Fighting For Ava

*21*

The next day saw Jethro confined in his room. That was never a punishment but a personal decision. Rose had been to school and Mother T had been to work after recovering from her cold. The woman had gratefully not called him to follow her and even if she would attempt that, Jethro had done the precaution of shutting his door behind and laid dead on his bed. Thousands of thundering knocks would never be enough to wake him. You could never wake someone who's pretending to sleep. Could you?

Jethro only went out of his room once till the evening came, and that was of course to get his food from the kitchen. Mother T had made a breakfast of Bagel with cream cheese and she had left a paper on it. Jethro knew it would be some instruction from the woman.

Clean the house and wash the dishes. I shouldn't remind you to eat your food, should I?

"You should." Jethro laughed as he picked up the food. He walked back to his room and met Kitty sitting on the floor, looking bored. She had brought her toy along and dropped it excitedly on the floor when she saw him. She wanted to be his unlikely friend today. Jethro was not a fan of cats and especially, Kitty, but maybe this could be a time they reconcile. He felt bored as well.

He dropped his food on the desk and scooped the toy up. He threw it to a corner of the room and watched Kitty happily lunge after it. She brought the toy back to him and he threw it again. Kitty purred in delight and made another glad hunt for the toy. She had finally found what she was looking for. Someone to play with.

Jethro ignored her when she brought the toy the third time. He had to eat. It was almost noon and his stomach had started its usual music. He drew a chair closer to the desk and gazed out of the window as he chewed. His mind went to Ava and he thought of going to see her before shaking it off his head. He felt he needed to avoid Ava for a day or two. He would need this period to meet and confront Jessy as Stan had prompted. And he was also expecting Stan to come back today or tomorrow with what the boy had promised to give him.

Ava would be fine without seeing him. She would. He assured himself and felt a creepy movement around his legs. It was Kitty rubbing him with her sleek tail, calling his attention again for a play. He snubbed her again and ate his food to a half before falling back to his bed. Kitty also jumped over to meet him and she crouched across his shoulder. He picked her up and laid her beside him, caressing her tiny back.

Stan's warning came back to his head as he closed his eyes. Stan was no longer threatening him but warning him. He saw the concern in the boy's eyes yesterday when he talked about the survival thing. Stan was scared. And yeah, Gavin was scared as well. But Jethro had a different man inside him telling him he would survive. And right now, it was that man's voice he wanted to yield to.

He finally fell asleep after a series of thoughts and it was some banging on the door that woke him up minutes later. Minutes? No, hours. The clock said it was a few minutes past four.

He had slept for over three hours and he wondered why he still felt drowsy like someone whose nap had been cut off. He staggered to the door when the loud knock shot up again. He yanked it open and as expected, it was Rose standing in front with her backpack falling halfway through her arms.

"Sweet holiday." She squeaked and waved at him.

Jethro only sighed and hissed in response.

"I wish I could have a holiday like this but I can't throw a punch, can I ?" She teased, dropping her bag on his bed.

Jethro knew better than to answer her. He rubbed his palms over his puffy face and squinted his eyes sleepily at her, "How's school today?" He asked instead.