Char let Ky out in the morning, smiling when he saw I was awake. “Go back to sleep, Angel, and I’ll see you later, all right? And don’t think I didn’t notice you avoided changing your bandages yesterday. Marcus will be over later to help you with them because it must be done. Otherwise, it’s to the hospital you go, sweetheart,” Char warned with concerned eyes. Sighing, I nodded glumly, and he chuckled before kissing my forehead.
I woke when someone gently shook my shoulder and blinked my eyes open to find Marcus sitting on my bed with a soft smile. “Get in the shower, sweetheart, and I will help change your bandages afterward, all right?” Marcus offered in a gentle voice. With an enormous sigh, I nodded and grabbed some clean clothes before making my way to the bathroom. Riff smiled when I passed the doorway, another doughnut in his mouth. Shaking my head, I chuckled, happy to see he was in good spirits even though I kept him out of school. At the thought of that place, I felt cold, and I ran for the bathroom, barely making it in time.
At least I could brush my teeth afterward this time. Ugh. That was so gross, and I wished I would stop doing it. After stripping, I hopped in the shower, sighing when the hot water soothed my achy muscles, although my wounds made themselves a little more known. Meh. Worth it. After I was half-dressed, lacking only my shirt, and with my hair still wrapped in a towel, I let Marcus in. Reminding me to breathe, he slowly helped me remove my bandages, clean my wounds, put the cream on, and re-bandage my wounds. Some hurt more than others. The cuts on my ribs, for example, but my hot shower still helped the crusted ones become a little looser. Either way, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
Once dressed, with my hair towel-dried and brushed, Marcus sternly ordered me to eat breakfast, and I sulked all the way to the table. However, when Riff put a plate with two pastries covered in icing in front of me, I brightened. Wolfing them, I hummed happily to myself. Only once I was licking the frosting off my fingers did I notice the silence and froze. Boy and man stared at me in shock, albeit Marcus smiled with a shake of his head after a moment. “From now on, that is your offering to Angel in the mornings,” he laughed, and Riff nodded, still looking shocked. “Now that we know your weakness, you have no excuse to not eat breakfast every morning.”
I almost argued, but I love those things, so I couldn’t bring myself to deny his words. Matty loved them too. For us, they were a beloved indulgence. Mom bought them as a treat whenever I did well in school, and I shared with Matty once he was old enough to eat them. Once, he ate them so messily that icing was in his hair and oh how he chortled during his bath. Shaking my head, I cleaned up after myself before following Riff to the couch. Today we played games, and Marcus left after he was sure we were okay. He mentioned that Char turned in our homework, and I gave him a grateful smile. Raising his brows, he gave Riff a pointed look before leaving, and I tilted my head to the side, confused.
“Marcus believes it’s not the school itself that makes you sick,” Riff murmured, eyeing me warily. “But a certain individual who we shall not speak of so you retain your breakfast.” Blinking, I felt queasy but shook my head to get the thought of that particular person out of my mind before I needed to run for the toilet. I nodded once I got my stomach under control, and he sighed with a shake of his head. “So, which game shall we play today?”
Hours later, we had open chip bags on either side of us while playing a first-person shooter. I was so concentrated on the screen I didn’t notice Char come in. Riff had his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth while he focused beside me. After we beat our opponents, Riff and I high fived, and Char clapped his hands, startling me while Riff mused, “I wondered when you would announce your presence.” Giving him a stern frown, I had to fight a smile when Riff looked suitably rebuked for not letting me know Char came home.
I froze, blinking, then I stood, running the couple steps to Char and threw my arms around him. “Welcome home,” I murmured tearfully when he was stiff because of his startlement. Chuckling, he softened and wrapped his arms around me, kissing my forehead before resting his on my shoulder with a content sigh. A moment later, Riff did the same to my other shoulder, hugging me from behind with a sigh of contentment. Feeling warm and safe between them, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment while the comforting feeling of the rightness of the world filled me.
After, the three of us watched The Good Place, since Char already watched the episodes, and was the one who recommended it to Marcus. I sat in the middle, comfortably warm between the males who gave off a lot of body heat. Tonight, Dakota and Marissa were working, so after a bit, Char asked if perhaps we wanted to provide dinner instead of Marcus and Ava. Chewing my bottom lip in thought, I nodded, and he smiled brightly, texting a quick response on his phone. Yawning, Riff stood to head into the kitchen, and I followed curiously. After looking over what we had, Char offered to do a grocery run, then we could make whatever. We agreed on enchiladas, and a grinning Char left to get supplies while Riff and I stopped
