Terrified

Part 8

Three excruciating days after the transplant, Leo finally let me free. I had re-read most of my books, listened to all of my music on repeat more than I'd like to admit, and stared at the ceiling for countless hours. I was surprisingly relieved when he told me that he had to break our promise. At least I now knew Raph didn't over-stress himself over the information. Plus, it was nice knowing there wasn't much for him to break if he lost his temper during quarantine. I figured Mikey could hold his own against his weakened brother if it did come to blows. Thankfully, it did not. I heard he also took it rather well. Which simultaneously made me happy that he kept his cool and had me doubting what little effect I may have once had over him.

I could only hope he still cared about my welfare to get him to stay in the lair indefinitely.

Still, it was nice to leave my room. The first place I went was Raph's room. Where I found there was no bed because they had carried him on his bed into the quarantine room. So he would be more comfortable when he woke. I hoped he appreciated his brothers' thoughtfulness. I then peeked into the lab to find both Raph and Mikey snoring, disappointing me slightly. I would've liked to see how well he was doing for myself. With a sigh, I made my way toward the living room and plopped myself onto the giant bean bag and turned on the tv to enjoy my newfound freedom. A few minutes later, spaghetti was resting on my lap as if I had conjured it. I looked up to find Leo sitting on the couch, making it known that he wasn't leaving until I had eaten at least a few bites.

He was really throwing off my groove with this whole 'forcing me to eat thing'. How was I supposed to convince Raph to stay in the lair if I didn't look sick? Plus, it was hard to eat anymore. Those weeks I went barely eating were affecting me more than I wanted to admit. But if it kept Raph safe, it was worth it.

A few bites in I expected him to leave. Instead, he flicked his gaze between my plate and eyes, raising a brow in challenge. I huffed, but continued eating. Spaghetti was my favorite, after all, so I figured a few extra bites wouldn't hurt. Eventually he was satisfied and left the room for the dojo.

I waited on bated breath until I heard the swishing of his katanas before sneaking off for the restroom. I needed to empty my stomach, and fast. Unfortunately, I bumped into Donnie on my way, who dragged me back to the living room area. His excuse was that he wanted to watch a movie with me.

This pattern continued for the following few days. To my utter frustration.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Today was the day. The day Raph and Mikey were finally going to get out of quarantine. The day he was going to get to see you, and he couldn't wait. He was more anxious than the first night they went topside and that was saying something.

Three days after Leo had spilled his guts about what had been going on with you and Raph felt he was almost at 100 percent. Sure, he still needed a few extra hours of sleep, to get some muscle back, and get his cardio up a bit more, but he finally got the okay from Donnie to get out of this bubble. All Donnie had to do was some last minute blood tests to make sure there was no more poison in his system and that their immune systems were up to crack after the transplant. When he gave the all clear, Raph ripped the plastic down and asked where to find you.

Raph asked everyone not to tell you that he was going to be out of quarantine because he wanted to see you before you saw him. He needed to see how true the stories were. He needed to make sure he could compose himself before you saw him.

He stopped dead in his tracks when he found you sitting alone on the couch, watching tv. A banana laid next to you, untouched, and he wondered if you had eaten yet. You needed to eat. You were so small, waif-like really. The curves he so loved on you had disappeared. Replaced with fragile looking bone. You looked exhausted with dark bags and droopy eyes. Your skin was paler than he had ever seen and your hair looked thin, not that he knew much about that, but it used to have a mind of its own. Now it was flat and lifeless. His heart broke at the sight.