When The Night Falls Book 2 of When Good Things End trilogy

CHAPTER 11

11

Jules was waiting at the hospital as Laurent and I rushed into one of the rooms. I didn't have the chance to follow him before Jules stopped me.
"I need to talk with you."
It wasn't a request as I yanked my arm out of her grasp. "I don't think I can talk right now. I-"
"I don't care. Your going to have to help or the whole teams going to quit."
I forced myself to listen to her as I followed her back to the groups house. Doyle was acting up, yelling and going on rants about Laurent. The part that worked me about it all was that everyone was actually concerned about whether the things he were saying were true.
The whole house had a strange aura around it the second I entered. Will and the others were all trying to help Doyle but were crowding around him as he hyperventilated.
"What's wrong with him?"
I stopped in front of the wreck of a man in front of me. The others crowding around us worried that he might have been hurt.
"Jules?" I squat down in front of Doyle as he shook. He was shrunken into himself, hands over his head trying to hide.
"What's wrong with him?" Will asked.
I pulled my jacket off and pulled it over Doyle's shaking hands. "I need you all to leave."
"And go where?"
"Go explore. You can come back in a few hours but you need to leave."
Will nodded, helping me out by stirring the group to start moving away from Doyle. Jules was the last one out as she glanced back at me and closed the front door.
I took a deep breath in and sat down against the wall a small distance away from Doyle. I don't know how to help. All I know is that when I had panic attacks I needed to be alone.
"It's okay," I whispered. Trying to give him some sort of comfort. I could try to give him what I wanted so much back then. "I'm here for you, it's okay to cry."
I shifted as the time passed, watching silently as Doyle slowly got a handle on his breathing. An hour must have passed before he could coherently get his words to make sense.
I couldn't hear what he said so I just opted to letting him know what was going on outside of the shadows of my jacket.
"It's ok, no ones here to judge you. I made the others leave."
His shoulders were still shaking slightly as his hand twitched. I smiled as he gave me the fist sign that he could hear something other than the consuming thoughts of fear.
"Your going to be okay."
He just stayed were he was, still keeping his hands covering his head with his knees drawn close to his chest.
"Do you want some water?"
"I want to die already."
"I can understand that."
He sounded out of it as he asked. "You? How come?"
"Some boy." That was about all I felt comfortable saying. I tried to warm up my hands, feeling stiff and numb. Doyle still didn't move as I stood. I placed a cup of water between us and sat closer to him.
"You feeling better now?"
It's been a few hours of quietly talking to the void. It feels strange again hearing him talk. "Why are you with him?"
"Who?"
Doyle only had to choke out a few words for me to understand as he picked up the water. "Green eyes."
"He's everything I never had in someone else before. How do you know him?" I asked, wishing I could hold back my questions back for a better time.
Doyle pulled the jacket off his face. "I lived with his brother back at the Vildrid castle. I don't have the scares to prove anything that I say but you have to trust me. The Ro'maves are monsters. You can't trust them."
I didn't try to ask since I could tell he was almost on the verge of another panic attack. Jules came by an hour after and Doyle went to his room when the others came back.
"Did you check up on Laurent how is the boy?" I asked Jules as she walked past.
She shrugged. "I don't know. Didn't see them, the whole makeshift hospital is getting more and more crowded Anna. I think it's time we start moving out."
I nodded, knowing she was right. There's been a fast flow of survivors found by during scouting sessions. I found myself packing up a couple changes of clothes a few minutes later and heading out towards the hospital even though it was dark.
"Look who finally came," Ein grunted with a wave as I quickly searched the rooms for Laurent and the boy.
I tried to ignore the eye-bags under Ein's eyes. He was the only one here with a medical background so he was the only person who was able to help out the refugees.
"He took him back with him after taking some stuff from the medical cabinets. Are you just going to leave again?"
His question stopped me at the door. He didn't look back at me but focused on re-bandaging the patient in front of him. It hurts being anywhere close to him. But what if he's changed? It's been years since I've seen him, people don't can't stay the same for that long.
"Go take a nap," I said taking the supplies from him and nudging him away. "I'll take the night shift and if anything happens I'll wake you up."
He didn't go far, just laid down close to the door and fell asleep with his arms crossed.
I'll just have to trust that Laurent can handle taking care of the boy on his own. He can take care of Milo so he should be fine.
Zina decided to show up early as always. I don't get how she can wake up before the sun and still look fully put together. I finished scrubbing the vomit off the floor and washed up before treating her outside.
I should have brought my jacket. It's foggy and miserably cold. "What's up?" I yawned, feeling half asleep.
"Did you get any sleep at all for today?" She asked worriedly.
I smiled, trying to at least look better then how I felt. "Nope."
"But the trails are happening today. The nobles are all going to be there. What are you doing?"
I closed my eyes, wishing I had the energy to care. "Napping." I should be able to be fine if I get a few hours of sleep.
Ein pulled open the door I was leaning on making me fall back and stumble. "Morning," he yawned. He still looked tired but a much better than yesterday. I waved absently at him not caring that I was in this state in front of him anymore.
"Can you just ask the trials to be postponed? What even are they? Why is it so important?" I asked.
I couldn't seem to be bothered by the fact that Ein was intrested enough to stick around as Zina explained.
"We can't postpone such an important tradition. Even if you are the ruler of Phoenix Drop you should have been more responsible."
"I'm only—"
"Dont make excuses I you dont have the time for it. You need to get to the courts. The trails are happening in a few hours. Do you even know how to guide I bird?"
She wasnt wrong. I should have been doing more then laying around yesterday. "I think I know?" She didn't look convinced as I walked after her. Ein still following after us.
"Your a wreck at this point. What did the council even think you don't even know anything about our culture." Zina kept mumbling but her words kept zoning out of my head as awareness pricked my skin. Ein was quietly walking beside me and it was bothering me.
I stopped realizing we had already made it all the way to the courts. "Wait what am I supposed to do?" I asked, panicking slightly as we made out way past under stone columns and decorated gardens.
"My uncle didn't really tell me what to do. He said it was urgent to bring you here," she answered.
"Looking like this?" I exclaimed. "Zine I look like I murdered someone, I can't be meeting with anyone from the council looking like this."
She paused, trying to think as she bit her lip. "I guess you can have one of my council robes. But hurry up we can't be late." She quickly turned and guided me to her room. She didn't let me inside so I had to wait outside her intrinsically decorate doors.
"So—"
I shut him down the second he tried to start a conversation. "Dont talk to me." It's not safe to be alone with him even if I'm fully capable of beating him up.
Zine quickly opened the door and snatched me in after her before locking the door again. "Bathrooms right there hurry up and change and maybe I'll have time to do your makeup," she ordered pushing me into a fancy white bathroom with the clothes for me folded up on the counter.
I quickly scrubbed my hands and a changed into the heavy white fabric. The whole design was similar to a dress, I string was pulled around the waist and the fabric wrapped around your body with a loose delicate layer of lace. I pushed the door open already feeling like I was about to throw up.
"Good now hurry up and sit down I'll do your hair." Zina pulled something golden over my head and smoothed the fabric over my shoulders. It hung awkwardly at the middle of my body.
She sat me down and pulled out a pallet of red paint from her mirror.
"What's that?"
"Quite we need to hurry, its just some simple makeup." She painted the glossy red color onto my lips and smudged some pale colors over my eyelids before taking a black pencil and drawing on my face.
"Are you sure I dont look weird?" I asked she turned me to look at the mirror.
I looked like a doll. Black hair pulled into a bun with two golden sticks holding it up. The gold accents were subtle but looked good. The clothes had a gold belt of fabric with long tassels, the makeup she put on my face also had very thin line of gold outlining my eyes. My lips looked like I kissed a bright red apple and somehow it stained.
"Hurry, hurry, out." She pulled me out the door were Ein was still waiting. He looked just as dirty as I looked a few minutes ago
"What do I say?" I asked as Zina took us a distance away from what looked like a party of people.
"Just follow my lead. You red head, stay here please your not supposed to even be here," she pointed at Ein before taking my hand and making me follow her to where the fancy people were gathered.