Curiosity Kills the Cat (An IDFB Fanfic)

Chapter 37

Chapter 37
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The Sinking Ship
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"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Pin hesitated as she closed the door to her place behind her, the gentle click of the lock closing securely making her uneasy. It was just over 72 hours since Coiny's accident, and the stress was eating her as she didn't let go of the doorknob.

Her eyes glanced back to Golfball, who seemed more focused on her clipboard, tapping the end of her pen against the papers. GB's eyes scrunched as she skimmed words, her brain-process clearly elsewhere. With a weak sigh, Pin spoke up again.

"He's still injured, and I don't want him to hurt himself more than—," she stopped herself as GB sighed with an eye-roll. The look on her face gave Pin an idea of what was to come, but she didn't speak. Instead, she grimaced, eyes squinting as if bracing herself for the words.

"Don't coddle him," she chastised, the few words cutting Pin as her eyes widened, startled. Not what she anticipated. "Regardless, he's almost bedridden at the moment."

Her hands curled slightly as she swallowed the sigh in her throat, creaking just slightly under the force of the metal meeting metal. Glancing where her hand met the doorknob, her index finger repetitively tapped the brass. The burns on his forearm, the wobble in his step. That one night, he'd broken a glass in the middle of the night, all for a simple cup of water. "Yeah," she said, the word bitter on her tongue. This felt like betrayal.

She grimaced just thinking of it.

Or treason. Or just being a really bad friend. Really, really horrible friend.

"Bedridden," she parroted, taking the first step away from the door.

"It's only for an hour or two," GB added as she slipped the clipboard under her arm, clicking the pen to retract its point. For a brief moment, she looked away from Pin, setting the pen in her breast pocket before looking back up. And was immediately greeted with a sour-faced Pin. "Plus, he's asleep, right?" She figured she'd ask, and upon seeing Pin's face ease just slightly, she continued before the other girl could interrupt her. "So he'll be out for a while," she said a bit smugly.

Pin took another step away, the words easing the tension that had settled on her shoulders. But there was a slight tingle in her mind that grew loud within the second. "He insists he's fine," Pin said with a sudden tilt of her head, her hand caressing her arm, the metals of the prosthetics silently rubbing against each other. She glanced back at Golf Ball, waiting for her words. Almost as if she were trying to convince her.

"Well, let him think he is," GB said as she finally began pulling away from the porch, taking another step down the stairs. "When he falls, he'll realize how bad it is," she said, already turning her back to Pin and walking on the sidewalk. Pin's step faltered as she glanced back at the door. "But what if—"

"Shh!!"

GB shushed her without another thought, looking back at her with a glare on her face. Pin opened her mouth to speak, not a word leaving her lips when Golf Ball shushed her once more. "Shh!"

Pin shut her mouth, sighing in mild annoyance.

"He's an ah-duh-lt," GB said with a firm voice, her thumb and index fingers pinched as she began underlining every syllable in the air. "Do not—coddle him," she said again, her hand dropping beside her hip. "Let him fall on his face," she snickered, shrugging as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other. "It builds character." The girl didn't give Pin an option, leaving her stranded on the porch.