Gambling In Love

Chapter 11: Cracked The Code

After her match, Yumeko raced out of the room to find Ryota. "Ryota!" she exclaimed when she finally spotted the boy.

"Yumeko!" he exclaimed as he ran to the girl's side.

"Wasn't that just so exciting?" She giggled as she walked the boy to the train station. Earlier in the week, they had agreed to visit Mary in the hospital after her match, so they were on their way to the hospital.

When they arrived, Yumeko stopped outside of Mary's door. She hadn't visited Mary while she was awake yet, and she wasn't sure if the other girl wanted to see her. "C'mon," Ryota waved her in.

Yumeko sighed as she walked into the room. Lucky for her, Mary was still sleeping. Because she had brain surgery, she had been sleeping a lot. Yumeko also spotted Mary's mother knitting in the room, and she smiled at the woman.

"Yumeko, Ryota, good to see you," she greeted as she continued knitting, her eyes never leaving her work.

"Do you think she'll wake up soon?" Ryota asked as he took a seat next to Mary.

"Not sure, she's been asleep for a while, but she needs her rest," the older woman informed them.

The other two simply nodded as they sat beside Mary. Both had their hands firmly planted in their laps as they looked at their sleeping, injured friend.

"So, I heard Jabami had a gamble today, care to share?" the older women asked, likely trying to make conversation.

"Mind if we wait until Mary's awake? It'd be a lot to tell twice," Ryota said with a chuckle.

"Fair enough," she laughed as she returned to her task.

The room remained silent for the next 30 minutes or so as everyone was in thought. Ryota was still reeling from the gamble, Mary's mom was invested in her knitting and worrying about her daughter, and Yumeko was panicking about how Mary would react to seeing her.

"What the hell," Mary said as she jumped a little when she woke up.

"You're awake!" Ryota and Yumeko exclaimed.

"Shhhhh," Mary whispered as she closed her eyes and put a finger up.

"Oops," they both whispered as they laughed.

"Yumeko, come here," Mary said as she looked at the other girl. Yumeko gave her a quizzical look before she eventually did as Mary asked her. When she was close enough, Mary slapped her across the face.

"What was that for?" Yumeko asked as she brought a hand to her cheek while her mother just snickered at the two.

"That's for not seeing me sooner, dumbass," Mary said sternly as she crossed her arms.

"Mary, Yumeko's been here everyday," Mary's mother laughed.

"What?" Mary exclaimed.

"She's been here when you're asleep," the older woman continued.

"Well that just makes you an even bigger dumbass," Mary said as she pointed an accusatory finger at Yumeko, causing the rest of the people in the room to laugh.

"How are you doing?" Ryota asked caringly.

"Fine," Mary answered simply. Everyone knew Mary wasn't telling the full truth, but no one pressured her into saying more.

"So, I believe these two wanted to tell you about a gamble," Mary's mom prompted the other two.

"Oh yeah! Today was that gamble with Yumemi, right?" Mary asked, seeming a little more interested now.