Shadows | A Forever Fan-Fiction - Sequel to Lights

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Pleasantries

WARNING:
This has a lot of errors, seeing as it was written at three in the morning and after spending seventy-two hours on, like, work. Summer doesn't mean that life is less busy for me, unfortunately. Also, back at editing Lights again. It's gonna be a fun ride, ironing out all my errors XD and then I'll do this one.  Anyways, I've done what I could to fix this up, but... yeah.

-=+=-

The face that greeted me back in my room was laced with a certain venom that I couldn't quite place. With lips turned up into a sarcastic and painfully forced smile, she was leaning on the wall by the window. She'd opened the blinds, something I'd never done, terrified, suddenly, by the thought of looking down at the grass below me, growing virulently in its haven.

"So," Eliza said quietly, her eyebrows raised.

I bit my lip so hard I was sure that I'd split the skin.

"You've got nothing to say?"

I shrugged, not sure what I should say. I'd spent a while here, and we hadn't spoken the whole while.

"It's-" Her lips moved, a word starting to come out, but she paused. "You took off the bandage." She pointed to my face. "And you-" She paused again, suddenly seeming a bit more tentative, looking me up and down with either disdain or concern. "You're supposed to use the crutches."

"Yeah, well I can take the pain," I said, my voice untarnished, almost surprisingly, by sarcasm.

"It's not about the pain," she hissed, her knuckles paling as she pressed her palms against the wall.

"I know," I added quickly.

She scoffed, a heavy inhale piercing the air. "I moved out."

I nodded mutely.

"So how bad is it?"

"My eye?" She nodded. "I can't see. I don't think that I'll ever hold a scalpel again." I scraped together a smile painfully. "Can you tell?"

"Why were you-" She broke off. "You know what, I don't know why I'm here. I came to drop off your crap that you left in my apartment. It's on the table." She waved at the slab of a table next to my bed.

"Thank you," I said stupidly.

"You don't need to thank me," she said without any amiability. "I'm giving you common human courtesy."

She started to leave, but decided better of it and turned around in the doorframe.

"I-" I started to say.

Her palm met my cheek forcefully, and I recoiled slightly, not bothering to look at her in the eye. It was what I deserved, and probably more.

"But the next time you disappear, you'd better tell me." She sighed, sharply, and hugged me, the fury in her eyes contorting into concern. "You're a terrible friend."

"I know," I mumbled, half laughing and half sobbing tearlessly.

"But I suppose I'm not so great myself," she snickered.

"Don't change?"

"You, too. See you around." She clapped me on the back, and slipped away.

I turned towards the window.

My breath was caught in my throat. A sudden fear was piercing my chest.

My fingers brushed the blinds, searching for the cord to close them, unable to bear the distance-

I looked for just a moment.

It was so far, so far down. From here it was so much further than from where...

I swallowed, yanking the blinds shut and distancing myself from the thought.

I didn't think when I laid down on the bed. I just did.

And I closed my eyes, wishing myself away to a place where none of the past three months has ever taken place.

My little pity party was interrupted by a sharp tap at the door. I flipped over to look at whoever was at the door, somewhat hoping it was Jo so I could whine and have a reason to go to the cafeteria and eat non-patient hospital food. But - alack, alay! - it was only Dr. Morgan.

He cringed at the sight of my eye, tentatively picking at words to say. "Er..."

"Don't," I said, tiredly, because I was suddenly exhausted.

"Your-"

"Yes, I know."

"Is it-"

"Let's not start."

He paused, clearly feeling ostracised, although that really hadn't been my intent.

"Sorry, for, um, yelling at you- snapping, really is a better word, for it, but, uh-"

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm just being drowned in pity today. This is lovely. However, I must apologise, as I am not a succubus, and I dot feed off of sorrow. But please, go on?"

"Jo blames me for putting you in - how did she put it... ah, a 'severely dangerous circumstance that caused you a premature midlife crisis?' " He hesitated. "So, yeah. And, I just... We haven't spoken in a few weeks. We fell out badly."

"Ouch," I said, losing the sharp edge in my voice instantly. "I'm really sorry. I could talk to her-?"

"That would be very nice."

I was silent for a bit. "So, um, any idea when they'll admit that I'm stable and let me out of this holding cell?"

"It's not that bad," Dr. Morgan denied lightly. "It's... certainly not great, either."

I sighed. "Urk. I'm going to have to marathon TV shows for the decent time this month." I yawned. "Maybe I can sleep this whole affair off."

"Maybe," he said quietly.

There was a long, long, long, moment of silence, and the quiet hum of the machines and the soft beeping of the ECG crept over the room.

"I think," he said. "I think, this is a good place to stay. But once I've gotten all that I need from this world, I'll see what's on the other side." He grinned with half-hearted wonder and sheer melancholy. "I'll be back later this week. After I've slept off these surgeries. Tell Jo 'hi' for me."

"See you," I said. But he was already gone.

I rolled over in the bed, closed my eyes, and sank into the crumbling sanity that remained in my sleep.