The doctor sat on the bed next to me, his face perfectly calm. “Do you think it’s fair that you know my name but I don’t know yours?” I asked petulantly, to stop any questions about my sainted brother. His spiralling eyes looked a little bemused but he answered me anyway. “I don’t really think that’s my fault. After all, I would have told you sooner if you hadn’t been so intent on jumping out of the window.” I blushed violently and he chuckled cutely, stretching out his hand but leaving his fingers hanging, not actually touching my cheeks. “My name is Jasper,” he whispered. I accidentally looked into his amber eyes and was instantly dazed. Noticing this, Jasper jumped up off the bed and sprang over to the opposite side of the room. He paced around the room restlessly, seemingly arguing with himself.
“You know…I’ve been watching you for days,” Jasper murmured, finally settling on the bed again. I gaped, horrified. “How long have I been here?” I demanded. He looked at the floor, wincing. “Sorry, I forgot…you were brought here on Monday. It’s…um, well, it’s Thursday.” I counted back mentally. “Hold on. Does that mean I missed CHRISTMAS?!” I was outraged. How could everyone let me miss Christmas day? Jasper nodded. “Um, yeah…sorry about that. You wouldn’t wake up!” he teased. “But, really…well, you should have come in a lot earlier. You are an absolute mess inside.”
I raised my eyebrows, waiting for him to explain. “Your internal organs are a little bit screwed up. Someone should have noticed ages ago, they should have brought you in. But when you passed out…well, it’s a turning point. Your condition is likely to get a lot worse now. It’s possible that you may start passing out a lot more, or throwing up.” I closed my eyes, sighing. “Um, we operated on you,” he went on, “but we could only stabilise you this time. We can’t ever ‘fix’ you, at least it’s not likely.” I shook my head, “I still can’t believe I’ve been here for four days…or that I was operated on and didn’t know…”
Jasper smiled. His hand crept towards me twitchily, as though he was about to take my hand, but he thought better of it and let his arm drop. “I was here the whole time, you know,” he said conversationally. I looked at him incredulously. “Yeah…well, you’re my patient. I talked with your brother a lot, too. He told me all sorts of things about you…I was a bit shocked at some of the things you’ve done. You looked so innocent unconscious.” I chuckled, feeling something strange. It seemed almost carefree, this moment – something I didn’t think that I’d feel again.
Rin wiped my eyes. “You know, Jasper does have feelings for her, but he will act entirely professionally. And either way, Charlotte needs someone to care for her… in the way you cannot.” I nodded lightly and began walking away, Rin stopping me by taking my hand. His touch held no more warmth for my heart. “Where are you going?” I sighed and turned back to him, smiling lightly. “I’m tired. I’ve been two days without sleep, missed Christmas, and… I have things I need to sort out. For me.” With one last smile, I turned away and walked out the hospital entrance, feeling reassured that Jasper would indeed take care of Charlotte in the one sense she needed most.
I wasn’t able to call home for the Aston Martin so I decided to walk home in the fading light. As blue sky turned to flaming orange, I passed through the straight streets, slowly emptying as the everyday public traffic dissipated in the twilight. Listening to my old favourite Paramore song, I walked back to the apartment with a slight spring in my step. Selfish though it was (Something I always had been), I was glad to see that I finally didn’t have to dote on my sister anymore… and could sort out my own problems. Today would bring out some… interesting and possibly heartless revelations for me.
I rounded the corner, smiling and mouthing along to the song, people looking at me oddly as they passed in the other direction. The pavement glittered slightly in the dying light, and I noticed the apartment appear before me as I looked up, jumping up the stairs and into the building. Filled with some sort of energy that I couldn’t explain, I jumped up the stairs two at a time till I reached the right floor and walked into the room, not out of breath despite the amount of energy I must have burned. Julian and George leapt up from the sofa and I could hear Brother and Rikku talking quietly in the kitchen. As I smiled and began to walk over to where Julian and George stood, I was grabbed by the shoulders by Brother and pulled into the kitchen, where he locked the door and sat me down, looking down at me angrily.
He and Rikku both began talking, almost as if they’d rehearsed. “You have to choose, you know. Between them.” I sighed slightly, without wiping the smile from my face, and laughed. “I know.” Rikku and Brother looked at one another and nodded. “We think you should choose…” Here they split unexpectedly, with a “Julian” from Brother and Rikku choosing “George”. They jumped slightly, glaring at one another. “Julian? But he like, broke his heart!” “Yeah, well George was only a replacement anyway!” “Oh come ON Brother, George has genuine feelings for him!” I laughed and stood up, leaving the two to argue as I left the kitchen and grabbed the attention of the two boys with a wave and walking into my room, implying that they follow. I sat on my bed, facing the door just as Julian and George walked into the room. Decision Time.
