Stay! By My Side

Chapter 16

Ai's POV

It was 2 am when I wake up from a dreamless sleep. I was thirsty so I jumped off my bed and get out of the room. The night was night and quiet that I suddenly have the urge to get back to work. And so I decided tohead to the lab and check if there's anything I can do.

The core materials I needed for the final stage of the antidote will be arrived within this week. I was planning to take the first one along with Kudo-kun a few days later, but now that I think through it again I should take it ahead from him. That's right, when anything goes wrong I will still have time to work on the precaution.

I look around me and make sure both of them are not anywhere near. I took the pill with one deep breath. Once I shallowed the pill, I hurriedly hide my self under the table and cover my mouth with my coat for this will be hurt like hell. The chemical will do its work in ten minutes after it's spreaded through the blood vessels.

I'm starting to sweat a lot and shivering. Thank God I was wearing thick clothes. I need to drink a lot of water now before I dehydrated myself down to my bones. Another five minutes had passed and now the pain began to emerge. I suffocate myself with the coat to cover the screaming while clearly feel the unbearable pain in every inch of my body.

I felt my body being torn apart for about thirty minutes straight. I'm starting to have nosebleed and totally lose all my energy. The pain is slowly fading away, but i'm not able to move any parts of my body yet. This was only a first stage, I wonder if I would be killed after I finished drinking all three stages.

After another half an hour lied down on a cold floor, I finally regained my strength. The excessive sweating causing my clothes to be drenched and I still need to drink a lot of water. I changed my clothes to a clean one and cover my head with warm towel. I head to the kitchen and having some toast to restore my energy.

I sat down in the sofa, finishing my bread in silence, and let my mind wanders to anywhere it likes until the sun rises and bringing me back to my concious.

"You wake up early." He walks towards me in his pajamas. How long have we been like this exactly? Getting used to each other. I will miss this life badly in the future.

"And so do you" I replied quietly. Actually, it's closer to a whisper. I didn't intend to do that, anyway, I just haven't fully recovered from what happened before.

"And you're having breakfast at this hour. That's kind of peculiar. Don't tell me, are you having nightmare again last night?"

"It's nothing like that. I woke up hungry, that's all."

"What happen to your voice then? You sound weak."

"For once in your life, Kudo-kun, stop pestering me with your i-know-something-is-wrong attitude."

"Give me some of that"

He takes a slice of toast from my plate, sit next to me and turning the TV on. We continue to eat in silent, pretending to be interested on whatever it is on the news. But suddenly I feel his palm on me and my heart skipped a beat. What's with him out of the blue?

"What are you.."

"You did this back than when we were in the hijacked bus. You held my hand so tight that I feel like it would be crushed. You were terrified and you would seek for my protection. Later on that bus, you intended to kill yourself." His eyes still on the TV and the back of his head is facing me.

"Why this all of a sudden?"

"Since that day, you used to stay close to me everytime we were on the same place. And when something pressuring you, you would hold onto my shoulder and stayed at my back. You used to seek for my protection out of your intuition."

"Kudo-kun, you're being scary right now. Off with it, already."

If you don't let go of my hand right now, I'm gonna catch a heart attack in no time.

"Now it feels different. You're pulling yourself away from me. This just doesn't feel right. So this is my turn to hold your hand like this for I'm the one being terrified now. You're so far away as if you're not anywhere near me anymore that I'm afraid you might suddenly disappear before my eyes."

He put his chin down on his palm, still facing the television. I can feel he slightly tightened his grip, resulting somekind of earthquake inside my chest.

"Come back to me, Haibara. Whatever it is inside your mind right now, I assure you it wasn't the right thing to do."

My head is spinning around right now. I'm not sure whether it's because of the antidote or him. I feel something's running down on my nose. Blood?

______________________________________

Shinichi's POV

My eyes on the television but actually I don't even pay attention on whatever it is on the news. Next to my seat is Haibara. I was trying to stop her from having any foolish intention inside her mind. She stayed silent until I felt her hand being drawn away from mine. I turn my head to face her and the next thing happened is what frightening me to death. She's slowly falling down from her seat and her left hand is soaked in blood. The blood is hers.

"Haibara! What's wrong with you, Haibara! Professor!"

I was about to carry her inside the Professor's beetle when she called my name in a feeble voice.

"Kudo-kun, let's not go to the hospital. It's because of the antidote. It would lead us to nothing if we go to the hospital right now."

"The antidote? You took it today? That's why you woke up early this morning?"

"Put me inside the bedroom. This bleeding is part of the process. I'll explain later when I got through this."

"If you're dead now Haibara, I'm sure I'm gonna kill you."

"Just be thankful I'm the first one to take it instead of you, stupid detective."

"Just shut up, would you? You're bleeding too much."

For once in her life, she listened to me and keep her mouth shut, except that I didn't like it to be in this kind of situation anyway. I put her down in her bed and run to get some wet towel. She looks frail and vulnerable at her state now.

"You're so stupid, Haibara, I hate you for this." I said furiously while cleansing her blood. The bleeding is stop already, but her blood is everywhere I feel like we're in the middle of some random murder case.

"Thank you. I'll take that as your thanks"

"You fool, I'd rather putting myself on your state right now. And here I wonder why I didn't get any heart attack already. "

She gives me a weak smile in reply.

"What's wrong, Shinichi? Why is there so many blood?"

"It's the antidote. She said this is the right phase, and refusing to go to the hospital."

"So that's how it is. But, is it alright, Ai-kun? Are you gonna through this fine?"

She nodded her head.

"Alright then Ai-kun, you should rest. If there's anything I could get you, just call me later. Are you gonna skip school again, Shinichi? I wonder what kind of excuse we will use this time"

"I'd better get going, the kids would just break into this house if both of us didn't show up together again. I'll put my phone on stand by, call me immediately when things get worse, Professor."

We left Haibara to take some rest. I changed my clothes and run along towards school. So if that was the first stage, what would happen after we take the last two stages? Seriously, what was she thinking about? Wasn't I supposed to be the human test subject? I've started to think a hundred of temporary antidotes is a lot safer than the real thing.

I know it's still early in the morning but I wish today's school will soon be over. I can't put my mind at ease at all, leaving her behind in such a state. Maybe I should buy her cake on my way back later.