Chapter 52: Chapter 52 – Caregiver
Nick entered the house opposite the warehouse.
It was quite a big building with five floors.
By now, Nick had gotten used to seeing these big and clean houses, and he wasn't currently in the mood to go sightseeing.
He only wanted to see Horua.
Nick had already seen on the key that Horua would be on the second floor, and in just a couple of seconds, he finally arrived.
He put the key in the lock and unlocked it. It took a bit of getting used to since keys basically didn't exist in the Dregs.
The room was silent.
It was almost like there was no life in this room.
However, Nick quickly saw Horua on the bed.
Right now, Horua was sitting on the bed, looking forward with dead eyes.
In a certain way, Horua's current appearance reminded Nick of the Dreamer.
They both had dead eyes.
Horua was wearing comfortable pajamas, and if it weren't for his impure skin due to living in the Dregs, he would look like any other child from the Outer City.
In the pajamas, Horua looked even more like a child than normal.
Nick took a deep breath and walked over.
"Hey, Horua. Everything alright?" Nick asked, not expecting an answer.
Naturally, he didn't get one.
Nick walked over and put his right arm on Horua's shoulder as he looked at him.
"Horua, I just wanted to say that all of this is my fault and that I am genuinely sorry," Nick said. "I should have known that not everyone can resist a Specter just like this."
"Maybe I should have moved slower?"
"Maybe I should have introduced the Dreamer to you when you were older?"
"I mean, I didn't need you to immediately become a Zephyx Extractor."
Nick was just looking into Horua's dead eyes with a sigh.
"I'm sorry. I wish I had been smarter."
"Sadly, I can't change the past."
"So, the next best thing is to make a bright future for you."
Nick remained silent for a couple of seconds.
"Hey, how about I give you a massage?" Nick asked.
Then, Nick slowly moved Horua onto his stomach.
"The doctor said that we have to regularly move your body, or your health will suffer. Don't worry, I'll make sure that nothing like that will happen."
A moment later, Nick started to massage Horua's body.
For someone who wasn't technically conscious, Horua's muscles were quite strained.
"How does this feel?" Nick asked.
Naturally, Horua didn't answer.
For around 30 minutes, Nick kept massaging Horua's body while talking to him.
After some time, Nick just started telling Horua about his day at work and what their plans were.
Nick wasn't worried about keeping secrets since Horua officially belonged to their company.
When the massage was done, Nick grabbed a bowl and filled it with water.
Nick put the bowl to Horua's mouth, and surprisingly, Horua swallowed when water entered his mouth.
For just a moment, Nick became hopeful.
Yet, Horua showed no other reaction.
"Alright, that should be enough," Nick said.
"Do you want some food next?"
Silence.
"I'll get you some food, okay?"
Nick silently walked out of the room and entered the street.
After looking around for a bit, Nick found a nice place that sold soup.
Even though the price was outrageous, Nick didn't complain.
This was for Horua, which made the price seem unimportant.
Nick returned and slowly fed the soup to Horua.
After a bit of talking, Nick noticed that the room started to smell.
He quickly found the source.
Horua had just wet his clothing and the bed.
Nick could only sigh.
'The doctor said he couldn't go to the toilet on his own.'
Over the next few minutes, Nick also dealt with that mess.
Nick even went out to buy Horua several new sets of pajamas.
For the next couple of hours, Nick just remained in the room with Horua to talk.
Eventually, Nick became tired, and he reluctantly left Horua.
"I will be back in four hours to check on you, okay?" Nick said before leaving the room.
Nick went to the reception of the hotel and rented a room on the same floor as Horua.
The room wasn't anything special.
It was made of clean metal, and it looked quite nice. Just like Horua's bed, Nick's bed was made of a thick sheet of fabric that made it much easier to sleep.
A couple minutes later, Nick went to bed.
Yet, no matter what he did, Nick couldn't fall asleep.
Nick was definitely tired, but for some reason, sleep just wouldn't come to him.
Even more, Nick felt more and more nervous.
'I hope Horua is okay. No one is checking up on him.'
'What if he wet the bed again and has to sleep in his own urine?'
'What if he is thirsty?'
'What if his breathing stopped?'
After over half an hour of trying, Nick left his room and went back into Horua's room.
Horua was lying in bed, just as Nick had left him.
Nothing had changed.
Nick took a deep breath and went back to his room.
Yet, he still couldn't fall asleep, and he became nervous again.
An hour later, he returned to Horua's room again.
Nothing had changed.
Nick wanted to leave again, but he just didn't feel comfortable with leaving Horua alone.
So, Nick just remained in Horua's room.
He was tired, but he didn't try to sleep.
However, since Horua might be asleep, Nick also didn't talk to him.
He just remained in the room in silence without doing anything.
As more time passed, Nick felt a tightness in his chest.
"I'm sorry," Nick whispered.
"I didn't want this to happen."
Silence.
Nick just looked at Horua, different memories of him shooting through his mind.
"I'm so sorry," Nick repeated.
Slowly, Nick's eyes started to get wet, and eventually, tears started to flow down his face.
"Horua, I'm so sorry. I was such an idiot."
"I just want you to recover."
"It's fine if you hate me forever."
"I just want you to recover."
Nick's crying intensified.
"I'm so sorry."
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