First Defeat ~Chapter 8 Heart of a Lion~
"Devon R. Manneth." The doctor replied. James dropped the phone. Danny looked at James. James' eyes were full of tears, his body shaking.
"James?" Danny asked.
"Mr. Pearce? Mr. Pearce are you there??" The phone called out. Danny picked up the phone.
"Hello?" Danny asked.
"Hello, is Mr. Pearce okay?"
"Yes he's...what did you tell him? What's wrong?" Danny asked as he felt himself start panicking.
"I'm sorry I can't tell you that." The doctor replied.
"'Mr. Pearce' is standing in his kitchen like a statue, I want you to tell me why!!" Danny yelled into the phone. Apparently the doctor didn't take to orders very well, because she hung up on Danny. "James what's wrong?" Danny could practically see as James' mind turned back on, it was like restarting a computer. James hurried to the door.
"Danny, we're going to the hospital." James said as the tears which had welled up in his eyes fell slowly down his cheek.
"Why?" Danny asked, panic overcoming him.
"I'll tell you on the way, we have to go now."
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Danny and James got to the hospital mere minutes later. James hurried to a nurse.
"Can you tell me what room Devon R. Manneth is in?" James asked frantically. The nurse informed them to head to the ICU. James and Danny sprinted there, not even waiting for the elevator. They stopped in front of his room. James reached for the handle.
"Excuse me son, you can't go in there, immediate family only." A doctor warned him. James turned to face the doctor. The doctor just so happened to be a small mouse. James being a 6'4" fit young moose, stepped right infront of the mouse, the doctor's whiskers barely tickling James' chest.
"If you don't let me in that room...right now...all you're gonna see for the next decade is your immediate family." James threatened the mouse. The small doctor ran off, frightened. James opened the door and rushed inside. Inside was a female otter doctor.
"Excuse me, you're not allowed in here."
"Dr. Patricia Ovarstein?" James asked.
"Oh Mr. Pearce?" James nodded his head. James looked over at Devon. His right arm and left leg were in casts and elevated, he had a neck brace on and his abdomen was wrapped tightly.
"What happened?" James breathed.
"According to the police report, he got in an argument with an Oscar Ovarill. During the argument, Oscar became violent, as the fight progressed they ended up on the balcony, Devon was pushed from it. Fortunately the balcony Devon fell from was much smaller than the one one floor below it, and he landed on it. Unfortunately Devon broke his right arm, left leg and several ribs in the fall, also the plates in his neck shifted slightly. He fell from a seven story window, if he hadn't landed on the balcony..." James stopped listening, he knew what would have happened. "I'll leave you alone." The doctor stated as she quietly left the room.
James sat down in a chair next to Devon's bed. James put his hand on Devon's head, and began stroking his mane. As James sat there stroking Devon's mane, hot tears fell from James' chin onto Devon's face.
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Danny looked in the window to Devon's room, and saw James sitting next to him sobbing. Danny couldn't bare it to look at Devon, to see what kind of shape he was in. He sat down in a chair outside Devon's room and waited.
"Nurse, nurse! Could you tell me where Devon Manneth's room is?" Danny looked up to see Andrew standing at the nurses' station asking frantic questions to any nurse who would listen, none replied.
"Andrew!" Danny raised his voice just enough for it to qualify as yelling. Andrew looked towards the yeller to see Danny. Andrew rushed over.
"Danny, is this...?"
"Yeah, this is Devon's room. James is in there right now." Danny replied.
"Do you know what happened?"
"No, they won't tell me, and I can't go in." Danny replied sheepishly.
"I'm going in, whether they want me to or not!" Andrew yelled as he reached for the handle. Just then the door opened and out walked James. "James?" Andrew was suddenly calmer, noticing that James had been crying.
"Oscar." James replied.
"What?" Danny asked.
"Oscar did this to him. Oscar." James replied, his paws balling into fists. Andrew caught on.
"We'll take my car." Andrew replied. James and Andrew started walking away, and Danny began to get up. "No Danny, you stay here. James and I will take care of this." Something in Andrew's voice told Danny that the order was non-negotiable.
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James shut his cell.
"They said he made bail an hour ago. He's probably at his house." James replied. He had called the police station in order to find Oscar. Andrew nodded as they pulled into Oscar's lot.
Andrew knocked on Oscar's door. James was hiding just around the corner. Andrew was masking his anger to try and appear to be in need of a phone. It worked and Oscar opened his door, all the way. James charged around the corner and through Oscar's open doorway, knocking Oscar to the ground and out of breath. Andrew closed Oscar's door behind him.
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After a while, the nurses allowed Danny to go inside, they said Devon was awake. Danny opened the door to venture in. Devon was sitting up in bed. Danny saw the casts and wrappings and neck brace all at once, and began crying.
"Danny, don't you cry...if you cry I might start, and I imagine that'd probably hurt like hell." Devon half-joked. Danny looked up at his friend. He had a black eye, and cuts on his face.
"Devon, what happened?"
"Oscar." The same cryptic answer James had given Andrew. This time, Danny understood.
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Andrew and James stepped out of Oscar's apartment, leaving him with a broken nose and two black eyes. Andrew's nose was bleeding, and James' lip was cut. James' knuckles were sore and raw. Andrew had mostly held Oscar as James beat him up. Andrew had always thought James was a polite, forgiving fur. Today he had been more violent than anyone he'd ever seen. Andrew had noticed, during the fight that James' eyes were full of fire, intense hatred for Oscar.
The ride back to the hospital was silent. As they pulled into a parking spot, Andrew broke the silence.
"Danny called me." Andrew paused, James looked at him. "Devon's awake."
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Danny stepped out of Devon's room, his face wet with tears, his black fur somehow even darker with tears. As Danny closed the door, he noticed Andrew and James coming down the hallway, Andrew stopped to talk with one of the nurses. James stopped in front of Danny.
"He's up?" James asked.
"Yeah he's up." Danny replied. James grabbed the handle. Just as he was about to open the door, he stopped, and turned to face Danny.
"Yes." James replied.
"Huh?" Danny asked.
"Earlier, you asked...if I loved Devon." James replied. "I didn't answer then." James opened the door and entered Devon's room. Danny stood there looking at the spot where James had been.
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The door handle turned, then turned back. Devon had noticed James' shadow right outside the door. It looked like James was saying something to Danny. The handle turned again, and James came inside. James didn't say anything until he was sitting in the chair right next to Devon. James looked down at the ground.
"I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize James."
"I'm sorry."
"Please don't apologize."
"I'm sorry." James slowly looked up, as he did so, Devon realized he was crying. Seeing James cry, Devon started to. "I'm sorry."
"It wasn't your fault." Devon cried.
"I'm sorry." James apologized again, not being able to say anything else. Devon wanted to change the subject, he noticed that James' lip was cut and bleeding.
"Your lip..." Devon began.
"Oscar...put up a fight." James replied. Devon realized what James had done.
"Jamie..." Devon started crying again.
They both sat their, crying. Danny and Andrew looked in, and decided it was best not to disturb them.