Remember Sunny Days

1

Sunny couldn't help but watch in sheer horror as his hands flew on their own, the harsh contact with the soft fabric of Mari's clothing making him feel sick to his stomach. He especially didn't care for the way Mari's eyes opened wide out of shock and fear as she felt her feet lose contact with the ground, her hand flying up to grab something out of reach. He didn't have time to stand on his feet, stuck to the floor while she fell. No, he had to do something. Without thinking of the consequences, he leapt out, curling around her as best as he could despite his size. Together they tumbled down the stairs, screaming out in pain as they felt the stairs harshly dig into them, the unforgiving surface digging into their skin.

The ungraceful thump of hitting the flooring below was followed with silence. He had tried to keep himself from falling entirely by putting an arm out, but it seemed to have backfired. His wrist cracked beneath him and he yelped in pain, a grinding noise above him as Mari was slammed mercilessly into the ground. Her lack of movement made him forget his own pain, yelling, shaking her and calling for his parents. He could see her faint breathing from her frame, he could hear light whimpers, but the lack of response sent him into a panic.

The ride to the hospital was a sickening blur. Mari was taken quickly away from him, he found himself begging for him to be able to stay with her, uncharacteristically yelling out and pleading for her to come back. The hands on him to hold him back from running after her made his skin crawl. Restrained to an uncomfortable chair, he couldn't help but wait anxiously. He had well forgotten about his own broken wrist, but it didn't take long for his parents to realize in horror as it bruised quickly.

The hospital visit continued to mix into an unrecognizable form in his mind, the only thing he vaguely remembered being the way Mari's hair framed her face as she slept. The doctors had said it was a coma, but there was no way. The way her chest rose and fell rhythmically even still had him convinced she simply was sleeping. He was escorted away from her, his eyes wandering behind him before the door closed to see how small Mari looked among the machinery in the room and the potted plant.

The night without Mari home was excruciatingly lonely. The thought of her always being a couple rooms away had made it easier for him to feel safe, but the lack of presence stained his thoughts with mangled images of what could have been along with what was. Even with his parent's attempt to clean up the mess, fragments of splintered wood still remained at the stairs base. He picked up a couple in his hand, watching as they loosely fell into the creases of his palm with cold eyes before walking up the stairs and closing his door. The dull walls seemed to taunt him as he closed the door. He slowly pulled himself into bed, taking a moment to look out his window and down at his cast. He and his friends had spent so long working on that treehouse, and he was already unable to join them. He shook his head and crawled into bed, cursing the lack of comfort provided for his wrist. The sleep was dreamless, and he found himself tossing and turning far more than any average night.

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Going to school turned out to be far more problematic than he was prepared for. The disdainful whispers that started as the day began were already proving to be more than he could properly handle; he instead opted for unfocusing his eyes and letting his gaze go through things. He refused to look up around anyone, their stares throwing daggers into his back as he continued to move through the crowd. Finding his way to an empty desk in the room, he sat down, his eyes focusing on the desk. For a moment, he swore he could see the silhouette of Mari's head on the pillow, laying so peacefully before a hand waved in front of his face.

"Hey dude! You didn't look like you heard me earlier!" Kel cheerily said, poking his shoulder into Sunny's side playfully. His cheery tone felt grating to Sunny, and he attempted to ball both of his hands into fists, forgetting the cast squeezing around his wrist. Kel picks up on the out of place piece, tapping it.