke up, you're the one who he was looking for immediately. He wanted to see if you're alright. We already assured him that you are okay so don't you attempt hurting yourself again."
"Well… I wouldn't want him to worry about me…"
"Exactly, so come on." Maka stood up and smiled at her. "Let's go see him."
Soul stood in the doorway. "Uhh, I don't mean to burst your bubble, Maka, but you have to go downstairs already. The doctor will leave if supper isn't ready in fifteen minutes."
"Oops, I almost forgot." Maka chuckled hesitantly. "Sorry, Crona, but you'll have to go without me. Justin, take care of her, okay?"
"Ofcourse." Justin smiled.
Crona was silently contemplating as she and Justin were on their way to Kid's room already. "Is it really okay to see him right now?" she thought then heard Justin say "Good evening" to someone.
She looked up and a man in a white coat passed them and this pulled Crona out of her reverie. "Is that…" she felt her blood rush into her veins.
It happened in a flash but to Crona it was in slow motion. While walking, she slowly looked back, hoping that it was just a hallucination but to her disappointment, Stein showed her an eccentric half grin. Her eyes widened and she suddenly felt like running but instead, she froze to the ground, horrified at the sight of the man. Stein disappeared around the corner.
"No…"
"Hmm?" Justin halted and looked back. "Crona?"
"This can't be…"
"Crona?"
"That man is…"
Justin saw the fear in Crona's eyes.
"That man is Kid's doctor? !"
[To be continued]
