You and I [Desami Fanfiction]

Chapter 23: Darkness

Desna

For a while, all I could see was darkness. There wasn’t a hint of light anywhere, and I couldn’t open my eyes.

I was fairly certain that I wasn’t dead. After all, you know if you’re dead, don’t you? I could still hear my thoughts…and a bit of something else.

It isn’t until I feel something cold on my chest and something hot in my hand that I was sure I wasn’t dead. Or so I thought.

“Desna!” It was a familiar voice, but not Eska’s. It wasn’t Father’s either. It was more caring than that. It was…Asami?

I force my eyes to open up, though every part of my body protests it. I see Asami’s head hovering over me, her eyes wet with tears yet again. Maybe I really was dead.

“Desna?” I hear another voice call my name. This time it’s my sister’s. No, I must be alive, I decide. I don’t have time to ponder over what Asami could possibly be doing here.

I slowly open my eyes, but it’s only a moment before the pain from my chest shoots into my body. I cringe in pain, causing a few gasps around me.

“Is he okay?” Asami asks.

I just barely catch a glimpse of my nurse before she starts to heal my again. The pain subsides soon enough, and I take a deep breath.

I try to move my hands, but I quickly realize someone is holding on to one of them. I cram my neck to see Asami’s fingers wrapped around me.

“Oh, sorry,” she says, following my gaze.

“It’s okay,” my voice comes out hoarse. I barely recognize it myself.

I try to sit up and assess my condition, but a pain spikes in my core as soon as I move.

“You can’t get up just yet. You’re still in the process of healing,” the nurse says to me. Then she turns to Asami and says, “Only immediate family should see him right now.”

I see Asami’s face turn bright red, like she’s either holding back tears or a fit of rage. “Please, let her stay,” I say.

The nurse only nods, but glances nervously at Asami.

“It’s not like there’s any one else here that cares,” Asami mutters.

I hear Eska clear her throat, but I shoot her a look. “Eska cares,” I remind Asami.

She nods but rolls her eyes a little bit. I chuckle to myself.

Asami

I spend the entire rest of the day with Desna in the healing cot. Eska stays there most of the time, looking up at me every once in a while. Let her stare. Nothing was going to make me leave.

“Could we have a word?” Eska asks me finally. I nod slightly as she takes me outside the tent.

“It’s Asami, isn’t it?” she asks casually.

“Yes,” I reply hesitantly.

“Alright, Asami, I don’t know what kind of connection you and my brother have, but it seems to be causing problems for us,” she tells me.

I feel my jaw open. “Excuse me?”

“I know he went to see you when he left. I don’t know why or how, but you’re impairing his judgment. He can’t see what’s important with you in the way,” she explains.

“In the way?” I repeat. “Excuse me for actually caring about him! I’m sorry no one else will!” My voice has turned into an outraged scream.

Eska remains calm. “We care, we just tend to show it in a different way than you’re used to.”

“News flash, using you’re children as tools doesn’t count as caring! Risking their lives for no reason isn’t caring!”

“I could have just left him!” Eska reminds me. “I could have stayed with my father, but I didn’t. I cared enough to come here, to stay here. So maybe my father doesn’t care, but I am not him.” Her voice is a crisp hiss, her face in mine.

I take a deep breath, reminding myself not to get carried away. This was Desna’s sister, after all. “Okay, I’m sorry,” I say. “I know what it’s like to have a father like that.”

“I…am sorry as well. I want only to protect Desna,” she explains.

“That’s all I want,” I say through clenched teeth. I return to the tent, where Desna has woken up.

“Where were you?” he asks me.

“Just…talking with your sister,” I reply.