Rigel frowned at himself. He couldn’t tell her that he was looking for Kate’s body. That would lead to more questions. Instead of texting back he started calling Belle, chewing on his lip as he waited for her to pick up.
Belle raises her eyebrows as she got the call, then answered.
"Whee the heck are you?" she asked without even saying "hello."
(Aspen's crashed her motorcycle and is in the hospital and Rigel is looking for a dead body…so y'know, not much)
“I’m-“ This was a bad idea, Rigel shouldn’t have called, “I’m out stomping around in the woods, okay. I’ll be back by tomorrow and-“ Rigel really did realize how bad it sounded, but- gosh, he had no idea what to do.
"Tomorrow??? Rigel, you should be here now. What if Aspen wakes up and wants you?" Belle questioned him. "What then?"
“She’s not gonna want me. She’d much rather be with you all,” Rigel leaned against a tree, examining the dents on his bike to get his mind off it. He had taken so good care of his bike before then, it had been spotless, until he let it drop when he thought Aspen had been dead.
"Not want you? Rigel, of all people, you're probably the person she'd want to see the most," Belle declared.
“No, she wouldn’t,” Rigel disagreed sternly, “Not after what happened. I’m the one who messes up everything, Belle, okay? She hates me now.” Because Rigel told her that fake story… Maybe he should’ve told her the truth- No. Kate deserved more than that. If it meant painting himself as a cold blooded murderer, then Rigel would do it so Kate could die innocent.
"And why is that?" Belle asked, crossing her free arm over her chest. "Rigel, what happened out there?"
Riverpaw looked up at Belle in worry, hearing her side of the conversation. "Belle, w-what's up with Rigel?"
“A lot of things, okay?” Rigel nearly shouted, then calmed himself, “I just told her about how-“ Rigel cut himself off. He couldn’t say it again. He wasn’t strong enough to smile and get that crazed voice again when talking about Kate’s death. He broke slightly, sliding down to sit on the dirt, “I messed up, Belle.”
Belle held the phone to her chest as she spoke to Riverpaw, "I'm not entirely sure yet."
Putting the phone back to her ear, she said, "Hey, that's all right. We all mess up sometimes. The best thing you can do when that happens is get back up and try again."
“There is no try again!” Rigel shouted, then cursed at himself because he shouted. He sucked on his cigarette, trying to calm down, “I- I’m sorry. I-“ Rigel sucked in a shaky breath, “Belle, I killed her. I killed her.” Rigel started rocking himself. You killed her you killed her you killed her. Rigel tucked his knees to his body, but kept the phone next to his ear.
Belle sighed. "Who, Rigel? I know it wasn't Aspen, since she's here, so who was it? If you don't want to talk about it, fine. Just know that you've got people watching your back, and we won't abandon you, no matter what."
“Kate, I killed her I killed her I-“ Rigel nearly threw the phone from his ear, ending the call before he broke down entirely. Tears started to escape his eyes and he started shaking. Memories played in his head:
He handed her the packet with a smile, then wrapped his arms around her waist, “You’ll be okay. He said this one would be better than the last, it won’t give you headaches.” She smiled, turning in his arms so she could face Rigel better, setting the packet down on the coffee table.
“I love you. Look at you, my knight in shining armor. I already know I’m okay,” She leaned in and kissed Rigel, lingering in his arms, “I didn’t think I’d be able to last this long on black market drugs.” Kate laughed, but Rigel couldn’t.
“You should be getting proper chemotherapy. You should be in the hospital,” Rigel held her tighter, then grumbled, “D-mn taxes. D-mn everything.” Kate pulled away, and Rigel turned slightly red, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to swear.” She giggled, then tugged Rigel onto the couch, grabbing the packet and the needle. Rigel helped her set up, then brushed the inside of her elbow. They’d done this same thing many times before, using black market drugs as a counter against her cancer.
Kate glanced at Rigel then said shyly, “Can you do it again? I still haven’t gotten used to seeing the needle.” Rigel smiled, tugging at her waist so she scooted closer, then obliged by taking the needle and sticking it in her arm gingerly. Once the contents had been inserted, he took the needle out and set it on the counter. Kate grimaced, then tucked herself under Rigel’s arm, “We should go on a date or something. We barely have time to hang out anymore. I love you.”
Rigel grinned, “What, so spending all day with you to make sure you don’t get hurt isn’t enough, love?” She leaned her head on his shoulder, and he stared at needle on the table, “Besides, neither of us have any extra money.” Kate didn’t reply, so Rigel intertwined his hand in hers. It took him too long to realize she stopped breathing. Too long to realize he’d been holding a dead body. Too long to realize that the order had been mixed up, that he hadn’t given her treatment, he gave her poison.
Rigel shook himself out of his memories, a small weak noice escaped him and he cried harder. Dead dead dead dead- Rigel let out another sob.
(Oh my gosh. What? That is not cool.)
"What who's Kate?" Belle asked. When she didn't hear him respond, she said, "Rigel? Rigel! Oh my gosh, what did he do…"
(feelsbadman)
"What happened, is he okay?" Riverpaw asked as they approached an elevator.
"I have no idea what happened. He just kinda… broke down and hung up," Belle explained, sighing as she stepped into the elevator. "He sounded distressed."
"W-well what about everyone else?-" Riverpaw trailed off as she stepped into the elevator, immediately grabbing the railing on one of the walls. I should've asked to take the stairs..
"What do you mean? I have heard from anyone else," Belle said. She gave Riv a curious look. "You okay?"
"I-I don't like elevators." Riverpaw huffed out, shaking her head. She gripped the rail tightly with one hand and grabbed Belle's arm with the other. "I'm good. D-do you think Aspen is okay?"
Belle frowned. "Do you want to get out and take the stairs? A little exercise never hurt anyone," she suggested. "And I'm sure Aspen will be fine."
"No, no, elevator is faster." Riverpaw hesitantly reached over and pressed the button for the third floor. "Um, w-what did Rigel say to you?"
"I don't think we should talk about that here…" Belle said, biting her lip.
Riverpaw nodded and distracted herself with tracing the patterns on the floor with her eyes as the elevator started moving. "A-are you okay?" She asked.
Belle blinked. "Yeah, of course. I'm just a little worried about Rigel, that's all."
“Family of Aspen Barnes?” Dr. Brown asked the receptionist. A crackling sound was heard in the other side then a simple “yes” was heard
(They're in the elevator still…)
(Oh wait let me change it)
Colden looked at the receptionist. "Hi, i am looking for aspen barns." he said. "Oh and do you know if ly- nurse stone is working today?"
“Room 325, third floor. Yes she is. She is one of the nurses tasked to care for Aspen Barnes.”