Post by meghanlee on Aug 22, 2006 21:40:13 GMT -5
"ROSALINE!"
"Mom... mom... mom you have to calm down"
"ROSALINE! Baby, get up!"
"Mom, you have to phone them, mom, PHONE!"
"Michael, I know! God. I know!"
"Ros... Ros... come on, you need to wake up"
The steady beep of a heart monitor kept silence from filling the room, not fully at least. Sounds in the hall, chatter from the nurses desk, that constant hum of equipment and of course, that steady beat of a heart monitor that kept Natalie certain her daughter was still alive. Still clinging to some version of life beyond the injuries, beyond the internal bleeding and damage inflicted. It was that steady beep that kept her sane. Kept her from bransishing a gun or sword, or even her fists and taking out anyone who even looked at her kid funny. She felt odd comfort in knowing the bastard was dead in her kitchen, but less when she remembered by whose hand. Her son. Her son carried a gun. Took it out and put a bullet in a man's chest.
Her son was becoming her.
Natalie, Michael and Rosaline walked into the house, the two R. women laughing about some joke while Michael made some snide, sarcastic remark about their intelligence. Natalie smacked her son playfully across the chest and gave him a look, "just because you're too serious to find things funny anymore doesn't give you any right to make fun of those who do."
Rosaline giggled and pointed a finger at him, "ohhhh, you got told"
Michael laughed and pulled at her finger, "shut it," laughs.
The trio walked into the kitchen, Rosaline and Michael laughing a bit still but stopped dead when they felt their mother's arm stopping them. The pair let their eyes fall where their mom's had snapped. A japanese man sitting calmly at the table, a gun in front of him.
"What do you want?" There was a stillness that creeped into Natalie's voice, a deadness that scared her children standing there behind her. Michael's eyes were locked on the man, calculating how far away his gun was, the way he sat, how fast he could take it. His own hand twitched slightly, thinking of the gun he himself now carried tucked behind his blazer jacket in the waist of his jeans.
"Natalie, dear, you have a debt to pay," the man said, he reached into his suit jacket pocket and pulled out a cigarette to light. He let his eyes fall to the girl at Natalie's side. The daughter. The orphan girl. The man smirked at Rosaline as his stare seemed to make her uncomfortable. He took a drag and looked away as the girl grabbed her mom's hand. Cute. Touching, really.
"I'm out, you know that, you all know that," Natalie spoke, her voice that errie calm as she squeezed Rosaline's hand lightly, hoping for the girl to stay calm. They all just needed to stay calm.
The man suddenly jumped up, taking his gun in hand he rushed towards Natalie and pushed her by the neck up against the doorframe, effectivly breaking her grip with Rosaline. "But you'll let that corrupt do good M I fucking 7 run your life? Do their dirty work for the rest of your fucking life?" He let his face press close to Natalie's eyes blazing and his hand with the gun flailing around.
Michael, acting quickly, perhaps too quickly, pulled his own gun and let a shot go into the man's chest. The split second shock of hearing a gun go caused the man to squeeze the trigger of his a little to hard and a second shot rang out through the house.
Natalie was dropped, landing unceremonisly ontop of the japanese man. Michael would have rushed to her side to help but was frozen seeing Rosaline fall as well, blood pouring from a shot in her stomach. He let the gun clatter to the ground.
"Michael.... Michael, what did you do?" Natalie all but whispered seeing Rosaline pale and bleeding on the floor.
"The next fourty eight hours are crucial, there was damage to her kidneys, internal bleeding, the surgery has fixed most of it, it's up to her now..."
The doctors words were barely heard. Natalie had been angry, thrown words at her son that she didn't mean. Thrown blame on the poor boy when really it was her fault. It would always be her fault. How silly she had been to think she could outrun her past. No one could. How silly she had been to think this little family wouldn't pay for her sins.
She wiped at tears that fell. Her guilt racked her, made her sick to her stomach, but that didn't matter now. Her guilt would wait, wait for when her daughter woke up. Nothing mattered now but the steady beep. The steady beep that meant her daughter was alive. Natalie would live now from beep to beep.
"Mom... mom... mom you have to calm down"
"ROSALINE! Baby, get up!"
"Mom, you have to phone them, mom, PHONE!"
"Michael, I know! God. I know!"
"Ros... Ros... come on, you need to wake up"
The steady beep of a heart monitor kept silence from filling the room, not fully at least. Sounds in the hall, chatter from the nurses desk, that constant hum of equipment and of course, that steady beat of a heart monitor that kept Natalie certain her daughter was still alive. Still clinging to some version of life beyond the injuries, beyond the internal bleeding and damage inflicted. It was that steady beep that kept her sane. Kept her from bransishing a gun or sword, or even her fists and taking out anyone who even looked at her kid funny. She felt odd comfort in knowing the bastard was dead in her kitchen, but less when she remembered by whose hand. Her son. Her son carried a gun. Took it out and put a bullet in a man's chest.
Her son was becoming her.
Natalie, Michael and Rosaline walked into the house, the two R. women laughing about some joke while Michael made some snide, sarcastic remark about their intelligence. Natalie smacked her son playfully across the chest and gave him a look, "just because you're too serious to find things funny anymore doesn't give you any right to make fun of those who do."
Rosaline giggled and pointed a finger at him, "ohhhh, you got told"
Michael laughed and pulled at her finger, "shut it," laughs.
The trio walked into the kitchen, Rosaline and Michael laughing a bit still but stopped dead when they felt their mother's arm stopping them. The pair let their eyes fall where their mom's had snapped. A japanese man sitting calmly at the table, a gun in front of him.
"What do you want?" There was a stillness that creeped into Natalie's voice, a deadness that scared her children standing there behind her. Michael's eyes were locked on the man, calculating how far away his gun was, the way he sat, how fast he could take it. His own hand twitched slightly, thinking of the gun he himself now carried tucked behind his blazer jacket in the waist of his jeans.
"Natalie, dear, you have a debt to pay," the man said, he reached into his suit jacket pocket and pulled out a cigarette to light. He let his eyes fall to the girl at Natalie's side. The daughter. The orphan girl. The man smirked at Rosaline as his stare seemed to make her uncomfortable. He took a drag and looked away as the girl grabbed her mom's hand. Cute. Touching, really.
"I'm out, you know that, you all know that," Natalie spoke, her voice that errie calm as she squeezed Rosaline's hand lightly, hoping for the girl to stay calm. They all just needed to stay calm.
The man suddenly jumped up, taking his gun in hand he rushed towards Natalie and pushed her by the neck up against the doorframe, effectivly breaking her grip with Rosaline. "But you'll let that corrupt do good M I fucking 7 run your life? Do their dirty work for the rest of your fucking life?" He let his face press close to Natalie's eyes blazing and his hand with the gun flailing around.
Michael, acting quickly, perhaps too quickly, pulled his own gun and let a shot go into the man's chest. The split second shock of hearing a gun go caused the man to squeeze the trigger of his a little to hard and a second shot rang out through the house.
Natalie was dropped, landing unceremonisly ontop of the japanese man. Michael would have rushed to her side to help but was frozen seeing Rosaline fall as well, blood pouring from a shot in her stomach. He let the gun clatter to the ground.
"Michael.... Michael, what did you do?" Natalie all but whispered seeing Rosaline pale and bleeding on the floor.
"The next fourty eight hours are crucial, there was damage to her kidneys, internal bleeding, the surgery has fixed most of it, it's up to her now..."
The doctors words were barely heard. Natalie had been angry, thrown words at her son that she didn't mean. Thrown blame on the poor boy when really it was her fault. It would always be her fault. How silly she had been to think she could outrun her past. No one could. How silly she had been to think this little family wouldn't pay for her sins.
She wiped at tears that fell. Her guilt racked her, made her sick to her stomach, but that didn't matter now. Her guilt would wait, wait for when her daughter woke up. Nothing mattered now but the steady beep. The steady beep that meant her daughter was alive. Natalie would live now from beep to beep.