Brief Mention Of Needles - Blog Posts

Taken (Part 2/5)

Sorry if Ren is ooc, the characters and above image belong to @14dayswithyou

Summary: Angel deals with the aftermath of their realization

2.4k words

14 Days With You is an 18+ Yandere Visual Novel. MINORS DNI

*Beep*               *Beep*                *Beep*                *Beep*                *Beep*

The incessant noise slowly slipped into my dreams, leading me back to a state of consciousness against my will. My eyes slowly open to greet the world after a few minutes of lying in denial. I look around, taking in the sterile white surroundings before turning my attention to the thin sheet covering my paper hospital gown. Great. This is all I get for modesty? I shift, trying to regain feeling in my limbs.

I instantly regret this as shooting pain runs across my hip and I recall the events of… whenever it was now. I notice a blood transfusion bag to my side and reluctantly follow the tube down to where a needle digs into the inside of my elbow. I laugh at the thought of acting like a main character: ripping it out and staggering down the halls of the hospital, but I don’t.

My noise must’ve alerted a nurse as one immediately pops into my room to check my vitals, explaining the medical and paperwork situation afterwards. Luckily, I didn’t have to stay for long since the slash didn’t hit any vital organs or arteries, and it was already stitched and bandaged. I have my phone and clothes returned to me, as is policy.

Right before the nurse left, he asked a question I wasn’t prepared for, “Is there anyone you would like to contact? You can use the hospital phone as yours is dead.”

I pause, my mind flashing to Ren, and then back to the figure in the alleyway. I didn’t want to face him yet, but I didn’t have any other family that I wanted knowing about my vulnerable state.

I shake my head, but then another thought pops in my head, a conversation I had a long time ago, and I stop the nurse, “Wait, actually…”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I slightly regret my decision as an out-of-breath Conan is let into my room, “Sorry I took so long, the babysitter took longer than expected to arrive.”

I sigh, “Conan… I told you that you didn’t have to come, I just figured someone should know what happened.”

He settles in a nearby chair, “Nonsense, that’s exactly why I gave you my number, I wouldn’t just leave you alone. I’m sure you went through an incredibly harrowing experience... Do you want to tell me about it?”

I subconsciously gnaw on my lip, unsure of how much I wanted to tell my boss. But with Ren no longer an option, and after my falling out with Leon, I don’t really have any better choice. And I realize I do want to tell someone, whether to be reassured or just to get it off my chest, I wasn’t sure. So I told him everything, from me going to a bar with Jae and Teo, losing track of them, realizing my phone was dead, getting hit on, trying to escape, then everything that happened in the alley. Everything except for my suspicions of the second person’s identity.

After I finished, Conan shakes his head, “That’s absolutely horrific, I can only imagine how you felt, I’m so sorry you had to experience that.”

I shrug and say in a funny accent, “It is what it is.”

Conan seems thrown, “…Was that a meme?”

I grimace, “Yeah, sorry. If you don’t laugh you’ll cry.”

I laugh at Conan’s bemused face and repeat, “Sorry.”

He shakes his head, “It’s alright, I just don’t quite understand.”

I chuckle again, “Yeah, I know, thank you for letting me rant though.”

He nods, “Of course. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

I shrug, “I don’t think so, you’ve done plenty already... Actually, if I ordered us some food, would you be willing to bring it up for me?”

Conan replies, “Oh you don’t need to get me anything, but I can definitely pick something up for you.”

I shake my head, “No, you’re here, I’m gonna get you lunch. What do you want?”

After much prodding I get him to cave and choose a sandwich place to get lunch from, so I order our food plus a cookie for Alice. We chat in the meantime, which was honestly so helpful. I never had much opportunity to talk to him casually, and seeing him light up when he talked about Alice or the library was so heartwarming. I can’t help but wonder how different my life could have been if he was my father instead…

Later, we get our food and eat together, a strangely average thing to do after something so dramatic happened to me just last night. I really do appreciate him coming to bring a sense of normalcy to the situation, and comfort during my mental turmoil. But eventually the time comes for him to leave.

He stands, grabbing the trash from our meal and throwing it out before picking up his bag and heading to the door.

I call after him, “Tell Alice I said hello!”

He nods, and then startles, “Oh I almost forgot my charger, is your phone fully charged yet?”

My eyes widen and dart to the phone on the table next to my bed, “What?” Sure enough, I see my phone plugged into the wall, to my horror.

Conan questions, “Are you alright? I brought a charger since you had said it was dead, I plugged it in when I got here, sorry I should have checked with you.”

I force a smile and shake my head, “Oh no worries, it’s alright, thanks Conan.”

I return his charger before he heads out. I now am left alone, staring at the dark screen of my phone with dread overwhelming me in waves. I turn it on, watching the developer logos flash through before I unlock it. As I suspected, I had 38 unread messages from Ren and 14 missed calls.

I expand the notification bar and scroll through the message previews.

“>///< I don’t mean to bother you, but you’v…”

“^^; Are you okay? You haven’t responded i…”

“Angel, I’m starting to get worried, where di…”

“Angel please respond, I’m getting scared :(”

I sigh, turning my phone off again and trying to figure out what to do. If that really was him last night, what else did I not know about him? Is that not the first person he’s killed? What would he do to me if he knew that I knew? But maybe I’m overreacting and it wasn’t him, I mean, there must be more than one 6’5” pale pink-haired man with a ring that size in Corland Bay, right? And his eyes were different. Different color, but same adoring gaze. A far cry from the cold, twisted expression he held when he killed that man.

I shake my head, clearing it, I’ll make that a tomorrow me problem.

A nurse knocks on my door before opening it and sticking her head inside, “Hello! Sorry to bother you, there’s a… man, requesting to see you? Ren? Would you like us to let him in?”

I shake my head vehemently, “No! Please, sorry, I’d really rather not.”

She reassures me, “No worries, hun, we’ll make sure you don’t have to see anyone you don’t want to. Everyone needs explicit permission to be brought in.”

I give her a weak smile, “Thank you…”

She nods and leaves me to my own devices again. I open duolingo, making sure I keep my streak before opening random games on my phone and trying to play to pass the time, but Ren’s incessant messages and calls make it almost impossible. So I put it down and let my thoughts take over as I stare at the ceiling, only interrupted by a few check-ins and changing of bandages.

Finally, I had my last check-in for the night at 10pm, at which point I tried to go to sleep. But only five minutes after the nurse had left, the door slides open. I assume they had forgotten something and returned, but instead a tall man with pink hair walks in.

I shoot upright in the bed, straining my stitches and causing pain to flare up my side. I lay back down with a groan as Ren rushes to my side, “Angel! Are you okay? You weren’t answering my calls, I- I didn’t know what to do. I saw it on the news and had to call all of the hospitals in the area to find out where you were. I- Why- why didn’t you tell me?” He’s near tears as he sits as close as he possibly can to the bed, clinging onto my hand desperately.

I can’t help but feel bad, how could I possibly assume this sweet human is the same as the murderer last night? But the similarities never leave my mind, nor does the shaking in my hands as I avoid his inquiring gaze.

I open and close my mouth, struggling to find an explanation for my behavior other than the truth. Eventually, I say, “I- I’m sorry Ren, I didn’t want you to worry.”

His eyebrows furrow incredulously, “You didn’t want me to worry?! Angel, what do you think I’ve been doing since you left?”

I respond in almost a whisper, “Sorry, I… didn’t want you to see me like this. I knew you would come if I told you about it. But- how did you even get in? The nurse didn’t tell me you were coming.” I finally meet his eyes, carefully keeping the challenge out of my gaze, but wanting to see his reaction.

He blinks, “I asked for you by name since I didn’t know the room number, the receptionist told me where to go.”

I press on, “But the nurse said I would have to give permission to the staff if someone came?”

Ren scratches at his jaw uncomfortably, “A- Ah, well I was kinda panicking when I came in, I guess she figured it would be okay since I clearly already knew you.”

I look down again, “Oh… well… thanks for checking in on me. I’ll be fine, really. They said they could probably discharge me by tomorrow morning, just some routine checks to make sure I’m alright for now. Conan already… he said I didn’t have to come in on Monday.” I mentally slap myself, why would I tell him that I was free? At least I covered up that Conan had actually given me a week off and said I could take as much time as I needed as long as I let him know in advance.

Ren recoils, “Only Monday?! Is he insane!? You- you just got stabbed!”

I regret saying anything and try to steer the conversation away, “Yeah, I uh, I can talk to him later, I’m sure he could give me more time. But anyway, have you eaten dinner yet?”

Ren picks at his sleeve, “Yeah, sure, I got something on the way here.”

I squint, not believing him, but not wanting to address it, “Aren’t visitation hours over?”

He pouts at me, tears welling in his eyes again, “Do- do you not want me here Angel? I’m sorry, did I do something wrong? I should have been there last night, I’m sorry.”

I shake my head, feeling guilt well up, “No, no, that’s not it I just- I’m sorry, you didn’t do anything wrong, don’t cry please.” I recover my senses, wait no- this is what he wants, he keeps deflecting.

Ren buries his face in my stomach, carefully wrapping his arms around my torso with his shoulders still shaking, “I’m sorry, I- I was just so- so worried.”

I pat his head, “It’s alright Ren, I’m fine, I promise. You should go now, I’ll see you tomorrow when I’m discharged okay?”

He looks up at me, “When you’re discharged? How will that- how much will that cost? I’ll pay however much, just tell me!”

I shake my head uncomfortably, “No, that’s okay Ren, I can afford it, it’s not that much, especially with insurance.” Another lie, the total came out to around $14,000, though with insurance I only had to cover around $2,000 (most of which was those damn ambulance fees). Still far more than I could easily afford, but I don’t want to be financially dependent on Ren, especially now.

He tilts his head, “Are you sure? It won’t be any problem, I swear! Here, let me just send you the money right now.”

He pulls out his phone to do just that, but I put a hand over it, “No, Ren, I’m serious, it’s fine. Go home, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He looks at me like a kicked puppy - it really wasn’t fair how cute he was given my suspicions - “Angel… why are you trying to send me away? I’ll do anything to make it up to you, really! Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it. I’ll pay the bill, I can pay for everything, you could quit your job if you wanted to! I can get you food, or get my laptop and we could watch movies? Please, anything, I swear.”

I hold his face, pulling it closer to my own, “Ren. The best thing you can do right now is go home. Rest up, and I’ll let you know what to do tomorrow, okay?” I try desperately to keep my voice even as I look into his eyes, seeing exactly what I feared.

He leans into my touch, still looking at me with watery eyes, “…Are you sure?”

I nod, forcing a smile, “I’m sure. 愛してるよ .” (extremely dramatic form of 'I love you,' usually only used in fiction)

Ren’s face immediately flushes red and his eyes widen, almost sparkling, before falling into a bemused expression, “That was really pretty. Japanese, right? What did that mean?”

I shake my head, smiling, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He hesitantly accepts, heading to the doorway while looking at me, “Alright, call me if anything happens?”

I nod, but he insists, “Promise?”

I look away, crossing my fingers under the blanket like a guilty child, “Promise.”

Once he leaves, I drop my head into my hands. Fuck. It really was him.

He had understood what I said, though he hid it well. But what really sealed my resolve was when I looked closely at his eyes. He was wearing light blue contacts, with concealer caked over eyebags.

How had I never noticed before? I was usually so aware of eye color. The more I thought about it the more certain I was. All of the little things at the beginning of the relationship that didn’t line up. His inconsistent personality, how he seemed to know things before I ever told him, even how he got into my room. But I didn’t have time to bemoan my ignorance, I had to make a plan. After all, I only had until tomorrow morning.