The Esports Superstar Is Mine Chapter 05
I couldn’t get what Daniel said out of my head.
Back at school, I spent my days combing through online information and bookmarking anything related to Killian. Then, I finally found a lead.
Under the post reading “The Star Player’s Mother Is Mentally Ill,” a comment caught my eye.
“I think his mother is in our hospital.”
I clicked on her profile, found her workplace, and wrote down the address on a piece of paper.
On that weekend morning, I went to the psychiatric hospital on the outskirts of the city. At first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except for the high walls, which made the whole place feel oppressive.
“Excuse me. Is there a patient called Marie Livingston?”
The nurse cast me a glance, then typed the name into her computer. It took her two seconds to find the answer.
“Yes. What’s your relationship to her?”
I thought for a moment and said, “I’m her daughter-in-law.”
I wasn’t exactly proud of the lie, but it worked.
Winding through the corridors, we reached the garden, where a few patients were acting strangely, in ways that I couldn’t make sense of.
Beneath the grapevines sat a woman in a patient gown, her face sickly pale, her eyes hollow and empty.
I bent forward slightly and greeted her, “Hello, Mrs. Livingston. I’m Killian’s friend.”
A flicker of life suddenly lit up her eyes, and her voice trembled as she spoke. “Killy? Is… is he here to see me? It’s been so long since he last came.”
“He’s at a match. He couldn’t make it, so he asked me to check on you. Are you feeling any better?”
While chatting with Marie, I realized she was far more clear-headed than I had expected. She still remembered many things about Killian.
But the doctor warned me not to upset her, or she might become violent and hurt both herself and others.
I felt a little sad. Had she lashed out at Killian in one of her episodes?
Not wanting to take up the doctor’s time, I fished a picture of Darion out of my pocket, showed it to him, and began recording.
“Has this man been here before?”
The doctor shook his head, claiming that there were too many visitors.
I pleaded with him for a long time and explained everything before he finally tried to remember. And when he did, his expression soured.
“I believe he was here before. Introduced himself as a friend of the patient’s son. But he provoked the patient and got badly bitten. Then he stormed in here, hurling all kinds of insults. We were going to contact the family, but he later changed his mind and said he didn’t want to cause them any distress.”
What a hypocrite! He must have used that to get under Killian’s skin.
After thanking the doctor, I sat with Marie for a while. She appeared more lucid. She held my hand and muttered to herself.
“You must be Killy’s girlfriend. You’re so pretty.
“Killy is a good boy, but life hasn’t been kind to him. He doesn’t have a good father, and he can be difficult sometimes. But be patient with him, and take care of each other.”
My nose tingled, and my eyes burned with tears. I squeezed her hand and said, “I will.”
It wasn’t long before Killian showed up.
He froze at the sight of me, then dragged me aside, his face darkening. “What are you doing here? Investigating me?”
I quickly explained, “No. I just came to see Marie and thought, maybe I could help you. That whole fight with Darion. It was about your mom, wasn’t it? I’ve got something that…”
“Does this have anything to do with you?”
His words shut me up. A bitter ache twisted in my chest.
It took me a long time to pull myself together, yet my tears still fell.
Stunned, Killian instinctively reached out to wipe my tears, but I flinched away.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I was just…”
Before he could finish, I took a step back and gave him a nod.
“I should be the one apologizing. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb your mother. I was thoughtless. I’ll let Philip send you the evidence. Hopefully, it’ll be of some use to you.
“I’ve got to go now. Goodbye.”
I understood his need for privacy, but it still broke my heart to be kept at arm’s length.
He was like a fortress covered in thorns. No one could get in, and any attempt to get close would only draw blood.
Good thing I hadn’t told him how I felt about him. That would have been really awkward.
