Empath

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The following morning, Al woke up from a comfortable sleep on Timmy's bed. However, his back still ached, as though he had slept on it wrong. Yui had slept on the floor. He was already up and out of the room when Al awoke. Al wondered if Yui was awoken early by another nightmare.

Al went downstairs and joined Yui for breakfast. It looked like Anabelle was already out of the house.

"Ah, there you are, buddy," Yui said, as he saw Al enter the kitchen. "I just made breakfast, and I was worried it would get cold before you woke up."

"You make this all by yourself?" Al asked in a weak, gravelly, half-asleep voice.

"You bet," Yui said, with his hands on his hips, proudly. "I even made you tea." He gestured his fluffy little head to the mug on the table that said "best mom" on it.

"Best mom, huh?" Al noted, skeptically.

"Look, it was the only thing that wasn't the size of a teaspoon, 'kay?"

Al smiled a little and shrugged as he sat down at the table that Yui had set for him. "I should cook for you sometime," he said, while he picked up his fork and knife to cut an egg. "I've been cooking for myself these past five years, and I've gotten pretty good at it. Might be nice to cook for someone else."

"I look forward to it." Yui smiled and fidgeted as he stood there awaiting the verdict on his cooking skills.

"It's good," Al informed him. Yui fist pumped in silent triumph. "I hope you don't mind Chinese food, because stir-fry dishes are about all I make."

"Chinese would be great!" Yui said with a bright smile. He still hadn't sat down.

"You can sit down, you know," Al said. He gestured to the plate of food sitting across from him.

"Oh, right," Yui said, as he followed the directions. "I was so excited that I forgot I haven't eaten yet."

Al squinted at the dark liquid in his teacup, as though something was a little off. His cautiously took a small sip.

Yui looked at him like a deer in the headlights. "What's wrong?" He asked, as he saw Al's face scrunch slightly after tasting it.

"It's... a little bitter for me," Al said, honestly. "I like a little bit of milk and sugar in my tea. My stomach is a bit sensitive to bitter things. Same with spicy or sour stuff."

"Oh, no problem!" Yui quickly jumped out of his seat, as though it was an emergency, and grabbed the milk from the fridge and sugar from the cabinet.

"Thanks," Al said, before adding the ingredients to his tea.

They continued eating their breakfast. Right as Al was about to take his last bite, he noticed red poking out from under his black sleeve. He chewed his lip a little and looked pensive.

"What's up?" Yui asked, observantly.

Al pulled back his sleeve. "...Thought so " he mumbled. "It bled a bit more."

"Oh," Yui said, sadly. "We should change the bandages, anyway, right? I could help. I think I remember how Rose did it."

"Yeah... that would be a good idea," Al said, without meeting Yui's eyes. He didn't like being reminded of his weakness.

"I hope you know what you're doing, kid," Al said, as he sat on the bathroom floor.

"Not really," Yui said honestly. He unwrapped Al's bandages and revealed the wound beneath. It still looked kind of nasty, and the surrounding area looked pink and sore. Around it were scars of other self-inflicted cuts. Some looked like they were just from a week ago, while others were so subtle that they may have been years old. Yui swallowed and tried to hold back tears.