First Aid/Crybaby

Chapter Forty-Seven

Stillness encompassed the hospital room where Vallea's prone body laid, tubes and wires dotted her body until she looked more machine than human. Her ashen face nearly glowed in the moonlight, ivory curtains bellowed in the breeze, a nurse forgetting to close the window before she left. Beneath her eyelids, her eyes twitched, right forefinger that laid limp against the bed spasming, powder white eyebrows furrowed, coral lips crinkling up into a grimace.

Peach eyes fluttered open as streaks of ebony veins decorated the hazy orbs, the scent of cooper invaded her as droplets of crimson blood spilled from her nose. Black pulsed beneath her skin as little daggers of keratin grew from her nails until they resembled small talons, shakily she sat up, eyes blinking wearily as if she was having a hard time keeping them open. Without a clear or coherent thought inside of her head she twisted her arm so her hand rested at the nape of her neck, fingertips grazing over the feverish flesh until she felt something. A tiny bump, no bigger than a grain of rice, it could have easily been mistaken as a simple pimple or eczema by the doctors. With the pointed end of her nail she dug it into her flesh, rivets of warm blood spilled, staining the hospital gown and bed vermillion.

Fiery pain pulsed through her as she continued to dig into her skin, the flesh easily breaking beneath her pointed talon. A choked gasp left her parched mouth, eyes clenched shut, thumb and forefinger coated in a thick layer of slimy blood pushed and pinched around the laceration, making more and more blood pool out. Her hand trembled, lower lip quivering as it felt like a million burning needles pierced her over and over, setting her nerves ablaze with it's scorching torment. Regardless of her own suffering she continued never once stopping or flattering, fingers prodding and squeezing the area around the jagged cut. Vermillion hues leached into the fabric surrounding her, the pools growing larger with each passing second, gliding and cascading down the girl's back. Finally something pushed past the laceration and into her awaiting fingertips, it was hard, rectangular, with oddly smooth edges and layers. With a hiss she brought it back into her line of sight, eyeing the strange blood coated object.

"What the fuck."

"MY FAVORITE LISTENER!!!!" Blearily Vallea opened and blinked her eyes, being jolted awake by the loud yelling.

"SIR! The patient is trying to sleep, please do not yell inside!" The next second something came flying towards the groggy child, and landing onto her bed with a shudder. Warm arms wrapped around her pulling her up and into someone's lap. "Sir you can't-! ...I give up, just be gentle or I'm going to kick you out." A nurse huffed looking down disapprovingly at the voice hero that was cradling a still half asleep girl.

"Copy that!" The blonde saluted the small women who only sighed and checked the girl's vitals. Through hooded eyelids peach eyes gazed upwards, gazing at the smiling male who looked down and winked at her, arms pulling her closer to his chest.

"Yamada? What are you doing here?" She croaked, head flopping backwards onto his chest, body feeling too heavy to be held up on it's own. Lazily she looked around, face scrunching up, "What am I doing here?" She feigned confusion. "Yamada what's happening?" Her voice broke, peach eyes trembling, her hand grasping onto his leather jacket, looking up at him.

The male's face fell, mouth setting into a hard line as he used his free hand to comb through her greasy and gnarled ivory locks. "Ya got sick, don't ya remember, little listener?"

"No, I-I remember being at Endeavor's agency and then...I-I don't know, why can't I remember?! Yamada what happened?!" She fisted his jacket, cyan tears welling up in her eyes, forehead wrinkled up as her voice shook. Playing up her bewilderment with ease, seeming to have become an actor overnight, never being able to lie as convincingly as this ever before, she guessed nearly dying again had affected something deep inside her. She wanted to feel bad for lying to the man she viewed as her family but she couldn't, this was crucial to the plan.