chapter 47

It's Christmas and you're crying by yourself at a deceased loved one's death bed. It's horrible.

You're hunched over, still leaking tears from your eyes. Ed's hand is clamped tightly between yours, and you don't want to let go. You're sure his hands are already wet from all your crying, but you don't care. He's gone anyways.

You let at another silent sob, and squeeze his hand. It feels like hours have passed, but in reality, it's only been minutes.

Without warning, the door bursts open. You jump, whipping your head around to see the source of the sound.

Behind you, standing in the open door, the nameless girl is carrying Al, who had just yelled,

"Brother!"

The girl runs towards the bed, and her eyes widen as she hears the sound of the heart monitor. She seems at a loss for words as she stares at the scene. She opens her mouth, as if to say something, but closes it, only to open it again.

"Is he...?"

You barely register what she's said. But when you do, you know you can't reply. The thought of just confirming it yourself... it makes it more real.

Al is set down next to the bed, and he stares, horrified, at Ed. He, also, seems to be at a loss for words.

"Brother... brother! Wake up!"

His voice is shaky, and you can tell he's emotional. Al stands up, grabbing his shoulders like you did, and shakes them.

"Brother!"

The girl isn't doing anything, just staring at the scene.

Al collapses on the spot, breaking down into tears. Just hearing him sob causes you yourself to start crying too.

And suddenly, you notice a stiffening in Al's posture. He slowly lowers his hands and raises his head. He turns on you. His eyes are dark, his face is pulled into a tight scowl.

"(Y/N)..." he growls creepily. The girl grabs onto his arm immediately, as if she knew what he was going to do.

"Al, stop, yo-"

Al slaps her hand away, not taking his eyes off you. She looks extremely hurt, retracting her arm from him. You start getting scared at the psychotic look in his eyes.

"Al..." you whisper.

He starts advancing on you, dragging his paralyzed leg behind him. The girl reaches put for him again, grabbing his shoulders.

"Stop." She says firmly.

Al wrenches away from her and starts moving towards you, and you hold up your arm, protecting yourself.

He scowls at you.

"You..."

The girl attempts again to stop Al, but fails.

"You killed my brother, you..."

"I did not," you whisper. Al stares into your eyes with mistrust and contempt.

"And your stupid pathetic voice. I can't believe brother even..."

"Al, stop!" The girl shouts. He ignores her exclamation and shakes away from her, pushing your shoulders against the wall and leaning heavily on you due to his leg.

"You caused us so much trouble, (Y/N). Urgh. I hate even your name now." He spits at you angrily. You flinch.

"You led us to all this trouble — they weren't even after brother! They just wanted , and now look. I'm paralyzed, and brother... he's dead! DEAD! What is the meaning of this!? I shouldn't have been nice to you! I shouldn't have-"

"AL! STOP IT! YOU'RE HURTING HER!" The girl screams. It's true, pain is searing through your shoulders where Al has dug his nails in. He's pushing you backwards at an awkward angle.

Al stops. "Do I look like I care?" He growls, without looking away from you.

You flinch and take in a sharp breath.

You hear a groan from behind Al. "Al, look-"

"THERE's NOTHING TO LOOK AT, OKAY!? TH-THIS STUPID GIRL RUINED OUR LIVES, AND ANYONE CAN SEE." Al's eyes are closed, and he's breathing heavily. "If only... if only we never met, if only I never forgave her, if only brother never forgave her, then... then none of this would've happened! WE WOULD BE HAPPY AND UNTROUBLED. Do see now? This girl has been the cause of our troubles, and I... I'm going to kill her for that."

Tears well up in your eyes at the hurtful words.

"Al, you know you can't possibly-"

"FINE! Then I'll kill her mentally. I'll hurt her until she understands what she's done-"

Another groan and a gasp.

You take the chance to speak. "Al, you don't understand, I-"

It happens so suddenly, you have no time to register. A sharp pain erupts on your right cheek, accompanied by a loud sound. Your head whips sideways, causing even more pain to shiver through you. Your neck hurts and your cheek burns. There's a loud ringing in your ears, drowning out the heart monitor, and your jaws are locked tight. You finally realize: Al had slapped you.

You glare to the wall on your left, tears burning in your eyes to accompany the pain in your cheek and neck. Your hand is pressed against your face, attempting to nurse it. You refuse to look back at Al.

"Say one more word, you-"

You hear yet another groan and some sound of moving cloth. (Sorry for being repetitive, I dont wanna use "moan.") "Al! STOP! Seriously. Loo-"

"WILL YOU STOP INTERRUPTING ME!?" Al screams.

He moves his arm again, and this time, you see it. You try to raise your hand to defend yourself, getting ready to push him away. As if in slow motion, his hand travels towards you. You close your eyes.

"STOP!"

The clear and strong voice echoes through the room. Al freezes, like you, hand centimeters away from your face, and your heart starts pounding. His grip on your shoulder tightens, digging deeper into your shoulder.

Finally, an exasperated sigh. You can almost hear the rolling of eyeballs. "I've been trying to tell you for so long!"

Al whips around, loosing his grip on you. Hand on your still burning face, you slide down the wall, knees collapsing from under you like jelly. You don't want to look up, you don't want to feel the pain when it turns out not to be true. But the curiosity burns in your chest.

Instead you bury your head in the crook of your bent knees and let out a soft sob.

"(Y/N), are you okay?" The girl asks.

You don't reply. Instead, you let the desire to know the truth take over your mind.

You peek up.

*****

Lol guys I'm sorry about my freak out last chapter. I'm really sorry was what I really meant to say but I guess I was tired and crying and hysterical from all the nights of missed sleep due to Mystic Messenger.

Please excuse my past self.

Follow my Mysme tumblr accounts @mysme--imagines and @withinthegalaxies if you want to understand what I meant by "my heart is betraying me" lol (ShAMelEsS sElF PrOMo)

If you liked this chapter, be sure to vote, comment, share, and most importantly, ENJOY!!!

~Sky-chan

Word count: 1111 words (make a wish ;))