When Hell Runs Cold

Chapter Three

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-Ivy

Alysia quickly hid her shock as she placed her hand into Nathan's, giving it a hearty shake. "Um, Alysia," she said, shoving her hand into the pocket of her jeans.

The grin didn't leave Nathan's face, as he ran a hand through his dark brown hair. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Alysia."

"Uh, it's nice to meet you too."

Alysia awkwardly nodded, not knowing what else to say to the man. There was no way that Nathan could know that she was Lux.

She nervously glanced around the hospital, nodding slowly and awkwardly, before deciding to look straight ahead.

She fiddled with her fingers, letting out a sigh. "So what are you here for?"

"Chemo."

A wave of guilt hit her. What if he needed that money for treatment?

She glanced at him, "You have cancer?"

He let out a chuckle, "No, my dad has a huge tumor. They're using chemo to reduce the size before they can take it out."

Now she felt even worse.

She stole from a person who had a tumor.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Alysia quietly muttered, trying to ignore the guilt.

She was just doing her job.

He gave her a charming smile."Not your fault. So what are you here for?"

Alysia shrugged before responding."My dad's in a coma, has been for a few years."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Not your fault." she repeated Nathan's words from earlier.

Nathan smiled slightly. "Not our fault."

After twenty minutes or so Nathan Carstairs left.

An hour later, Alysia still hadn't budged from her seat. She sighed, wincing as she stood up, walking towards the door of her father's hospital room.

She put her hand on the handle, waiting a few moments before sighing again and walking away.

There was no point.

***

To Apes: Couldn't do it today, either.

Alysia flopped onto her tan couch, sneezing at  the cloud of dust. She shut her eyes, leaning into the couch.

What the hell happened today?

She had to force down her feelings of guilt as she talked to Nathan. After her four years of being a thief, she hadn't ever had to make conversation with the person she stole from.

Much less in a hospital.

Nathan revealing that his dad had a tumor didn't make her feel any less guilty.

She was just doing her job, and she was in no position to argue with Blanchard.

Alysia was seventeen when Blanchard 'hired' her. She was a naïve, helpless teenager who was in financial distress.

She had made the mistake of pickpocketing from a member of Gevasi, and the member who she had stolen from, Eric, wanted to shoot her.

She was terrified, trembling, as Eric held the gun against her temple, and she closed her eyes, awaiting the shot, but it never came.

Blanchard had seen potential in her. Potential to make Gevasi fortunes. At first she had declined multiple times, but when he brought up her father and hospital bills, saying he could help her, she couldn't refuse anymore.

She picked up almost immediately when April called, putting her on speaker.

"Apes, it's been four years, and I've only been in his hospital room once. And two seconds later he flatlined. It's a sign." Alysia started, picking at the couch.

She could hear April rolling her eyes on the other end, "We're not superstitious."

"We're not."

After a few moments of silence, Alysia heard April take a deep breath. "Have you thought about signing a DNR?" April asked, the hesitation as clear as day in her voice.

Alysia pondered the question for a moment, "A 'Do Not Resuscitate?'"

"Yeah. A DNR." April confirmed, and Alysia could hear her tapping her nails against her countertop.

"I don't know. Maybe."

"At the end of the day, it's your choice, Lyss. But for once, try putting yourself first."

Alysia let out a hum of acknowledgement, pulling her blanket over herself.

"Stay on the phone?" April asked.

"Stay on the phone."

She zoned out for a few minutes to the sound of April furiously typing on her laptop, perking up when the evening news anchor started talking about Blitz.

Alysia rolled her eyes, turning off the TV. Ziren City adored Blitz, and by default they hated her.

She had spent most of her life hating heroes, and that wasn't going to change anytime soon.

She even preferred Whirlwind over him, and he was the one who she got into a fight with.

There was a big difference between heroes and vigilantes.

And that difference meant everything.

***

"Listen, be careful, you- well Lux has been on the news a lot lately. The fight between you and Whirlwind got caught on security cameras." Eric Walden advised her, brewing coffee for the morning rush.

"Blanchard is not very happy that you were caught on camera." Eric continued, pouring the coffee into a few coffee cups, adding creamers and sugar to them.

"He won't-" Alysia drew her finger across her throat quickly, eyes wide, before placing the coffee cups into a tray. "-right?"

Eric shook his head. "I doubt it. You're an amazing asset to Gevasi, and boss has a soft spot for you."

Alysia let out a breath, grabbing the tray of drinks, before heading towards the customers. She handed them their drinks, with a big smile on her face, before heading back towards Eric.

She perched herself atop the counter, and Eric gave her a dirty look. "Haven't you heard of sanitation?" He scowled, nudging her off the counter, before wiping it with a cyan rag.

"This counter is to make coffee, not to put your ass on." He rolled his eyes, placing the rag on the handle of the cupboard.

She frowned, leaning on the counter instead. "Well someone's in a bad mood today."

Eric gave her a blank look.

"Do you not have a life outside Expresso?" Alysia questioned.

Eric glared at her again, "I do. It just doesn't have you in it. Now shouldn't you be doing waitress things?"

"Rude!"