CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT
[58]

song: the ghost in you by the psychedelic furs

"GO FISH." Kai spoke, which led to Daisy letting out a frustrated sigh as she pulled another card from the deck and into hers.

The two sat across from each other on the hospital bed, a deck of cards in between while the tv played behind them. "This is fun." Kai spoke, popping a chip in his mouth.

"That's because you're winning." Daisy mumbled, examining her heavy deck of cards in hand. "Again."

Kai shrugged. "I'm just that good." He shrugged smugly. Daisy let out a small scoff, rubbing her arms where scarring tissue still layered her skin. He eyed her before speaking again. "Feeling any better?"

Daisy took a deep breath, as she another card on the deck in front of her. She then glanced at the IV Kai had put in her arm earlier and shrugged. "I think this is helping." She nodded. "I guess I can move my head without feeling the urge to vomit now."

"That's good." He nodded with raised eyebrows. "That was the first time I put an IV in someone." He added. Daisy looked at him concernedly and his face fell flat. "Kidding."

Daisy rolled her eyes. "If you keep making these jokes I'm gonna stop believing you." She let out a small laugh. "Go fish." She added.

Kai went to grab a card from the deck but stopped when he noticed Daisy holding her stomach, her eyes twitching into what looked like a small wince. He sat up and looked at her with a sigh. "Why won't you let me heal you?" He asks.

She clenched her jaw. "It just stings a little. I'm fine."

"But it could just ease the pain for a little bit." He spoke. "It'll be like magical ibuprofen."

Daisy gave him a face, that told him she was sticking with the same answer she'd already given him numerous times. "No magic."

Kai slouched. He wanted to respect her boundaries but he also hated seeing her like this. He glanced out the window and back to her. "Wanna go for a walk?" He asked.

She nodded and he helped her out of bed. She was lucky that he knew what he was doing. He checked her levels before they left, and helped her wheel around the IV stand down the halls. She'd only been back for a few days, but was already beginning to feel a bit better. Walking wasn't as much of a struggle anymore, and she had much more of an appetite. She'd already gained two pounds back.

Sleeping was the hardest part. She was awake for the majority of the night, as exhausted as she was. Closing her eyes was horrifying. When she tried, all she could do was anticipate the feeling of a knife being plunged into her skin.

The two walked back and fourth down the hallways. "What did they do with you?" Daisy asked, interrupting the silence between them as they walked.

Kai glanced at her. "What do you mean?"

She thought for a second. "The Algeans. They—"

Kai shook his head. "We don't have to talk about it."

Daisy stopped and turned to face him with a concerned look. "I want to know." She spoke. "But if you don't want to talk about it— that's fine." She nodded reassuringly.

Kai thought for a few seconds before speaking. He started walking as he spoke. "I came back a few days after I met you at the house." He began. "That guy— the one with the curly brown hair—"

"Ezra." Daisy spoke, with venom on her tongue.

He nodded with a slight scoff. "He answered the door, and then that Marzia lady showed up and drugged me." He shrugged. "They thought it would kill me, or something. I don't know. It didn't, obviously. So they just left me to rot in a cell where I had no access to magic."

Daisy listened to him talk with upturned eyebrows. She felt the urge to hug him. Firstly for coming back for her, and second because he'd been going through just as bad a time as she was— yet she was the one getting all the special care. She felt her arms twitch into a hug, but stopped herself, knowing it'd just be incredibly awkward.

"I'm sorry." Daisy let out, glancing at him and back to the floor as she walked along, wheeling the IV stand beside her. "How did you—"

"Escape?"

Daisy nodded.

"Cheeseburger."

Daisy looked at him with a confused look, that turned into a laugh. The first laugh she'd let out in too long. Even though she felt the healing wound on her stomach begin to throb with pain, it felt good. Kai chuckled along with her, admiring the sound of her laughter. As the laughs died down, he continued. "I killed her." He nodded.

"Marzia?" Daisy questioned. "She's dead?"

Kai nodded, glancing at her and catching the sense of relief wash over her expression. "And I got her to give me some intel on how to get out of here." He shrugged.

She looked at him confusedly. "Out of here? Like—"

"Out of here as in back to the real world." Kai responded, he started walking down the hall again and Daisy followed.

The thought of there even being a chance that they could get home hadn't crossed Daisy's mind in years. She'd grown so used to the life here that it didn't even feel like a possibility anymore. "How will you do it?" She asked.

"Welllll," Kai began. "Tiny problem. Apparently the only way for the spell to be performed is if we have a Bennett witch."

"And we don't have a Bennett witch?" Daisy questioned.

"As of right now, no." Kai responded.

"And the chances that a Bennett witch ends up here—"

"Slim to none." He sighed.

"Right." Daisy said. She couldn't tell if she was as disappointed as she should be. The thought of even having a chance of going back was unsettling.

"But we've got all the time in the world to wait." Kai joked, but it ended up just sounding a bit more depressing than intended.

The two walked back into the hospital room, putting the unfinished game of cards away. Kai had left to pick up some food for them both as Daisy stayed in bed, her tired eyes glued to the tv.

She desperately wished this TV had a tape player, as she was sick of watching the same sitcom every night and just wanted to watch a movie. She glanced up at the IV that was wired into her inner arm, when she realized a blood stain was seeping through her hospital gown.

She sat up quickly lifting up her dress and tearing the bandage off her stomach, examining the reopened gash in her stomach. "Shit." She mumbled, dragging herself up and out of the bed to the bathroom to examine it in the mirror. The stitches had come undone and she was right back where she started.

"I miss having food delivery." Kai says, walking back into the hospital room with a bag of food from the restaurant down the street.

His eyes quickly darted into the bathroom where Daisy was quickly trying to cover up the blood. He sat his things down quickly and rushed over to her. "This one refuses to heal." She says frustratedly, closing her eyes and letting out a deep sigh.

Kai looked at her concernedly in the reflection of the mirror. "Can I try something?" Kai suggested.

She glanced at him in the mirror. "What?" She asked.

He thought for a second before speaking. "There's this spell that—"

Daisy shook her head quickly, walking back into the hospital room to gather things to clean herself up. "No magic, Kai." She reiterated sternly.

"You're just being stubborn at this point." Kai says, following her out of the bathroom. Daisy ignored him, shuffling through the almost empty box of cotton swabs and bandages. Kai watched her for a moment before grabbing her hand and getting her to stop digging through the supplies.

Daisy closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh, pulling her hand away and turning to face him. "I'm not being stubborn." She retorts. "Why do you think that after everything that's happened, I'd let you use magic on me?"

He looks at her confusedly. "So you don't trust me?"

"No, Kai." She shakes her head, looking at him with narrow eyes. "I don't. I don't think I ever can."

The words stung, and it was clear on Kai's face. "I thought we were friends now—"

Daisy rubs her eyes frustratedly. "We are friends. But don't think I haven't forgotten what you did to me." She shook her head.

Kai gathered his next words, trying to keep himself from lashing out. "That was—" he stopped himself as he realized he'd forgotten how long it had been since those events. "That was a long time ago."

Daisy nods. "I know it was. And I know you're— different now." The words didn't feel right off her tongue. Sure he had changed, anyone would after being here for so many years. But neither of them had been in a situation similar to life before this, for him to show that he really had.

A part of Kai had almost forgotten about how he and Daisy knew each other. He'd certainly forgotten how she'd wound up here in the first place. It hurt having all of those memories come back, and it hurt worse to know that Daisy had never forgotten. "You trusted me enough to give you stitches? Multiple times?" Kai responded.

Daisy grabbed a bandage from the box and groaned. "That's different."

"How?" He asked.

Daisy stared at him blankly. "I don't like magic. I don't like how it's always used against me. I don't like that I am constantly on the low ground when I'm around you. I know things are better now and I know you wouldn't try to hurt me again but—" she stopped herself, thinking for a second before speaking again. "But do I know that? How do I know I won't do something to set you off again and—"

"Daisy." Kai stopped her, his eyebrows narrowed at her in worry.

She shook her head and inhaled deeply. She wished she kept her mouth shut. It felt good to get off her chest, but a part of her felt bad that he was the one to catch the blow.

That was what sucked the most. Even after everything, she still felt bad that she might've 'hurt his feelings'. She kept trying to tell herself that he deserved to have his feelings hurt sometimes— but that didn't make her feel any better.

She looked at him. He'd never tell, but it was obvious her words hurt. She could see it in the way his eyes darted back and fourth in between hers, waiting for her to say something to ease the pain she'd caused.

Hesitation in her voice, she spoke. "What spell?" She asked.

Kai was just as hesitant as her, giving her a few moments to back out before he spoke again. "It's just something to speed up the healing process. I— there's other healing spells but I don't have a lot of experience with them." He nodded. "I use this one on myself all the time so I know it works."

Daisy watched him as he spoke. She didn't even want to know what he'd been doing that required a constant need for a healing spell, but if it didn't work, he wouldn't be doing it. She nodded a bit. "Okay." She let out. "You can do it." She granted. Kai looked a bit relieved at her words. "But only because I want to get out of this hospital and get rid of them." Daisy stuck her finger out towards him sternly.

Kai nodded, agreeing. "Sure." He said as he hid a smug smile, gesturing to the hospital bed.

Daisy watched him hesitantly as she walked over to it, holding her bleeding stomach as she sat down on the edge. She swallowed a bit as she lifted her gown up from her legs to reveal the wound. Kai glanced at her and then back down, examining it.

Daisy watched as that look he gives right before he made a joke creeped up onto face. "This is actually my first time doing th—"

"Don't." Daisy stopped him, stifling a laugh.

Kai glanced at her with a smirk before refocusing his attention back onto her wounds as he readjusted the position of his hands. His palms hovered over her wound as he closed his eyes, Daisy did too.

As he began to mutter the series of foreign words, she expected a bit of pain. But all she felt was that familiar feeling of heat waves radiating off of her skin. Then, all the blood rushing through her body to make room for the magic. The feeling made her nauseous.
She used a hand to support her weight on the bed, leaning back as her head began to throb.

"Done." Kai said, she opened her eyes quickly, confused at how quickly it happened.

She lifted up her gown a bit more to get a better look. While it wasn't fully healed, it looked significantly better than it had before. With a few more days of rest it would probably be healed back to normal again.

As she examined the wound on her stomach, she caught glance of her arms. While the pigmentation of her scars were still there, they were no longer as harsh and noticeable. Without hesitation, she brought her hands up to her face, running her fingers over her eyes where raised scars used to lay to find smooth skin once again.

She glanced into the mirror of the bathroom, realizing she was starting to look like herself again. "I don't know how to fully get rid of scars with magic. They're pretty permanent." Kai says, examining her in the mirror too. "But I can try and find a spell—"

"No." Daisy shook her head, still running her fingers over the deep red lines that ran from her forehead, over her eyes and to her cheeks. She turned to Kai. "They did this to me, and I'm still here." She nodded firmly. "I don't want to hide that."

a/n
sorry for the short filler chapter 💔 i promise things will start to pick up again soon 😽😽
- jane