Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Square Enix, Disney, Final Fantasy, or Nike.
As many crime witnesses say,
"It all went by so fast."
It's also a good sentence to describe my trip to the hospital.
After breaking many driving laws, I parked in the first spot I could find in Ansem the Wise Memorial Hospital's parking lot. When I ran in, there was already a raven haired nurse waiting for me. She grabbed me by the forearm and dragged me down the hall as she mumbled words of comfort.
Then, as quickly as she grabbed me, she let go and stopped outside of a room. She turned toward me and flashed a grin as she wagged a finger at me.
"Now, Aerith is alright," She starts and I let out a sigh of relief. "It's just that she collapsed from exhaustion. She works too hard. So, when she leaves tonight, she needs to head home and rest. Make sure she does, okay?"
I nod and smile. "Okay."
"By the way, I'm Yuffie. I wish we'd met under different circumstances, but your mom and I are always working so..."
"Don't worry. Soon, my mom won't have to work so many hours anymore." I assure her.
Yuffie tilts her head and stares at me with questioning dark brown eyes. She shakes her head and pats my shoulder.
"Be careful, Roxas."
She turns and heads into the room. I'm about to follow her when I hear a soft chuckle. I look over my shoulder and my eyebrows furrow in confusion at the sight.
It's the man..or woman.. from my dream, the cop, except he's not wearing police clothes, and it's still hard to tell what his gender is, though as I try to glimpse at his face, past the few strands of red auburn hair that hang, I see slender eyes traced with eyeliner, making me assume it's a she. Her hair is long, almost reaching the bottom of her shoulder blades as it's tied in a low ponytail, and looks as if she has bangs but pushes them back, letting them fall whichever way. Also her clothing is now the usual scrubs that nurses wear, and make her look more feminine with a thin waist, so I conclude that it's probably a girl.
My mouth falls open and I struggle for words. The lady is reading something from a clipboard, the corner of her mouth lifting up an unnoticeable bit, when she suddenly glances at me (Well, not at me, more like my stomach.) then back to the board. She finally finishes reading and begins to walk toward me. She stops right next to me, standing probably a foot taller than me, and places the clipboard into the bucket over the plate that displays my mom's room number. She turns her head slightly. She looks toward me, but focuses on my mouth. I lick my lips from the stare.
"Well, aren't you gonna do something now?" She says sternly, expressing a somewhat low voice that surprises me. It's low, but has a feminine edge to it. "Your mother…She's sick. Not in the way that needs medicine, but rest. From work, obviously." She pauses, letting out some sort of cross between a laugh and exhausted sigh, and taps the box. "There's gonna be a hospital bill. Do you have enough money to pay for it? …For everything?"
I don't answer, unsure if the question is rhetorical or not. Just as I'm about to answer though, she slams a fist on the wall and snaps at the top of her lungs, "YOU DON'T!"
That catches me by surprise, and I show it by blinking profusely. Before I can react, Sora steps into the hallway.
"Roxas? Everything okay?" He asks, tilting his head at me and the girl.
"Yeah…Sorry, Sora. I'll be right in." I reply, and look back at the girl once Sora leaves. She's staring down at my shoes, eyebrows knit and fists clenched, somehow not looking angry, but like a pouting puppy. I don't know what to do now. I think about comforting her but realize we don't know each other enough, despite her appearance in my dream. She nods once, as if signaling that there's nothing more to say or do, and turns on her heel, slowly making her way down the hall and rounding a corner.
She's gone, I realize. But for some reason, I feel like it won't be for long.
(...)
"Shouldn't these doctors and nurses be with their patients?" I whisper to Sora as we weave through a crowd of lab coats and scrubs. Seriously, how many people can fit in this room?
"That's what I said but apparently, these are all Mommy's friends. Well, the ones that do work with her plus a few others." He replies and reaches Riku who's standing beside a hospital bed where-
"Mom? !" I scream uncontrollably and take her hand.
Bright emerald eyes look up at me in surprise.
"Roxas…" My dear mother says with a light laugh. "Don't worry, honey. I'm fine."
My lip quivers and I let my head hang as I whisper,
"I'm so sorry, Mom."
"What? O-ow, Roxas. You're hurting me." I lift my head and quickly let go of my mom's hand. She rubs it and shakes her head. "Calm down, sweetie. You stress so much."
I smile with mournful eyes and nod. "Yeah, mom. I-I'm sorry."
And like always, she puts on a small smile and I feel my heart skip a beat.
(...)
"Thank you so much, boys, for making breakfast." My mother says as she begins to gather the dirty dishes.
"No problem, Mom. You need to rest." I say and I take the plates from her. "That means that you shouldn't be doing anything but relaxing. So, please go upstairs and lie down or watch some television."
"Thank you, Roxas." She plants a soft kiss on my forehead, making me blush like a goof, and heads out of the kitchen, giving a quick peck on Sora's brown spikes as she leaves.
Sora stands and helps me with the dishes, drying them as I wash. I lift my head and peer out the window as I wipe a plate clean. The sun had brought morning to Twilight Town a few hours ago, and yet, it seemed to be evening. The sky was a beautiful blend of yellow, orange, red, and purple, making a sunset, like always. I wonder if our sky can be one of the Seven Wonders of the Worlds.
"Roxas…?" A soft voice calls, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Hm?" I look to Sora and realize that I had stopped washing. "Oh, sorry."
"Wha…? Uh, it's okay." He mutters as if he had no idea that I had stopped. "Hey, Roxas…I've been meaning to tell you something."
"What is it?"
"I-I…" He looks down at my hands as they make slow, circular movements on a dish. "I want to get a job."
The dish slips from my hand and into the sink, making loud clattering sounds. Sora sets down the plate he was drying and fidgets with the towel while sneaking glances at me, whose staring out at the miraculous sky again.
"No." I say sternly, keeping my gaze.
Sora furrows his eyebrows. "You can't stop me, Roxas. I want to help Mommy too."
"What did I just say, Sora?" I sharply turn my head and glare at him with fierce blue eyes as deep as the ocean.
He hesitates slightly but stands his ground. "You said no, but I still want to help."
"What about school?"
"Forget it. I can quit school, get a job, and when things are going better around here, I'll get my GED."
Faster than he could react, I have him pinned up against the wall. We're so close that our noses are touching. He chokes out a gasp, filling my nose with the scent of oranges. I keep eye contact and whisper,
"You're not getting a job. Mom worked herself to her breaking point to make sure that we wouldn't have to work. Imagine what she'll do if she sees you working."
"You hypocrite…you plan to go back to work and do the same thing she did. You have the same intentions as her. You'll both push yourselves to the end for each other. If I help-"
"No!" I snap sharply. "You're not getting a job."
"But, Roxas, I'll do anything! I want to help! I'll even-" I cover his mouth with a free hand and lean in closer, until my lips are almost touching my hand.
"Please, stop…I don't want to know…I don't want to know…please…stop…"
We stand there, staring into each others eyes for as long as forever, until I feel something wet slide down my cheeks and off my chin. Sora's eyes widen and I pull away, running up to my room as soon as possible.
(...)
The door swings open and then shuts quietly, not wanting to disturb anyone. The knob is locked and the computer is turned on. Fingers type swiftly until they finally pull back, claw at the mouse, and move the cursor to the "SEND" button. As soon as said button is pressed, there's a knocking at the door.
"Roxas…" A whine slips through the cracks.
There's sniffling from both sides of the door. I unlock the door and slowly open it. Sora hesitantly walks in but wraps his arms around my neck as soon as he sees me. We fall to the floor and I just hold Sora and pet his smooth brown hair as tears slide down my cheeks. I hold in my sobs while Sora just lets it out. That's probably why he's usually so at peace. When you let out the pains welling up inside of you, you feel better. You feel hope for the future now that you've let go of all of your burdens. For a second, I consider joining his wails but decide against it. I need to be the stronger one.
"I'm sorry, Roxas…" He grips my t-shirt tightly and buries his face deeper into my chest. "I won't get a job. I'll stay in school."
Another tear plops off of my chin as a small beep emits throughout the room. I turn my head and glance at the computer but quickly turn back and hold Sora tighter, wishing with all of my heart that what I just saw was an illusion.
Regardless of my efforts, when Sora is finally rid of his tears and leaves, it's still on the computer screen: A reply email with the subject 'Party'.