Mission Accomplished

Chapter One

As I looked at myself in the mirror and noticed my scars once again, memories - painful ones - came flooding back to me. Memories that will be etched in my memory forever. Memories of pain, struggle and the abuse that my mother gave me for my whole life until a year ago when I ran away.

Oh... yes, I had an abusive mother. I lived in a house where my family were never close; we were just living together and acted as though we were never even related. My mother and father never liked me, since I was sort of a mistake to them. My mother even told it to my face. "I should have aborted you when I had the chance, but no, R'yach decided that he wanted a playmate," she had said.

As usual when she told me things like that, I would just command my tears not to fall, and then I would just remain silent like I did most of the time. I was always silent, except when I was supposed to talk, like when my parents asked me a question or when R'yach came to comfort me a little. Not that I needed comfort, though. R'yach. He's my older brother; he is only four years older than I am.

Then a sound abruptly dragged me to the present. It was my window opening. With caution, I opened my bathroom door. And I gasped at what I saw.

"Wolf!" I exclaimed, taking his bloody hands in mine and leading him to my sofa. "What happened?"

Wolf was my colleague at work, and we got along just fine except for when he was crabby. He had white skin, a broad chest, feathery black hair, and was rather big for his age. He was twenty one, and of Japanese decent. Because of his mature features, he tended to attract older women and he didn't really appreciate that. 

"Xio... Xiomara," he breathed. He had a bullet in his chest, I realized, when he put a hand to it.

"Damn you, Wolf! What did you get yourself into this time?" I asked angrily, dialing a doctor I knew. It was a little past midnight, but this doctor never slept and he never had a problem leaving his house and seeing a patient.

The doctor, Mr. Gonzales, reached in the blink of an eye, right after I told him what was wrong. He lived not too far away, so I expected that. He didn't even ask a question; he just opened his medical bag and got to work at once. After he was sure that he had removed the bullet, he sighed as he bandaged the wound on nearly-unconscious Wolf. "Good evening, Xiomara," he finally greeted.

I stopped fingering my necklace, something I did when I was nervous or anxious. "Good evening, doctor. Would Wolf be okay?" I asked, worry and tension in my voice.

"Yes, yes he would, even though he seems critical. But leave him to rest a bit. How did he get here?" Mr. Gonzales asked.

I shrugged. "I have no idea, doc. I was in my bathroom, and then I heard my window open. When I opened the door, he was ready to collapse," I explained. "I'll let you know more when he's ready to explain," I added.

Mr. Gonzales nodded and packed back his bag after dressing Wolf's wound. "Of course, of course," he muttered, and then rose. "Goodbye, and let me know how he's doing by tomorrow. Give him these painkillers for the pain," he said, handing me a small box of painkillers.

"Thanks. Um, wait here while I get my purse," I said, and got my purse from my bedroom. I returned with some cash for him. "Here's your fee," I said, handing the cash to him. 

"Thank you. I'll take your leave, now. And you take care, young lady," he told me, and walked through the front door after I said goodbye.

I walked back to Wolf as soon as I locked back my door and my window. "Wolf, can you hear me?"  I asked softly.

"Yes," he whispered, his eyes closed. Then he opened his eyes slowly. "I heard you swear at me," he said softly.

"Yes, I did. Damn you for getting into trouble! I thought you were going to die!" I yelled.