Retrograde

Impatient footsteps fill the silent room, the girl frowning with her arms crossed as she peeked at the unconscious form on the hospital bed. Beside her, a boy whacked said girl and she squeaked, turning to glare at him with an irritated look in her blue eyes. Sitting further away, an older man could only pinch his temples. He didn’t want all those blasted children (three of them, at least) with him as they waited for her to awake. He could have taken Linda and only Linda, but the other two insisted on going – friends of her, at least. About to protest, Roger Ruvie was only silenced as Wammy allowed the three to go.

As the three children began to argue, the older man glowered and raised his voice, rebuking them harshly. The boy and girl huffed, turning away, and the other boy could only sigh as he looked at the small figure in the hospital bed, not making any sign of movement. Once a few minutes had passed, he got up from his chair and spoke.

“When will H wake up?”

“We don’t know.” The boy turned to the small girl once more, his gaze not really leaving her. The girl named Linda eventually looked as well, eyes turning from irritated to worried. She reached out and gently took the girl’s small hand into her own, murmuring her hopes that her friend would wake up soon. The other boy merely hung back, only watching as the girl hoped and the boy watched. He as well spoke up.

“Why’d you come here anyway? Linda’s her friend and I’m a friend of Linda…do you even know her?” he asked the boy, who folded his arms over his chest. He hesitated slightly but eventually replied.

“I’m more familiar with her than anyone else in the orphanage.”

The other decided not to press and watched as the older boy sat back down, took out a console from his pocket, and started playing, just like he always did whenever they were in the orphanage. Linda pulled her chair closer to the hospital bed, sighing and still holding her friend’s hand as they waited for her to wake up.

“Mr. Roger, isn’t there supposed to be a doctor over here?”

“That’s what we’re also waiting for, Linda.”

“I hope she wakes up.” Linda threw a glance at a small easel she had brought along. “I made her a picture – roses, see, her favorite flower.”

“Roses?”

“Yeah…” she smiled a bit, proud to be the holder of that small piece of information as if it was the key to save the world. “Red roses. She was always a romantic at heart, especially when she bonked A on the head for giving her Romeo and Juliet –” at that, she stopped, eyes widening as she realized what she had just said. The boy on his game shifted awkwardly and the other coughed. Roger made no such noise or movement.

“…we could have gone without knowing that,” he muttered. Linda stuck her tongue out.

“You be quiet, Gavin!”

“Alright, alright. Touchy.” Gavin looked at Roger. “I’ll look for that doctor. Linda might wring my neck if I stay here for a while longer.” With that, he left, leaving Roger, Linda, and the boy who yet continued to play on his game.

With nothing else to do, Linda turned to the boy, letting go of H’s hand.

“So, how do you know her?”

He didn’t flinch. “We met each other at A’s funeral. Talked for a bit and then I had to go back inside.”

Being the snoop she was, fourteen-year-old Linda St. Matthews pressed for more information. “Does she know?”

He frowned a little, cussing when he was attacked in his game. “Know what?”

“You and Mello, of course!” a wicked grin came to the girl’s face. “It’s all over the orphanage, isn’t it? You and your little blonde everywhere. I’m surprised he didn’t protest at you coming here!” the boy only shrugged.

“Eh, he’ll live. He’s got things of his own.”

“Oh, I bet he does…” she peeked back at H, who still showed no sign of waking up. “So spill it, goggle-face. Do you like her or not?”

Now this caught his attention. He paused, looked up, and stared at her.

“Like her? ‘Course I do, she’s sweet.” A small smirk played on the female’s features, she shaking her head.

“No, no…do you like her more than you usually like people? Like her more than those games – more than Mello?”

The gamer was thankful he could keep his cool.

“You’re ridiculous. Why do you even bother?”

She merely shrugged, leaning back on the chair. “Just asking. Because you never really know what can happen in the future, Matt.” With that, she turned back to her friend, holding her hand once more. Matt could only lift a brow, shake his head in disbelief, and look back at his game. Not that it was possible to continue with all those thoughts swimming in his mind. Sneaking a glance at her, he could only sigh to himself at the sight of her bandaged head and closed eyes that hid those green eyes.

He was about to speak when Gavin came back in with a doctor, he greeting Roger and reporting H’s condition. At that, he didn’t bother to listen and got up, taking his jacket from the chair. Turning off his game and tucking it back into his pocket, he merely left the hospital room, planning to go back to Wammy’s and plot things with Mello. No one in the room noticed as he went off, and he didn’t hear the sound of a low groan from her as her eyes slowly opened.

Linda squealed.

“You’re awake!” she sang, hugging H tightly. The other girl stiffened at the sight, shocked at the overwhelming sensations. At that, Gavin told Linda to get off and Roger greeted her, the doctor inspecting her closely.

But all of that seemed to fade away as she asked why she was in the hospital. Linda blinked, telling her the events that had happened days ago. H frowned, glancing around her and saying that it was ridiculous – she recalled merely being in her room and studying. With a slightly horrified look, Linda turned to the doctor, who asked for them all to move out for ten minutes.

The ten minutes were long and dragging, and that was when they realized that Matt was gone. Roger reassured them that the orphanage was only a short walk back, and that he would eventually reach it without difficulty. Finally, they were called back in and were told that she would have to stay for a while longer.

Soon after, they left. The two demanded to know what was going on with her, but Roger kept his lips firmly shut.

Back in the hospital, H could only feel anxiety as a few doctors met up outside her room. She couldn’t hear them and didn’t want to – if she did, then she would have caught the words that described her current condition.

“It’s post-traumatic, Dr. Watson. I’m guessing retrograde.”