Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep...

Castille was very tired of that beeping. The machine had beeped all night, and it was beeping all day. She knew it was to monitor her heart, and it's reading were vital to her getting the heck outta here, but still the beeping....

Her family was gone. Mom and Dad were at work, Kaylee at school no doubt, telling everyone how she was so distraught with her sister's recent mugging and assault. That was the lie she fed to the doctors, and her family. She was walking home, and a couple of guys pulled a knife on her, tried to take her backpack. Then they beat her around until someone came and saved her. Not just someone. Her friend Nate had just appeared and kept them away. Her mother insisted on filing a police report, but Castille told her to at least wait until she was out of the hospital. But her mother wouldn't listen. So the police came in, and she gave a fake, vague description of two guys. I was so upset and scared, I didn't get a good look at them...

But she had to give them Nate's name. If she didn't her father certainly would have. He was already more than a little concerned that he had never hear about and friend named Nate until now. Castille had assured him that everyone was kosher, but that didn't stop him from pulling a few tricks at work. Your hanging out with a delinquent! Did you know he was a vandal?..

Come to think of it, this was the first time her mother and father had been in the same room in quite some time. After their divorce, they were on alright terms until her step mother came into the picture. Savannah had visited once, and upon seeing Lisa, Castille's mother, calmly reading a magazine nearby, made her visit short and sweet. Castille didn't mind. Savannah was low on her respect list, and the way she over dramatized things was both irritating and stupid. I can't believe this would happen! If only *some* people didn't let you wander about on your own!

She was used to the passive aggressiveness. Castille's eyes wandered to the beeping machine, holding steady in it's rhythm. She traced the wires and tubes around and around, accidentally looking at her arm. She instantly felt panic at seeing the end of the needle poking into her elbow. She quickly covered it up with a towel the nurse had brought in for just that reason. Castille could handle being punched, kicked, and having her energy drained. But a needle sent her spiraling into a ball of tears and hyperventilation. Once her heart returned from the pit of her stomach, she eased up, feeling pent up and restless. There was a mirror on the table next to her. Be careful looking. Your beat up pretty good...

She picked up the mirror and looked into her own eyes, dark circles instantly noticeable in her reflection. They weren't kidding. A day in the hospital had allowed the swelling to reach it's max, and her jaw was a sickening mixture of black, blue, purple and in some places, yellow. It spanned the entire right side of her face, making her cheek swell up and squinting her eye. There was also a faint trace of a black eye, though as she prodded at it gently, it didn't seem serious.She had already seen her back or course. She made her sister take a picture of it and show it to her. Amid the washed out whites of the sheets, her entire lower back form hip to hip was the same mixture of colors. It felt like she had on an oversized belt when she moved her lower body. One that was constricting in a couple places. We're going to keep you here a couple of days, and get an xray..

An xray which had revealed a fractured wrist. The same one she damaged in her fight at the Surrounding. So when she put the mirror down, it was both carefully and clumsily, as the splint her wrist was in made movement impossible. She leaned back gingerly, feeling the torn and bruised muscles relax painfully. They said if she didn't get worse she could go home tomorrow. Castille hoped the police hadn't gotten to Nate. They needed to collaborate their stories to make this whole thing look good. She knew he didn't do well with the police..And that's a thirty point answer!

Her mind focused on the tv hanging above. The rise of the bed made it seem closer to eye level, and the gameshow that was playing was slightly grainy. Trust them to put a bored teenager into a room with bad reception. She chanced a careful movement of her needled arm, grabbing the remote. It was three in the afternoon. There was never anything on. Maybe she should take a nap. Sleeps whats gonna make you feel better

Back to those doctors. They looked at her with pity. She didn't like it. She also thought they didn't believe her story, like she was trying to protect someone. What was she supposed to say? Oh I was in a magical fight with someone who has the power of camouflage. She used a mirror wraith to suck out all my energy.

That Leto still didn't make sense to her. She had to have been a White Moon Senshi at one point, right? What made her turn to Chaos? Was she really willing to give her whole life up for a boost in power? You were going to do that same thing...

Castille had thought about it. On more than one occasion. But not for power. As a way to protect her family and friends. But she saw now that giving herself up in a hope to sway the minds of those lost wasn't the answer. Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep

Damn machine. How was she supposed to relax when she had to hear that thing all day?

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