Bloodbath of the Fallen Crown

14

He was sleeping, just like the doctor had said. I took a chair and sat next to him on the bed.

For some time, I don't really know how long, I just watched his chest rise and fall. With each rise I felt more air enter my lungs. With each fall, I felt the tiredness kicking in. Eventually, I don't know when, I fell asleep.

I only woke up once I felt a movement under me, which made me rise in horror. I had fallen asleep with my head on his bed. I looked like every clingy girlfriend in every cheesy romance ever.

I rubbed my eyes to remove all traces of sleep. These past days have been getting to me. I need to keep myself in check.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Nicolas whispered.

Shaking my head, I stifled a yawn. "How are you feeling?"

He laughed bitterly, "like shit. When are we leaving?"

I shrugged and grabbed the remote, "in a few days."

"A few days? We can't wait that long."

"Relax," I looked at him. "It'll be before you're discharged, so the doctors won't know. I'm trying to figure out how long we have before the cops get here. Besides, we need to get the medicine you need to heal."

He tried to sit up, but failed. "We can get that in Sicily. After we get Vee."

I put my hand over his, making his eyes focus in nothing but that.

Somehow it felt good to still know him this well. "You need to get better if you want us to find your sister. Otherwise, you'll really only be a burden to carry, you know that."

He stared at our hands and frowned. "She doesn't have much time. I can't just sit here and--"

"I can't have you dropping dead while looking for her. The doctor said a week you'll have to be here. Stay for five days. On the night of the fifth I'll break you out, yeah? Just until you get a little better."

He bit his lip, making something turn in my stomach. "Fine. And we'll get right back to looking for Vee afterwards."

I smiled involuntarily. "Obviously."

Before I forced myself to stay any longer, I got up and stepped back.

He looked up at me, alarm in his eyes. "What?"

I shook my head. "Have to take care of a few things. Don't move! I'll send your ass back to Sicily if you do. I'll be back in a few hours. Byeeee!"

I walked out quickly, before he had the chance to stop me.

"Be careful!" He shouted as I closed the door behind me.

I made my way through the hospital, looking for an exit. The hospital was humongous. I hadn't expected that when I looked at the map.

Finally, I found two automatic doors and made my way to them. I was just about to leave when a hand landed on my shoulder.

My entire body went tense and I felt my fists curling instinctively. I was ready to tackle whoever it was to the ground until I heard the voice it belonged to.

"Heading off?" The doctor who fixed me up spoke. I turned to face him. His name tag read Dr. König.

I forced a kind smile on my face. "The coffee here is God awful. I was going to look for a nearby place to get some."

He laughed. "Of course. Hey, when you get the chance, can you bring both of your traveller insurances?"

I nodded. "You bet. Thank you again, Doctor."