Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Keeper Of His Heart ❯ 4 ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Yami stared up at the white tiled ceiling. His crimson eyes were blank, listless, and unfocused. His room was dim and quiet, the blinds drawn shut. The only noises in the sterile room, which stunk of Lysol, medications, and sickness, were the constant beeping of his heart monitor, the hissing of his breathing machine, and the drip-drip of his IVs. His hands were still encased in the splints, and a thin, scratchy, ugly green blanket was pulled up to his chest.

He hated the ugly powder blue hospital gown, and the wool blanket was incredibly itchy. His throat was dry, and the tube going down it itched as well. He was tired and very weak; too weak to move, and too tired to care. All he wanted to do was drift away. Away from the pain, from the nightmares that plagued him whenever he closed his eyes. Yet, when he awoke, he could never remember them. He knew he had been raped, but he didn't know who did it, and how it had happened.

The heavy door to his room creaked open, and Yami struggled to turn his head. His eyes lit up in expectation, thinking that soon Yugi's sweet, sunny little face would come in. The room, the hospital, was always dark, cold, and impersonal. Yami was nothing more to the staff than another patient, just another body that needed taken care of. But his sweet little Yugi brought sunshine with him everywhere he went. When he was at Yami's side, the bigger boy felt warm and alive again. It was Yugi who gave him the strength to keep going.

His breath would have stilled in his throat as he waited for his beloved darling to come in, but the breathing apparatus rattled angrily, forcing air into his lungs. The door knob turned, the door opening further, and Anzu came in.

"Hi, Yam-" Anzu's voice was cheerful and her blue eyes sunny, but she paled visibly several shades whiter and her voice trailed off as she stared in shock at the bed. This wasn't the boy she knew from school. This wasn't Yugi's Yami. He was so pale, so weak and fragile looking, as if she touched him, he might fall apart before her very eyes.

Though, Yugi had warned her Yami wasn't in good shape, but she hadn't listened. She'd just been excited to see Yami. She had had a crush on him for the longest time, but Yugi already claimed Yami's heart. Yugi himself wasn't looking very good, either. He looked thinner, and his amethyst eyes, always so bright and vibrant, were clouded with worry. She had asked him in school what was wrong, and he'd replied vaguely. She'd offered to help, and Yugi had seemed very reluctant at first. Then his eyes had lit up and he'd said she could help him by visting Yami today for him, and giving the little one a break. She'd quickly accepted without noticing the sly look on little Yugi's face.

An awkward silence hung in the air, boy and girl staring at each other in shock. "So..uh...hey, Yami. How's it going? Um....Yugi...err....um...I came to see you.....Yugi said you weren't doing so good...and...well, he couldn't make it today, and I came in his place...."

The light in Yami's eyes fell, and he numbly nodded as the cheerleader came over to his bedside. She pulled out the dying lilies in the old purple vase and replaced them with bright yellow daffodils. She fussed about for a little bit, aware of Yami's sad eyes upon her the entire time. Finally, she sat down at his bedside. "So...Yami....Yugi said you haven't been eating much; he asked me to help you."

Yami inwardly sighed. His throat and lip were too sore for him to eat regular food, and he didn't put much effort into it. He was too tired, emotionally and physically, to care about eating. But his brave, determined little angel had fought on, forcing him to eat. Instead of always mashing his food, Yugi had gotten Grandpa to buy Yami jars of baby food, which was already mashed and was a lot smoother and easier to get into Yami than regular food. Yami didn't mind some of it, but there was one he absolutely, thoroughly hated with a passion. Mashed broccoli. It smelled bad, and tasted even worse.

Today was Saturday, and Grandpa hadn't gone to the store yet, so there had been only one jar of baby food left. Yugi really hadn't been looking forward to feeding Yami today, because the food left was mashed broccoli, and he was eternally grateful to Anzu for offering to go in his stead. He just had conveniently forgotten to mention Yami's aversion to the food.

"So...are you hungry?" Anzu's voice was timid and nervous. She really did have a crush on Yami, but she couldn't take seeing him so broken and helpless. This wasn't the Yami she knew at all. That, and being near him always made her flustered. Her heart pounding, she pulled out the jar of baby food and spoon Yugi had given her. "I bet you are..." Yami hadn't said anything, but one look at his fat, swollen lower lip, which had stitches running from his lip nearly down to his chin, and even Anzu understood why.

Yami's lifeless ruby red eyes were focused on the jar of baby food, but his vision was too hazy from medication to make out the label. The girl twisted the lid, and it opened with a small pop. She set the lid down, and her nose suddenly crinkled in disgust. "Eeewweeee; that smells really nasty." Anzu coughed several times at the smell from the jar. She turned it around and checked the expiration date. "No; it's still good...."

She looked ready to barf as she dipped the spoon into the green, stinky mash and brought it towards Yami's lips. "Here we go, Yami....." The smell hit Yami, and he felt even sicker than before. Just as Anzu was about to touch the spoon filled with the stinky glop to his lips, hitting his sore lip in the process, Yami jerked his head to one side, causing the spoon to hit his cheek. Cold, mashed broccoli slopped onto his cheek and ran down his neck, into the top of his hospital gown.

"Yami!" Anzu scolded and tried again, but Yami once more moved his head. Yugi had also forgotten to tell her how difficult and stubborn Yami could be when it came to eating. Especially if he didn't like who was feeding him.

><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>

Merik sat shaking on the cold floor in front of the toilet. He'd just thrown up several times, and his head pounded, and his freshly bruised cheek hurt. He'd tried to take some medicine for his headache, but Malik had fought with him. Last time he'd taken medication, he'd purposefully overdosed and had nearly died. He'd been rushed to the hospital and had his stomach pumped to get the drugs out. They'd physically fought over the bottle, and it had ended with Malik punching his yami across his cheek.

Merik groaned. After the fight, he'd locked himself in the bathroom and away from his currently annoying hikari. He looked down at the cordless phone with bleary eyes and wondered if he could communicate coherently enough to call Bakura. The silver haired yami had been out with him when he'd gotten so messed up.

Grabbing the phone, and feeling his stomach grumble in protest, he tried to dial the number. His vision was blurred and hazy; he couldn't see straight, and he didn't know what numbers he was punching. Plus, the little beeping noise they made caused his head to pound even more. Merik ground his teeth, then his stomach rumbled a bit louder. Going several shades whiter, he dropped the phone and buried his golden head back in the toilet as he threw up again.

Malik leaned against the locked bathroom door and listened to the wretching sounds as his yami threw up. He crinkled his nose in distaste and frowned, wondering just what was going on. Merik coming home drunk, high, and hung over was nothing new, but him acting so shaky and...vulnerable...was. The hikari had never seen him act like this, and he was worried. Just what had trouble had Merik and Bakura gotten into the that night?

Malik chewed his lip, then reluctantly left the door for the kitchen. He picked up the phone and waited for the awful beeping to stop. Apparently, Merik was attempting to call somebody. Fear flashed through Malik. This scenario was all too familiar. He'd once listened in as a barely conscious Merik tried to call 911 because he'd slashed his wrists too deep and was bleeding to death. But, from the fierce pounding he'd heard, Merik was conscious. Not coherent, but conscious, and that would do.

He would check on him after he had a chat with Bakura. Once the beeping stopped and the phone was free, Malik dialed Bakura's number. The phone rang several times and Ryou answered. Ignoring his soft spoken pleasantries, he snapped, "Put Bakura on. Now!" And Ryou scuttled to obey.

><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>

"YAMI MOTOU!" Anzu screamed, her blue eyes blazing. Mashed green broccoli was everywhere. It was on Yami's face, in his hair, on his blankets and pillows, all over him, all over Anzu, on her new skirt, her face and shirt, and even a few stinky glops on a couple of his machines and tubes. Most of it was splattered about the room, and very little had gotten into the injured boy.

"YAMI, YOU WILL EAT THIS OR ELSE!" Anzu huffed angrily as she wiped a green glob off her forehead. She angrily snatched up the spoon and scraped some mashed broccoli out of the nearly empty jar. Yami's eyes widened in fear as she angrily grabbed his chin, holding his head still, and pinched his nose. The oxygen machine whizzed a bit, forcing air into his lungs, but nothing could get out since Anzu held his nose, and he was forced to expel a large breath. Soon as his lips parted, she shoved the spoon into his mouth, and the disgusting glop slid down his throat.

Yami coughed and gagged, rolling onto his side and dry heaving for all he was worth, trying to expel the food. But, as his breathing became labored, the oxygen machie got a bit louder. It clanked once, and Yami was knocked onto his back by the the force of the air rushing into his lungs. The machine sensed Yami's difficulty breathing and was starting to breathe for him instead of assisting him. His chest jerked erratically, and tears of pain welled in his eyes.

Anzu looked at Yami, and her sympathy for the poor boy simmered down her anger. "I'm sorry, Yami, but you needed to eat. Now, I'm going to go home and get cleaned up. I'll see if I can get a nurse to come in and clean you up. Good bye." She would have kissed his cheek, but she was afraid that if she did, he would crack before her very eyes. That, and he was covered in baby food.

tbc......