Sequel: Ascension ›
Till Deceived Do We Part
Epiphany
Vachel continued on for quite a while, nothing else being too important. Basically, until we ID’d him, there was no way it was going to help us. Another dead end. Another hope gone. Would we ever get a break? I don’t think I wanted that answer. But for now, all we could was continue on, like nothing was wrong, like this was what we were used to. If we didn’t, the stress would surely pour onto us, and so far, almost everyone had one breakdown. If that was frightening enough, the prospect of having more, was sure high. Something I didn’t, and I’m sure Flint didn’t, want to happen.
We’re being slaughtered, and what do we do? Crawl into the fetal position in some dark corner? Hoping that by some chance, when we open are eyes, everything will be better? No. We couldn’t, and wouldn’t do that, so that left dealing with the matter head on. The only problem with that, was that if we did go head on, ours heads would surely come off. So, we had no choice but to go in-between, something that was eating me alive.
“Andrayka?” I looked up, mentally cringing. Jake didn’t use my full name often, and when he did use it, I knew to pay attention. “That meeting is still on for tonight but I want you to get some rest beforehand.” Before I could even begin to argue, he held up a hand. “However, before, I want your wounds to be re-checked out. It seems that you haven’t had much time to recover, and I doubt you will be getting more anytime soon.” His eyes turned to Flint. “You know what you need to do. Do some research then get some sleep. I’ll make sure you’re awake for the meeting.” After speaking to Flint, he turned to Boris. “If you could check on the guard logs for me and prepare for the meeting, I would appreciate it.”
Jake turned and headed out the door, leaving us all behind. Only when I didn’t follow, did he pause, his eyes meeting mine. With that simple gaze, I knew he wanted me to follow him, why, I didn’t know. But I complied.
I met him in the hallway, and before I could ask why he wanted me to follow him, when he had clearly stated I should go get my wounds examined, he began to walk.
My annoyance fluttered. I didn’t want to get examined by Dr.Graive as it was, but to have that command thrust upon myself, then to have Jake suddenly... well, I didn’t know what he was doing, but it annoyed me. As if there weren’t enough unanswered questions as it was.
“Where are we going, Jake?” I tried not to show any anger in my voice, but that was a task I rarely succeeded in. Jake shot a glance my way, and to my surprise, his eyes twinkled. Had Vachel said something I wasn’t aware of?
“Pay attention, Drake. You’re getting your wounds examined.”
“Jake, as much as I hate Dr.Graive, you don’t have to supervise.” At the mention of the doctors name, Jake frowned.
“Dr.Graive won’t be the one examining you, and I wish to supervise the new doctor for the first little while. I would rather not find your body... or the doctors, which is as likely in your case.” He smiled and I returned it. Good ol’ Jake.
I dismissed my curiosity of why Dr.Graive wasn’t examining my wounds, it’s not like I would miss him. If I didn’t have any dignity, I would have stopped in the middle of the hallway and broke out in a dance. But thankfully, I did have my dignity, I had never been too good of a dancer.
The doctor turned out to be a woman, a real hard ass woman at that. I liked her. She was taller than I was, at the height of 5'8. She had a thin frame, yet you could see a few bulges of muscles. They weren’t overly done, as some women have, but small and conceivable. She had long curly brown hair with dark hazel eyes. Her eyes were fairly large, with a small nose underneath and a very narrow chin. She was the sort of girl who you wouldn’t look twice at down the road, but if you ever got to know her, you’d see she held beauty.
“Hold out your arm.” Her voice was stern, something I couldn’t help but smile at. Dr.Graive had started out firm, but after dealing with me so much, he began to falter, you could see it in his eyes. This woman, however, seemed likely to never weaken. I liked that. She held herself straight, walking with confidence, but not overly so.
I held out my arm. Dr. Hennesy, the woman, grabbed my hand while her other hand began to unwrap the bandages quickly. They were still wet, so every time she got another layer down, she had to pull to unstick them. At first it started out as a small prickle, but once we got close to the wound, it turned into a dull burn... then a full out burn once the bandages were ripped off. Jake’s hand was on my shoulder, whether to reassure me, or to make sure I played nice, I didn’t know.
An hour later, many curses, and my first fight with the new Doctor, and I was free to go. I didn’t wait a second to stalk out of the room, leaving Jake apologizing for my behaviour. The doctor was likeable, with good confidence and a strong mind, but when dealing with me, those are some of the worst traits to have. Especially when you try to order me around. Jake is the only person I take orders from, and it’ll remain that way. No matter what.
My arm was re-bandaged and medicated. The cream stung bad, but I said nothing about it. My head was re-stitched and also aching. Hopefully the T3's would kick in soon, I could use the pain relief.
I made my ways to the stairs, managing to ignore Jake’s voice, but once I put my step on the first step, I found myself face to face with Jake. He had managed to jump around me, to be in front of me. Though part of me wanted to ask Jake so many questions, to seek reassurance in what was happening, I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t do emotional, and I wasn’t about to let myself show weakness now. I had shown enough of that already.
“Drake, I know you don’t do well with... people. But please, try and be reasonable, at least until everything is sorted out.” My mouth opened, but then he said something that made me freeze. “For me, Drake. Please.” Did he have to word it like that? Did he have to appeal to my small sense of sincerity? I let out a sigh and nodded, as he knew I would. With that, he walked away.
I had just walked in my room when my cell went off. My body froze. I knew the only person who would be calling me would be Dane. I knew it would be him, but could I deal with that now? I needed to get myself together, I needed to work. I needed to find Zane, and I really needed some sleep. But did I need Dane right now?
I had my phone flipped open before I could answer myself, knowing it was the only way I would be able to talk to him. I didn’t need him now, if anything, it would be better if I didn’t have him. Though my body relaxed with his and felt a whole new feeling I had never endured, the guilt of what I did, and the fear of now losing him was growing, and I didn’t like it. I hadn’t even been seeing him for long, yet here I was, afraid of losing him.
“Hello?”I said, my voice sounding distant. I unconsciously sat down on the bed, leaning back. My eyes shut and a wave of exhaustion swept through me. When was the last time I got a good sleep? It seemed like forever, but it hadn’t even been a day since Zane had been missing. But it seemed so long, so very long.
“Hey. I know I phoned you earlier, but I had an epiphany.” A smile crept onto my lips, washing away all signs of exhaustion. I was already glad I picked up the phone.
“What’s that?”
“I know you’re busy with that emergency, whatever it is, but I figured you’d need to relax. Relieve some stress, and as I’m sure you won’t let me help you with the problem, I can at least help you relax, right?” I opened my mouth, but he beat me to it. As always. “I know you said no to dinner, and I know you’re busy, but I had an idea. Here comes the epiphany, you ready?” I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. He sounded like a child on Christmas, all stoked up. I could practically hear him grin across the phone. I don’t know why, but he always seemed to enjoy hearing me laugh. “I’ll pay for dinner. I figured it was the least I could do. Talk about an epiphany.” My laughter stopped for a moment, but only a moment, for after that, I laughed, and I laughed hard.
It felt good to laugh. It was like everything was coming off my chest. I felt happier too, if that was possible.
“Well?” His voice held a laughter to it, as if he was trying not to laugh with me. I tried to sobber up, but it took a while. And truth be told, I didn’t really want to. I wanted to let everything out, and since I wouldn’t cry, this would have to do. So far, it was working well.
“I have a meeting tonight with everyone.”
“Ditch.” I smiled. If only it was that simple.
“It’s really important.” He sighed and my gut clenched. I didn’t like making him anything but his jolly self.
“Are you even going to tell me what’s going on? As your boyfriend, I think I should be entitled to know something.” Boyfriend?
“Boyfriend?” I hadn’t meant to say my thought, but it slipped out. As soon as it did, his laughter filled my ears.
“Well, I figured with all of the touchy feely crap at the pool today, it was official. I guess I’m not the only slow one.” I could hear him smirking, if that was possible. But I didn’t pay too much mind to that, I was distracted with what he had just said. Boyfriend? Did that mean I was in a relationship? That I was dating someone? The thought of spending time with Dane, the thought of knowing that we would see each other, due to our status, made my knees weak and my stomach flip. I was like a school girl with a crush. “So are you going to tell me?” It took me a moment to remember what he was talking about.
“My step brother went missing.” What could it hurt? Zane was like a brother to me, and it was easier to say step brother than explaining that. And it’s not like he could look into it. He knew my feelings toward the police, he wouldn’t do anything. He was silent for quite a while before speaking.
“Shit. I’m sorry about that, Dray. Anything I can do?” Dray. Dray. Dray. My hated nickname in his voice kept repeating itself in my head, but I found no hatred. In his voice, it sounded like it belonged. In his voice, I loved it. What was wrong with me?
“No.”
“How about after the meeting, you call me and if you’re up for it, I’ll take you out and make sure you forget about everything. How does that sound? I’ll even pay.” It sounded great. It sounded like Heaven.
“It sounds great.”
We’re being slaughtered, and what do we do? Crawl into the fetal position in some dark corner? Hoping that by some chance, when we open are eyes, everything will be better? No. We couldn’t, and wouldn’t do that, so that left dealing with the matter head on. The only problem with that, was that if we did go head on, ours heads would surely come off. So, we had no choice but to go in-between, something that was eating me alive.
“Andrayka?” I looked up, mentally cringing. Jake didn’t use my full name often, and when he did use it, I knew to pay attention. “That meeting is still on for tonight but I want you to get some rest beforehand.” Before I could even begin to argue, he held up a hand. “However, before, I want your wounds to be re-checked out. It seems that you haven’t had much time to recover, and I doubt you will be getting more anytime soon.” His eyes turned to Flint. “You know what you need to do. Do some research then get some sleep. I’ll make sure you’re awake for the meeting.” After speaking to Flint, he turned to Boris. “If you could check on the guard logs for me and prepare for the meeting, I would appreciate it.”
Jake turned and headed out the door, leaving us all behind. Only when I didn’t follow, did he pause, his eyes meeting mine. With that simple gaze, I knew he wanted me to follow him, why, I didn’t know. But I complied.
I met him in the hallway, and before I could ask why he wanted me to follow him, when he had clearly stated I should go get my wounds examined, he began to walk.
My annoyance fluttered. I didn’t want to get examined by Dr.Graive as it was, but to have that command thrust upon myself, then to have Jake suddenly... well, I didn’t know what he was doing, but it annoyed me. As if there weren’t enough unanswered questions as it was.
“Where are we going, Jake?” I tried not to show any anger in my voice, but that was a task I rarely succeeded in. Jake shot a glance my way, and to my surprise, his eyes twinkled. Had Vachel said something I wasn’t aware of?
“Pay attention, Drake. You’re getting your wounds examined.”
“Jake, as much as I hate Dr.Graive, you don’t have to supervise.” At the mention of the doctors name, Jake frowned.
“Dr.Graive won’t be the one examining you, and I wish to supervise the new doctor for the first little while. I would rather not find your body... or the doctors, which is as likely in your case.” He smiled and I returned it. Good ol’ Jake.
I dismissed my curiosity of why Dr.Graive wasn’t examining my wounds, it’s not like I would miss him. If I didn’t have any dignity, I would have stopped in the middle of the hallway and broke out in a dance. But thankfully, I did have my dignity, I had never been too good of a dancer.
The doctor turned out to be a woman, a real hard ass woman at that. I liked her. She was taller than I was, at the height of 5'8. She had a thin frame, yet you could see a few bulges of muscles. They weren’t overly done, as some women have, but small and conceivable. She had long curly brown hair with dark hazel eyes. Her eyes were fairly large, with a small nose underneath and a very narrow chin. She was the sort of girl who you wouldn’t look twice at down the road, but if you ever got to know her, you’d see she held beauty.
“Hold out your arm.” Her voice was stern, something I couldn’t help but smile at. Dr.Graive had started out firm, but after dealing with me so much, he began to falter, you could see it in his eyes. This woman, however, seemed likely to never weaken. I liked that. She held herself straight, walking with confidence, but not overly so.
I held out my arm. Dr. Hennesy, the woman, grabbed my hand while her other hand began to unwrap the bandages quickly. They were still wet, so every time she got another layer down, she had to pull to unstick them. At first it started out as a small prickle, but once we got close to the wound, it turned into a dull burn... then a full out burn once the bandages were ripped off. Jake’s hand was on my shoulder, whether to reassure me, or to make sure I played nice, I didn’t know.
An hour later, many curses, and my first fight with the new Doctor, and I was free to go. I didn’t wait a second to stalk out of the room, leaving Jake apologizing for my behaviour. The doctor was likeable, with good confidence and a strong mind, but when dealing with me, those are some of the worst traits to have. Especially when you try to order me around. Jake is the only person I take orders from, and it’ll remain that way. No matter what.
My arm was re-bandaged and medicated. The cream stung bad, but I said nothing about it. My head was re-stitched and also aching. Hopefully the T3's would kick in soon, I could use the pain relief.
I made my ways to the stairs, managing to ignore Jake’s voice, but once I put my step on the first step, I found myself face to face with Jake. He had managed to jump around me, to be in front of me. Though part of me wanted to ask Jake so many questions, to seek reassurance in what was happening, I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t do emotional, and I wasn’t about to let myself show weakness now. I had shown enough of that already.
“Drake, I know you don’t do well with... people. But please, try and be reasonable, at least until everything is sorted out.” My mouth opened, but then he said something that made me freeze. “For me, Drake. Please.” Did he have to word it like that? Did he have to appeal to my small sense of sincerity? I let out a sigh and nodded, as he knew I would. With that, he walked away.
I had just walked in my room when my cell went off. My body froze. I knew the only person who would be calling me would be Dane. I knew it would be him, but could I deal with that now? I needed to get myself together, I needed to work. I needed to find Zane, and I really needed some sleep. But did I need Dane right now?
I had my phone flipped open before I could answer myself, knowing it was the only way I would be able to talk to him. I didn’t need him now, if anything, it would be better if I didn’t have him. Though my body relaxed with his and felt a whole new feeling I had never endured, the guilt of what I did, and the fear of now losing him was growing, and I didn’t like it. I hadn’t even been seeing him for long, yet here I was, afraid of losing him.
“Hello?”I said, my voice sounding distant. I unconsciously sat down on the bed, leaning back. My eyes shut and a wave of exhaustion swept through me. When was the last time I got a good sleep? It seemed like forever, but it hadn’t even been a day since Zane had been missing. But it seemed so long, so very long.
“Hey. I know I phoned you earlier, but I had an epiphany.” A smile crept onto my lips, washing away all signs of exhaustion. I was already glad I picked up the phone.
“What’s that?”
“I know you’re busy with that emergency, whatever it is, but I figured you’d need to relax. Relieve some stress, and as I’m sure you won’t let me help you with the problem, I can at least help you relax, right?” I opened my mouth, but he beat me to it. As always. “I know you said no to dinner, and I know you’re busy, but I had an idea. Here comes the epiphany, you ready?” I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. He sounded like a child on Christmas, all stoked up. I could practically hear him grin across the phone. I don’t know why, but he always seemed to enjoy hearing me laugh. “I’ll pay for dinner. I figured it was the least I could do. Talk about an epiphany.” My laughter stopped for a moment, but only a moment, for after that, I laughed, and I laughed hard.
It felt good to laugh. It was like everything was coming off my chest. I felt happier too, if that was possible.
“Well?” His voice held a laughter to it, as if he was trying not to laugh with me. I tried to sobber up, but it took a while. And truth be told, I didn’t really want to. I wanted to let everything out, and since I wouldn’t cry, this would have to do. So far, it was working well.
“I have a meeting tonight with everyone.”
“Ditch.” I smiled. If only it was that simple.
“It’s really important.” He sighed and my gut clenched. I didn’t like making him anything but his jolly self.
“Are you even going to tell me what’s going on? As your boyfriend, I think I should be entitled to know something.” Boyfriend?
“Boyfriend?” I hadn’t meant to say my thought, but it slipped out. As soon as it did, his laughter filled my ears.
“Well, I figured with all of the touchy feely crap at the pool today, it was official. I guess I’m not the only slow one.” I could hear him smirking, if that was possible. But I didn’t pay too much mind to that, I was distracted with what he had just said. Boyfriend? Did that mean I was in a relationship? That I was dating someone? The thought of spending time with Dane, the thought of knowing that we would see each other, due to our status, made my knees weak and my stomach flip. I was like a school girl with a crush. “So are you going to tell me?” It took me a moment to remember what he was talking about.
“My step brother went missing.” What could it hurt? Zane was like a brother to me, and it was easier to say step brother than explaining that. And it’s not like he could look into it. He knew my feelings toward the police, he wouldn’t do anything. He was silent for quite a while before speaking.
“Shit. I’m sorry about that, Dray. Anything I can do?” Dray. Dray. Dray. My hated nickname in his voice kept repeating itself in my head, but I found no hatred. In his voice, it sounded like it belonged. In his voice, I loved it. What was wrong with me?
“No.”
“How about after the meeting, you call me and if you’re up for it, I’ll take you out and make sure you forget about everything. How does that sound? I’ll even pay.” It sounded great. It sounded like Heaven.
“It sounds great.”