Fight

11

"Linda! Hi!"

"Hey, Y/n, how are you doing?"

"Fine. Great. Fantastic, actually...yeah...uh, come in, come in...Demi's just down the hallway in the kitchen, head straight through."

"Thanks," Linda smiles, stepping into the house with her clipboard tucked under her wing.

Standing at the door, you try to breathe deeply as the back of Linda's head disappears down the long stretch. Just a few more seconds of calm before Demi unleashes a wave of carnage. 

"Oh, hello dear, I'm Linda," the nurse's bright voice chirps out. Quickly striding through to catch up, you resume the video game you paused in the middle of a losing battle.

"Oh, sorry, this is my--um...friend...Emily...I invited her round to meet Demi, you know, to build a community around her..."

"Oh, of course! That's lovely to hear," she beams, quickly noting something down on her paper, "I'm sure Dr Michaels will be pleased to hear this."

At least there's something he will be pleased about. Don't think it will make up for everything Demi is going to admit to.

Speaking of Demi, she is still sitting hunched on the chair, a distressed look shimmering in her eyes as she looks between you and Linda. The sleeves of her top are rolled back down her forearms hiding the damage. And, at first, you feel a bubble of hope expand in your chest. But once you catch sight of Emily's bloody hands that she tries to hold behind her back, it bursts. She must have pulled Demi's sleeves down herself. Demi's threat is still active. 

You want to pause the game again. You can't think straight. 

"You alright, Demi?" Linda coos as she takes a seat next to the girl, placing her hand on her knee in reassurance. 

Maybe you should beat Demi to it and just come clean with everything that happened today. Linda must already anticipate a few hiccups here and there so perhaps she will go easy on you - it being your first day and all. But if Demi is so desperate to leave, she will probably just make up something else - tell Linda you hit her or something. Anything that will cause enough shock to get Linda to remove her. So you keep your mouth shut. There are too many unknowns. 

When Demi doesn't answer, Linda rises from the chair and comes close to you, whispering gently in your ear, 

"Maybe go easy with the visitors in the first couple of weeks. I think she's a little overwhelmed."

You nod. You make it look like you're playing along. Of course, Linda! What was I thinking?! I will invite Emily back once Demi is fully settled. You run for cover under digital bunkers, preserving life. Your 'pocket' filled with a variety of weapons you can still use to win this game. Demi hasn't beaten you yet. 

Sitting back down, Linda slides the glasses that are perched on top of her head onto her nose. 

"Now, Demi, I'm just going to ask a few routine questions about how you're feeling and then I'll get out of your way," she winks, sensing the strain in the room. She must think it's due to Demi being this silent all day or something. She must think it's because she's so closed in on herself with all of these people around her. 

She probably doesn't think it's because of the fact that, minutes ago, Demi was blackmailing you. 

A few steady minutes pass with Linda asking pretty mundane questions about how Demi is feeling, how she's sleeping, how she's eating. And for each one, Demi replies with a nod or shake of the head where appropriate. She doesn't spill anything extra. She doesn't detonate the grenade just yet. You wonder what she's waiting for.