The Wanderers [Old Version]

Chapter 41: Nyctophilia

Petra's POV

Rain and Ghost returned safely. After a few hours, the guards gave everyone in the kingdom permission to walk the streets again. By this time, it was already almost five in the afternoon, but and snow was falling again, but I put on my thickest coat and boots and told everyone goodbye.

"I'll be back. I want to see Marc."

Nico leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, "Why?"

"I just want to see him, ok?"

He stood, "I'll go too."

"No. No, I want to see him alone. I'll be fine."

He didn't seemed pleased by my answer, but didn't protest any further.

I walked down the street. Dozens of soldiers walked the streets. I didn't know such a small kingdom could have so many soldiers.

I came to the hospital and spoke to the nurse at the front desk. She pointed me to his room, and I made my way there.

As I walked down the hallway to his room, I could hear someone talking.

I entered his room and a man in a black trench coat and red beanie was crouched next to Marc. He stood and looked at me, then nodded to Marc, "Hope ya get well soon man. We'll try to stay in touch."

He walked past me and left the room.

It was hard to see Marc like this. He laid in the hospital bed with tubes coming out of his nose and bandages all over his chest. A heartbeat monitor beeped rhythmically, but sped up when he saw me.

He looked weak, and more pale than usual. His white hair had seemed to have lost its brightness, and now looked like the grey hair an old man would have.

His eyes were sunken and looked heavy, as if he hadn't had any sleep.

I smiled and shut the door behind me, then took a seat in the armchair in his room.

We simply stared at each other for a few minutes, in silence. Then he spoke, "Come to unplug my life support?"

"Why would I do that?"

The heartbeat monitor sped up, "Because no one cares about me, right? No one trusts me? I'm just a burden on your once oh-so amazing life. It'd be easier to just kill me now, than to have me fuck up something else, right?"

I sighed, "No, Marc it's not like-."

"No, fuck you, Petra! I'm talking. I'm done giving a shit about someone who wouldn't bat an eye if they saw my corpse at the side of the road."

I felt my face get red, "I'm not here to kill you, Marc! I'm here to fucking apologize, but you're being such a dick about it, maybe I should just leave."

Marc lowered his head, "How does it feel to know you destroyed what remained of my heart?"

"What?"

Tears formed in his eyes, "Everyone I ever loved either left me or died. I don't have anyone left. Then you came along. For fucks sake, Petra, I felt love again when I met you. You warmed my heart. But you had to break my heart. You couldn't let me love you."

"Marc, you didn't love me. You never loved me. You don't know a thing about me."

He sat up, and his heartbeat monitor went crazy, "Really? Now you're telling me that I didn't even love you? I loved you, dammit! I know I fucking suck at opening up, but you didn't make it easy! You always pushed me away! And when Navaeh died, you blamed me! You-!"

I stood quickly, "Don't bring Navaeh into this."

His heartbeat relaxed, "Why not? She's the reason all this happened? She's the reason you blew up on me, she's the reason I took a fucking blade to the chest."