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 Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:20 pm
Zack had gone off to take care of...some ‘loose ends’ as he called them, and Cambria knew that to mean something having to do with his second life as Sanidine, though didn’t question it. She was a little leery of leaving his side when he knew who she was...but there was no way he was going to rat her out to the Negaverse...not when she had done so much to help him…
Not when he had asked for her help again in freeing him from Chaos’ tainted grip.
She had gotten the message from Zacks’ parents that Malcolm had woken up and she figured it would be a good time to go back to the hospital...not to mention that they had asked her to since they were exhausted and needed some rest. That was more than understandable though.
So here she was again, sitting by Malcolm’s bedside, holding the hand of his unbroken arm in her and stroking the back of it softly with a thumb.
Hopefully he didn’t ask about who did this. Hopefully...hopefully he wouldn’t remember...and she wouldn’t have to out his brother...while Zack hadn’t told her not to tell Malcolm...if she was asked a question directly by him…
There was no way she could lie to her most trusted teammate.
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:20 pm
Malcolm spent most of his time sleeping; it was for the best. His body needed to recover and it was easier to be asleep because it didn’t hurt. It had the additional benefit of letting him avoid his parents and all the questions that came from them, the doctors, the police they’d called…
If the first instance hadn’t been traumatic enough, trying not to get caught in a lie about a world they wouldn’t understand had been enough to leave him a mess.
He had been asleep since Cambria came in, but only about half an hour later he grunted in his sleep; it turned into an uncomfortable groan and he seemed like he was trying to roll and stretch before his eyes snapped open. He squinted almost immediately; the light was unpleasant but he seemed like he needed to do a quick of the room to get a grip of his bearings.
He shuddered and clenched the hand Cambria was holding into a fist before forcing it to relax.
Squeezing his eyes shut seemed to just cause him a bit of pain; he closed them almost immediately. It looked like he was trying to go back to sleep, but very carefully he managed to speak. “When can I go home?”
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:20 pm
“Hey Mal.” Cambria kept her voice soft. “The doctors said maybe tomorrow or the day after...most likely the day after at the rate you’re going...how are you feeling, buddy?”
Obviously he was feeling awful, she wasn’t quite sure why she even bothered to ask him. But...hey.
“You mom and dad are home getting some rest...but I figured I didn’t need rest, and I guess they figured it too, because they asked me to come and sit with you. I suppose I’m part of the family now, since they’ve included me on the list of family members who are attached to you, so I get to stay for all hours of the night...that’s kind of nice.”
She knew she was rambling, but she couldn’t stop. It wasn’t...she didn’t like the beeping of the different machines that he was hooked up to...she didn’t like hospitals at all, if she were being honest with herself.
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:21 pm
Malcolm grimaced. “…At the rate I’m going?” he repeated. “…Am I doing badly?”
He tried to lift his other arm but seemed to give up almost immediately when he registered pain from the movement. His breathing was careful and even; he’d made the mistake earlier of trying to take a deep breath and he felt like he was still reeling from the pain even now.
Still, he seemed to pick up something in her voice that made him worry. He pried his eyes open, just enough to make out her blurry form. “You don’t have to be here,” he said. He didn’t sound certain, but cautious.
He didn’t like it here. In his drug-ridden ramblings earlier he had complained about the noise, himself. He seemed particularly sensitive to the smell of everything. They’d brought in two vases of flowers and pressed them as close to the bed as they could to try and distract him from the smell of the hospital.
“…I mean, I’m happy you’re here, but…I don’t want you to miss out on rest. You did enough just getting me here. I don’t want to keep asking things of you.”
He didn’t want her to resent him; he didn’t want to be a burden on her. It was bad enough that he’d had to call her for help—he didn’t want her getting sick on top of everything else. He felt guilty, and it showed.
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:21 pm
“But I want to be here, Mal.” She leaned forward, pressing her lips lightly against his forehead. “You know how important you are to me. You and Zack and Evan are my world...and my world keeps crashing down around me...first it was Evan, then we fixed him, then Zack disappeared, and now that he’s back, you’re hurt. My three favorite boys can’t catch a break.”
Cambria took his hand again, going back to stroking the back of it and sighed. “I just wish...wish I could split myself into three to be with all of you. Like, seriously. You all need me at the same time...and there’s not enough of me to go around…”
There was a bitter edge to her voice...clearly she just felt that she wasn’t good enough, wasn’t doing enough...and it hurt thinking and feeling this way. “Evan doesn’t want to leave the house, which I fully understand, and fully support...but I just...wish I could have him here too, you know? I just...I’m so worried about him. He’s so jumpy. And with good reason…”
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:23 pm
It took a moment, but Malcolm nodded. “I understand. I don’t want to leave home for a while.”
His eyes closed and he relaxed a little more. “I don’t want you to split into three. I’m sorry,” he repeated.
He seemed like he was relaxed, but his heart rate picked up. If he’d had the energy, he might have glared at the machine next to him as it betrayed his feelings.
Malcolm cleared his throat and tried to speak quickly, hoping that getting it off his chest would calm him down. “I wanted to tell you. You should…should stay away from that General. The one with your youma friend. Evan,” he clarified weakly. He didn’t know much about Evan and hadn’t really been able to ask. “He—”
The machine beeped quicker and seemed to be straining him more; the faster it beeped, the more unnerved he seemed to get. “—It was him. Stay away from him, Cam, please. Please. He was—he was going to kill me, he said so. If you hadn’t—if you hadn’t shown up,” he faltered; he couldn’t say it. She must have known what he meant, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
He tried to calm himself but he hated the machine next to him and all its infernal noise.
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:24 pm
“Shhhh” Cambria swallowed hard and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “I’ve already taken care of it, Mal. Everything’s going to be fine. Soon, he’s not going to bother anyone anymore. I swear it.”
Honestly, she wasn’t sure what else to say. It was such an awkward topic now and...and while she wasn’t lying to Malcolm...it sure as heck felt like it in a way. “You don’t stress yourself out over this...the last thing I need is for you to give yourself a heart attack, Mal, seriously...if you don’t want to leave home for a while, that’s absolutely fine...or you could come over to our place and we can just...hermit ourselves inside for as long as it takes...I’d like that, I think. One massive cuddle pile with me and you and Evan...an...and Zack.”
Or whoever it was that Zack would be by then. The very thought made her almost sick to her stomach.
“Or, if you don’t want to, that’s fine as well, and I’ll just come by your place every day or so, no biggie. You know I love you, Mal. And I mean it. That General won’t ever hurt you again. He won’t ever hurt anyone ever again...I swear.”
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:24 pm
Malcolm’s brows furrowed at her words but after a few seconds his heartbeat seemed to relax.
“…I don’t think Zack wants me around. Mom says she hasn’t seen him.”
Not that he expected his brother to show up or anything; he didn’t know why he’d even thought of it. Zack probably would have just harassed him and given him a hard time about how bad he looked. Malcolm might not have looked in a mirror but considering how difficult it was to move his face, he could imagine what he must have looked like.
He drew in a slow half-breath and released it. Another. A third.
His lungs felt like they were perpetually empty so it was uncomfortable; talking was hard, but he couldn’t help but ask, “The General…what did you do?”
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:26 pm
“Zack wants you around. He came here right away after he managed to get his phone back on. He was here for a while.” Cambria sighed, stroking his hand once again. “He’s really worried about you, Mal. He really, really is. I swear. Just…I mean, I know he’s a jerk to you...but he really really does love you, I swear it...He…”
She sighed.
“The General...he...he’s purifying. I’m now looking for a way to get him out of chaos, like I got Evan out of it. He….I r-ran into him and he asked me to help, he said the chaos was taking over him and he ended up taking it out on you and he felt awful...so...that’s my new project. He’s my new project…”
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:26 pm
While Malcolm severely doubted that Zack loved him, or maybe really even cared, he didn’t argue. It was a nice thought, and one he certainly wanted to entertain.
Besides; he couldn’t really focus on Zack when she’d just dropped that bomb.
His heart skipped a beat and he once more cracked an eye to look at her. It was pointless; his vision seemed to swim every time he tried to see. Theoretically he just needed time and to rest his eyes, and he’d probably be back to normal in no time, but it was hard not break out of habit.
“Do you believe him?” he asked uncertainly; goosebumps prickled his skin. It didn’t seem like it was something she should be involved in. “I don’t trust him.” His voice was pleading, suddenly; he couldn’t imagine that Chaos alone could make a person that awful. “You shouldn’t, either. I don’t want you to get hurt, Cambria—I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you. I can’t imagine if I were in your shoes and you were in mine.”
He’d try to be strong, but she pulled it off so well. He didn’t know if he could do that, if he could even come close to that.
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:27 pm
Cambria reached out and stroked back some of Malcolm’s hair away from his face. “I do believe him...I...honestly, I believe him very much...I...I think something snapped in him when we helped Evan, and I think he lost control, but I think...I know that he wants to change. He…”
She paused, hesitating.
Did she really want to incriminate Zack like this? But...she had to tell someone...and Zack would be...would be gone soon and…
But Malcolm was still healing and was hurt and this might end up killing him. Literally. She really, really did not want to be the cause of his death because he found out his brother was in the Negaverse...but...but wouldn’t be for long.
“Mal, he showed me who he was. He’s serious about this. He’s serious about fixing all of the mistakes he’s made. And I’m going to help him.” Cambria felt as though her tone held five times the conviction that she actually felt...but perhaps that was a good thing.
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:28 pm
Instinctively, Malcolm had flinched when her hand came towards him. He decided the best thing to do was just keep his eyes closed and relax; Cambria wouldn’t hurt him. It was equally instinctive for him to think, he was quite certain that whatever had snapped in the General, the General had snapped in him. Between his ribs and arm, he was in near constant, aching pain.
“…You know who he is?” he asked, instead of anything else on his mind. “…Powered down?”
That felt like a trap. But…he trusted Cambria. He trusted that she knew what she was doing. She sounded like she knew, at least.
Curiosity still nagged at him, though. “What does he look like? Normal, right? …Like all those charismatic serial killers that look totally normal and so you just don’t think are capable of things like that?”
He didn’t know why he wanted to know.
Well. Yes, he did.
He wanted to know so he could stay safe. Powered, unpowered—it didn’t matter. Malcolm wanted to know who he could trust and who he needed to stay away from.
“…He’s not going to come here, is he? Did you tell him about me?” he asked softly, worriedly.
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:29 pm
“No.” The word was spoken quickly...almost too quickly. “He’s...he’s not going to come here...I…” Cambria sighed. “I mean...he’s already been here, if I’m going to be honest with you.”
She felt her stomach roll and sighed. “And I showed him who I was as well...so there’s a mutual level of trust going on...so…Mal, it’s Zack. Zack is Sanidine. And he’s going to purify and he won’t be Zack anymore.”
The words came out in a rush, and for a moment, Cambria thought she would pass out. Her heart was pounding and she felt uncomfortably hot all of the sudden. She should have kept her mouth shut. He didn’t need to know...but...someone had to.
He was going to lose his brother…
...A brother that almost killed him…
God, how would she ever tell Evan…
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:29 pm
For a long moment, Malcolm was quiet. The machine next to him said his heart was beating regularly. It almost seemed like he hadn’t heard—and then he mumbled, “That’s not funny.”
Except, as soon as he spoke, his heart suddenly started pounding. It was as loud in his ears as it was on the machine.
Her words were louder than either, though.
On one hand, it made perfect sense. Zack was an a*****e. Sanidine was an a*****e. On the other hand, Zack’s pranks had been mostly harmless. He had roughhoused some, and sometimes been unnecessarily cruel, but Malcolm had never feared for his life.
Zack had never tried to kill him.
And then, something clicked.
“Evan.”
Wow.
Evan, as in, the boy that had been hanging over Zack in high school. The one he kept at home. The one living with him, that Cambria knew.
If he’d just stopped and thought about it, maybe he could have figured it out on his own. The timeline made sense. He felt stupid, and reached his hand a little closer to Cambria. Specifically, he was working hard to give her easy access to the pulse-monitoring clip on his finger. When his heart was fine, the machine didn’t beep. When he was freaking out, it beeped a lot. He just wanted it to shut up.
“Take this off of me, put it on you. The nurse is going to come in here. I’m not having a heart attack, I just. I just need to think for a minute. Please.”.
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