Aquata Cove

Alright, before anything else, I must once again enter the trend of asking the haters and the trolls and nay-sayers here to please DON'T ask me to end my story already. There will be no pulling of the plug. I am very sorry for those of you who think this story has gone on for too long, and if you are sick of seeing the next chapter. But it is very hurtful when some of you guys just start saying that I need to stop writing this story.

Thank you for your patience.

*****

Chapter 92: The Liar's Downfall

The young, handsome doctor walks through the lab and into the hall, holding the results of some promising tests from a rather pretty patient. He knocks on the door, and enters to see her, in her nice, flowery dress woolen jacket.

"Alright, I have your fertility test results here, Mrs Foster." He says to Jessica, "You are perfectly fit for children, you and your partner have nothing to worry about."

"Thank you so much, Doctor." She says as she stands up.

"You have any plans for this evening?" He asks casually as she gathers her purse.

"Just a bit of shopping, and then to my boyfriend for a romantic evening." She says happily, "He's been going through a lot lately, and I need to be there to cheer him up."

"Hahaha, your boyfriend is a lucky man, Mrs Foster." He says with a warm smile.

"Thank you again." She says as she walks out, and makes her way through the hospital. She needs to buy Adam some suitable undergarments - wearing those briefs and worn out boxers is just not classy - he's looked like a perfect slob, if it wasn't for his wonderful charm. While she's at it, she needs to buy him some proper, formal attire for when they go to church next week. After that episode the other night, he needs a blessing from Father Eustace.

"Oh!"

"Ahh!"

Suddenly Jessica bumps into somebody, dropping her purse as the other person drops their satchel.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was spacing out." Says an Asian young woman as she squats down and picks up the purse, and offers it to Jessica.

"It's alright, no harm done."

"I've just had a LOT on my plate for the past week." The other woman says as she puts a few papers back into her academic pack, "Can you believe this is the first day off I've had in two weeks?"

"Two weeks??" Jessica repeats in shock. "My gosh, you're a hard worker."

"It's nothing." She smiles, "I was on my way out. Haheh, I know this is a little sudden but, how about you and I catch a trip?"

"I've got a few errands to run, actually."

"Please? None of my friends are available right now, and I need some company." The Japanese lady tells her sheepishly, "I'll treat you to a Pink Berry. Just a while at the mall, I insist."

"Well..." Jessica ponders with a smile, "I suppose I COULD do my shopping while we're there." She smiles at the woman, "Alright, it's a deal."

"Thank you, you are a life saver."

"You're very welcome." Jessica says as they start to walk together, "My name is Jessica, by the way."

"Doctor Yuri Umiyama." She replies.

"Oh, you're a doctor?? No wonder you're so busy." Jessica thinks for a moment as she examines her, "You look familiar..."

"We've met a couple of times." Yuri smiles, "I was the doctor who treated Adam when he was injured."

"Oh yes! Now I remember!" Jessica says as it dawns on her, "You saved his life, Yuri." She says as her eyes get a little teary, "God bless your soul."

"That's what they pay me for."

"Ahahahaha." Jessica chuckles as they leave the hospital. "We taking your car then?"

"I don't have any money for gas, I took the bus today."

"Ohhhh, MY car is in the shop..." Jessica frowns.

"It's ok, I know which bus route to get to the mall. I'll lead the way." She says as they start to walk down the sidewalk.

"Oh, great! Lets get going then. But I can't be out too long. My boyfriend is expecting me tonight."

"Ugh, some people have all the luck." Yuri says as they walk down the sidewalk, feeling the nice yellow and purple sky glow of dusk, "I am seeing someone, but I'm so unsure of it all, why can't it be as easy as Disney makes it out to be?"

"It could be, Yuri," Jessica says, "You just need to work for it, like I did."

"Then again though, with all the work and learning I have in my schedule, I'm not even sure I have enough room for romance." Yuri replies, "The guy's been really patient with me though, he's very nice. Hahaha, he even wrote me a Thank-You Note on our first day."

"Oh, bless his heart."

"Oh yes. What's YOUR boyfriend like?" Yuri asked.

"Oh, he's a very special man." Jessica answers, "He's sweet, he's handsome, he can sing and dance, he's a spectacular fisherman." She lists off, "He's had some very, very dark happenstance in his past, but I am there to see him through his struggles."

"Wow, you're really a good girlfriend. Hahah, I don't think I could be as strong as that... I'm more of a soloist for the most part."

"Now, you shouldn't give up so easily." Jessica says while the both of them stroll down the way, "Hey, since you're a doctor, have you by any chance treated a man named Harris Truttal? He's a member of our church, and he hasn't been attending."

"Oh, you haven't heard then?" Yuri asked, "Harris Truttal passed away two weeks ago."

"Hhh?! He did??" Jessica gasped, "What happened??"

"He kept getting violently sick. He was experiencing severe poisoning time after time, we were never able to find out just what kind of toxin was infecting his body. Eventually, his internal organs started to fail one by one. The autopsy even uncovered a parasitic enzyme that was feeding off his brain tissue, which was mimicking senile dementia a few days before he flat-lined. Aside from that, he couldn't get any transplants in time, and he ultimately died of heart failure."

"Oh my gosh, that's terrible..." Jessica says, "His wife must be devastated..." She notes, "No wonder we haven't seen them in church..." Jessica looks around. It's getting a little dark out here; the street lamps are already flickering on. "Are we coming close to the bus stop, Yuri? I'm getting a little nervous. It's a little too quiet out here, you know what I mean?"

"It's just around the corner, actually." Yuri said, "Hey Jessica, can I ask your opinion on something?" Yuri asked as their walking slowed down, "Girl to girl?"

"Sure, ask away, Yuri. How can I help you?" She said as they stopped.

"Ok, so, first off, just how long did you think you could get away with this?" She says with a slightly bemused look.

"Excuse me?" Jessica asks curiously, "What are you talking about?"

"You know, your boyfriend really is a sweetheart." Yuri says as she crosses her arms, smiling, "He's never forgotten a birthday, as far as I've known him. Always makes it a point to celebrate and make the most out of a holiday when it comes. He also has a rather mixed sense of humor though, he's not afraid to put a slightly disturbing image in your head. He's also got a bit of a sweet tooth, has great taste in video games and music, and his brown eyes always make you feel welcome no matter who you are or what you want."

"I beg your pardon..." Jessica says, a creeping terror starting to trickle down her spine.

"Oh, don't pretend, Jessica." Yuri leers at her, "You know, I always knew you were an invasive, obsessive, delusional fangirl, but I never would have imagined you would be a manipulative bible whore."

"How dare you!" Jessica exclaims, "Well, now I at least know just how two-faced his doctor really is."

"Ah, let's not make this about me, doll-face." Yuri replied, "But while we're at it, there are a couple of other things you don't know about me." She explains, "For instance, I've been Adam's roommate for over 10 years, I'm not just his doctor. I know him inside and out, almost as much as his own parents know him. And well, I figured, if he's going to be dating someone." She clicks her tongue as her eyes glance down and up, "I better see who the lucky girl is."

"You obviously don't know him well enough." Jessica claims, "Over the past while, he has proven his love and trust for me time and time again! These past few weeks have been the most revealing of his whole life."

"Ghaha, you are certifiable, do you know that?" Yuri laughs, "And how would you even know that, hm? All guests and visitors who visit Adam at the psychiatric ward must sign in and out each and every time they come to see him, while YOU, missy, have only signed for a few official visits, I checked. So how could Adam prove anything to you in just two visits out of two or so weeks?"

"I-I... He..." Jessica stammered.

"God, you're stupid." Yuri commented as she shakes her head.

"Lets me adult about this, Doctor Yuri." Jessica says indignantly, "Adam is a grown man, and he needs a real woman to guide him through his struggles. I must be that woman. Don't you understand?"

"He already has that, Jessica. Her name is Dr Donna. And to a lesser extent, me. She and I are both professionally certified and licensed to deal and care for him as a patient. But you." Yuri leers at her with disgust, "Popping him pills and dragging him to God knows where in the middle of the night when he should have been getting some rest?"

"How... What grounds do you have to accuse me of any of this??"

"Don't get cocky, Jessica - you don't want to challenge me, little girl." Yuri tells her, "As my grandmother would say, 'Watashi wa takada, to anata wa hebidesu. Anata wa watashi o yokogiru baai wa katenaideshou.'"

"And what does that mean?" Jessica asks,

"Simply put, it means if you piss me off, I'll knock you into next week."

"You can't threaten me!" Jessica declares, "I'll have you reported for-"

"Oh no, see, that's the most interesting thing." Yuri says, "See, I am off the clock right now, so we're really talking, girl-to-girl. And for good measure, I walked us at least 3 blocks away from the hospital, so anything you MIGHT think I do that forms in your head can't be applied to me as an accusation." Her voice suddenly gets lethal, "So we're going to keep this between you and me."

"If you touch one hair on my head-"

"Hah, with the dirt I've got on you?" Yuri smirks, "Who would anyone believe?" She chuckles at her, "Just how much faith would you have if our records were to be compared? It's my word against yours."

"Why are you doing this?" Jessica asks in a fearful tone, "Don't you see this is Adam's only chance at redemption?"

"Ahah, alright, you'll have to walk me through this one." Yuri says as she shifts her weight to lean on one leg.

"Don't you see??" Jessica explains, "What happened to Adam was horrible, but predestined! He was nearly lost to us! But you saved him, and now he can walk on his own two legs. His amnesia is not a disease, it's a blessing!" Yuri shakes her head with a look of disbelief, "God has answered my prayers, and given him a second chance! A 'reset', if you will. If you will allow me to guide him, I can set him on the righteous path, and have him be the man he is meant to be."

"Homosexuality is a sin!" Jessica continues, "And Adam is too precious to be condemned to hell for willfully choosing the wrong person spend his life with! With the amnesia, Adam has a clean slate! He can begin his life the RIGHT way! This is my chance to save him, and I can't let anyone else hurt him along the way! Don't you see that??"

"Alright, I used to think you were stupid. Now you're just flat-out scaring me." Yuri said.

"The evil should quake before the righteous."

"Paraphrase that from the good book, did you?"

"Yuri, I ask you, as a woman of medicine, does Adam not have the right to choose who gets to be? Who he may love?"

"You realize you just contradicted yourself right there, don't you?"

"You're not listening to me. Adam has a second chance! Your medicine and his therapist can only take him so far, but he needs ME to make him whole again!"

"How, by stuffing his throat full of cheap pain-killers and escorting him to unauthorized field trips while thumping the bible at him?" Yuri asked, "I'll have you know that if I were to tell any of this to his psychologist, she can have you sued for damaging the mental recovery and psychological progress of a patient. What you call 'saving him', is actually drawing him a bigger picture of psychological fear that is actually HURTING him."

"And I'll have YOU know that I am Adam's true love!" Jessica defends, "I visited Adam EVERYDAY ever since he was bashed!" She points to Yuri, "I didn't see his exboyfriend coming to-" In the blink of an eye, Yuri's hand flies up, and pulls a vice-grip on her wrist, "Ahh!"

"You wouldn't by any chance be referring to Merrick, would you? The man you pushed down the floor just after he had a heart attack after finding out Adam was put into a COMA?" Yuri throws Jessica arm back hard, actually making her stagger. "Because they're not actually broken up. They're separated right now, but make no mistake." Yuri glares at her, "Merrick is the one wearing Adam's ring. Not you."

"Hah... Oh really..." Jessica leers, "While I dedicated my time looking after Adam, that... That blonde shirker abandoned him. I never once saw him with Adam since this all began. As soon as Adam was put on that bed, he just left him behind!"

"You are so typical." Yuri shook her head, "Merrick has fought for Adam in so many more ways than one, and has dealt with so much more than you will ever know. While you were trying to buy Adam's love with cheap bouquets and religious clichés, Merrick has gone mad with rage and sorrow at a society who would care less about letting a gay man die rather than stand up for what's right. But then he came back, after having reflected on life and what he needs to do, and he stood by Adam's side at every chance he had during Adam's recovery, and made amends for faults that's easily done by any and everyone."

"You, little girl, you are a fraud." Yuri says, plain and simple.

In a fit of tear-filled anger, Jessica's arm back, and aims her hand right for Yuri's cheek! Without even blinking, Yuri's hand claps again onto Jessica's wrist, and yanks it around to force Jessica to turn "AHH-Haahh!" Then, Yuri pins her wrist to her back, and jams her knuckles into her back. "GHHAA!" Jessica screams in pain.

"You know, stereotypes come from somewhere, right? Have you ever heard about the one where Asian people are all secret ninjas?" Yuri muttered venomously behind Jessica, one hand holding onto her shoulder, and the other one cranking Jessica's arm upward to twist more pain, "I come from very traditional families, from both my parents' sides. Me and my three brothers have been trained in several different martial arts; including Jujutsu and Kendo. I can take you out with just one hand, and you wouldn't even see it coming."

"Ahh!" Jessica yanks herself away, and turned to look at the icy cold look of the Japanese physician. "This isn't your business, Miss Yuri!" She protests, "What proof can you tell me that Adam is NOT meant to be with me?? That he CAN'T be a heterosexual man of God?! To be MY husband?!"

"Well, I won't say what specifically, but my friend Jamal did a little test just to see if Adam's gay or not. Though I usually call him on his idiocy as I always do, I can admit to giving him a little credit for it. For the last time, Jessica. Adam is not interested in women - he likes MEN."

"Hmph, and you believe that ape?" Jessica taunts. Yuri's eyes widened slightly, "That tweaked, sleaze-ridden, ghetto street-"

SLAP!!

"Ahh-HH!" Jessica suddenly finds her staggering to the side, her left cheek burning fiercely, before she quirks her gaze back to Yuri, whose body hasn't even moved besides the new position of her right arm. Yuri then slips her satchel off of her shoulder, and calmly takes a couple of steps to her, and quickly grips Jessica by her blouse in another lightning-fast move.

"Don't you even dare talk about Jamal like that." Yuri's wrath is underlined only in her calm fury, her voice portraying little emotion, but her eyes pierce Jessica's with refined, quiet rage, "You judgmental snake. That big pervert of mine saved Adam's life before I had I even put a single bandage on him."

"I approached you tonight because you made this personal a long time ago. But now you're just giving me a shovel for your own grave. I do not tolerate that sort of talk. Especially from brainless little girls like you."

"Let-me-go!" Jessica pries Yuri's hand off of her, and backs away, "That addict's your lover, isn't he?! No wonder he's with you! You give him the hospital's drugs don't you?! And that's why he keeps you around, for the fixes, right?!"

"Ok, first of all, me and Jamal? Nuh-uh, not my type; sex life aside, he's too big in height and bulk, and way too vulgar for me to put up with in a biblical sense. And secondly, are you really throwing those kinds of words at me?" Yuri continues to look down on Jessica, "You zealots are all the same. You can't even put up a decent argument, so you start lashing out carelessly. Even Jamal is smarter than that. You're emotional and panicking, and it's just pathetic."

"Why won't you just let me and Adam alone?!" Jessica demanded, "Just leave us be!"

"Aside from the fact that he already has a soul mate - and yes, I'm talking about Merrick - I personally think that Adam could do a lot better than a piece of trash like you. But hey," She gave a cold chuckle, "Who am I to judge, right?"

"Ghhh!" Jessica seethes as she tries another slap. Once again, not even moving, Yuri's right arm shoots up, and grips Jessica's hand. With a turn, Jessica's wrist crackles before her left hand lances a strike and lets that arm leave her grip, and then jabs Jessica's side. "AAAoooww!" Jessica wails before she staggers back, holding her wrist. It feels like it's sprained, but... It doesn't hurt to move it, but it's becoming very red.

"You know, I'm honestly not sure just what I'm surprised more by." Yuri continues, "Your ignorance or your bravery."

"What are you talking about now??" Jessica whines at her.

"You've got a lot of nerve, visiting Adam just once when he was in the hospital."

"What do you mean by that?" Jessica says with a lethal glare.

"You know EXACTLY what I mean. I know all about what happened between you and Adam before all of this happened. I know what you DID." She says, "How you got yourself BANNED from the Dream Waltz?"

"Who even told you?! Did that JAMAL tell you that! He's a liar! That doesn't even have ANYTHING to do with you!"

"Not at the time." Yuri replied coldly, putting her hands in her coat pockets, "You had your chance to walk away after that happened, find some other man to fawn over, I didn't have to know. Though, had I known about what you did at the time, I would have showed up on your doorstep and rearranged your internal organs, and I would have had Jamal hold you down while I dissected you." She starts to walk to Jessica very slowly, making her back away in turn.

"But you made me your worst nightmare the moment you snuck him out on your first date." Yuri says in a deadly tone. As Jessica looks in fear at Yuri, she could swear Yuri looks like a living Grudge, but with anger as a clear theme of mood, "Interfering with the mental recovery of a patient is one thing, that's between you, him, and his psychologist."

"S-Stay away!" Jessica tells her, "If you lay one hand on me, I'll scream!"

"I hope so." Yuri replied, "Last night, however? Last night, you molested my friend." A dark gleam flashes in Yuri's eyes, "You touched him, you lied to him, you mocked him, you DAMAGED him. And you better count your damn blessings that I found out before Merrick did - because if he knew what you tried to do, he would've hunted you down a long time ago."

"Just leave me alone!!" Jessica flings her arms up to shove Yuri back. Yuri quickly blocks her arms and throws them up. She then ducks to the sidewalk, and does a full rotation, swinging her leg to trip Jessica! "Ah-Ahh!" Jessica topples over, but Yuri's move is only half finished.