All I Have

Chapter 20 ~ I'm So Sorry I Missed Your Funeral, I'll Be There For the Next One

'He's making a list, he's checking it twice, he's building an improvised explosive device, Santa Claus is joining The Court.'

I hear the song before I can attach the voice to a face and I crumple up my eyes at the words, a smile somehow forming on my face in spite of everything else.

'He sees you when you're bleeding, he knows when you're post-op, he's coming with a gun for you, watch your back and don't get shot - hey!'

I pull open an eyelid and blink at the unfamiliar surroundings. There's some kind of sizzling coming from the kitchen across from where I'm laid, and I can make out the back of Charlie's head as he wiggles himself around, clearly enjoying the way his sense of humour improves the Christmas songs he used to hate.

'You better watch out, they're coming for you, they killed your brother and they're gonna kill you, Santa Claus is joining The Court.'

'That's cheerful.' I mumble, and he turns around, a pan and spatula in his hands, and a frilly apron wrapped around his waist as he chuckles at his own joke.

'Good morning sunshine.' He beams as he begins to unload rashers of bacon onto plates that he's lined bread up on. The oil spits back at him, almost warningly as he haphazardly sways around the burning metal.

'Where are we?' I say, trying to push myself up on my arms. When there's too much resistance, I look down to find myself tucked into a sleeping bag that's so tight that my arms are pinned down at my sides, 'Why have you straight-jacked-ted me into a sleeping bag?'

'Zoë thought you'd be too uncomfortable otherwise.' He grins.

I look around at the wooden floors beside my body and frown, given the completely empty sofa that's right next to me. As I turn my neck, a wave of pain hits me and I drop my head back down, hearing the thud before I can feel the pain, 'Why am I on the floor?'

'You're still bleeding everywhere, you're not ruining my sofa.' He shrugs.

'You couldn't have given me a pillow?' I groan.

'You took her pillow away?' Comes Zoë's voice as she scolds my brother. I can't see her from where I'm laid on the ground, but I hear her storming over, and grabbing an abandoned cushion from the sofa, 'What is the matter with you?'

'She's going to bleed all over it!' Charlie whines.

'You're heartless.' Zoë snaps.

'I'm going to be heartless and cushion-less at this rate.' He grumbles and continues to flip around bacon onto plates.

Zoë walks over to where I am and bends down, giving my encapsulated body a tight squeeze, but lifting up my neck to tuck a pillow underneath my head. I sigh at the release of some tension in my shoulders and she moves to sit cross legged beside me.

'I'm so relieved you're awake, how are you feeling?' She smiles, 'You really had us worried, when I saw all of that blood-'

'So that's a no for ketchup on your bacon sandwich?' Charlie points at her with his spatula.

'I'm vegetarian.' She grimaces.

'You're on your own then.' Charlie waves her off, 'I'm sure there's a spare cardboard box you can eat around here.'

'Cardboard is treated with all sorts of chemicals, I'll just eat one of your precious pillows instead.' She growls.

I look between the two of them and try to recognise the room we're in. It's pretty small, the kitchen and the living room are combined with an island separating them, and it seems decorated in a pretty minimalist fashion. I can't see any photos hung on the walls and if someone had asked me a week ago, I probably would've told you it was one of Loki's places.