Thank You

Chapter 20: Under Pressure

As I loomed over my bed scanning Armin as he slept, one thing kept running through my mind; I haven't visited my hometown in over three years. I quietly chuckled to myself and then mumbled, "Not like they'd be particularly excited to see me." I was intending only myself to hear this but it appeared that Armin has woken up and heard me. 

He sat up slowly and carefully. "Why is that?"

"Why is what?" I sat at the edge of the bed and dusted some loose dirt off of the comforter.
I acted as if I didn't know what he was talking about.

"Why wouldn't your parents be happy to see you?" He talked slow. At this point he would be bruised up around his ribcage and arms.

I shrugged, pretending I didn't understand the question in its entirety. "I don't know. To be honest, I wouldn't be particularly happy to see me either."

His voice became sharp, "That's a lie. You know why better than anyone else."  He weakly gripped my hand, "Don't talk so down to yourself, I think you aren't giving yourself enough credit. Your job is hard."

I sighed in defeat. I was hesitant at first because of my uncertainty that he'd understand. I decided to tell him anyway and came to the conclusion that it's no use to keep anything from him. "Well, alright. I'll tell ya." I shifted my position so that I was facing him. 

"So, about four years ago, before I got here, my parents were going to send me off to my Aunt Izumi. My Aunt Izumi is a nurse and she is extremely old fashioned. Some might even say controlling and stubborn."

Armin did his best attempt at moving closer towards me. I continued, "They wanted her to discipline me and teach me 'the ways of the medical field' or something like that. Well, I was hesitant and eventually aggressive about it. All my life my parents deprived me of the things normal children would enjoy and put me through the most astute schools and personal tutors. All my life I was just learning. But is it really learning if you're forced? Either way, I was not very good at my schoolwork. My parents would chastise me any way they knew how. Hot water poured on my hands, belts across the hands, no food until I obeyed, I was sometimes locked out of the house. Eventually I grew up to be quite the rebel. I always stole things from the local marketplaces, got into fights and eventually....I killed my best friend accidentally.. None of it was worth it. None of it." My clenched my fists, holding back the hot tears in my eyes.

"The context is too complicated to explain and it's hard to talk about. Basically, the day I saw Erwin and his squad ride stoically through our town on their horses, I wanted a chance to make a difference. I was tired of being chased by the local townsfolk, sleeping in alleyways because I wasn't allowed inside, stealing food because I wasn't fed. I wanted a new life. A chance." I felt the atmosphere become tense and it was becoming hard to breathe.

"Did you and your parents ever fight?" How bold he is, I'm almost envious.

I nodded slowly. "When I told my parents that I was going to join the Survey Corps they told me that if I tried it that I wouldn't have a home to come back to. So, I packed my things and left. I didn't want to be there any longer. I needed a second chance. That was all I wanted." My heartbeat was getting rapid and my head was spinning. What's going on?

I felt Armin slowly crawl across the bed over to me. "Are you okay?"

I chuckled. "You shouldn't be the one worrying about me." I was struggling to breathe again. I'm having the same problems like when I was hiding behind the shed a few weeks ago. I hate when people see me like this.

"Are you sure?" His voice was soft. I wanted to keep my cool but I genuinely thought I was going to pass out.

It took all of my strength to keep back the tears and grunts of pure agony. At this point, I had to get out of there and fast. My consciousness was fading quickly and I felt it.

I sprung up quickly and the room immediately went blurry. "I'm f-" then, the room went dark and the last thing I heard was screaming. It was faint, my consciousness was deteriorating even quicker now and there was a lot of clatter in every direction. I eventually gave in and blacked out. It's cold...too cold...

Author's Note: This is going to be a relatively short chapter but the next one will make up for it. I promise you, you won't be dissatisfied. Unless you are then...I'm very sorry, I suck.

Update: Yo! I am back again. Man,I should really stop disappearing spontaneously like that. Haha, anyways, I don't know what to do with this atrocity. I might just leave it like this. It kind of gives a good cliffhanger. Well, thanks for reading my awful book haha. Hope you liked it! 
That's all. -Woad