New team

33.Heart stopping

Hi! Here again similiar warning as two chapters before. If some of you have weak nerves better, I would sincerly advise you to stop reading somewhere in the middle. The idea at the end is what was a core part of nasty idea for this story and although it got a bit in the background it still was said, so I hope those of you who will reach there will not tear me down because of it, will you?

The days passed slowly. No matter how much he allowed himself to be consumed with work, when Andy was at school, he still felt a strange emptiness inside that could be filled with fear in a split second. All it took was for his phone to ring and Sam to jump inside with fear. Now that he was finally slowly finding common ground with Penny, he could lose her in the blink of an eye. He managed somehow at work and Pontypandy slowly coming to life allowed his mind to rest from his worries for a moment, but whenever he looked at Andy he saw Penny in him, which immediately reminded him of what he was afraid of.

Andy was unusually quiet and didn't look like the boy Sam had met in the park. After Sam picked him up from school, he always tried to cheer him up, take him out for ice cream or to the playground, but Andy always refused, became quiet again, and as soon as they got home, he hid in the guest room. Apparently the events had an impact on him too, Sam thought. He tried to invite him to play, but Andy had the best fun playing with Daisy and the team. The sight sometimes made Sam question whether he had done the right thing in listening to Liam, because it felt like his presence wasn't helping Andy, but was only depressing him more.

When Sam woke up that morning, the sky was overcast. So he reached for his watch and saw that he still had an hour to spare. However, he couldn't sleep anymore, so he got up and quietly went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
So he went downstairs and on the way made sure, by quietly looking through the slightly open door, that Andy was asleep. He was just about to turn on the kettle when he heard footsteps on the stairs. He looked back and saw Andy standing in the doorway to the kitchen, looking at Sam with sleepy eyes.

"Can I have some milk?" He asked shyly, rubbing his eyes.

"Of course," Sam replied and quickly poured some milk into a cup and handed it to the boy.

"Thank you," Andy handed him the cup back and took a step back.

"Breakfast will be ready in a moment. Why don't you go upstairs and wash up while you're at it?" Sam offered in a friendly way.

Andy just nodded and ran upstairs. Sam heard footsteps and dripping water from the tap, but he knew Andy only touched what he had to. The first day he came here with Sam, he was afraid to even sit on the bed until Daisy jumped on it and slept with him that night.
But Sam wasn't surprised by the boy's behavior. He was in a strange house, with almost a stranger, and on top of that, he was probably worried about his mother in his childish way.

"Everything's all right?" Sam chatted as Andy came down for breakfast again.

The boy just shrugged and wordlessly reached for one single slice of bread.

"Buddy," Sam said in a joking tone. "You have to eat to be strong."

"What for?" Andy muttered under his breath with a soft sigh. Sam barely heard him, but Andy's high-pitched voice was still easily heard in the silence.

"For yourself," Sam replied, although it didn't sound very convincing. "Look, I know you're worried, but you can't not eat," Sam argued gently.

"But what if I have no appetite?" Andy replied sadly, still picking at the bread crust.

"Are you feeling sick?" Sam immediately asked alarmed. It wasn't really that cold outside, but considering that Andy spent every free moment after school in Sam's garden or somewhere in Pontypandy under the care of one of the firefighters, he could get warm, and the wind was constantly blowing.