I Can't See The Sky...

23. He Had To Know.

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(Ryder's POV)

Left. Right. Left. Right. Left.

The sound of my feet was the only sound audible as I raced back to Kylie's room with the doctor at my heels.

He managed to keep up comfortably, and by the time we'd reached Kylie's room, he didn't even look out of breath. I took a second to admire how fit he was before I shoved open Kylie's door and stumbled in.

The doctor had agreed to wait outside, while I did the questioning.

However, I found myself face to face with an empty bed, and drops of blood on the pristine white sheets.

I swore.

"Kylie?!" I called, and then mentally slapped myself because I realised she wouldn't be able to reply even if she heard me.

"Uhhhh, what-do-I-do?! What-do-I-do?!"

Then I heard the turning of a lock, and Kylie walked out of the ward bathroom.

"Kylie?! Oh, thank god! I thought something had happened!!!"

Dude. I'm fine, I just went to bathroom. Kylie wrote.

I know. MAJOR cringe moment.

"But, the blood?"

Crappy job detaching my IV lines.

"Oh."

Yeah, I was at a loss for words.

Wait, what are you doing here? Visiting hours are over. You're supposed to be with your PARENTS, NO?!

"I lied." I told Kylie plainly. "I wouldn't give up shit for my parents. I hate them. You know that. Can't believe you bought it."

I didn't. Kylie assured me. Other concerned parties...? They did... I think.

Why are you here?

"I'll ask the questions. Starting with... Have you heard of the Blank?"

Kylie froze.

What? No. Not heard of them.

Her expression proved otherwise.

"Don't lie to me, Kylie."

I'm not.

"You're not what?"

Lying.

"Stop it. Stop it! Stop lying, Kylie!"

I'm not! I'm not, Ryder!

I didn't want to do this. I really, really didn't want to do this.

"THEN WHAT ABOUT THE SCAR?!" I roared, making Kylie wince and curl up.

Patiently, I waited for guilt to wash over me, but it never came. And I knew why. I'd had enough of Kylie hiding stuff from everyone and lying to cover it.

A sob sounded from in front of me, and I realised it had come from Kylie.

"You-you're crying? You've screwed up, you've flown off the rails, you've hurt everyone you supposedly care about and... you're crying?!"

Kylie motioned for me to sit, and continued scribbling on that paper pad of hers.

Reluctantly, I took a seat.

Finally, she turned the pad around. The page was filled with attempted sentences and words which had been cancelled out again and again.

But at the bottom, in capital underlined letters was something unmissable.

IT WAS ALL A LIE, RYDER.

I buckled in for a long explanation.

~~~~~~

(Kylie's POV)

"THEN WHAT ABOUT THE SCAR?!" Ryder screamed.

I winced at the loud sound and dropped my paper pad, unable to stop the sob that escaped my lips.

"You-you're crying? You've screwed up, you've flown off the rails, you've hurt everyone you supposedly care about and... you're crying?!" Ryder half-shouted at me.

Flashbacks of that day kept hitting me, battering the little un-scarred mentality I had.

I had to tell Ryder.

I waved my hand, in what he'd hopefully interpret as a 'sit down' sign and tried to find a way to tell him.

Write, cancel. Write, cancel. Write, cancel. It went on and on, until finally, I penned down the words I was looking for.

IT WAS ALL A LIE, RYDER.

"Wh-what? What are you talking about? What's a lie?"

Another sob escaped my lips.

It had been a sunny, sunny day. I'd gotten up really happy for some reason. The bird were chirping in the trees, and the sun shone proudly in the sky, and yet despite the obvious sunlight, the day remained a cool, pleasant temperature. I'd gotten ready for school, and then been kissed 'good-bye' by Keith as he and I parted ways for school. Ryder was there that day. He'd picked me up at my building gate and shoved me onto his bike before racing down our empty streets to school.

This was before I'd found out.

That day was registration day. Our grade was approaching 16 and soon we'd be eligible for our two-wheeler licences, so we had government officials hop over to our school to get us registered. Strangely, I'd never heard of this happening anywhere else. Maybe it did, but I'd never heard of it. Still, I didn't let it bother me and when my chance came, I skipped happily into the office and gave them my details.

I just did not think that what happened ever would- ever could.

When I'd gotten my form back way earlier than everyone else, my teacher had assured me that it was just because my details had been processed faster.

Which meant I didn't think that if I'd opened the form, I'd find all the guardian-related info marked bright red.

And I most definitely didn't think that all that time later, I'd be sitting in a hospital bed, because I'd been injected with arsenic, while I told my best friend that:

My parents aren't my parents. They don't have any real documents or proof or anything to say I'm theirs. I'm just... I don't know who my real parents are, Ryder. I'm an unregistered child. I don't know who I actually am. Nobody does. And before you say anything, all the DNA tests were negative.