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“Oh.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Neil asks.
“Right now, we’ve just gotta wait for the transfusion to finish running and let Bunny sleep off the sedative. Not much else to do.”
We all fall into a somber silence. Pilfered hospital equipment beeps in a satisfying rhythm as Bunny sleeps, and the four of us watch the slow rise and fall of her chest like it’s the only thing in the world holding us together.
I don’t know about the rest of them, but for me, at least, it’s not too far from the truth.
Chapter 11
Keys
I wake up to Doc unhooking the transfusion and removing the I.V. He’s being quiet, but I can’t stay asleep when someone’s messing with my veins, even if it’s just to pull out the cannula and wrap some Coban around my arm.
Kendrick’s still out cold on another stretcher, and Neil looks like he’s dead on his feet. I think the pacing he’s doing is the only thing keeping him up.
Once I’ve gotten confirmation from Doc that Bunny’s stable, I take Neil’s arm and lead him back to the dorm area. He goes along without complaint, though I suspect that’s just because he’s too damn tired to argue.
“Bedtime, my man,” I say through a yawn of my own as I push him towards the door to his bedroom.
“What if Bunny wakes up? She might need something.”
“She’s got Kendrick and Doc, dude. If she needs anything medical, they’re the best ones to help. You and me, we wouldn’t know what the fuck to do for her unless she needed some programming done or a good dicking down, so it’s best if we keep out of the way until she’s back on her feet. Trust me. This isn’t my first rodeo.”
“So what’ll we do while we wait? I feel weird trying to sleep when Bunny’s lying in the clinic like that.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose with a sigh. “You’re seriously not going to sleep?”
“No. I don’t think I can.”
He’s lying through his teeth. If I pushed him down on the bed, he’d be out like a light, but he’s fighting it. Fine. Guess I’ll have to keep him company. “Okay, then, do you wanna play BU while we wait?”
That perks him up a bit. “Yeah! Maybe Bunnyluv will be on, and I can introduce you two.”
I sidestep that awkward conversation by turning on my heel and marching off to the control room. “See ya in five!”
I don’t log on to Bunnyluv69’s profile; that would be bad. Neil might think he needs to talk to her, but I don’t have it in me to pretend right now. Instead, I log on to my other main character, the one Neil knows about. We form a party in-game and tool around doing daily quests and running dungeons, chatting about whatever comes to mind. I make sure the filter on my headset is turned off. I don’t want to have to explain why my voice suddenly turns feminine.
Typical for Neil, he starts lamenting Bunnyluv’s absence after a few dungeon runs. I wish I had the balls to come clean, but instead I only find more lies and excuses.
“Look, dude, she’s probably busy. I wouldn’t worry about it. Just chill with me, and when we’ve killed this boss, we’ll check on Bunny again.”
“But—”
“No buts. Just DPS while I tank.”
We finish the dungeon, but I get the feeling Neil doesn’t want to stop playing yet. When I offer to come get him to go see Bunny, he switches gears and suggests we do some mining in-game to pass the time.
He’s waiting for Bunnyluv. Damnit.
“Well, I know you don’t want to sleep yet, but I’m beat. Tell you what: I’ll log off, and when you’re ready to check on our Bunny, come by my room and wake me. Until then, you’re on your own.”
“Okay.” I hear him yawn on the other end, but I don’t say anything.
After logging off my main, I change profiles to Bunnyluv69 and flip the switch on my mic. I shouldn’t do this, but Neil’s not going to sleep until he’s talked to her, and since I’m her, I have to keep up the act, exhausted or not.
The avatar loads into the game, and Neil’s toon is waiting right where I knew he’d be. He always remembers where I log off, so he’s usually parked himself in the general area when I log back in. I type out a command, and my character does a little dance for him.
