Ramifications and Coverups

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I missed a day. Sorry about that. My country's inability to keep the electricity going cuts into my writing time a lot. Hope you enjoy this!
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“Markus, what the shit?”This elegant line of questioning was the first words spoken, finally breaking a long, tense silence that hung over the office for almost a full minute. Inside the hospital's dean's office were Markus, Christine, Doctor Hughes, and Miss Anderson. The Dean had stepped out, ordering Doctor Hughes to sort out the mess and have a solution for her when she got back. The door slamming during her exodus had brought on the aforementioned tense silence, and Miss Anderson finally broke it.“I can explain-” Markus began, glancing at Christine. He knew that he had to be careful about what he said. The last thing he wanted was to cause trouble for her, and contemplating suicide was almost certainly something the hospital wouldn’t like. They might send her to a psychiatric hospital, or put her on meds that completely destroy her mood. For some reason, it never occurred to him that maybe that was what she needed. He was still riding high on adrenaline, and his protective instincts screamed at him to make sure that Christine did not get blamed for what happened. It already looked bad enough when the doctor who chased him down found him standing on the ledge of the roof, holding onto Christine’s arm.“I don’t want to hear it!” Miss Anderson said, cutting Markus off. Her finger was leveled at him, and her voice had a tone that could only be created by teachers and mothers. “What were you thinking, running on a broken leg up all those stairs? And what about the mess you made in the hallway? You could have hurt someone! Or maybe even worse! What would you have done then, Markus? What were you doing on the roof, anyway? You could have gotten hurt! And why was she there?” She pointed to Christine.Markus remained quiet and glanced around the room. He looked at Doctor Hughes, his eyes pleading for any kind of support. Doctor Hughes stared back at him with a perfectly neutral expression, though Markus could see a small twinkle in his eyes. Markus frowned and scowled at Docter Hughes, who only shrugged in return. Markus rolled his eyes so aggressively for a moment it looked like he was having a stroke. Then he looked at Christine, hoping to find some help there. Their eyes met, and he could see her suppressing her laughter. For just a moment he considered throwing her under the bridge. He widened his eyes, silently begging her for any kind of assistance. She only gave him a fiendish smirk in response. With nowhere else to run, Markus turned and faced Miss Anderson. Her arms were crossed, and her face bore an expression of righteous fury.Well?” she demanded, leaning forward. “What was all this, Markus?” Markus picked his words carefully.“Psychotic break?” He said, immediately cringing at how unsure he sounded.“Very unlikely,” Doctor Hughes said. Markus shot him an icy glare, and Doctor Hughes immediately turned away and coughed into his arm, trying poorly to mask his laughter.“Ok, fine,” Markus said, throwing his arms up. “I ran up there because I saw Christine on the roof through the window. I expected the worse, and if I was right then time would have been of the essence. I had to get up there before she… you know…” Doctor Hughes stopped laughing, his face becoming deadly serious. He looked at Markus, then at Christine.“Christine, are you experiencing suicidal thoughts?” he asked, his voice flooded with concern.“No, of course not,” Markus said, fielding the question. “I saw a pretty girl and tried to be the hero. She was just up there to get some air, and I looked like a real nutcase when I burst through that door in the roof, isn’t that right Christine?” Christine looked like a deer in headlights, all of her bemusement evaporated by the interrogation suddenly shifting to her. A look from Markus finally got her talking.“Yeah,” she said, laughing nervously. “I just needed to get out of my room. Markus went there to visit me again, and saw me out of the window I guess.” Doctor Hughes studied her face for a moment, then turned back to Markus.“So why were you the one on the ledge?” he asked. His tone was suspicious. Markus knew he probably wasn't buying their story, but that didn’t matter. As long as they kept up the lie the powers that be wouldn’t have any way to prove them wrong.“I just went up there on impulse,” Markus said, quickly trying to think of a convincing lie. “I wanted to stand between her and… you know, the drop.”“I’m sorry, but I have to cut in here,” Miss Anderson said. She looked at Christine as if she was some delinquent she had caught slashing someone’s tires. “Who exactly are you?” Christine withered slightly under the intense gaze but quickly rose to her feet.“I’m Christine,” she said, unconsciously bowing slightly. “It’s nice to meet you, Ma’am. I’m a patient here at the hospital. I met Markus the night before yesterday, and we spent the day together yesterday.” Christine sat back down. She had never gotten a proper schooling, so she wasn’t sure why she felt compelled to stand when speaking to Miss Anderson. Markus, however, understood all too well the effect of a teacher’s voice on a young person’s mind.“Listen,” Markus said, standing up as well. He was careful not to put weight on his damaged ankle, which now throbbed with pain. He gritted his teeth through it, then addressed Doctor Hughes and Miss Anderson. “She didn’t do anything wrong, ok? This is completely on me. I misread the situation, acted rashly, and caused all the chaos myself. Whatever punishment there is, the buck should stop right here, with me.”Miss Anderson stared at him, the tense atmosphere holding for a few more seconds. Then her posture deflated slightly, and all the tension she seemed to hold was released. She stepped forward and gave Markus a quick hug.“Don’t do something that stupid again, please,” she said once she released him. “We only just got you back. Don’t go jumping off buildings already.” She laughed softly at her own joke, and Markus joined in. The remaining tension in the room disappeared, and everyone felt like they could breathe a little easier. Miss Anderson turned to Christine. “I’m sorry for being so rude to you earlier.”“It’s fine, Ma’am,” Christine responded, returning a kind smile. “You were just worried about Markus. With how he is, someone has to be.”“Hey!” Markus shouted in protest, but he was drowned out by the two women’s laughter.“So, what’s the damage, Doc?” Miss Anderson asked, affixing her gaze onto Doctor Hughes. “Did his stunt buy him more time in the hospital?”“Fortunately it seems like Markus didn’t cause any more damage to his ankle,” Doctor Hughes said. He picked up the two x-rays on the Dean’s desk, one taken earlier in the day, and one taken right before this meeting after Markus had sprinted on his broken ankle. He studied both for a moment, then continued. “Looks like there’s some extra swelling, but that’s to be expected. It should go down overnight, and if it does he is free to go tomorrow, as long as he promises to take it easy.”“Only way I know how to take it, Doc,” Markus said, grinning. Everything had gone off without a hitch. No one doubted that Christine was just on the roof to get some air, and it seemed like he might get off with only a warning. He couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome.“Then there’s the subject of damages to the hospital,” Doctor Hughes said. Markus immediately deflated, losing all confidence in the fact that he was going to escape without consequence. He turned to Doctor Hughes, expecting the worse.“One of our cleaning staff had to stick around past her usual quitting time to clean up all that water you spilled,” Doctor Hughes said. “We’re adding her overtime pay to your bill, but don’t worry, I’m sure the insurance will cover mad rampages through the hospital.” Doctor Hughes smirked and winked at Markus. Markus, for his part, was getting tired of his hopes being brought up and slammed down like this. From the sound of it he was still going to get away almost scot-free.“I think that just about covers everything,” Doctor Hughes said. “Technically visiting hours are over, but you’re welcome to stay with Markus a little longer, Miss Anderson. Now, you guys should head out before the Dean gets back. She isn’t known for her temper with the patients, so it’ll be better if I deal with her.” The other three nodded in understanding. Markus gave him a slight nod, the greatest sign of respect one man can give another, before grabbing his crutches and limping out of the office, Christine and Miss Anderson close on his heel. When they passed her room Christine peeled off, saying she was tired and wanted some sleep. Markus wanted to argue but thought better of it. He knew they needed to talk, but that conversation would be better suited for a time when they were alone. Miss Anderson and he continued in silence until they crossed the threshold into his room.“You were lying in there,” she said matter-of-factly. Markus turned to stare at her. She didn’t seem to have a single ounce of doubt in her voice.“What do you mean,” Markus asked, trying to sound nonchalant, and failing miserably.“You lied about why you ran up there, Markus,” Miss Anderson said, again as if it was an obvious fact.“No, I didn’t,” Markus said, sitting on his bed. “I thought she was in danger, so I ran to help her.”“I believe that part,” Miss Anderson said, taking a step closer, making Markus feel more intimidated than he would proudly admit. “It’s the part after that, the part where she was just up there to ‘get some air’, that I don’t buy.” Markus thought of protesting. His mind scrambled to think of some kind of lie he could use to prop up the one he was being called out on. Unfortunately, the only strategy he could think of was the most desperate one. The truth.“Yeah, I lied,” Markus admitted, his eyes lowering to the floor. He then told Miss Anderson the events of the past three days. Seeing Christine for the first time, their subsequent first meeting, and how they spent the day together. His desire to know more about her. Him seeing her on the roof, and the conversation they had there. When he was done he felt a weight he didn’t even realize was there lift off his chest.“You did a good thing, Markus,” Miss Anderson said, putting a hand on his shoulder and wiping a tear he hadn’t noticed from his face. “But she’s right, you know. She’s a timebomb. It’s an awful thing to say, but it’s the truth. She’s going to die, and she’s going to leave you alone. That weight of that is only going to get heavier. If you aren’t sure you can carry it all the way to the end, then you shouldn’t give her false hope.”Markus blinked, taken aback. Of everything he had expected Miss Anderson to say after he told her the story, that wasn’t something he could see coming. A silence stretched between them as he seriously thought about what she said.“I don’t want to abandon her,” Markus said. “I know how she’s feeling, if maybe not to the same extreme. I know how much it sucks when the people you love aren’t there for you anymore. If it hurts so much for me, how much worse is it for her? She wasn’t just left behind, she was abandoned. I can’t let her go through that alone. I don’t know why I talked to her in the first place, but now that I have I can’t abandon her too.” Miss Anderson gave Markus a smirk and squeezed his shoulder.“I’ll hold you to that, you know,” she said. “If you don’t see this though you’ll have to deal with me.” With that she turned and left, leaving Markus in an empty room with a head filled with thoughts.