Hey, Nukia here!
This fanfiction is a side story to Beyond This Love.
I don't know if any of my old readers are reading my rewrites anymore, but I'm going to keep going. Sorry for the late update, I've been ill and busy. I may write another part to this chapter, then move on to some wrapping up chapters to this fanfiction.
But thank you for the reviews, favorites and the alerts! Also to the unknown people who read my fanfictions, I promise it will pick up at some point! If you don't like it, then don't read it.
Chapter 28!
I slowly opened my eyes when I heard a straight beeping sound, I felt someone take hold of my hand and gently pat it as I heard a female's voice saying my name to me. I turned my head slightly and saw a blur outline of a woman. I rubbed at my eyes and sniffled as I sat up, where am I? I felt something wrap around my right arm, I quickly looked at my arm and saw a blood pressure cuff. I looked up from the cuff at a dark-haired woman wearing a dark blue nurse's dress, she gave me a kind smile and began to pump up the blood pressure cuff around my arm.
" Hello Elizabeth, do you remember me?" She asked.
" Yes I do, you are nurse Clark..." I replied as I watched the cuff around my arm deflate. " What is going on? Why are you taking my blood pressure?"
" That's correct, it seems that you're not suffering from short-term memory lose this time sweetheart which is a good thing. You fainted in the dinner hall this morning, you've been out cold for over half an hour which is quite a long time for someone who as suffered from a fainting spell..." She replied with a smile. " But I want you to lie back down and take it easy for now, it seems that you're suffering from low blood pressure. How much fluid would you say you drink in a day?"
" I don't know, probably the same amount as every other student in The Wammy House..." I replied.
" I see, how about irregular palpitations or stress or anxiety?" She asked. " Sometimes worrying about things can make your blood pressure plummet, have you been struggling in any of your lessons?"
" No, my lessons have been going well lately which surprises me. But I did have a strange fluttering sensation in chest earlier this morning, do you think it as anything to do with my lungs?" I asked as I watched her remove the blood pressure cuff from my arm. " My family have a history of lung disease, my mother died from Pneumonia and my grandmother died from respiratory failure..."
" I don't think it lung related, but I will take some bloods and keep you under my care for the next hour. I'll go and fetch you a glass of water to bring your blood pressure up as well, I'll have to ring Royal Hampshire County Hospital to see if I can get a copy of your families records or speak to Watari about them..." She replied. " But for now I want you to rest and think of something nice to occupy your thoughts for a while. I'll just be a moment well I gather my blood collection tubes and butterfly needles, I'll see if I can find you some chocolate biscuits at my nurse's station for little treat after I've taken your bloods..."
" What about my lessons?" I asked.
" You don't have to worry about your lessons at this very moment, I'm sure you'll be able to join your class mates at some point today..." She replied and drew back the blue curtains of curtain track of the cubicle. " I won't be long, if you need anything well I'm away or feel sick then you can press the nurse button which is hanging on the headboard of the bed..."
" Okay..." I nodded.
I watched nurse Clark leave the cubicle, I lay back on the bed and sighed as I looked up at the ceiling. I hate the hospital wing of The Wammy House, it's always quiet and empty in this part of the orphanage. It wasn't long until nurse Clark return with a glass of water and a small metal tray with her blood kit on it, she placed the glass of water down on the hospital over-bed table and laid out her blood kit. She cleaned the angular bend of my right arm with an antiseptic wipe, she gently needled my arm with a pink butterfly needle and took some of my blood in the collection tubes. She stuck a little plaster on my arm and gave me a few vitamin tablets to take with my water, she told me that she would be back in a while after she had sorted out my bloods to take my blood pressure again.
I sat back up in the hospital bed, I popped the vitamin tablets into my mouth and picked my glass of water up from the over-bed table. I took a sip of my water and swallowed the vitamin tablets, I hope I'm not kept waiting for to long. I placed my glass of water back down on the over-bed table, I curled up onto my side on the bed and tucked my hands under my chin. I listened to a telephone ringing from the nurse's station, I brew my fringe away from my eyes and noticed someone watching me from under the bed in the next cubicle. I slightly sat up in the bed and rolled my eyes, why is Backup here? He gave me a smirk as he half pulled himself from underneath the bed, he licked his top lip and put his arms behind his head.
" What do you?" I asked.
" Nothing in particular, I came to check on you..." He replied as he stared up at the ceiling. " Very interesting, it seems that your lifespan had a minimal drop with your sudden fainting incident in the dinner hall. I wonder if this is a key to unlocking your lifespan's secrets, I believe I should be watching you more closely from now on..."
" I'm not in the mood for silly lifespan talks, please will you go away..." I sighed.
" Do you know how fainting is caused?" He asked. " It's true medical name is syncope, it's caused by decreased blood flow to the brain. Many different conditions can cause fainting spells, these include heart problems such as irregular heart beats, seizures, panic or anxiety attacks, low blood sugar... I could go on, but medical facts sometimes bore me when there is not a demonstration to the examples..."
" I believe your medical facts, but may I ask how long you've been hiding underneath that bed?" I asked." Have you been listening in on mine and nurse Clark's conversation?"
" No, I was actually allowed to stay here with you until Watari comes to see you..." He replied. " You should be grateful I didn't walk away and leave you on the dinner hall's floor, but then I thought of my Alternative. He would have help you if he was there, I volunteered to carry you to the hospital wing..."
" Really?" I asked.
" Yes, why I would I lie about something like that?" He asked. " I have come to think of you as my friend just like Nonie and Alternative have over the past few years, would you find that hard to believe?"
" Yes I would find that very hard to believe, all you ever do is frighten me and say weird things to me about my lifespan. I'm positive that you're making up half the stuff you say to me at times, you're a very confusing person..." I answered as I sat up straight and swung my legs over the side of the bed. " And then you call me your experiment, do you know how that makes me feel?"
" No, why don't you enlighten me with your emotions..." He smirked.
" It frightens me, I'm scared that you're planning to do something to me..." I said with a sigh as I looked up from him on the floor and looked over at the nurse's station. " I've spoken to A about it, he told me to ignore everything you say. But it still preys on my mind every time I see you, what do you want from me?"
" I've not decided yet what your purpose will be to me, but I have a gut feeling that you and me have a destiny together..." He replied as he pulled himself from underneath the bed and got up from the floor. " If you fear that I'm planning to smother you in your sleep then you are truly wrong, I would never take anyone's life without a reason. I've been brought up to believe that the wicked will play for their crimes against justice, but I on the other hand do not believe in such a preposterous idea. I think the innocent have more to hide than the guilty, no one can go through life without doing at least one sinful thing..."
" You're making no sense as always, will you please go away..." I sighed. " You're giving me a headache, I'm meant to be resting you know..."
" As you wish, but I can prove to you that everything I say is the truth..." He said. " Someone we both know as not got much time left in this world, this individual will be leaving us very soon. You will know who I am talking about the minute you hear their name, then you will come to me and it will all be clear..."
" Who is leaving us?" I asked. " Nonie said the exact same thing to me this morning, but she said he before she ran away crying. But that he could be anyone, we know a lot of male students in The Wammy House. It could even be someone Nonie knows, I think she maybe seeing someone in secret... "
" Now that would be telling, I want it to be a surprise..." He replied.
I glanced over at the nurse's station when I heard a chair being pulled away from the desk, I turned my full attention back to Backup and watched him put his hands in his jean pockets. He put his finger tip to his lips as nurse Clark walked back into the cubicle, she gave Backup a sachet of strawberry jam and picked a clipboard up from the over-bed table. She hung it on the metal headboard of the bed, she took the blood pressure cuff from the cabinet next to the bed and asked me to hold my right arm out for her.
" Mr Wammy will be visiting you soon, so I'm afraid that your little friend will have to go back to his lessons now..." She smiled as she wrapped the cuff around my arm. " You're very lucky to have a friend like him, he wouldn't leave your side until I reassured him that you were perfectly fine. He's sure a good student, he even helped me move some blankets earlier..."
I raised one of my eyebrow as I looked over at Backup, he gave me a smirk and put his strawberry jam sachet in his jean pocket. Nurse Clark began to pump up the blood pressure cuff on my arm, she took my temperature with an ear thermometer and gave me a small packet of chocolate biscuits. I watched him removed his finger tip from his lips, he said goodbye to nurse Clark and left the cubicle. I watched him walking down the hospital wing's aisle, he stopped at the wooden double doors of the wing and looked at me over his shoulder. I quickly looked away from his glaze and tucked some of my hair behind my ear as I gave nurse Clark a smile. I heard the doors of the hospital wing close as I nurse Clark removed the cuff from my arm. I know for a fact that he's got nurse Clark fooled and everyone else in the orphanage, he really is not a good student as she put it.
I closed my room's door behind me, I smiled at a student as she walked past me in the corridor and then quickly removed my new shoes with a little heel on them. I hurried down the corridor bare foot and stopped at a door. I glanced both ways down the corridor, I quick opened the door and hurried through it. I closed the door behind me and put my shoes back on, I hope no one saw me. Today is my 16th birthday, it's also the night that Watari throws the Bonfire party for all the students. But I'm not joining the Bonfire party just yet, I'm going to meet A in the attic. He had passed me a letter in class asking me to meet him in the attic at 4:30pm, he had written that he had planned to make me evening tea. It made me laugh slightly, the last time he made me tea it tasted like dishwater. I quickly walked up the three flights of stairs to the very top floor of The Wammy House, I met A by the door of the attic and hurried through the doorway. I watched him close the door behind, he locked it with a key and put the key in his denim jacket's pocket
" Why are locking the door?" I asked.
" I don't want anyone to disturb us, this is our little secret get away after all..." He smiled and took hold of my hand. " Be careful on the stairs well you're wearing those shoes, I don't want you to drip or fall down them..."
" Okay..." I nodded.
We walked up the staircase to the attic, he let go of my hand when we got to the top and walked over to a table. I took a look around the attic to see a few lit candles on a plate near some folded up blankets on the floor, I walked over to the blankets and picked the plate of candles up from the floor. I placed the plate down on a wooden crate, I looked over my shoulder at A and watched him carrying a tray full of goodies over towards me. He placed the tray down on the window seat, he quickly unfolded the blankets and laid them out on the floor. I took a few cushions from the window seat, I placed them down on the blankets and cupped my hands together as I watched him pick the tray back up from the window seat.
" Take a seat, the blankets are clean..." He said as he placed the tray down on the blankets and got onto his knees. " I got them from the laundry room a few hours ago, so you won't get your dress dirty and they smell pretty good too. I've also got about four fleeces as well in case you get cold, this evening is going to be about comfort and enjoyment. Then we'll head down to the Bonfire party later for some more snacks, I've got everything planned out for your birthday treat..."
" You sound very organized, hopefully your tea making skills have improved since you last made me tea..." I smiled.
" That was kind of harsh, you're like a tea critic sometimes..." He sighed. " I've been practicing though, the amount of tea I made for Watari when I was in Los Angeles should have improved my tea making skills by now. So take a seat and let's see if I can impress you, also I'm starving for biscuits!"
" I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to come out like that..." I said as I sat down on the blankets and took a chocolate biscuit from the tray." But you may proceed, I'm looking forward to trying your tea now since you've had a lot of practice..."
" You just sounded like your Aunt Thora then, that was creepy..." He chuckled.
" I'm sorry, I won't say it ever again..." I laughed.
I took a bite of my chocolate biscuit as A picked the teapot up from the tray, he carefully poured the tea into two white china teacups. He placed the teapot back down on the tray, he added milk and sugar to the teacups as chewed at his bottom lip. He took off his denim jacket and draped it over a pillow, he then picked a teacup up from the tray and held it towards me.
" Do you have a saucer?" I asked.
" I didn't bring any with me, is there a problem without a saucer?" He asked.
" Not at all, it's just not proper tea without a saucer..." I replied and took the teacup from his hand. " The purpose of the saucer is to stop spillage and somewhere to place your teaspoon or biscuit, but it doesn't matter. I'm grateful that you planned evening tea for me, it's a very thoughtful idea..."
" Do you want me to go and grab you saucer from the kitchen?" He asked. " I'll be quick, I want this to be perfect and memorable for you. It's your 16th birthday after all, I missed your birthday last year and I want to make it up to you..."
" It's fine, really it's okay..." I smiled.
" Good, I didn't fancy walking all the way down to the kitchen anyway..." He chuckled.
" You're lazy, god help you when you have to do things for yourself..." I smiled, I brew on my tea and took a sip of it. " Wow, it doesn't taste like dishwater this time. I mean it's good! I'm so sorry, I think I should keep my mouth shut today..."
" It's alright, my tea did use to taste like dishwater..." He chuckled.
I took another sip of my tea, he really had improved with his tea making. I dipped my last piece of biscuit into my tea and popped it into my mouth. I gave A smile as he moved the tray, he placed it next to some folded up fleeces and lay down on the blanket. He put his hands behind his head, I drank the rest of my tea and placed my teacup on the window seat. I removed my shoes and placed them next to a pillow, I hope my shoes don't smell.
" So, how is your blood pressure doing now?" He asked.
" It's gone back to normal now, but I've got to visit nurse Clark once a day just to check on it..." I replied. " Did you know Backup carried me to the hospital wing? Apparently he wouldn't leave my side until he was reassured that I was okay, he even got called a good student by nurse Clark..."
" Yeah I knew that already about Backup, but a good student? Nurse Clark must need her head examined after saying that about B or just a good pair of glasses, he's not a model student and I doubt he's even got a good bone in his body these days..." He replied. " I've known Backup since I was 8 years old, the amount of bad things that kid as done to others isn't even amusing in my eyes. But I've learned to live with it and I would consider him to be one of my best friends even if I don't trust him, but there is something about him at times which I can't put my finger on that makes me feel uncomfortable around him..."
" I know that feeling, he said some peculiar things to me when I was in the hospital wing..." I sighed.
" What did he say to you?" He asked.
" He told me that my lifespan had a minimal drop, I'm not really sure what he meant by that and he also told me someone I know is going to leave us..." I replied. " Nonie said the exact same thing to me in the corridor a few days ago, do you know anyone who is planning to leave The Wammy House?"
" Well there is one person who as been talking about leaving in the last few days, but I can't really say who the person is until they have been given permission by Watari..." He replied. " But I've told you before to just ignore what Backup as to say, he's lunatic with sociopathic tendencies after all. But for now I've got a little surprise for you, something to bring a smile to your face..."
I watched him take a small piece of folded up paper from his jacket pocket, he held it towards me and beckoned me to take it. I took the paper from his hand, I opened it up as I curled my legs underneath myself and raised both of my eyebrows. There was just three words written down on the paper, I looked up at A from the paper and tilted my head as I bit at my bottom lip.
" Who is Aiden Michael Tayler?" I asked
" Aiden is me, I am Aiden..." He replied with a smile. " I thought that it was about time I told you my name since I know your real name, but you've got to swear that you'll keep it to yourself. No one is meant to know my full name in the orphanage, it's meant to be forgotten. So I suggest you burn that piece of paper when you've memorized it, have you got that? "
" I won't tell anyone, I swear..." I replied as I lay down next to him and folded the piece of paper back up. " I like your name though, it's nice. But I will keep calling you A even if I know your true name, I'll call you Aiden sometimes when we're alone together. That's if I am allowed to use your real name, can I call you by your real name when we're alone?"
" I guess so, but you'll have to whisper it to me each time you want to use my real name..." He replied. " Aiden and Elizabeth kind of as a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
" Yes I guess it does go together, but I'm not whispering your name to you..." I replied with a giggle and rolled over onto my side. " We should get going in a while, the Bonfire party will be starting soon. I promised Rose I would help out in the food tent this year, apparently last year there wasn't enough staff to serve all the students. So half of the food ended up getting mixed up with other foods, it was a complete mess so I was told..."
" Alright, but can we stay here for a little bit longer first?" He asked.
" Okay, just for another 10 minutes and then we have to go..." I replied.
I smiled at him as I brushed some of his fringe away from his blue eyes, he leant towards me and softly kissed my lips. I closed my eyes as I slowly ran my hand down his arm, I felt him place his hand on my hip and pull me closer towards him. I rested my hands on his chest as I opened my eyes, he kissed the tip of my nose and smiled at me.
" Do you want to join the party yet or would you rather stay here with me and we could have our own little private party?" He asked with a smirk. " I don't think anyone would notice if we didn't show up, that's if you want to go and watch the fireworks. I don't mind either way as long as I'm with you, I really do treasure our time together. But today is your day, so it's your decision..."
" I like the idea of staying here, it's much warmer in the attic than outside..." I replied and rested my head on a pillow. " You have made it all cosy with candles, chocolate biscuits and blankets, it would be a shame to waste all of your effort. But I promised that I would help Rose, I can't go back on my promise. Also I want to eat something savoury instead of sweet, maybe we could go to the Bonfire party and then come back to the attic later..."
" We could do that, but it will be lights out by then. You know what Roger is like when he his prowling the corridors at night, he doesn't retire to his room until after 11pm..." He sighed as he sat up on the blanket. " We'll think of something, we could come back tomorrow and spend a few hours here after the last lesson of the day..."
" Or we could come back here after lights out, you told me about the route Mr Ruvie takes around the orphanage each night. We could easily sneak here without him knowing, we could stay here for the night! " I smiled and got up from the blanket. " Yes that sounds like so much fun, I want to camp out in the attic with you for the night! No one would know, but would Backup question where you were going for the night? Maybe it's not a good idea after all, I know there is a survival camping trip being planned for the students this month on the orphanage's grounds. But camping in the attic, I really do like the sound of that..."
" Elizabeth you little rule breaker, I didn't know you had it in you..." He chuckled.
" Please say yes, you did say today is my day after all..." I said as I knelt behind A and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. " Come on, it will be fun! Nonie always calls me a stick in the mud, I want to prove her wrong!"
" Fine, I'll think of something before the Bonfire party ends..." He sighed.
" Thank you, tonight will be so much fun!" I smiled.