Muted

Chapter Twenty

A/N:  So I don't have time to edit like I had planned to... so I am just going to briefly edit and release chapters!  Sorry if there are a lot of mistakes.  :) enjoy and vote/comment.  Your words are motivation for me <3

Chapter Twenty

The night was dark as you made your way back to the Rehabilitation Center.  Swiping your key card at the entrance, you slipped through the empty corridors. The silence was broken only by the soft echo of your steps and the pounding of your heart, loud enough that you swore it might give your presence away.

You weren't supposed to be here, not at this hour. Usually, off-duty hours meant only emergencies, and you'd only come this late a handful of times before. Now, without official business, you knew if caught, you would have some explaining to do.

You'd prepared a hundred excuses, words practiced over and over in your mind in a haste of anxiety.  But, when you reached her room, your destination, you breathed a sigh of relief.  None of your excuses were necessary. The halls were empty.

Inside, Miss Tanaka was laying on her bed. Her room was dim, lit only by a small flickering light in the corner.  Yet, when her door opened, her eyes found yours immediately, sharp and clear despite the darkness and everything the Regime had done to attempt to cloud her mind. 

"Well... this is a surprise," she spoke. But, despite her words, her eyes betrayed her.  She was not surprised.  It was almost as if she knew this very night would eventually come. "To what do I owe this pleasure, Dr. Lawson?"

You didn't waste a breath.  "Tell me about the wall."

Her smirk deepened, an amused spark in her gaze. "When I first met you, I never would have guessed a question like that would ever come out of your mouth," she spoke.

Your heart thudded harder. Her words touched something inside you, but this wasn't the time to linger on it. There was no time for reflection, no time to get sidetracked by what she once thought or even what you had once been. You were here for answers and you didn't have any time to spare.

"Please," you whispered. "I must know quickly."

She tilted her head before continuing, ignoring your plea, "You were cold as ice when we first met, but then you started to change," she murmured. "It was obvious. I could feel it in the way you tended to my wound.  You became soft, tender, as if you actually cared. And yet, you still forced those damn pills down people's throats, still did the Regime's bidding."

Her words struck like a blade, sharp and deep. Guilt rose, twisting painfully in your chest. 

She was right. You'd told yourself for so long that you were biding your time, waiting for the right moment to make a move against the Regime. You'd wanted to believe that your silence was strategic, that you were holding back for some great idea and plan to arise...holding back until Yuzuru had come up with a plan. But the truth was far simpler... and far more cowardly. Until tonight, you had done nothing to help yourself or anyone else.

Miss Tanaka's gaze held you firmly, a quiet judgment within those sharp, penetrating eyes. She had seen through you from the start, piercing through every mask you'd worn, every lie you'd told yourself. You could feel her scrutiny now, her silent assessment of the person you had become, wondering if you were someone worth trusting.

Would she even tell you what you'd come to learn? Did you deserve to know?

But as she watched you, something shifted. Her expression softened, though the intensity in her eyes remained.