In Cold Blood [Ash Lynx] - Banana Fish

Five - Scared to Live

Staring up at the crack in the ceiling, his eyes glazed over, Ash places a hand on his stomach, careful of his fresh stitches.

God, my body must look like a pin cushion at this point.

He rests his aching eyes, placing a weak hand to his temple as his forehead tightens and he slowly rubs it in an attempt to release the tension.

Groaning, Ash scratches the tip of his nose, avoiding the nasal cannula in his nostrils and the IV drip attached to his right forearm as he rests it back down on the bed.

A knock comes from the door as it's opened by Max. "Ash? Are you awake?"

He raises a finger in response and Max shuts the door behind himself, walking over to the bed with a smile on his face.

"Ash! It's great to see you're awake! How are you feeling?" Max walks over to the bed.

Looking back up, Ash points to the ceiling with his left hand. "They need to plaster that crack."

Max laughs. "I'll take that as you being back to normal. Seriously, you went through a lot yesterday so it's brilliant you're awake."

Ash hums in response, Max continuing.

"The doctor said you're doing well for someone in your condition. The amount of injuries you've had, your body is like a machine. You manage to get over it so quickly."

Closing his eyes, the ringing in his ears continues and he screws his face up, his chest tightening.

"You must be tired, Ash." Max takes a seat on the plastic chair beside the bed. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"What I want," Ash pants, breathing heavier from the weight in his chest. "Is for my head to stop pounding and the ringing in my ears to go."

Max leans closer to him. "Ash, you're going to take a while to heal. You've been in a coma for over 18 hours, just relax."

"You'd know, wouldn't you, old man." Ash puffs, squeezing his chest with his left hand.

Standing up from the chair, Max places his hands on Ash's shoulders, looking him in the eyes. "Look at me, Ash."

Ash unscrews his face to look at Max's and he watches as his expression changes too. The concern is his eyes fades away and they turn back to their usual bright blue. The knot in Ash's chest loosens, the avid thumping in his head subsiding. The ringing in his ears is drowned out by Max's voice.

"Just relax." He grins at the teenager. "Your 'dad' is here to check up on you."

Mustering up the energy, Ash pushes at Max's chest and he chuckles, sitting back down.

The two sit in silence for a moment, the only sound coming from the busy streets below, the buzz from outside the room and the occasional drip from Ash's IV.

"You know," Max says. "You don't have to tell me, but it's okay if you do. I'm sure you'd feel better if you did."

"Like I would tell you." Ash replies, his voice cold.

Max shrugs. "At this point, there's not much you can say that will offend me. You said worse things while we were in prison. Don't forget, you threatened to kill me the first opportunity you had."

He looks away from Max, turning his head to the window and the autumn leaves outside, plucked off the branches by the wind.

"How do you really feel, Ash?"

The same pain pushes down on his chest again, the same tightening of his temple, along with a lump forming in his throat. He brings his limp hand up to his tired eyes, rubbing them weakly.