"Doc, Maddy is gone again..." The nurse called out, staring at the empty bed with a sigh.
"Where did Gen go? He was there a minute ago." Doc hissed, looking over the nurse's shoulder with a grumble. "The girl gets a concussion, shot, and stabbed and then refuses to stay in bed."
"The boy went to the restroom a minute ago. She must have ran off then." The nurse sighed, turning to go find Leo. "I'll get him to go get her."
"She'll probably be more compliant to his demands anyways." Doc scoffed, scurrying away to help another patient.
It was two days after their first mission, and the two young assassins were stuck in the med ward, forbidden from leaving the sixth floor. Alice hated hospitals, so she escaped to the rooftop gardens or locked herself in the bathroom every chance she got.
"Again? Where did she run off to this time?" Leo sighed, running a hand down his face exasperatedly.
"The roof. Good luck finding her up there. The stairs are over there." The nurse said, pointing to a door with a bright red restricted sign on it.
Leo had never been on the roof, so when he opened the door to see the gardens, he was taken a bit aback. There were rows upon rows of flowers, all different colors, shapes, and sizes. Leo wandered around a bit before he saw the slumped form of Alice, who was sitting on the ground next to a white rose bush.
"Doc is pretty worried about you." He smiled sadly, and she looked at him over her shoulder. Her eyes were wide and glossed over with tears that had yet to fall. She sniffled, quickly looking back at the flowers, hiccupping quietly.
"I know. She always is." Alice squeaked, using the long, loose, sleeves of her grey sweater to wipe her face. Her unsteady breaths came out in clouds of white before they were carried away by the wind. It was odd that the plants were surviving in the cold, and Leo found himself reaching out and running a finger across the petals of a nearby tulip. It emitted warmth, and for some reason, being near them calmed him down and made him feel so... Remorseful.
"Why did you run off again? Especially up here." He sighed walking towards her slowly and carefully. "Why were you crying? Are you hurting?"
"I come up here often." She sounded so sad. "My mother loved roses. We used to have rose bushes. Ours were red, but I think white ones are prettiest." Her voice was low, and she had an expression that Leo had never seen before. Not on anyone.
"You must love flowers. I mean, you have that lotus and cat tattoo, and then there's this place." He muttered, incapable of looking away from that honest face of hers.
"They... They're wonderful things. Flowers, I mean." She whispered, almost as if she was scared someone would hear that tremble in her voice, or the emotions that had always remained hidden in the shadows of her unusually hollow words. "They're beautiful, even if they make me sad."
"I'm... I'm sorry." Leo rasped, not even entirely sure as to why he was apologizing.
"You have no reason to be. If anything, I'm sorry for making you worry and all that. So, please, don't apologize." She sighed, reaching a pale hand towards the bright white flowers before her. Her small, frail fingers lightly traced the petals, shaking either from the cold, or simply from her.
"You should get inside. You're hurt pretty bad, you need rest."
"I hate hospitals." She muttered against the cold air, slowly pulling her hand back into her sweater. "Why do you think I run off every chance I get?"
"That doesn't change the fact that you need to rest." He crossed his arms, cocking his head. Her hair shifted slightly in the night breeze, concealing her face momentarily. Leo reached out and tucked the stray strands behind her ear, shaking his head. "You'll get sick if you're out in the cold for too long."
"I don't care." She seemed to collapse in on herself with those small, quiet words, eyes rested on the roses in front of her, reflecting the small amount of light nearby as if they were the moon.
"Well, I do, so come on." Leo wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her to her feet before slowly heading back to the door that lead to the stairs. She put up little to no struggle, taking small, quiet steps and trying her best to hold her own weight.
"I-I'm so-sorry..." She squeaked, looking up at him with those large, concerned eyes, shining a deep, dark green that sent his heart reeling.
"Stop apologizing." He sighed, carefully helping her down the stairs. Her small, cold frame felt as if it belongs next to his warm one, and she found such immense comfort from his presence. He was like the flowers on the roof, his warmth and beauty made her feel so, so, so very true and real that it made her feel awake and alive, a rarity nowadays.
"That just makes me want to apologize for apologizing..." She muttered, tightening her grip on the boy with a shaky sigh.
"I know." He laughed, and she looked up at him again, giving him a small smile. His heart skipped a beat while hers fluttered to the sound if his voice.
---
(authors note)
This is so fluffy I've spent too much time reading poetry today rip
Anyways, just a small filler for now
These take a while to write idk why anywho,
Sorry and see ya (*3*)
YOU ARE READING
An Assassin's Heart
Teen FictionAlice came from a big, rambunctious family. She was a quiet, kind girl who hoped to be an art teacher when she grew up. But her reality was shattered when her family was slaughtered. So, she decided to become the assassin named Maddy.
