I watched my brother pace back and forth in his office while I calmly sat on his chair, pretending to be unperturbed by his rising anger. His veins were nearly pooping by the time he turned to look at me. I had been patiently waiting for him to calm down, but not for him to address me. I stood up, making sure to topple the chair over in the process. Although not my initial intention, I couldn't help but the grin that took over my face as the glass table behind the chair shattered on impact, sending the chair down.
My brother, distracted by his shattered possessions, did not have enough time to react to my ill-intentioned presence. Our eyes came into contact just as my knee drove into his stomach, and a second later, I was rewarded with a contorted face as he fell to the floor, balling up in pain. I picked up the bag that had dropped to the floor, making sure to knock the vase on his table to the floor.
"Have you checked up on your friends? I am not even close to them, but I have taken the time to visit them. What does that say about you?"
He paused his groaning at the mention of his friends. He looked up a my smug face and must have seen the truth in full display. His previously contorted face fell, and I saw something akin to terror take over his now pale face. I had seen various expressions on my brother's face over the years, yet I had never seen the expression that was etched on his face as my words slowly sank in.
"W…w…why would you go and see them in the hospital? How do you even know where they are? This… this… was you, wasn't it?"
I held my bag against my body so it wouldn't fall and stooped to the floor so that he could hear me.
"I honestly don't know what you are talking about. What could I have possibly done to those sweet boys that would make them lose their minds like that? It is not as if they have ever harmed me before." I stood up and made my way to the door.
I paused at the threshold, waiting until he looked at me. " Dearest brother, you know what they say about Karma, it will be your turn soon."
I slammed the door behind me, making sure to throw a wide smile at the secretary who was once again behind the desk. She gave me a weary smile in return before quickly ducking her head down, pretending to be busy with something. I thought about warning her about my brother, but I doubt she would take the words of a stranger who had once caught her in a compromising situation and had been nothing but rude to her. I walked to my car, grateful that my interactions for the day were over. I drove back home in record time, wanting nothing more than to have a long, hot shower and rest in my bed. Mercy was waiting for me by the garage door when I finally made it home.
I parked the car carefully, not to knock down the irritated woman who stood at the end of the space where the hood of the car would have been. After turning off the engine, I stayed in the car, not eager to deal with whatever it was that had Mercy waiting for me to come back home. Before I could even collect myself, Sunshine burst into the room, Anger distorting her features, and although I had been dreaming of coming back home, I fought the urge to simply ease out of the garage and drive away. Sunshine waited impatiently at the door, hand on her hips, while her left foot tapped against the tiled floor. Mercy stood with her stoic face unreadable except for her irritation, which lined her silhouette.
After taking several deep breaths, I opened the car door, and Mercy was on me before my two feet were out the door. She let out a huff, and I swear, smoke spilled into the space between us, warming the very atmosphere with her anger. Sunshine shoes heralded her presence as she made her way to us, standing on the opposite side of Mercy. I fought the urge to duck back into my car again.
"So, how are we all doing?" I asked and signed at the same time.
Sunshine began signing in a flurry of gestures that I could not decipher, and did not get the chance to as Mercy twisted my body, forcing me to face her, efficiently cutting off Sunshine. She picked the bridge of her nose with her other hand, massaging her temple.
"What is her deal? I have been putting up with her rude stares all day. She threw a pan at me! A pan! I could have died."
I turned to Sunshine, whose face was now blank, which seemed scarier than her angry face.
"What happened?" I signed
"I don't like her staying here, she is constantly in the way and doesn't understand signs, so there is no way for us to communicate. I tried using rudimentary gestures that even children would understand, but she goes out of her way to dismiss me."
I did not need to ask Mercy to know she was probably ignoring Sunshine. There had been a tangible tension in the air between these two for reasons that eluded me. They were pretty similar in personality and surprisingly shared many common interests. Taking either side would only create more problems. I knew Mercy well enough to know she was craving out her space in my home, and I was positive sunshine would see it as an intrusion. I had the benefit of having a previous relationship with Mercy, so I was used to the way she did things; Sunshine did not have that benefit. Part of the reason why sunshine and I got along was our introverted nature, Mercy was not. It would take time before they were used to each other. In the meantime, I quickly ducked and sprinted for the door, not pausing until I was safely locked behind my bedroom door. Call me old-fashioned, but I believed in taking a long shower before full-blown drama.
I opted to have a long soak in the bathtub instead of a long shower. I figured if I stayed locked in my room long enough, my problems would solve themselves. Sunshine was notorious for giving in to me, and Mercy, despite her defiant attitude, actually hated being at odds with people she cared about. They would probably not get along, but would compromise to pretend, at least that is what I hoped would happen.
After throwing words and possibly a few jabs at my handler for sending my baby to such an unpredictable location, I went back to the room where she was receiving her treatment. She was still out cold, even in oblivion, there were signs of discomfort etched on her face in furrows of her face and the sweat that gently slid across her face. A nurse came in carrying an array of bottles and needles.
"Don't worry too much, she is not in any life-threatening danger, but she is in shock, which is not uncommon given that not only did she fracture her ankle, but she was forced to run on it for a while."
A pang of guilt rose from the pits of my stomach and settled in my throat, making it hard to swallow. I felt bad for hurting her, but it was either a fractured ankle or a bullet to the head. I know which I would choose each time, but I still felt terrible because she was suffering. The nurse gave her an injection and hooked an IV bag before walking out, closing the door behind her. I climbed into bed carefully, not to move her too much. As carefully as possible, I positioned my arm under her head, inching as close as I could. The adrenaline and exhaustion from the day finally caught up to me, dragging me into slumber in seconds.
I woke up to gentle patting on my cheeks, opened my eyes, and was rewarded with the most beautiful eyes looking up at me. She smiled at me, the smile morphing into a wince when I slightly moved.
"I am so sorry, baby, I didn't mean to hurt you again. I called out, trying my best to remain dead still."
She adjusted her position, wincing as the movement brought her pain. "Don't worry, baby, the alternative is dead, so you won't catch me saying anything other than thank you. Thank you for saving both of us. I love you."
Without considering the implication, I scooped her into my arms, causing her to wince out loud in response. Realising my error, I tried to set her down, but she clung to me like a baby. Before either of us could say anything, the nurse came back in holding a tray similar to the one she had last night. She set it down on the table before picking up a needle. It was then that I noticed the huge bruise on the left side of her face. A mark that had not been there before, and she was not a field agent, so there was no way she got in the line of duty.
"Who did that to you?" I asked
She fidgeted, avoiding the question altogether. She went about her business, mixing solutions before injecting whatever it was into my baby. She set up an IV drip before attempting to pick up her tray. The tray fell to the floor just as my baby's hands closed over my wrist. The gentle gesture that was aimed at stopping her ended up hurting her. I was up and out of bed in seconds, lifting the sleeve of her top.
There was nothing I hated more than people who took advantage of the weak, and the nurse who was now whimpering, trying to lift my fingers from her wrist, was nothing more than a gentle and nurturing soul. It should also be noted that I had never interacted with this woman on a personal level, but I could not overlook the fact that she needed help. In my line of work, well above average strength and combat skills were part of the job description. While these attributes made us fierce protectors, we could also be someone's worst nightmare. What could a girl like that do to someone like me? She stood no chance.
As soon as I let go of her arm, she tried to bolt, but I was much faster and made it to the door before she did. Her eyes shot in their sockets, tears welling up instantly. The girl was terrified, and I wanted nothing more than to pull her into my arms and comfort so that is what I did. Her body stiffened in my arms, but slowly melted the longer I held onto her. My baby threw a thumbs-up from the bed before gesturing towards the bed. I led the sobbing girl….
Banging at my door pulled me back to reality. The tub water was barely lukewarm now, and my skin was pruned. I pulled up my phone to look at the time and was mildly surprised that three hours had passed.