Heart of Stone

Chapter 4: Sick

Heart of Stone

Chapter 4

Sick

Bai He could hear talking at first. Her head felt like it was full of cotton, and her eyes felt almost too heavy to lift. When she opened them she could see Tang leaning over her. Pushing his glasses back up onto his nose and looking up at someone.

"She's got a fever, she needs something cold to drink." He told someone. His fingers wrapped around a thermometer that was placed into a cup of brown liquid and set off to the side. "Thank you."

She felt something incredibly cold pressed against her lips. She was so weak she could barely open her mouth. If it weren't for the fact that it was the tip of a tiny metal tea spout she probably wouldn't have been able to drink it.

She had never tasted water like this, actually she wasn't sure it was water.

She turned her head away from the tea pot. The cold water hurt her throat so much. She tried to avoid it.

~

She wasn't sure just how long she was out after that. Actually she felt someone had against her forehead and she slowly opened her eyes. She turned away from the purple glow. She knew those eyes, she had seen them before. She wanted to say something, she wanted to thank him for saving her, but her whole body felt so heavy. She could only concentrate on that cool hand on her hot forehead.

"It's okay, Bai He. It's okay, that woman can't ever hurt you again." She felt the side of her bed bow in a bit as he sat down to look over her face. She felt something fit into her mouth. At first she thought it was that gross tasting water again. She felt the sweet taste of something sugary. She wanted to ask what it was, she knew that flavor but she wasn't too sure.

"Macaque! You can't just give her soda!" Tang yelled. This caused Bai He to cringe.

"Why not? It's cold...and she's drinking it more than your gross tea. Guh I can smell it from here." Macaque chuckled. He leaned back down and whispered. "It was good huh?" not a word...she had fallen back asleep again.

~

When she opened her eyes again Tang was asleep in the seat off to the side. It was the shadow behind him that caught her eye. It kept looking at her, and she looked at it.

The bedroom door opened and in walked someone she knew, but her cloudy mind wouldn't wrap around the name. He leaned over touching her forehead and helped her to sit up.

"Sandy?" Tang yawned and stretched. "What time is it?" He asked the tall man who sat down gingerly on the side of the bed. Bai He felt the bed bow and she slid a little. She would have laughed if she had the energy to do so.

"It's 7am. Pigsy made some small dumplings for her. She needs something to eat now that she's got a bit more energy." Sandy motioned to her. She had her eyes opened and that was good news to the scholar.

"Ah, you're awake." He smiled picking up her hand and held her wrist between his fingers looking at his watch. A few moments later he looked up at her touching her neck and nodded.

"Yeah her sickness has started to dissipate. Luckily it only lasted three days. I feared it would last longer. She looked so...so bad. Being coupled with those bruises that lady left behind." Tang made an odd attempt to growl, it only ended with a scoff and a sigh.

"Yeah she deserves better than what she got from her." Sandy said as he held out the bowl to Tang. Tang picked up the chopsticks and smiled at her.

"Alright, Pigsy's got some good dumplings. You're lucky. He's the kind of guy that won't give free food to just anyone." He held out a dumpling, in Bai He's opinion they were the smallest cutest things she's ever eaten.

A small ding filled the air and Tang put the bowl down on the table.

"I'll be right back, my phone going off." He said, patting her hand. He walked out of the room, closing the door. A shadow fluctuated in the dimly lit room.

"Heya kiddo. Whatcha got there?" He picked up the bowl and chopsticks and smiled. "Hey...this looks good...can I try?" He chuckled, holding out another piece to her. She opened her mouth amazed that he actually didn't try it like he said he would.

"Do I have to go back to the orphanage after this? Can't I...I wanna..." She paused as she felt another dumpling being popped into her mouth.

"Look Kid...I ain't the fathering type...there are other candidates here for father of the year, and I'm last on that list...and probably marked out maliciously." Bai He obviously wasn't buying what he was selling. She reached out, taking his hands.

"We're both accused of being monsters because of our past doings. Most of it wasn't even our fault. So if you want...I donno..." She thought of it for a moment. "We could be monsters together..." She looked up at him. The look on his face was of complete disbelief and utter amazement.

"Monsters huh?" He chuckled and put the bowl down. "I'm not..." He looked at the complete disappointment on the little girl's face.

"Then why didn't you just leave me there! Why did you save me!? You could have just turned away and left me alone! Why did I matter so much that you had to bring me here!?" The bowl of dumplings hit the floor. The lights began to fluctuate. The girl's eyes were that pale blue and the ora around her body caused things to get colder.

"Kid...shhhhh." He reached out lightly, patting her head. "Calm down, I saved you because I cared...okay. Is that what you wanted to hear?" He asked if the little girl's bottom lip quivered. "I don't want to be...can't we just...be together? I mean if we decide to adopt each other eventually then yeah sure. But It's a..." He cleared his throat. "It's a permanent situation. What if a few weeks down the road you realize you hate me and don't want to stay?" Macaque's eyes cast down at his feet.

"What if a few weeks down the road you decide you don't want me?" She asked.

"I guess you're both screwed then. Now sit down and shut up. You both know you need each other. You're both just alike. Annoying, egotistical, loud, and above all...you cling." Wukong growled, throwing a towel onto the floor.

"Wukong!"

"Nope, I am King. She's now your kitten. End of story. You adopted her. Boom...done." He walked out of the room.

"You woke him up, didn't you?" Bai He asked.

"Yeah..." He sighed and nodded.