I Faked My Death—Now I Have to Tame the Crazy Men I Left Behind-Chapter 73 - 71: Acts of Self-Harm

An alarm blared, startling Dixon awake. He fumbled around on his bed until he found his phone and shut it off.

He had a student council meeting in the afternoon, so after quickly washing up, he grabbed his bag and headed for the door.

The moment he stepped out, the hallway was dark.

"Sheesh, talk about a sudden change in weather."

The sky was overcast, and it looked like it was about to rain...

"Crap, the clothes are still hanging on the balcony!" he exclaimed, pulling out his keys and rushing back.

He threw open the balcony door. Dixon muttered to himself as he gathered the clothes, "Honestly, that Ian... He’s still not back, didn’t bring in the laundry, and couldn’t even be bothered to call and remind me when it got cloudy."

"Tsk. Looking at this, I bet he’s not even coming back tonight..."

"Holy shit?!"

Just as Dixon turned around, his arms full of clothes, he saw a figure sitting in a corner of the balcony.

He was so scared he almost dropped all the clothes.

The person sat quietly on the ground, arms draped limply over their knees.

Their head was bowed low, hair tousled by the wind, completely obscuring their features.

But Dixon still recognized the "statue"—it was Felix Sinclair!

"Felix?!" Dixon quickly dumped the clothes on a bed in the dorm and ran back to check on him.

He called Felix’s name as he ran, but there was no response.

Dixon suddenly had a terrible thought.

His hand trembling, he shakily crouched down and slowly reached out to check if Felix was breathing.

’No way, no way... Dude, don’t scare me like this...’

Dixon swallowed nervously. When he felt Felix’s faint breath, he slumped to the ground, letting out a huge sigh of relief.

"Felix? Wake up!" He grabbed Felix’s shoulders and shook him hard.

Perhaps he used too much force, because Felix’s body tipped to one side.

Dixon let out a sharp yelp and caught him.

His shriek managed to wake the slumbering man.

Felix cracked his eyes open, his brow furrowed. His expression was dazed, completely unaware of what was happening.

"Dude, are you okay? What are you doing sitting out here? Sunbathing? But it’s overcast! Besides, you have a fever. You came out into the wind without even a jacket?"

"And last night, too... what happened to your jacket when you came back?"

Felix’s brain had ground to a halt; he was completely unable to think.

He could only hear a buzzing in his ears and couldn’t make out what Dixon was saying.

Dixon helped him up. "The fever’s fried your brain, hasn’t it? Come on, I’ll take you to the campus clinic."

The ringing in his ears came and went. Felix rubbed his temples hard and slowly shook his head. "No need."

"What do you mean, ’no need’? You took medicine and your fever still hasn’t broken. Your forehead’s even hotter now! If this keeps up, you’re going to spontaneously combust!"

Felix broke free from Dixon’s grip, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

He found his water cup and forced down a few sips of cold water to clear his head.

Despite the situation, Felix was surprisingly composed, while Dixon was frantic. "Fine, if you won’t go with me, I’ll call Ian and have him come back..."

A hand pressed down on his phone.

Dixon looked up, confused.

"No need. I’ll go myself."

Felix casually grabbed a jacket from the closet.

Just putting on the jacket left him so exhausted he didn’t want to move.

Dixon, still worried, said, "I really think I should go with you..."

"No, go take care of your stuff. I’ll text you when I get to the clinic."

"Alright, then. I’ll walk with you for a bit."

Dixon only walked with him for a short distance. Seeing that Felix was walking steadily and seemed otherwise fine, Dixon finally felt relieved enough to head off in the other direction.

—

「Campus Clinic.」

Lying on a bed in the clinic, Felix watched the liquid in the IV bag drip rhythmically. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

But he couldn’t sleep.

The clinic’s doctor was still busy with other patients, so he had to keep an eye on his own IV drip.

The doctor managed to spare a moment to check on him. "Don’t you have a friend who can come sit with you?"

Felix’s reaction was sluggish. He shook his head a beat too late. "I can manage by myself."

"You should try to get some sleep. I’ll come check on you in a bit."

"It’s fine, please, you’re busy. I have trouble sleeping in unfamiliar beds anyway."

"...Alright, then. Call me when this bag is done."

"Okay. Thank you."

—

By the time Mia Grant’s class ended, the sky was already completely dark.

Since it hadn’t started raining yet, she and her roommates rushed back toward the dorm.

Partway there, their dorm leader stopped them. "Oh, wait, I can’t. I have to swing by the campus clinic. I had an allergic reaction to something I ate last night and need to pick up some ointment."

"We’ll all go. It’s not far, anyway."

Mia Grant glanced at the sky. "Let’s go, then. It doesn’t look like the rain will start for a little while."

The campus clinic was crowded today, so Mia Grant and her roommates waited in the hallway.

After a moment, the dorm leader came out. "Hey, guess who I saw!"

"Who?"

"Felix Sinclair!"

Hearing this, Mia Grant instinctively looked up.

"He’s in there. It looks like he’s sick; he’s on an IV." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Huh? Are you sure it was Felix? It wasn’t Ian?"

"Even if I can’t tell their faces apart, I can still read. I snuck a peek at his name."

"..." Peering past her roommates, Mia Grant tried to look inside.

The beds were in an inner room, and it was impossible to see anything from her angle.

’But she was sure her dorm leader wasn’t mistaken. She’d parted ways with Ian not long ago, and he had been perfectly fine and full of energy. There was no way he could be sick now.’

’So it had to be Felix.’

"Didn’t Kitty bring Felix here just the other day? It’s only been a few days, how is he sick again? Is his health just that bad?"

"I don’t know. I didn’t dare get a close look to see what was wrong with him."

"But I did just hear two of the doctors inside sigh when they mentioned his name. I guess it must be pretty serious, huh?"

"..." Mia Grant frowned.

"Kitty, aren’t you coming?" Her roommates had already walked a ways down the path before realizing Mia wasn’t with them.

"Oh... you guys go on ahead. I need to make a stop at the library."

"It’s about to rain."

"It’s fine, I’ll grab an umbrella from the convenience store. You guys should hurry back before you get caught in the downpour."

Once her friends were gone, Mia Grant let out a breath. She turned, glanced back at the campus clinic, and after hesitating for a moment, walked inside.

"Miss, how can I help you?"

The doctor was so busy they didn’t even look up, only noting that someone had entered.

Mia Grant glanced around the room before looking at the doctor. "I’m here to see a friend."

"What’s your friend’s name?"

"Felix Sinclair."

The doctor stopped writing and looked up at her.

Mia Grant blinked, not quite understanding the doctor’s expression.

"Is something wrong, Doctor?" Mia suddenly felt nervous.

The doctor looked her up and down before asking again, "You’re Felix Sinclair’s friend?"

"Yes."

"Girlfriend?"

"..." Mia faltered, and the doctor seemed to understand instantly. "Good, you’re just in time," they said bluntly. "He’s in here all by himself and burning up with fever. You can help him by keeping an eye on his IV. He still has two and a half bags to go."

"Is it just a fever?"

The doctor replied, "What more do you want? Isn’t a fever bad enough?"

"No, no, that’s not what I meant. I won’t disturb you then. I’ll just go in..."

"Wait." The doctor stopped her, then spoke, choosing their words carefully. "Are you aware that he has a history of self-harm?"