Yang Necklace

A soft groan left Ryan's mouth as he tried to open his eyes. It felt almost as if his head was being split open without any anesthesia.

His head wasn't the only thing that was in pain. His entire body ached for some reason and the pain of having his heart blown up to pieces was still there. 

His vision at first was quite blurry. His eyes took in the blurry images of the room, a pure white ceiling or maybe cream, he wasn't sure. The whole room seemed to be either of those colors. 

He closed his eyes and opened them again, his vision had cleared out more. 

As he brought himself to a sitting position, he made an attempt to rub his aching head with his hand but as he tried, he felt something pulling his hand back down. 

He looked to the side of the bed and a man dressed in a plain white T-shirt and a black trouser was sitting with his back turned to him. 

Only when he took a second to think did Ryan realize he was at a hospital but he was cuffed to the bed. For what offense? Didn't they do that to criminals alone? 

“Er– excuse me?” He said softly to the man with his back facing him.

The man turned around, “oh, you’re awake. Took you long enough.” 

“I'm sorry?” Ryan squinted as he asked, feeling confused by the strange man's words.

“I thought you would make us spend Christmas here in the hospital.” The man said as he pulled his chair closer to Ryan's hospice bed. 

“I'm sorry I… I really don't understand what it is that's going on here. Who are you? Where am I? And wh--why am I cuffed to the bed?” Ryan questioned. 

The man sat in silence for a second then two then three, as if he was watching Ryan and trying to find out if those questions were jokes. “Are you serious? You don't understand?” 

“I really don't, so could you explain to me what is going on?” 

The man heaved a low sigh as his expression hardened. “You've been out for three days straight after your partner in crime left you alone on the road.” 

“Wait what?” 

“Yeah, we saw. Now we don't know why he left you but my guess is as bait which we fell for but you're enough. Now tell me why in your goddamn mind you and those other delinquents think it is a-okay to break into a single mother's house at midnight.” The man's expression never softened as he asked. 

It was Ryan's turn to fall silent. Delinquents? Single mother? Break in? None of the things he was saying was making any sense!

“You're not going to talk eh?” The man's brow arched. “I'll have you know that I am an officer who doesn't mind using force to get people like you to talk and my force, I mean pain.” 

Indeed he was what he said he was. His name was officer Randolph and he had never lost a crime case before. He was known for his strong will for justice and his painful methods of getting it. 

“Wait,” Ryan's eyes widened. “You're an officer?” 

“You couldn't tell by the look in my eyes? Anyway, I don't have time for your games so spill the juice or feel my wrath.” 

“Wait wait, I don't… I still don't understand. What do you mean by my partner in crime? I don't get it.” Ryan confessed. 

Officer Randolph let out a groan as he rose to his feet. “You wanna play around? Sure, I've got time. I stayed here for three days straight without my patience wearing out. Teresa Cooper is a single mother of five– shocking, yes but that's not the point– and you and your bike boys broke into her house at midnight last night with God knows what on your dirty minds. 

“Her eldest son was able to call the police before you could harm anyone but you did get your hands on some jewelry.” He reached into the pocket of his coat and took out a necklace with its pendant dangling. “Does this look familiar to you?” 

Ryan tried to grab it but his hand couldn't reach. “Give it back! My mother gave that to me.” 

Officer Randolph burst into laughter. After a moment, he placed his hand on Ryan's broken knee and pressed down on it. 

Ryan didn't even realize the wounds on his body until the officer touched it. He groaned from the pain but Randolph cared less.

“I don't have time for jokes boy.” He said in a cold tone. 

The door pushed open and officer Randolph moved back from Ryan. A beautiful woman with an aura of wealth walked in with a frown on her face. 

“You got one of them?” She asked in an angry tone. 

“Teresa, welcome. He had this one on him when he was found. He was confident enough to even put it around his neck.” Officer Randolph explained as he handed Ryan's necklace to her. 

She took the necklace and her expression suddenly changed. Her fingers trailed across the details of the yang necklace for a second before she stumbled forward towards Ryan's bed as if her feet had gone numb. 

“Where did you find this? How do you have this?” Her eyes watered as she asked him. 

Ryan was hesitant but he brought himself to respond. “My… My mother gave that to me when I was young. It's all I have left of her so can you please give it back?” 

Tears trailed down her face as she stared at him. Suddenly, she threw her arms around him and pulled him into a tight embrace. “You poor little thing.” She muttered as she hugged him. 

Ryan didn't fight off the hug but he was very confused. A strange woman was hugging him and crying as well. He couldn't help but to think to himself, ‘What is going on here?’