If Jealousy Could Kill

Tomomi couldn’t control the giddiness that flowed through her body. It had been two weeks since Haruna had woken up and every day since she had, Tomomi had made sure to visit Haruna and keep checking up on her. She felt fear at first that Haruna’s health would decline but as the days passed, Haruna continued to get better and in what felt like no time, the nurses said she was fine to go home. She was confined to a wheelchair and not allowed to be standing for more than fifteen minutes at a time and had to keep coming back for checkups but she was still well enough to go home. If she continued to improve, she would be back to her old self in no time.

Mami and Tomomi had just finished a few hour long visit to the hospital to help Haruna complete everything she needed for her discharge. Tomomi was still signed on as her legal caretaker; her parents knew they wouldn’t be able to give Haruna the care she needed and as much as they wanted to help, Tomomi was the better option for their daughter. When Tomomi left the hospital with Haruna, it didn’t feel like reality to her. She had been so unduly scared that she wouldn’t be leaving with Haruna, at least not with Haruna alive.

There were no words that Tomomi knew that could express her happiness when Haruna called her to tell her they were going to let her be discharged that day. She was nearly bouncing off the walls when she called Mami and practically ordered the blonde to get to her house as soon as possible so they could head to the hospital together. Haruna’s parents had already been at the hospital by the time the duo arrived.

Now here they were, just outside of Tomomi’s apartment as the clumsy brunette fumbled with her keys. It was hard for her to get the keys into the lock when she was still being so overcome with emotion. She eventually got the key into the hole, turning it and pushing the door open. She pushed the keys back into her pocket and skipped into the house before stepping aside so Mami could help Haruna into the house. Haruna still had a bit of a sour look on her face; she was still displeased with the news that she still had to rely on other people to do practically everything for her. Leaving the hospital in a wheelchair was not exactly something Haruna had had in mind. Despite that though, Haruna was more than happy to finally be out of there and back home with Tomomi.

She did worry about Tomomi. She and Tomomi were both told by the nurses what would be needed to keep Haruna healthy and it worried Tomomi. It would be a lot of work and a lot of care; Haruna didn't want to be a burden on Tomomi. She didn't want to end up driving Tomomi away because she was too incapable to take care of herself. She certainly wouldn't blame Tomomi if she did leave though...

"We should get Haruna onto the couch, I'm sure she'd like to rest," Haruna's mother spoke and interrupted the brunette's thoughts. She looked between her mother and Tomomi who nodded to the suggestion. Her girlfriend came over to her, extending a hand out and giving her a small smile.

"Come on," Tomomi said in a gentle tone. Haruna reached out gradually, happy when she found she could move her limbs even better now. She grabbed onto Tomomi's hand, taking a deep breath to steady herself for the pain. The nurses had forced her to get up and walk many times over the last few weeks and it never failed to hurt. They always told her the pain would gradually go away with more movement but somehow, Haruna didn't believe them as the pain seared through her whenever she got to her feet.

Tomomi nodded her head and gently gave Haruna a small pull. Haruna used her other hand to help get herself up. Once she stood, she could feel her upper body bend, the action irritating the wound. She groaned softly, falling into Tomomi and only groaning again at the pain that came from the impact. Tomomi reacted instantly and managed to catch Haruna.

She wrapped her arms around her girlfriend who muttered a soft 'damn it' under her breath. She knew how the independent Haruna must be feeling to have to so heavily rely on another person, even if that person was her own girlfriend. Tomomi led her girlfriend over to the couch, helping her to lie down. She smiled weakly at the breath of relief Haruna let out as her body uncurled itself again. Tomomi was beginning to see that Haruna felt fine as long as nothing touched the wound or put too much strain on it. At the moment, walking still seemed to put a strain onto Haruna.

"We'll let you rest for now, Haruna. But soon we're going to have to get you up again, the nurses said they wanted us to keep you moving around a few times a day, you know," Tomomi told her before running her hands lovingly through Haruna's hair. The brunette sighed softly, her head falling to the side.

"When is it going to stop?" Haruna murmured softly. Tomomi knelt down next to the couch where she laid, lacing their fingers together and causing Haruna to look up at her. She smiled, giving Haruna a small peck. When she pulled away, Haruna’s eyes were drawn to the noticeable scar on her face. The wound had closed and healed enough that Tomomi no longer had to cover it but the scar was still there – the proof was still there.

"Soon, sweetie. The nurses said that it’ll take another week for you to feel batter. You're going to get better soon and the pain will go away," Tomomi assured her. Haruna diverted her eyes again and Tomomi gave her another kiss, gripping the brunette's hand even tighter.

They were going to get through this together.

***

Rina sat curled up on bed, her back against the wall and her legs crossed beneath her. Her eyes were focused on the blanket below her and her hands picked at a string while her mind wandered. Lately, Mami's visits had become a bit scarcer. Miyuki always came in her stead but it made Rina wonder why Mami was coming around less. Did Mami not want to be near her anymore? Or did it have something to do with Haruna? So many questions went through her mind and Rina had an answer to none of them.

She sighed softly, her head hanging itself. Everyone kept telling her to forget Haruna and move on... So why couldn't she? Haruna stayed on her mind and ever since she had learned Haruna was awake, the brunette had been in her mind ever since. She just couldn't forget the way Haruna made her feel. People could tell her these feelings were wrong but Rina didn't agree. She loved Haruna so much, how could it be wrong? If it was, Rina surely wouldn't be feeling so strongly for Haruna.

There were times when her mind did stray from Haruna and moved to other things - other people. She thought about Mami a time or two and the confession Mami had made. She hadn't mentioned it since though and neither had Miyuki. Did that mean Mami's feelings had changed? There was a part of Rina that did want her feelings to change but at the same time there was a part of her, no matter how hard, that hoped Mami still felt for her. It conflicted her. She loved Haruna. She knew she loved Haruna.... But then there was Mami....

Mami… Mami was supposed to be relaying things to Rina but that’s not at all what she was doing, at least not in Rina’s opinion. At first, it seemed like Mami was telling her a lot but now… Now the blonde seemed to be acting more secretive on her. Whenever Rina would ask about Haruna, Mami would always attempt to change the subject and refuse to tell Rina much at all. It bothered Rina. Why had Mami been so open before but now she wasn’t being open? None of this was making any sense to Rina.

“Troubled?”

Rina’s head snapped up when she heard the familiar voice float into the room. Her body softened when she saw Kaede leaned up against the doorway, a small smile on her face. She didn’t know why she felt comfortable around Kaede. Some of the things Kaede said really scared Rina and it hadn’t gotten better over the two weeks Rina had spent in this hospital so far. But still… Kaede seemed to understand Rina; she listened. She was the only one who was listening to Rina.

“Of course you are; you’re in here, right?” Kaede pushed herself off the door to walk towards Rina. The brunette glared at the older woman, not having appreciated the joke. Kaede simply laughed when she saw the look Rina gave her. After these weeks spent around Rina, she had discovered how easily manipulated Rina was. It was quite easy – and rather fun too – to play with Rina and see how she would react to things.

“What do you want, Kaede?” Rina asked bitterly. She looked away from Kaede but felt the older woman sit down on the edge of the bed. She scooted a bit farther away, bringing her knees up against her chest now.

“What did the doctors tell you about your possible release? Or have they not mentioned anything like that to you?”

“Why do you want to know?” Kaede let out a soft laugh before she shook her head. This girl was a tough one; she was rather hidden away from everyone. It was clear that she hated being in here and didn’t want anything to do with anyone in here.

“Fair enough, Rina. Is this about your friend? The brunette or the blonde one?”

“B-both I guess…” What was Rina saying? She didn’t know. She knew she couldn’t trust Kaede but she still found it comforting in an odd way to have someone who seemed to understand hear all of this. “Mami has stopped telling me things about Haruna. I don’t know how to get it out of her.”

“Manipulate it out.” Rina looked up again, cocking her head to the side in wonder. “She isn’t going to tell you if she thinks it’s best you don’t know so you have to manipulate her into telling you exactly what you want to hear.”

“How do I do that?”

“Beats me. You know this girl better than I do. Guilt trip her or something. But I know that you know how to get under Mami’s skin so the next time she comes, do it. Manipulate her emotions and get her to spill everything to you.”

“I don’t want to manipulate anyone…. I just want to know if Haruna is okay…”

“And you’ll be able to know that if you work your friend’s emotions. Look, you aren’t getting out of here any time soon if you don’t play their game. This place can’t be escaped, there’s nurses and guards crawling everywhere to stop escapees. You either wait it out or you fake it until you make it. In the meantime, you friend is your only connection to the outside world, correct? So make her tell you things. You tried to kill two people; I know you’re capable of manipulating her emotions and getting her to talk.”

“Get out,” Rina said lowly. She didn’t like anyone reminding her of that. She knew what she had done to Tomomi and Haruna; she just wanted everyone to stop mentioning it. Kaede laughed again, this time at how sensitive Rina was. It amazed her how this woman was the same one who supposedly put two peoples’ lives in danger.

Despite her thoughts and wanting to mess with Rina’s mind more, Kaede did get up to leave. She left without another word, leaving Rina alone with her thoughts. The young girl whimpered softly and hid her face in her knees. Mami had to tell her these things. She had to know what was going on with Haruna; she couldn’t bear much more of this secrecy Mami had going on.

If she wanted Mami to tell her what was really going on with Haruna…. Maybe she really did have to get underneath Mami’s skin.

***

“What’s on your mind, sweetheart?” Haruna’s mother asked her daughter. She looked over at the brunette who was leaned back into the couch to offer her stomach more relief. A magazine Tomomi had given her was held tightly in her hands.

“What do you mean, mama?” Haruna asked without looking up from the magazine. Her mother gave a small smile. For her, Haruna was easy to read. She’d raised Haruna after all; it’d be fairly terrible if she couldn’t read her own daughter. She knew from the way Haruna was acting so quiet and the expressions she was getting on her face that something was wrong with her.

“You’re thinking about something,” she continued. Haruna sighed softly, flipping the magazine closed and tossing it as best as she could onto the coffee table in front of her. She looked around the living room before looking over at her mother. It still did feel weird to Haruna to be in Tomomi’s house. The girls were almost never over here but it was the only option. Haruna wasn’t ready to go back to the apartment yet.

“You can always tell, can’t you?” Haruna asked with a smile. Her mother laughed softly and nodded her head.

“It’s a mother thing,” she said. Haruna smiled and looked down. One of her arms came to lay over her stomach, her fingertips just barely touching the material of the shirt that covered her abdomen; she was sure not to press the wound.

“Am I a burden?” Haruna asked softly and unsure. Her mother was shocked to hear the words and the tone they had been spoken in. These days, such things were rare for Haruna. Her mother had really thought Haruna had left such gentleness behind in high school.

“Of course not, darling. Why would you think you’re a burden?” She asked and laid a hand down on Haruna’s knee. Haruna didn’t look up at her mother; instead she kept her eyes trained on her legs.

“Tomomi is going to have to do so much to take care of me. I still can’t walk and I can’t clean the wound by myself. I can’t stand long enough to cook for myself and I certainly can’t leave the house without a lot of help. I can’t do anything on my own. Isn’t that being a burden? I just… I don’t want Tomomi to leave because I’m putting too much pressure on her.”

“Oh, darling,” her mother said in a tone that told Haruna how much pity her mother had for her. “Tomomi won’t leave you; I know she won’t.”

“How can you be so sure? Look at all the trouble I’ve caused her.” Her mother inched closer to her, raising her hand and placing it on Haruna’s cheek so the brunette would look at her.

“I know because if she wanted to leave, she would have done it right after this happened. She hasn’t though, has she? Tomomi has stuck it out with you through thick and thin. She’s going through all of this for you because she loves you and that’s how I know she won’t leave.”

“Thank you, mama,” Haruna said softly with a small smile. As if on cue, Tomomi came bounding into the living room with Mami in tow, both of them carrying drinks in both hands. Tomomi skipped around the side of the couch to Haruna, quickly thrusting the cup in her direction.

Haruna laughed lowly and took the cup from the still energetic brunette; she was beginning to wonder when the high of her being discharged from the hospital would wear off her girlfriend. Mami on the other hand walked over to her mother, handing her the spare cup that she carried. Her father was the last to leave the kitchen, joining the group in the living room.

The group talked for a while, both Mami and Tomomi dancing around the subject of what had happened to Haruna and doing their best to simply not speak of it. It was a bit harder than it seemed with how heavy Haruna’s parents were questioning them about what had happened to their daughter. They knew her parents were getting suspicious and the duo couldn’t blame them.

“Well, I think it’s time we get going. Don’t you, dear?” Haruna’s father spoke up after a while. With reluctant, his wife nodded, allowing him to help her off the couch.

“Very true. It’s late and I’m sure everyone would like their rest. We’ll swing by tomorrow at some point, but you can call us if you need us,” her mother agreed. Tomomi pushed herself away from where she was sitting as well, making her way to help Haruna’s parents out of the house.

Tomomi came back only a few minutes later, resuming her spot beside Haruna. She draped an arm over Haruna’s shoulders, scooting as close as was safely possible. She looked over at Haruna, the smile dropping when she saw the brunette picking at her clothes with her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

“Haruna, are you okay?” Tomomi asked and got both Haruna’s and Mami’s attention. Haruna sighed softly, laying her head down against the back of the couch. She had done an awful lot of thinking tonight and she knew what she had to do in order to put this all to rest.

“Are you hurting?” Mami asked her when she failed to respond. Haruna shook her head before lifting her head, looking in between her two friends.

“Can I ask something of you two?” Mami and Tomomi exchanged glances, both of them worried from the way Haruna had said those words.

“What is it, baby?” Tomomi asked, running a hand through Haruna’s hair. The injured girl looked in between her friends again before taking in a deep breath. She had to do this; it was the only way to put her mind to rest.

“Take me to see Rina tomorrow.”