Visible Ghosts

31

Sang POV

My body hurts. My cheek is squished against Zane's stomach, I can feel his heat all around me. With a groan, I sit up and rub the crust out of my eyes. My wrist are still bandaged and the itch that has started underneath them might drive me crazy.

"Morning, sleepyhead." Zane says, kisses my head, then slides off the bed stretching his arms up, he rotates his head side to side and gives me a smile.

He's been crying. I can tell. I won't say anything but I need to remember to check up on him the next couple of days. While my body is physically hurting, I know my brother and his mental health is down the drain. "Morning." I reply, then shift towards the middle of my bed to only hit another body, which grunts. "Dr. Green?"

"Shush, Miss Sang, a doctor needs his rest." He grumbles at me, face buried in the pillows.

"Good morning to you too, Doc." Zane says as he leaves my room, probably to head to his own.

"Where's Raven?" I call after him.

Sean groans again flipping on his back as he throws an arm over his eyes to block the sunlight streaming into my room. "Raven can't be far, he sat on your floor watching all night, he wouldn't even move when I brought snacks up last night."

"Get some more sleep Dr. Sean, I'll be fine." Leaving the bed, I shut the curtains in my room to darken it, then slip into the bathroom for a minute to brush my teeth and change. He's got to be exhausted, I heard him leave the room close to midnight and it's barely 8 o'clock in the morning now.

Downstairs I find Zane staring at the percolating coffee pot and Raven humming at the stove. He's got my cream and pink apron wrapped around him even though he's not wearing a shirt, tattoos snake across his entire upper back, twining their way over his shoulders and down both arms. It's hard not to stare at the artwork inked onto his body, his every movement causing the pieces to shift and ripple as if they were imbued with their own life. What looks like pancakes sit on the island, lumps of tan, brown, and black are arranged on four plates along with strawberries and bacon. "Hi Raven, whatcha cookin?" I say once perched on a barstool.

"Malen'kiy kotenok (little kitten)!" Raven spins around, almost whacking Zane with the spatula in his hand. "You are awake, sleep good?"

"Yes, I slept fine, bol'shoy medved (big bear). Is this food for me?" I ask again, poking at the lump of brown on the plate closest. Normally pancakes are flat, this resembles a misshapen rock that has syrup on it.

"Da. I made pancakes, I'm almost done with the eggs." He whips back around hurriedly moving the spatula around the stove before setting the still hot pan on the counter. Luckily, you can place hot things on granite, regardless Zane sends a glare to the back of his head and grabs a hot plate.

"Lift the pan." Zane demands, Raven obliges and Zane turns back to the almost done coffee with a huff. Still not a morning person.

The eggs look edible, which is a relief. I don't think bacon and strawberries are enough to get me through today, my stomach growls at me as I lift my fork to spear some of the scrambled eggs. Tentatively, I take a bite. It's not bad, I think he added cheese to them. "Thanks, Raven." I say earnestly before focusing back on my food. I stick the fork into my pancake and I can tell the inside is undercooked, batter clings to my fork. "Did you read the directions on the pancake box?" I ask.

"Da. Water, eggs, cook in pan with oil." He glances over at me, his gaze tracking from my face to the two lumps of pancake on my plate. His face falls, "Did I do it wrong?"

"I think you missed a step." Zane tells him, while he breaks open a pancake on his plate. That one is almost completely black on the outside but the inside looks decent. "Pancakes are normally flat." Zane picks at the inside of the pancake and pops a piece into his mouth. "Taste isn't bad though, we'll work on it." He tells Raven before sliding both of us mugs of coffee.