Chapter Seven - Flashflood
Author's Note: Alright, I need a vote or somethin', pair Eli with 1. Monika, 2. Natsuki, or 3. Yuri? The choice, is yours.
I walk back into the emergency room lobby with Yuri, Monika is sitting with a crap ton of junk food alongside her. I don't feel like we were gone that long...
Me:"Good holy God, did ya clean the place out?" I say as I take a seat beside her.
Monika:"*giggle* Okay I might have went a little overboard. But I set all the Skittles aside for you."
Me:"Good woman..." I immediatly rip into a bag. Over the semi-short time I've known them, the girls have caught on to my intense love of Skittles. When my birthday rolled around not too long ago, Natsuki bought me two six pound bags of the stuff, Monika and Yuri pulled together to buy me a bunch of Skittles merch. Like the T-shirt I'm wearing. It was great.
Yuri:"How much did you spend on all of this?"
Monika:"Not alot actually, I used Natsuki's 'look under the vending machine for loose change' tactic. It works."
Me:"Hey, didn't that doctor say they'd have Nat in a private room by midnight?" I say through a mouthfull of skittles.
As if on queue, the same doctor from before comes out of the emergency room. I stand up and walk over to him.
Me:"Well? Is she alright? Is she in a room?" I ask frantically.
Doctor:"Calm down sir, yes, Ms.Okada is fully stable, she's waiting for you all in room 316. Third floor." He seems happy knowing that someone else has to deal with me now.
Me:"Thanks doc." He nods at me and the girls and leaves. We gather up the remainder of our junk food and make our way into the main hospital. I absolutley hate hospitals. If only because anytime I'm in one, it's always nothing but half-answers and bad news about the people I care about. I almost strangled a doctor once because he wouldn't give me an answer...In this hospital...Maybe I'll run into him! We get into an elevator and ride up to the third floor.
We find room 316 and knock on the door.
Knock Knock*
Nurse:"Come in."
We all file in, one after the other and stand around Nat's hospital bed. I fight the urge to cry seeing her like this. Hooked up to IVs and a heart monitor. She's always so tough and confident, for her look so helpless just feels, wrong.
Me:"How's she doin' nurse?"
Nurse:"Better, the medication still needs to work it's way out of her system, but she'll live. She'll feel pretty awful for a day or two, but she'll be outta here in no time."
Me:"Thank you m'am. Uh, could we have a moment please?" I ask kindly, in stark contrast to my attitude towards the doctor earlier.
Nurse:"Of course, I'll leave you be. Oh, she may wake up as she's been doing off and on, however I must ask that you not wake her yourselves, she needs to sleep it off."
Me:"We won't." The nurse nods and leaves the room, closing the door behind her.
I stand at stare at Nat for a moment. Watching the blankets rise and fall with her breathing. Thank God she's breathing. I notice how flushed and pale she looks. Yet she's still adorable. Still just as beautiful. It's amazing. She's amazing. And the thought of loosing her makes me sick.
Monika:"Eli? You alright?" Monika snaps me out of my thoughts. I shake my head and answer her.
Me:"Yeah...I'm okay. It's just, so weird to see her like this. Ya know? She's always so strong that, it's unnatural to see her so weakened." I say while never looking away from her.
Monika:"...Yeah I know what ya mean. Kinda throws ya for a loop when the people you view as untouchable, are shown to be just as touchable as you are..."
Yuri:"That was very poetic Monika. I'm proud." Yuri states while straightning the blankets laid across Natsuki's sleeping form. Yuri's really taken on a Big Sister position in Natsuki's life ever since she moved in. It makes me happy to know that Nat has someone who will love her the way her "father" should have, and will take good care of her. That's more than some people can say...
I notice Natsuki start to stir awake. She sits up and rubs her eyes. She just stares at us until her brain kicks back in.
Natsuki:"*groggy* Hey guys..."
Without word or warning, I go to her side and hug her, squeezing her much tighter than I really ought to. But I don't care. It makes me feel like I'm keeping her safe. Like if I just hold on, she won't slip away. After a good minute I let go.
Natsuki:"Ack! Jeez Eli, you tryin to kill me?"
Me:"*chuckle* Well I guess there'd be no better place to..." Monika slaps the back of my head. "Jeez! It's just a joke..."
Yuri:"Natsuki, I'm happy your awake, but you know what I'm going to ask...Why did you try to kill yourself?"
Natsuki:"I didn't try to kill myself!"
Me:"Yes you did, the doctor said the amount of pills in your system should've killed you."
Natsuki:"N-no it was accident I swear! I mean yeah I took the pills on purpose but I didn't mean to O.D!"
Yuri:"Then why did you take them Natsuki?!"
Natsuki:"I...I just wanted to stop hurting and being sad for a while. I thought they'd help since people use 'em all the time. I thought I'd sleep for a while, or, feel good or numb or something! But I didn't feel any different after the first one so I took a few more. Then I passed out."
I immediatly go from happy she's alive, to pissed off. Both because she was so stupid, and because she was misserable enough to do it.
Me:"For f*ck's sake Nat! Don't be so reckless! You could've died! I could've lost you tonight and I couldn't do anything about it! Why would do something so stupid Sayori?!" They all stare at me with shocked faces. Natsuki has tears running down her face, she looks afraid. God, what have I done? I turn around and quickly walk out.
I hear Monika call out behind me.
Monika:"Eli wait!" She runs after me.
Me:"Leave me alone..." She grabs my shoulder and stops me.
Monika:"What was that?! You just freaked out and scared the sh*t outta Nat?!" I take moment to mentally calm myself so I don't yell at Monika too.
Me:"I...I just can't take anymore heartache Monika! I can't lose someone else I love! I cannot do it! I won't! Tell Nat I'm sorry for yelling at her...I'm going home." I walk off and ignore Monika's pleas for me to stay. I get into the elevator and leave.
- Monika's POV -
I watch him get on the elevator, despite me yelling at him to come back. Great, he's gone. He freaks out on poor Nat, and just leaves. Typical Eli...*sigh* I need to go back and make sure she's okay. I dejectedly walk back into the hospital room.
Me:"A*hole..." I say under my breath as I close the door.
Natsuki:"Don't call him that Moni, we all know he didn't mean it. As much as it stung anyways." She wipes her tears away.
Yuri:"Natsuki's correct. He's been suppresing so much anger, it was bound to come out like that eventually...He feels helpless, like he can't protect the one's he cares about. That doesn't sit well with someone like him."
Me:"Jeez...You guys sure know how to make me feel an a*hole..." I sit down on the chair Yuri isn't using and put my head in my hands.
Natsuki:"Haha, Ah well don't feel like that. It's just been a really, really, god-awful week for all of us. We can't be expected to not vent now and then."
Me:"Yeah, I guess...I just, I hate that I can't do anything help. I wish I could make him feel better. It kills me to see him like that."
Nat and Yuri:"Yeah, me too..." We all look at each other, a sudden realizaztion comes over us all. Natsuki is the first to put it into words.
Natsuki:"Wait...D-do we all have a crush on the same guy?"
Yuri:"I believe so Natsuki..." Good God, nothing can ever be easy...I just wanted to try to talk Nat out of pursueing him once she was out of here. Now we all have the same feelings...Crap! I want him to myself d*mmit! Jeez, and there's nothing I can do about it since they're my friends.
Nat starts to laugh.
Me:"What? What is it."
Natsuki:"It's just like one of my Japanese Mangas! Hahahahaha!"
We all have a good laugh. But then we realize something.
Me:"Huh, what do we do now?"
Natsuki:"Hey, I'm in the hospital! Don't any of you make a d*mn move till' it's a fair fight!"
Yuri and I look at each other. Nod, and turn back to Nat.
Yuri:"That's only fair Natsuki. We accept."
I stand up and get ready to leave. I hug Nat and go to open the door.
Me:"Just know...I'll mop the floor with you two when the time comes. You'd might as well give up now. I'm very good at these things...In the end, it'll be just Monika." I walk out as I hear Natsuki blow a big fat raspberry at me. This is gonna be fun...
(End of Chapter Eight)