A Fool's Guide to the In-Between [A Twisted Wonderland Fanfic]

Chapter 28

Y/N bit her lip, staring at the infirmary door. 

'Just take a step and go in.'

Y/N took a step back, still clutching the letter that Riddle had written to her in her hands. She didn't want to rip the carefully written words, but it felt like her heart was tearing in two. The words of the letter still rang in her head as clear as day, like a mocking laugh that floated on the breeze.

"Y/N," Trey whispered, setting his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay? You don't have to do this?"

'I don't have to do this,' Y/N thought to herself, taking a deep breath. Trey was right. She didn't have to do this. She didn't have to visit Riddle, waiting for him to wake up, just to see the look of unfamiliarity pass across his features as she expected him to remember her. She didn't have to subject herself to the torture of knowing that the love and light of her life would never remember her, or remember the love that they shared for each other. 

Once upon a time, she thought that Riddle would never return her feelings. How could he? They were complete opposites. She was high-strung and full of energy that often resulted in mischievousness, he was serious and rule-abiding. She said that the rules were there to be bent if not broken entirely, and he followed the rules to the letter, ensuring that every rule in the eight hundred rules of the queen of hearts handbook was carried out. She threw caution to the wind as she leapt from one place to the next, while Riddle never set a foot out of line. And yet, here were the words telling her that it hadn't all been a fantasy. That he had loved her just as much as she had loved him, possibly even more so, though she doubted that.

"I should," she whispered after a moment, leaning on Trey. He was her rock right now. The only one she could lean on. Azul and the twins were busy managing Mostro Lounge, giving her the time off that she needed, her brother was out sparring with Neige... Trey was the only one here who was willing to carry her to the infirmary if her legs gave out. And here he was, standing by the door and waiting for her to say if she was ready.

"Maybe you should," he said, "but you should do that when you're ready. You only just got out of the infirmary yesterday. You're still recuperating. No one is going to push you to do anything, Y/N."

Y/N steeled herself and pulled away from Trey, setting her hand on the swinging door. She pushed it open and took a deep breath as she entered the room. Thankfully, no one else was in the room but her, Trey, and Riddle, who looked extremely bored as he lay in the infirmary bed, staring up at the ceiling above. He seemed to be trying to find a new way to arrange his face, as his nose kept twitching from side to side and up and down. 

"Riddle," Trey called out, drawing his attention.

"Trey," Riddle sighed. "Finally. Please tell the nurse that I am perfectly healthy and must return to my duties as housewarden." He glared at the nurse who was bustling around, packing up her things and bowing to the boy before leaving the room. 

Nurses never lived on the campus with the students and staff. They lived in the village below, acting as nurses in the village as well as at the two schools. There weren't, usually, enough injuries to have them around all the time, and there were only so many times they could straighten out the medicine cabinet.

Y/N waited by the door as Trey approached Riddle, taking a seat in the empty chair.

"Why am I here, anyways," Riddle asked, flexing his fingers. 

"You lost a part of your memory," Trey answered. "The nurses just wanted to make sure that you were okay. You'll be free to return to your duties as housewarden tomorrow, but for now, stay here. It's all right if you want to rest a bit."