Changed Me ( Rewritten)

25

            Nat wakes up the next morning, nervous. The first thing he does after he wakes up. Is walk to his closet and opens it. He already knows what he wants to wear. The outfit came to mind last night. He grabs a tan sweater, white jeans and a black belt. Once he has all of the clothes he heads into the bathroom and quickly changes into them.

            When he finishes putting on his outfit, he looks into the mirror. To make sure he looks ok. However, when he looks into the mirror, he sees how puffy his eyes are from crying the previous day. As well as the long white bandage that completely wraps around his neck. " He'd rather me show that I'm struggling, instead of hiding that I am " he says to himself quietly.

            Taking a deep breath, he carefully starts to take off the bandage around his neck. He doesn't like the way it brings attention to his neck. He also wants to see what it looks like. He has yet to see the bruises and scratch marks himself.

            Once he's taken the bandage completely off, he sees just how dark the bruises are. It shocks him. He's never seen bruises as dark as the ones that wrap around his neck. It's as if Aek had a death grip around his throat. " Nat, are you in the bathroom " he hears Max's familiar voice call out.

            " You can come in " he says. A few seconds later, Max comes into the bathroom. " Why did you take the bandage off " Max questions him as soon as he sees his neck. " It brings attention to my neck. Besides, I hadn't seen what it looked like " he relies quietly.

            Max stands behind him, wrapping his arms around him. It feels comforting to him. It helps ease his nerves. " Not having the bandage on, might bring more attention to your neck baby. Are you ok with that " Max gently says. " No " he answers truthfully.

            " How about, I wrap the bandage around your neck again " Max says quietly. So he nods his head before handing Max the bandage. He takes a deep breath before turning around to face Max. When he does, Max starts to slowly and carefully wrap the bandage around his neck again.

            When Max is done, he leans down and kisses him on the forehead. " Are you ready for today " Max asks him gently. " No. I'm nervous to go. I don't know how I'll react " he says before leaning into Max. " Whatever way you react, we will all be there with you " Max says gently, wrapping his arms around him once again.

            " Are the others here " he asks quietly. " Yes they are. I was meant to come and get you and make sure you're awake " Max says. He takes a deep breath before saying " We should probably head downstairs then ". Max pulls away from him, gently smiling at him. " Let's go " Max says.

            They both begin to make their way downstairs and towards the living room where everyone else is. " Good morning Nat " Zee says, letting everyone else know he's here. " Good morning " he says quietly. " Nat, did you wear this outfit because of " his mother says before pausing.

            " I was going to wear this outfit that night. H-He was so excited about seeing me wear it. He never got to " he says quietly. " He'll be happy to see you wearing it to go see him " his mother says. He nods his head. " Let's head out there then " his mother says. " I want to go to the store with P'Max and then meet you guys. I-I want to get flowers " he says quietly.

            " Alright. Let's get going then " Max says. So they all leave the house and get into separate cars. Him and Max are the first to leave. So that they can quickly head to the store. It only takes them around 7 minutes to reach the store.

            " What flowers to you want to get him " Max asked him. " Pink carnations. They mean heartfelt gratitude. My dad loved them " he replies as they walk into the store and over to the flowers.

            He looks around at all of the beautiful flowers before finding a vase full of pink carnations. " This one looks nice " he says, grabbing it and turning to Max. " They look beautiful " Max says gently, smiling at him. He smiles as they walk over to the cash register.

            As soon as they are done paying for them, they quickly head back to the car before driving off towards the graveyard. When they pull into the graveyard, he becomes incredibly nervous as they drive and park next to everyone else. " It'll be ok " he says to himself quietly before he gets out of the car.

            When he gets out, him and Max walk towards the others. " His favorite flower " his mother says. " Heartfelt gratitude " is all that he quietly replies. " When you gift them to others it means Thank you and I'll never forget you " his mother says gently. He nods his head before taking a deep breath.

            " Are you ready Nat " NuNew asks gently. " Yes " he says quietly before they all begin to walk towards his fathers grave. It's a 5 minute walk. A walk that they all stay silent for. Only when they reach his grave does his mother break the silence. " We're here " his mother says.

            He slowly makes his way to his mother and stands in front of the grave. " Hi dad " he says quietly before he gently sets the vase of flowers down in front of the tombstone. He can already feel himself wanting to cry. When all he has done is set the flowers down in front of the tombstone.

            " I've brought Nat with me today. NuNew as well. Nat even brought some others that he wants to introduce to you " his mother says. " Hi uncle " NuNew says gently. He bites his lip as tears begin to silently stream down his face.

            " Dad, the first two people I want to introduce. Are P'Zee and P'Poppy " he says, pointing towards the both of them. " I've made more friends. It's no longer just me and NuNew. T-They both " he pauses as he starts to cry more. " They help me. When I go through rough times, they comfort me. P'Zee even tried to fight someone who hurt me " he says, lightly laughing.

            " T-Then, I want to introduce you to P'Max " he says, grabbing Max and pulling him over. He takes a shaky deep breath. " He's my boyfriend. Y-You would love him. He's just like your description of the type of person you wanted me to date. H-He protects me, helps calm me down, makes me feel safe. He makes me happy. All things you wanted my future boyfriend to do " he says.

            " He's got a great group of people by his side " his mother says. " Y-You can rest easy. You don't have to worry anymore. M-My leg and hip are healed as well. See, I can move it around like normal " he said, moving his leg forwards and backwards. " B-Because you protected me. I am here with everyone and experiencing new things. You protected me " he says before he sits down on his knees.

            He's crying so much that it's hard to talk. " You gave your life to protect me. I'm sorry. And thank you. Thank you dad. I love you " he cries out, grabbing on to the grass in front of him. Max kneels down next to him, gently rubbing his back to give him comfort.

            " You don't need to worry Sir. We will stay right by his side. Through the good and bad times. We will protect him and help him " Zee says. Only making him cry more. " I'm sorry dad. I'm sorry " he says quietly before he looks up.

            " Do you want some time alone with him Nat " his mother asks. " Yes " he quietly replies. " We'll be by the cars. Take all the time you need Nat " Max says to him gently before standing up. He nods his head before watching as everyone leaves.

                      WC: 1359