TWs: Hospitals, eating disorders (not shown explicitly, but it's there), mention of blood/guns/prison/death/killing/body mutilation/divorce/manipulating, and someone going missing. Stay safe :)
"You did say the shipyard, right?" Larry spoke over the phone.
"Yes, the foggy part." A man replied, adjusting his cane.
Larry glanced around at the shipyard, "That doesn't narrow it down- this place is all fog."
"Ah- keep walking forward and take a... right." He adjusted his black-lensed glasses.
"How do you know where I am?"
"Trust me."
"I hate when you say that..." Larry grumbled.
"There's a heat signature coming this way." The doctor's AI told him.
"What was that?" Larry asked.
"Something I've been working on." The taller replied, "You'll see soon."
"I hope I get an explanation."
Soon the doctor heard footsteps coming closer, stopping a few feet before him.
"Arthur?" Larry quirked an eyebrow, "Wow."
A pause as the shorter stared at him.
"You look like shit."
"Sorry, but only one guest can visit Mr. Larseing simultaneously." The nurse stated, looking at the three. Edd and Matt turned to Pat.
"You can go first, Pat." Edd smiled.
"Are you sure?" The shorter looked at them.
"Of course!"
Pat was uncertain as he got up and followed the nurse to Tord's room. The nurse nodded to him as they reached a door. Pat opened it, peering into the room.
Tord was trying to get comfortable in the hospital bed, failing to do so as he felt uncomfortable every time. He decided to lie there and deal with it.
"Tord?" Pat's voice cut through the silence.
The Norsk sighed in relief, "Finally, someone who is not here to poke and prod at me."
Pat smiled a bit, "How are you feeling?"
"Surprisingly good for someone who has conquered death a thousand times." He joked, then looked at Pat, "How are you?"
"I'm fine." Pat forced a smile.
"You could compete in a competition with Matt for 'best fake smile' and still get last place," Tord spoke.
Pat crossed his arms as he whispered, "I'm worried about Pau."
Tord didn't say anything as he glanced out his hospital window. His father's words replayed in his head. He didn't want to believe it. He didn't want his closest friend to be the one who killed his mother. There had to be another explanation.
"He hasn't woken up yet." Pat continued, "It's been two weeks- he's bound to wake up soon, right?"
Tord ignored the thoughts swarming his head to analyze his friend. Pat was usually well-kempt, but it looked like he hadn't slept or eaten for some time.
"You look like how you did when I was a teenager," Tord commented, "Which is a bad thing."
Pat sighed, "I know... and I promise to do better, but I'm just worried-"
"Then stop worrying." Tord shrugged, "I'm fine, and I bet Pau is too. He did remove his eye to save himself from a zombie infection, and he has no surgical experience."
"He did do that..." Pat muttered.
"See? He's stronger than you think."
Pat decided to leave shortly after that, taking the time to get a water bottle from a vending machine.
Matt decided to go next since Edd seemed hesitant about doing it.
Walking into the room, he quickly and gently hugged his friend, "Tord!"
The Norsk grunted as he hugged back the best he could, only having one arm.
"Watch the wound." Tord winced as he felt Matt's elbow graze his abdomen.
"Sorry!" Matt let go of Tord, sitting in a chair beside Tord's bed.
"How is everyone?" Tord asked.
The ginger hummed, "Hard to explain... Edd's been sleeping less, Pat hasn't been sleeping or eating, and Tom's not enjoying the hospital atmosphere."
"And you?"
"Me? I guess I've also been sleeping less." Matt glanced away.
Tord looked at him, "When's the last you've eaten?"
"Are we talking about food or blood?"
Tord frowned, "You know what I'm talking about; actual food, Matthew."
Matt thought about it, "Maybe a few meals I might've skipped this week..."
"Matt..."
"I just wasn't hungry?" The taller awkwardly shrugged.
Tord sighed, 'This must be how Pat feels whenever I do anything.'
When Matt left, it took a while for Edd to enter the room. He didn't know why, but he figured it had something to do with witnessing Tord like that.
He made sure he had the folded letter in his pocket as he walked inside.
Tord looked at him, chuckling softly, "For a second, I thought you didn't want to see me."
"Why wouldn't I?" Edd quirked an eyebrow as he sat in the chair.
"Eh, you did get my blood all over you, so I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to visit." Tord smiled.
"If I had a pound for every time a person bled in my arms, I'd have two pounds. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice." Edd quoted.
"Is that person okay?"
"Oh yeah, he's fine."
Tord nodded, then fell silent, studying everything in the room before turning back to Edd.
"Did you hear what my father said?" He asked, "About Pau?"
"Yes, what about it?"
"Do you think he's right?" Tord gazed out the window, "Did Pau kill my mother?"
"No," Edd spoke.
Tord looked at him, confused, "You say that as if you're sure."
"I am sure." The taller reached into his pocket, taking out the folded letter, "And this is proof."
The shorter took it, inspecting it as he unfolded it. He had no idea who William was, but apparently, he was in prison. Something about his wife's death; Tord was pretty sure his father killed her.
'Wait,' Tord's eyes widened.
His mother had filed for a divorce before that happened, insisting she'd take Tord with her. His father had enough and planned a way to kill his mother by manipulating Pau into being a part of it, but he wasn't the one who shot her. The General had given him a gun full of blanks, and he was the one who shot her at the same time Pau fired.
Tord re-read the letter to make sure he didn't miss anything. He thought about it for a second, trying to remember what happened.
'Were there two gunfires? Unless father had a silencer... no, even then, his gun would still make noise.' Tord huffed, 'He would have to have some precision to do that. Then again, he shot at the same time I did. There was almost no delay.'
Tord perked up at that.
'Almost no delay.' Tord thought, 'Which means one other person at the scene could've heard something was up.'
The Norsk grinned to himself, ecstatic to finally know the truth.
He was jolted out of his thoughts by a slight chuckle, "You're such a dork."
Tord blushed, realizing that Edd had been staring at him the whole time he was figuring it out.
The shorter cleared his throat, "I'm just grateful to know the truth, now knowing that Pau wasn't the killer."
Edd smiled softly before glancing at the clock, "I should get going; we still have so much stuff to see."
"Take pictures for me." Tord grinned.
"I have been," Edd spoke as he stood up, staring at Tord for a minute. There was a moment of awkwardness before the taller leaned over to hug the other.
Tord's eyes widened as he froze up, not knowing what to do. He usually received hugs from Matt, but when they came from Edd? He suddenly changed into a Windows computer that crashed.
Before Edd could pull away, Tord's arm flew out to keep him there.
"T-Tord...?" Edd muttered as he glanced at Tord.
"Just a few more seconds..." Tord mumbled, placing his red face against Edd's hoodie, hoping he wouldn't notice.
The cola lover placed his arms around the Norsk again, suddenly feeling warm.
He blamed it on the air conditioning.
It was another sleepless night for Pat as he held the snowdrop hairpin in his hands, analyzing it.
It was quite beautiful and looked antique.
'Why did Pau need this?' He asked himself over and over again. He just didn't get it.
He placed the hairpin on the end table before lying down on the couch, planning to try and go to sleep.
Pat nearly accomplished it but was jolted awake by his phone ringing. He rubbed his eye as he reached for his phone on the end table.
"Hello?" Pat spoke, wearily.
"Is this Pat Dudzik, friend of Pau Der Oostveen?" The lady on the other side of the phone asked.
"Yes, why?" Pat hoped it was good news.
"Sorry for calling so late, but... your friend has gone missing."
Or not.