ʏᴇʟʟᴏᴡ ∆ ᴄᴀᴇsᴀʀ ᴢᴇᴘᴘᴇʟɪ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ∆

∆ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ-ᴏɴᴇ∆

When I came to, my body felt heavy, as if someone had laid across me. I felt something around my neck, and my arm was cradled to my chest. I was slowly waking up, the muffled voices that had awoken me becoming more noticeable with each passing moment. I couldn’t open my eyes just yet, the feeling of having them closed with the darkness was slowly easing the pounding in my skull. I could feel the texture of the blanket under my hand and basked in the warmth it brought.

“She isn’t showing any signs of vampirism, so the antidote I gave her must be working,” I heard Speedwagon’s soft voice say.

“The Hamon is also a factor in that,” Lisa Lisa replied. I heard the door creak open, and two sets of footsteps entered.

“How is she?” That was Joseph’s voice. I felt a soft and warm hand be placed on my forehead.

“Her fever has dropped, thankfully. But, she still hasn’t woken up,” Speedwagon said.

“I’m not surprised. With her wounds, her body is going to need a lot of rest before she’s able to do anything,” Lisa Lisa said. I felt the bed dip beside me, and a hand be placed on my cheek. “Her neck seems to be healing on its own, but we might try some things to help close the wound faster, and reduce the chance of infection. Her arm was shattered. We’ve given her plenty of pain medication, so pain shouldn’t be an issue right now.”

“We shouldn’t have left her alone,” Joseph said lowly. “I can’t believe we were stupid enough to do that.”

“No one knew, Jojo,” Speedwagon said.

“I did. I suspected something, but it was too late.” Caesar said.

“All of you stop it,” Lisa Lisa said sternly. This was no one’s fault but Nina’s, and she’s dead now. Our focus should be on helping Y/n recover.” I felt the hand disappear from my face, and the person beside me stood. I think it was Joseph. I heard shuffling before something cold was pressed against my cheek.

My eyes shot open as I gasped quietly, the shock from the sudden coldness causing me to fully wake up. Joseph burst into laughter as he removed the ice cube he had placed on my cheek.

“I knew you were awake, you little fucking shit!” He yelled. “You smiled a little when I put my hand on your cheek, and then frowned when I moved!”

“You caught me,” I said, my voice grainy and tired sounding as I grinned at him.

“How ya feelin’?” He asked.

“Tired,” I mumbled, raising one of my hands to my face.

“Y/n, you’ve been asleep for three days.”

“What!? Ow-” I winced as I felt my throat strain. Joseph was there immediately, one hand on my cheek.

“Just don’t talk for a while,” He said, brushing some hair from my face. I nodded weakly. I looked over to the door and saw Caesar leaning against the doorframe. His jaw was tight, his gaze off to the side. It wasn’t hard to see the guilt in his face.

“Y/n,” Lisa Lisa said, shooing Joseph to the side as she replaced him on the bed. “I don’t want to do this, but it seems as if it’s our only choice.”

“You’re making me go home,” I muttered, leaning my head against the pillow as I closed my eyes. “I already know.”

“I’m sorry,” She sighed, taking my hand in hers. “But it seems like you just can’t catch a break. We’ve already contacted your father and brother, and they’ll be meeting you at the airport on Tues-”

“You called my dad?” I asked, my eyes shooting open as I raised up quickly to look at her, wincing as I did. I ignored the pain and pushed her hand away as she tried to get me to lay back down.

“What’s so wrong with that?” Joseph asked. I looked at him, then at Lisa Lisa.

“You better hope he’s in a good mood.”

…

My father was, in fact, not in a good mood. The moment I stepped from the terminal, both Joseph and Caesar behind me, I saw him and Daniel storming towards us. My dad stopped in front of me, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw me. He reached out and cupped my face in his hands.

“Oh my god,” He whispered.

“I’m fine, Dad,” I said, placing my hand over his. I could see his eyes were filled to the brim with worry.

“The hell you are!” Daniel exclaimed. “Look at you! You said nothing would happen to her!” he pointed his attention to Joseph.

“Danny!” I warned. He stormed towards Joseph. Daniel was tall and lean, and he was only a few inches shorter than Joseph. I’m pretty sure he and Caesar were the same height.

“You told me that you would protect my sister. I don’t see a damned thing wrong with you,” He growled.

“Danny, enough!” I said, pulling away from my dad as I grabbed his shoulder. “Both of them did what they could to help, alright?”

“Let’s go, Danny. Your sister needs to rest,” My dad said, grabbing my bag from the ground. My brother didn’t budge. “Daniel!” He said, firmer.

“I’m coming, goddammit!” He barked back. He turned to Joseph, looking from him then to Caesar. “Both of you stay the fuck away my sister, you hear? If I ever see you near her again, I’ll fucking kill you. I don’t give two shits who you are, or whatever the fuck you use. Nobody hurts my sister like that...and to think, I actually trusted you, Joseph. I thought you’d be good for my sister, helping her learn more about my mom. I was wrong. You’re nothing but a dirty bastard.”

“Now, Daniel!” My dad yelled, knowing that if we didn’t pull him away now, Joseph and/or Caesar would walk away with a black eye or bloody nose. Daniel turned away from the two men and placed his hand on my back as he led me away from them. I briefly glanced over my shoulder at them.

Both of their faces were twisted with guilt. Caesar’s jaw was tightened, something I noticed he did a lot when he was upset. We met gazes, lime green eyes glistening with regret, a longing deep behind them.

It was the last time I ever saw them.