Intoxicating Infatuation

Chapter Five

"Better besides this cough," his voice came out strained. "The doctors want me to go to the hospital," he added, nodding in thanks as Emilia passed him a glass of water.

"You should stay away from the hospital. All they want is money," Dio chimed in, before anyone else could respond. Emilia frowned at him as he purposely avoided her gaze. This was something they strongly disagreed on. The only reason she hadn't pushed harder on the situation was because of Mr. Joestar. He insisted on staying home, stating that it was more comfortable. So Emilia relented, stopped fighting, prioritized his wants, and instead focused on what she could do from home to help.

"Congratulations on your victory, by the way," Mr Joestar's sudden praise broke through the tense atmosphere. A proud grin spread across his otherwise sickly features.

"You already heard?" Jonathan gasped in surprise as he stared at his father in disbelief.

"An old friend of mine," he winked with a grin.

"Some friend he is," Dio scoffed, "we rushed all this way home to be the first to tell you!"

A small breath of laughter broke from Mr. Joestar at that before another coughing fit fell over him. Emilia rushed to rub his back in comfort, holding a glass of water out again for him to take once the fit passed. Taking the glass of water in his quivering hands, he let the cool perspiration seep through his clammy hold. No matter the treatment, the older man could tell he wasn't getting any better. However, looking up at his children, who stood worriedly at his bedside, he felt an odd sense of peace and pride fall over him.

"Thank you, Emilia. I couldn't have asked for a better daughter than you, and I'm proud of how far you've come. You have done great to get through most of your schooling, and I know you will do great with your knowledge." Emilia could feel the tears welling in her eyes as she locked onto Mr. Joestar's assuring gaze. Her hand moved to rub her scarred arm as she couldn't help but think the worst. No matter how comforting his words were, they almost seemed to be nearing a goodbye.

"I'm proud of you, my sons, as well. You each have come such a long way, and I'm glad to see you each getting along much better now. Jonathan, you've grown into such a fine gentleman, and I know you will continue to grow and do great things with your studies. And Dio, you have come especially far. Follow your dreams after college, and know that I will support you through it all, my son."

|||

The dull glow of the candlelight flickered through the dim room. Emilia sat leaning against the hardwood desk as she watched Jonathan fiddle with the peculiar stone mask before him. It was a project the man had been working on for a while now. It had been his mother's, and although she didn't know all the details of his research, she knew he hoped it would cause a sensation.

The sound of ink scratching against the rough paper filled the room as he scribbled down his notes. Beside the jotted handwriting, a neatly placed diagram of the mask was sketched, a favor done by Emilia.

Drawing her gaze from his research, Emilia tried to refocus her attention on the medical book that lay abandoned in her lap. All the words blurred together in one messy blob as her tired eyes rescanned the same sentence. Her mind screamed for a break in the form of a dull headache. However, she couldn't get past her concern for Mr. Joestar, trying to find more information on his strange illness. His words from earlier played on repeat through her mind. It almost seemed like he knew he was nearing his end. No matter how comforting his words were, the meaning behind them wasn't something she was willing to accept.

Emilia had a few theories on the cause of his sudden illness based on all of her research. Her main one was one that she could only hope wasn't true. It was something the woman didn't even like to think about.