— Rio - New Continent, same day—
Rio blinked a few times, and his vision went back to normal. It was almost as if he had spent an entire week inside a bathtub filled with freezing water and confusion, considering the way his head was heavy and empty, his heart throbbing, and his shoulders tense. He was also trembling and as cold as a corpse.
He looked around him as the sounds slipped back into his mind.
And all at once, his patient's scream boomed and bounced around the small, metallic room. It hit his chest like a handful of needles and sent him reeling back until he hit the wall. Rio's lips trembled; his eyes widened. What was happening?
His patient pounced and ran towards Rio, gnarling and biting the air like a wild beast. The chains grated through the metallic loops in the floor until the tungsten spheres stopped the patient with a hard tug. He growled, teeth snapping in the air and a dense, white foam forming in the corner of his lips. His eyes changed from blue to orange, to purple, and then to a strong shade of red.
Holy shit, what had left him so agitated? He hadn't acted like this for a while now.
"It's okay," Rio said. He went for a soothing tone, but his voice trembled. "Calm down, okay?"
It pained Rio to see him like this. The man before him growled for a long moment, eyes set on the door at Rio's back. He turned around and watched in silence as the door swung softly and closed with a click.
A cold shiver climbed up Rio's back. He was alone in the labs, but he still felt a weird, lingering presence in there, as if someone had just left. But Rio didn't have much time to worry about it. His patient's knees buckled and met the hard floor with a hard jab that made Rio grimace. He crouched in front of the patient.
"It's okay," he whispered again, caressing his hair. "I'm here."
"Leaving," the patient mumbled, his voice so groggy and so low, Rio could barely understand him. "Pain. Hurts! Why... leave?"
Rio's breathing caught in his throat. His patient had never spoken a single word before. Rio's eyes snapped to the now-closed door and back to his patient again. With a teary smile, Rio wrapped his arms around the other man's frame. His long hair still smelled like the roses shampoo Rio had used to wash it this morning.
"Why leave?" the patient repeated—with a gentler tone this time.
Rio chuckled against the soft silk of the patient's hair. "I need to make sure some of my friends won't ruin my research, that's all." He stepped back, held the patient's face, and turned it this side and that. The scars were already fading, letting his moles and freckles be the only beauty marks on his cheeks. And those eyes...
There was so much intelligence in those cerulean-blue eyes.
The patient leaned back, freeing himself. "You won't... back." His face scrunched up and he averted his gaze.
"Of course I'll come back," Rio cooed.
Four years ago, when Rio found him amidst the debris of the Murilean Mansion, he never thought Antônio McCockay would be alive. More than that, Rio never thought he would feel this attached to him.
This should have been nothing but a few exams and maybe some non-invasive experiments. He had promised to hand Toni to the authorities once he made sure Toni would survive, but... what kind of nurse-slash-scientist would he be if he lost the opportunity of a lifetime? After all, Toni had been dead for two entire years, and now he was here. How the fuck could a dead man be revived like this? He needed to know.
"Hurts... Greg—orio..." Toni grunted with frustration and shook his head. "Words. Scrambled head. Hurts. Everything."
"Your muscles?"
"Legs, back, neck. Words. Cut. Here." Toni tapped an index finger on the right tip of his hip bone.
Goddess, it was good to have an answer to his questions instead of having to guess everything. Rio caught himself smiling. He cleared his throat.
"You'll be speaking normally in no time, you'll see." Rio took Toni's hand. His fingers were so lanky and cold, Rio almost felt like holding a skeleton. "Can I see the cut?"
Toni nodded and raised his arms as Rio stepped closer. He lifted the hem of Toni's white t-shirt and found the beginning of an ugly cut that, he was pretty sure, he had already treated—more than once. Again, as it always happened, it was showing signs of infection.
Rio frowned. "I'll clean and dress it." He swallowed and reached for the man's forehead with his free hand. "Well, at least your fever's gone. Can I give you another analgesic for the pain?"
Toni bobbed his head up and down, and Rio pivoted around to reach for his white briefcase. Toni's recovery had been more than impressive in the past week, even with those pesky wounds that kept reopening now and then. If Toni was only a mindless beast a couple of years before, now he was almost in control of his own actions—and his words too, as it seemed. Sure, they had a long way to go before Toni was fully healed, but he was improving, and this was what mattered for Rio.
He looked at the concoctions he had prepared for today and decided to go with a mild cocktail of analgesics, anti-inflammatories, and his very own strengthening serum. He flicked the tip of the syringe and pushed the small plunger to remove any bubbles of air from the liquid.
"You know, I think I'll move to a coastal city in Old Continent once Sissy and I finish this job." For a moment, Rio watched his own reflex on the metallic body of his syringe. The ring Phillip had given him appeared half-hidden by his other fingers, but he didn't need to look at it anymore to know it was there. Rio already recognized the ring's weight.
He also knew his next decision would be much heavier than a ring could ever be.
If Roberto Tapir was indeed in Old Continent with Léon, that meant it was only a matter of time until Phillip discovered what Rio had done. Until all of them discovered how much Rio had lied, fooled, and used them.
He lowered the needle and an image went back to his mind's eyes. If it weren't for Toni, maybe he and Phillip could.... No. What was done was done, and Rio couldn't bring himself to hurt Phillip more than he had already. More than he would once Phillip learned the truth. But Phil was strong; he would manage. He would get over it.
Toni, though... Toni needed him.
A shimmer of liquid escaped the tip of the needle, and Rio brought Toni's arm up, looking for a vein in the junction of his upper and lower arm. He pressed the needle against it.
I want to fucking say you're mine. I want you to be mine, Gregorio.
His lips trembled. His eyes blurred. He shook his head to dispel the feeling of Phillip's words against his ear. Toni would soon be better and healed like Phillip was; then he could think about what would come next. Rio was a nurse; this was his job and he wouldn't give it up.
"I wish you could come with me," Rio murmured. "Today, I mean." He looked at Toni and pressed a piece of cotton and sticking plaster on his arm. "I don't want to leave you here with Jackal." He placed the syringe on the metallic table beside him. Rio smiled when Toni's grimace softened and he looked calm again.
Jackal.
She had used a syringe similar to this one to administer the cure on that man. Jackal had smirked and opened an umbrella and when the wailing and the screams stopped, the sick sound that followed was like the opening pop of a jar of synth maraschino cherries.
Their flight had to be rescheduled, of course. It had taken Rio almost a whole day to scrape the blood from his face, hands, and clothes.
Rio's stomach gurgled and burned, and he had to clasp a hand on his lips to stop himself from spilling his meager breakfast. Jackal was sick. She was fucking out of her mind, and all Rio wanted was to take his patient and disappear. He'd finish this fucking job, catch the first flight to New Mindanao, and would disappear among the elevated houses from his home village. He would apologize to his sister and hope Gláucia would let him and Toni stay with her for a few weeks.
"But first, we'll meet Léon and Rob in OC and fix this problem once and for all," he whispered to himself, taking a deep breath. He massaged the bridge of his nose and closed his white briefcase with a click.
When Rio turned around, his shoulders jumped. The cocktail he had administered should be enough to put a bear to sleep, and yet, Toni was on his feet again, staring at him with such intensity that Rio shivered.
"Toni?" Rio said.
He raised his cerulean eyes and that stare hit Rio like a truck. Rio wasn't sure what made him feel that way, but something cold swirled inside his stomach. Toni's presence became so oppressive and so scary, Rio stumbled a step backward. Clarity spread on Toni's face as he raised his arms.
With a flick of his wrists, the chains broke like glass.
Rio's eyes widened. His hands trembled so much, the handle of his briefcase slipped from his fingers. It fell on the floor with a metallic clank.
"Thank you, Greg—o—rio." Toni smiled and stepped closer. Despite the fear, the way he touched Rio's cheek made him blush. Toni leaned down to press their foreheads together. "Still... need you. Please. Take me.... OC. Rob. I... need... my Rob."
***
Lovesomes! Thank you all so much for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! :)) Please don't forget to vote if you did.
So *squeals* were you surprised? Some of you told me how much you wanted him to be back and... it was SO hard for me to keep my mouth shut and not tell you that was exactly what was going to happen! :P hahaha Things will get a lot more complicated from now on, though, mainly for Rafa, Rob, and Léon. And I doubt Phillip will take everything Rio did lightly.
Is that a shitstorm coming? Why, I think it is! x.x
Now, if you could choose, would you prefer to live in New Continent or in Old Continent?
Kisses!
Ligia
***
OH, and here's a huge thank you to all these amazing people:
ThatGingerRogue , uzochiomii , grayman_001 , NaomiRahel , blahblah0011 , -outsider , lorryander
You're all stars. Thank you so much for your support! Your comments and votes mean the world to me. ♥♥♥