Hi, I've got the world's worst cold today, so I'm just holed up in bed with four boxes of tissues and a temperature, and scribbling this down because I have a grand total of NOTHING else to do! Wow, that was a long sentence. All right, enough rambling, where did I leave this? Wow, did I really write that last sentence? And I called Kai depressed?
Well, okay, he was. And…I reckon I might be as well. But still. No reason to go all melancholy. Even on paper. Okay, okay, back to reality. Where do I go from there? Um…damn…um…okay, I'll try this, see what happens.
It was a month later, and I came off my shift and headed for Kai's room. It was empty, the bed stripped in preparation for a new occupant. Completely taken aback, I stood there and blinked stupidly for a few seconds before my tired brain started working again. There were two obvious options.
He had been moved to a new room. Pretty implausible at this stage, he was about as recovered as he was going to get. Following that particular line of thought, the second option-
He had been discharged.
-looked a lot more likely. Unreasonably, I felt tears poking experimentally at the corners of my eyes. Get a grip, girl! I ordered fiercely, trying to shake off the sudden urge to burst out crying like a jilted schoolgirl. Maybe what I put earlier was wrong. I wasn't sexually attracted to him, no, but there was always…something. And it was that "something" that made me walk down to Reception and use "staff privileges" (i.e., I had gone out with the man at the desk a few weeks before Kai turned up. I dumped him because he was an arrogant git who thought women existed to do his bidding. And he got fed up because I wouldn't sleep with him. Like I was going to lose my virginity to a loser like him!) to get his address.
Nervously, I rang the doorbell.
"Who is it?" he called brusquely from inside.
"I'll give you three guesses!" I called back with a soft laugh.
"Salima!" He sounded genuinely delighted - well, as delighted as he ever got - which was good as I had started to lose my nerve. "Come round the back." Obediently, I walked down the little alleyway to the back door, struggling not to wrinkle my nose up at the smell. Stepping through the door and into what looked like the kitchen, I looked around for Kai.
"Where are you?"
"Lounge." came the typically curt answer. I wandered around the tiny flat until I found the lounge, a somewhat poky room with a sofa and an armchair and Kai sitting on the sofa with his right leg stretched out in front of him. He smirked as I came in. "Was that really so hard to find?" he demanded, his voice as stern as ever. I stuck my tongue out at him and he let his eyes dance with amusement. "Well, if your intelligence level matches your behaviour, you'd be giving Tyson a run for his money." I started giggling and sat down in the armchair, staring at him critically.
He looked tired, his eyes dark and sunken into his pale face, his hair sticking out all over the place. One thin hand was resting on his hip, in a protective gesture that I recognised from the hospital, and the other was deep in his pocket, presumably holding Dranzer.
"You okay?" I asked softly, all the gaiety gone from my voice. He shrugged self-consciously.
"I'm fine." I groaned mentally.
"When did they let you out?" I asked eventually, changing the subject when it became obvious that no more information on his state of health was forthcoming.
"About ten this morning." Twelve hours ago, and two hours before I came on shift.
"What have you been doing since then?"
"Nothing much."
"You look tired."
"Yes." God, this was like trying to get blood out of a stone! I sighed in defeat.
"Okay, I give up!" I exclaimed loudly. He smirked again.
"Good."
"Are you going to say something that isn't monosyballic?"
"Maybe."
"Okay, that's an improvement." Laughing, I stood up. "What've you got in the way of drinks?"
"Mainly alcohol."
"Anything decent?" He shrugged. "I guess I'll go and look for myself then, shall I?"
"All right." Groaning noisily in frustration, I stalked into the shabby kitchen and started rooting through the fridge and various cupboards.
"Kai, this place is a tip!" No answer. "Kai? Earth to Kai?"
"What? I didn't realise that was a question. I thought it was an insult." he called sarcastically. Rolling my eyes, I made my way back into the lounge with a bottle of wine and two glasses.
"You okay to drink?" In answer, he leaned over and swiped the bottle and one of the glasses, pouring himself a more than generous amount. Seeing my expression, he raised an eyebrow inquiringly.
"You expected me to say no?" Now it was my turn to shrug and pour myself a glass, mine somewhat less than Kai's. We settled into a comfortable silence, sipping our wine and yawning occasionally. (that was me, although there were plenty of times when I knew Kai wanted to.)
An hour later, I noticed that he was having to blink rapidly to keep his eyes open and berated myself silently for keeping him awake. Standing up, I stretched, getting the cramp out of my legs.
"I'd better get going now, I've got work tomorrow." He focused on me with difficulty, mainly from tiredness. He hadn't drunk quite that much. Yet. A flicker of loneliness crossed his face, but he hid it instantly. I saw it, though. "I'll write down my number for you, shall I?" He shrugged, a small smile of gratitude creeping onto his ashen face despite his best efforts.
"Whatever." I smiled at him and headed towards the door.
"Bye, Kai. See you soon."
"Bye."
The next day, I had just come away from one of the most stressful shifts known to humanity. I had been vomited on six times, (three of them by the same person) yelled at by the ward matron, abused by a patient - which had led to a ton of paperwork in my miniscule lunch break - and hung up the wrong drip, a mistake that nearly cost someone's life. I was exhausted, thirsty, and had a terrible headache, so, all in all, I was NOT in the best of moods. I went back to the flat that I shared with two other girls and slobbed out for a few hours, eventually falling asleep on the sofa with a blinding migraine.
The world's most annoying sound - the telephone - blasted into my restless doze. Sitting up, I reached groggily for the ringing phone and debated smashing it. Deciding against it on the grounds of using up too much energy, I held it next to my ear.
"'Lo?" I mumbled thickly, squinting at the clock. Three o'clock in the afternoon. Damn. At least my migraine had disappeared.
"Hello Salima, it's Kai here. Sorry if I woke you up." I shifted positions and blinked drowsily.
"No," I yawned widely, "Don't worry about it. Why did you phone?" I paused. "As a matter of fact, how do you know my number?" He chuckled dryly.
"You'd be surprised at what I know." I smiled, rolling my eyes at the cryptic comment.
"So, why did you phone?" I repeated. "Lonely?"
"No, not that." There was a pause. "Look, this is a little embarrassing..." I grinned wickedly.
"Ooh, what?" He laughed quietly.
"Nothing like that, get your mind out of the gutter!"
"Extracting mind as I speak. So, what is it?"
"I've fallen over, and I can't get up." I could hear the humiliation in his voice, imagined his eyes dark with shame. "Could you come over and help?"
"Of course!" I answered immediately.
"Don't stress about it, I'm not exactly dying. Just stuck on the floor like a two year-old." He spat out the last setence as if it were poisonous.
"Hey, look who's stressing!" I said lightly. "I'll be there as soon as I can, okay?"
"Whatever." He hung up. Shaking my head, I got up and busied myself going out.
"Hey, Kai. Is the back door open?" I called through the letterbox.
"Yeah." he replied curtly. I went round the back and in.
Kai was sitting on the lounge floor, his expression furious. Wordlessly, sensing that speech would involve insults, I walked over and extended my hand. He took hold of it and pulled, hard, getting his good leg underneath him. I nearly tumbled down with him, but by that time he was half-up and supporting his own weight. Without speaking, he pulled his hand from mine and limped painfully into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him.
"You can go now." His curt voice floated into the lounge.
"I can take a hint." I called back, trying not to sound hurt. That must be what the Bladebreakers had to put up with daily, I thought wryly. If Ray can stand it, so can I!
"That wasn't a hint." Glaring at the closed bedroom door, I marched defiantly out.
Wow. I'd forgotten about that until just now. I still cringe, thinking about how embarrassed he must have been to be helpless in front of me then. He would get used to it, though. We would both get used to some weird things. Oops, I'm getting ahead of myself. I want to continue, but I don't know what to write...oh well, I'll come back to this later. When I actually have something to write.
Well? Please review, I really need encouragement at the moment! Now, I have to go, food's here and I'm starving!