Eyes wandered to the towering gentleman as he entered and walked to the front desk. Leo stood for some moments in polite silence, his hands resting on the counter.
The brown-haired woman behind the desk held a scowl and a tangible annoyance around herself as she scribbled through documents.
"If you've scheduled an appointment your doctor will be with you in due time," she said with exasperation in her voice.
Leo cleared his throat before speaking, "I'm here to visit Maria."
The young lady nearly jumped as she halted her pencil and looked up, continuing after an awkward silence, "Oh, Leo... you can go ahead. She should still be awake."
He nodded and continued down the hall, counting the names printed outside the doors until finding hers. Maria Morwyn.
He knocked the door a few times before slowly opening it, peering in. Leo walked in and around a white sheet that hung between the door and the bed.
The moon shone through the window and onto her. The petite frame of the black haired girl glowed in a blue hue. Her small, frail hands held a book as she flipped through the pages. Her amber eyes scanned the pages before she gazed up, her head following after.
A strange mix of emotions lied on her face at seeing him. Surprise, concern, joy, but mostly… relief. Her eyes softened as she let the book slip from her grip. She leaned on an arm to try and get out of bed but groaned in pain at this attempt.
Leo rushed over and pulled her back onto the bed with an arm.
"Take it easy, take it easy. You know you can't do that just yet."
Her brows furrowed in disappointment as she let herself fall back down into the sheets, turning her head away. A silence fell on them for moments.
Breaking this silence, Leo continued, "Aren't you excited to start physical therapy? Doctor says we can start in a few… weeks."
The words left his mouth like razors. He hadn't really thought out the sentence before speaking, only now aware of how poor the situation was.
He sat there for a while as no response came from her. His eyes dragged from her to the stack of books along the windowsill.
When his savings allowed for it, he'd buy her a heap of books every week. Unfortunately, his budget was tightening. He looked down as he understood he wouldn't be able to replace this pile.
It seems she had already gone through her last batch he got for her, which shouldn't have been possible if the nurses were taking her out as much as they were supposed to.
Leo thought about the implications for a moment, determining whether this meant her condition was worsening or she was being neglected. He brushed off the troubling question and turned back up to Maria with a forced smile.
"How about we go to the library this weekend?" he said nervously, waiting for her response.
After a pause, she muttered, "You'll have work."
Leo looked back down. She knew he had been lying to her about having the weekends off. She saw straight through it and likely knew just how much he had been really working.
He tried his best to push down that feeling of guilt, regaining his confidence before testifying, "I'll make time, I promise."
Her eyes dragged to him for a moment before retracting back to the window.
"Liar," she murmured.
Leo had always been exceptionally stoic in appearance, capable of hiding his more troubling emotions behind a fortress of isolation.
But that word had somehow managed through the cracks, striking his deeper, softer parts.
It hurt. It hurt more than anything had in quite some time… But what exactly did it hit? Was it his pride as a father? His ego? The idea that he was losing her trust?
And yet… despite the pain, it felt almost sweet. A reminder that he was truly there. That maybe—just maybe—he let his walls down for a moment.
He put a scar-ridden hand on her knee, gently squeezing it a few times before softly saying, "Goodnight, Maria."
Moments of silence later, he rose, leaving the room and closing the door behind himself quietly.
Time had passed as he left the hospital. Walking down the now quieter, emptier streets of Central Augustine, he found himself at the train station. His eyes went to a nearby street clock; reading one in the morning.
It would take him at least over half an hour to get home if the train happened to come by within the next while. In that case, he'd at least get two hours of sleep.
He swung the apartment door open, throwing his coat on the hanger and dragging himself to the bed. He was only able to take his wet shoes off before falling into the sheets.
Almost by instinct, he reached to the left side of the bed. His hand reached nothing though. It never could. His head turned to the emptiness beside him. His blinking grew heavier and heavier before letting the drowsiness take him.
Finally asleep, a dream consumed Leo's mind. Unlike the night before, he wasn't flashed by nonsensical scenes and images.
Instead, it seemed as though he had just woken up. Shooting up, Leo scanned his surroundings.
He found himself in a field of tall grass and countless white, glistening Chrysanthemums.
He examined his hands, noticing the shadow over him which caused him to look up. Seeing the large, lively tree above his head, he lifted himself on a knee before fully standing.
His eyes from the base of the tree and up to its leaves once before turning to the field. Just as he was getting used to this strange place, he heard it.
A man in a husky voice spoke, "A month from now, you will find yourself face to face with her."
His voice came from just beside him, yet it held an echo throughout the endless expanse of the dreamscape.
Leo turned to the source of the voice, seeing a man who sat on the other side of the tree. A younger gentleman.
Long, disheveled hair as dark as shadows draped over his right eye. He wore a loose fitted poet's shirt, draped in a black coat trimmed in gold and hanging off his shoulders like a noble's robe. Knee high leather boots laced tightly over sleek black pants.
His silver eyes carried a weight from the dark, heavy circles beneath them.
Leo stood there curiously for some moments before asking, "Who are you? And who is she?"
The young man kept his eyes forward, responding, "Me? A friend. Or, that's what I should have been. Instead, I defied you. Ignorant and unaware of why it had chosen you. But now… now, I see. As for her…" he trailed off.
Leo waited expectantly for him to continue. Moments of tense silence passing.
Breaking his silence, the man spoke once more, "A marionette. Faceless and conniving. Accept her offer, but do not trust her."
A shiver went down his back as these words filled his ears. A familiarity between the man—and the marionette he warned of—unsettled Leo deeply, filling him with a strange anxiety.
Before he could request more clarification though, the man had simply disappeared in a blink.
Leo stood there for a while, startled and contemplating the man's words. He looked back out to the field. A wind blew across, lightly sweeping the grass and pale flowers.
The dream faded into nothingness as he continued to sleep.
Obnoxious metal rattling woke him the morning after.
He slapped it, stopping the wailing. Rubbing his eyes with his wrist, he turned to it and read its time. A sigh of relief left his dry mouth as the clock read only a few minutes after three.
His eyes turned to the other side of his bed. He quietly ridiculed himself for thinking about it so much, but this didn't stop him from doing it.
Peeling his eyes off the bed, he forced himself up with a grunt and continued on with his usual morning routine, this time having enough time to shower.
Wearing a similar outfit as yesterday's, he made his way out of the apartment and down to the train station. Like stairs sleek from a history of steps, he felt worn. The same repeating pattern had become numbing over months and years.
There was no getting ahead of the hospital bills. He'd wake up, work as much as any man could, and was left with hardly any money.
It was hard to eat off a wallet full of mere pence for a month straight. This wallet turned into a handful. This handful turned into only several. His budget on food tightening as the weeks went by.
Days had passed as Maria's payments were coming closer to their due date. Saturday seemed to abruptly arrive and remind him that only one day remained.
Getting on the train after work, Leo went to his usual spot and sat. His eyes didn't wander out the window like usual though. Instead, they stayed down. His leg was restless as it bounced rapidly.
Before he could get too deep into this state he felt a tug on his arm. Turning his head to the seat beside him, he recognized the owner of the petite hands on his coat.
A student from his class. A rather small boy in academy attire, brown hair combed to the side neatly.
Worry stained the boy's eyes as he looked up at him, "Professor Morwyn? Are you feeling okay?"
Leo fell silent for some moments before Professor Morwyn smiled and spoke, "Of course, Henry. What are you doing out this late?"
His brows furrowed as he looked away grumpily, muttering, "My stupid mom is making me take after-school tutorials."
He chuckled for a moment, "Oh, is that so? I suppose I should inform her what her son thinks of these dreaded tutorials."
Henry shot his eyes to him with a comical expression of betrayal.
"You… You wouldn't!"
"Would I?"
The boy sighed in exasperation from the teasing before looking away, leaning his head on a hand. Leo stared at him for some extra moments, looking back down into his lap.
Maria used to be like that. Playful, spunky, all that. How a kid her age should be. Even early on in her illness she wasn't too much different. Maybe a bit of a smartass, but I couldn't get angry over it. How could I be anything but proud for my girl being so gifted?
The smile he unconsciously grew had faded as he thought of her. How he let her down before, how he was letting her down now, and he knew he would continue to in the future.
He tried to push this feeling down but couldn't bring himself to. He was responsible. He needed to feel this. He deserved it.
Finally stepping inside the apartment building, Leo heard the sounds of arguing and looked down the hall to see the landlord, Harold, laying into an older woman. One of his fellow tenants.
The larger, bald man rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Listen, Charol, I can't do this. You owe over ten notes in rent as is. I seriously can't afford to overlook this one. Five right now or you're out."
The elderly woman desperately tried to find the words, Harold sighing in exasperation.
Leo tried his best to slip by the two without being dragged in, but unfortunately Harold noticed him.
Putting the woman off for a moment, he made his way to Leo who was searching for his key within his coat pockets.
"Leo. Sorry for springing this on you so suddenly but I'm picking up rent early. I've got fixes I need to pay for as soon as possible."
Leo froze for a moment, a pit growing in his stomach.
Silence followed by he cleared his throat and spoke, "Of course. I have it right here."
Digging into his coat, he pulled his wallet out and counted the notes, immediately recounting them.
He stood there in silence for a bit before counting them for a third time.
"Well? Don't tell me you're missing it too. I'd hate to remove two tenants in a day."
Leo swallowed before responding, "Yeah. Of course, it's…"
A shortness of breath made itself apparent as he counted once more…
One fifty mark note, three ten mark notes, two five mark notes, seven deins, and ten rooks. Ninety-two notes total.
He was supposed to have a little over one hundred and ten. He'd already be eight notes short of Maria's treatment, now thirteen if he gave up five.
His brain numbing, he took a five mark note and handed it to Harold with a trembling hand. This caused him to look at Leo with concern. He seemed to just brush this off though, walking away.
Leo entered his apartment and closed the door, standing for a few moments in indifferent silence. His back hit the door as he slid down and sitting, his head falling into his hands, fingers running into his unkempt hair.
His mouth hung open, trembling. His wide, bloodshot eyes staring into the wooden flooring.
'...What the hell is happening? Did I overlook my budget? Did I eat too much this week? Did I not sell enough? Did I not work enough?!'
Leo debated with himself as he felt himself start to lose it. He gripped his hair in frustration as a cold pain grew in his chest, his heart racing faster and faster. Beads of sweat rolled off his face, making a small puddle beneath him.
The thoughts ran rampant through his mind as he sunk even deeper in this state.
'I… I'm going to fail her. Just like I did Charlotte. I'm going to lose everything again. What do I do?!'
He let go of his hair, fumbling around for the box of cigarettes in his coat pocket with trembling fingers. Flicking this box open, his eyes widened once more at the soaked, ruined cigarettes.
He dropped the box and forced himself up and into the restroom as he stumbled over his own dizziness. He opened a cabinet and scrambled through toiletries and cleaning supplies, looking for antidepressants he was prescribed a year back.
After fumbling through the cabinet for some moments, he let out a heavy sigh of relief as he found a small grey bottle.
Twisting the cap off, he took a small handful of the pills and swallowed them. Cupping his hands, he used the sink water to get them down. He had taken far more than he should have but that didn't matter right now.
Catching his breath, Leo wiped sweat off his face and looked up into the mirror.
Minutes passed as he stared at his reflection, suddenly feeling a rush of disgust and anger as he punched the mirror. Shards of glass flew off the surface as he reeled his hand down, gripping the edge of the sink.
He washed the blood off his hands in silence.
Just like how he used to.