Motorcycles and Lies (Anxceit)

Biting on a Rose

    Virgil curled up in his chair, his bangs falling loosely over his eyes. He pressed the balls of his palm against his eyes, watching as the white background and swirls set in to ground himself, the pain adding to the effectiveness. His thighs began to burn from being pushed into the metal arms of the tiny hospital seat. He tried to ignore it, but he finally gave up and relaxed, his feet falling to the ground and his arms falling to his sides. He checked the clock hanging above the reception desk, it read 8 pm. He sighed, knowing that even if Janus wanted to see him, it wouldn’t be for long since visiting hours ended in an hour.

    Virgil blew air at his bangs to get them to move, seemingly unable to move his arms. He looked to his right and upon seeing a doctor approach, sat up.

    “Name?” The doctor asked gently.

    “Virgil Cox, ma’am.”

    She nodded and looked at her clipboard, “Janus Evans says he is ready for visitors if it is just you. His parents have not signed in so can you confirm they are not here?”

    He looked around, “Never seen them, so I dunno.”

    She nodded, seemingly content enough with that answer. She turned and motioned for Vigril to follow her, which he did. They walked up a flight of stairs and down another hallway, eventually reaching a secluded unit. She motioned to a door with the lights off after unlocking it. He stepped in, cautiously, unsure of what to expect.

    Though he had a million guesses as to what could’ve happened at the lab as well as to what the aftermath was like, but half of Janus’s face wrapped in gauze and little bits of blood leaking through was not one of them.

    The doctor poked her head into the room, then faced Virgil, “It’s hard for him to talk, so he has a notepad. Don’t worry, it’s just because of how stiff the wrappings are.” He nodded and walked to the bed.

    “Hey,” he said. Janus looked up at him and then wrote, ‘Hi.’

    Virgil sighed, realizing this was going to be harder than expected. “How are you doing?”

    Janus looked back at his notebook and wrote, ‘I would say in pain, but the drugs they gave me are strong.’ Virgil chuckled, “Can I sit?” To which he just got a nod in response. He sat on the very edge by Janus’s feet, not wanting to intrude.

    ‘Did anyone see you?’

    He read it, then shook his head, “No, I was in a cabinet. Why?”

    Janus looked frustrated and quickly wrote, ‘They could’ve seen you before they attacked me. Did you see them?’

    “No, like I said, I hid as soon as I heard the crash.”

    ‘The one that split my cheek. Got it. Well, I’ll draw them, and if you see them, run. They might know we’re affiliated.’

    Virgil took a moment to read the sloppy but oddly pretty hand writing before replying, “What’s so bad about me being around you?” Janus didn’t write anything, just looked to the side in thought.

    Virgil dropped the topic and said, “Well, if you don’t want to tell me, then start drawing or explain what happened to you.”

    Janus made a noise of recognition, then pointed to the clipboard and laminated papers hanging off his bed post. Virgil went and looked at it. He scanned the less important parts and read the rest in more detail.

‘Evans was knocked to the ground, resulting in a minor head injury to his occipital bone. One of the men, who supposedly attacked, took a piece of shattered glass, that was broken because of Evans’s fall. They sliced a cut into the side of his mouth. It measures 3 inches across, .5 inches at the widest point, and .5 inches deep at the lowest point. Stitches were applied.

    ‘After the cut was applied, one of the men grabbed a nearby acid, currently unidentified but is under testing, and splashed it over half of Evan’s face. The burns are 1 foot wide and 5 inches across, no serious damage as Evans took the necessary steps to avoid the acid to eat further into his skin. Scarring is almost guaranteed but no damage to hearing or sight.’

    Virgil looked up at Janus, “Are,” he paused, “are you sure you’re alright?” Janus half smiled and nodded. ‘Enough.’

    Virgil sighed and sat back on the bed, though, a little more comfortably this time. Janus looked up at him with a comforting look in his eyes, hand over his notepad with a pencil in hand as though he was about to write something. Though, he was interrupted by an announcement over the loud speaker, “Visiting hours will be ending in ten minutes, please make your way to the front of the hospital to check out.”

    Janus looked back from the direction of the voice to his notebook, ‘I guess you should go. Before my parents decide to visit at the last minute.’ Virgil nodded and smiled a little.

    “Yeah, should I come back tomorrow?” Janus gave him a small thumbs-up in response. Virgil stood and headed out the door, giving Janus one last wave before he turned back to the hallway. What he didn’t expect was to adults, one lightly shorter than him and one a few inches taller. The man owning a striking resemblance to Janus, but the woman holding the same eyes as the boy in the bed behind him. Virgil only took a moment to look at them before who they were registered in his brain. Not wanting to upset Janus, he quickly walked away, heading to his car and staring numbly at the steering wheel.

A/N
Someone please say you get the title references