heal// 5SOS

20

Tw. Psych ward
Calum

Rider blew the candles out with a grin on his face, then clapped when everyone cheered and swung his legs.

I'd got him a special cake, that cost more money than I pleased to admit, but the smile on his face made me realise I'd pay double that, as long as it made his day.

Ash cut it up and passed it round, Rory attached to his hip, then we ate our slices.

Rory had gone and hidden in the house for a bit, but that meant he was able to join us until the end, and that was a pleasant surprise.

He definitely stuck with Ashton the most, but Luke and Mike had managed to get a few words out of him.

"This was the best birthday ever. Thank you everyone,"

"You're welcome," I said, "I think me and Sage are gonna have to head off in a moment,"

"Am I on kid duty?"

"I'll join you, Luke. Crystal and I can stay for a little,"

"We should probably head off now too, but it has been a lovely day. Thank you, Cal. And everyone," Ash said.

Rory and Sage said goodbye, then him and Ashton left. Sage and I were close behind, but I made sure to say goodbye to Rider and Gia before.

We got in the car and I set off, Sage next to me in silence. Their social battery was probably drained, but there was definitely something different going on.

"Today was good," I said.

"Yeah. Thanks for making it special for Rider. He had a bit of a cry in the middle of the day about it because he was so happy,"

"I hope you know I will be doing it all for you, whatever you want to do,"

"Please don't,"

"I will," I grinned, "You're my kid,"

"Unfortunately for you,"

"I'm very lucky, actually,"

They shrugged and looked away, tapping their fingers on their lap. Then, they put their headphones in and their cheeks flushed, so I gave their hand a gentle squeeze and stayed out if their zone for the journey.

When we arrived, I took them in like usual and we signed in, then waited outside of Dr Fahri's office. Sage's leg bounced, and bounced, then it stopped and they turned to me.

"Can you come in?"

"I don't want to intrude, darling,"

"I need you to come in,"

"Okay, I will,"

They nodded and put their head on my shoulder, wrapping a piece of string from their top round their finger several times.

"Hey Sage, and Calum. How are you two doing today?"

"We're okay, but definitely won't be rescheduling a session again,"

"Yeah, routines can be comforting, but I hope you still had a lovely time at the beach. Would you like to come in?"

"Can Calum come?"

"Of course. And if you want to kick him out then we will," he laughed, holding the door open for us. He had retired to just his shirt and tie, no blazer, and shut the door behind us.

Sage took me to the sofa and then put their head in their hands and rubbed their eyes.

"Coffee?"

"I'm okay, thank you,"