January 13th
Don't look
•••••
"Ed?"
No answer.
"Edmund?"
Silence.
"Come on, please wake up."
A small groan.
Peter's eyes widened a little, swallowing hard as he gave his brother a tiny shake.
Edmund coughed weakly, letting out another groan before his eyes flickered open halfway, apparently not surprised or shocked to see his brother above him.
"Ed?" Peter asked hesitantly, staring into those chocolate brown eyes that were usually so alive and filled with mischief. But not today, no, those eyes were now dull and lifeless, not a single spark in them.
"Hey." Edmund eventually managed to croak out, voice quiet and barely above a whisper.
Peter took a deep, shaky breath, tears stinging his own eyes by this point. "Hey." He whispered back, hand shaking as he ran it through Edmund's dirty hair.
Edmund lay there for a moment, before he sighed weakly. "How long have I been out?" He asked hesitantly.
Peter shook his head. "Not long at all don't worry." He reassured him. "But I'm worried about your injuries."
Edmund gave his best attempt at a snort. "You and me both." He murmured.
Peter blinked. "Are they bad?" He choked out, dreading to think what damage may beneath that white, stained red, shirt.
Edmund stared at him, knowing exactly what the answer was but not wanting Peter to know... He'd get so upset, especially since he wouldn't be able to do anything about it, not whilst stuck in the cell anyway.
"They're bad." Peter guessed, voice sad.
Edmund said nothing in reply.
Peter sighed a little. "Let me take a look." He told him, keeping his voice as gentle and calm as possible.
Edmund slowly shook his head.
"Ed..." Peter murmured.
"Don't." Edmund choked out. "Don't look."
"Eddy if they're bad I need to try and help you." Peter pleaded with him, sounding a little desperate now.
"Help me how?" Edmund questioned in reply. "We're locked in a cell, you have nothing to even clean the injuries with."
Peter couldn't deny that he was telling the truth, but that didn't change the fact that Edmund didn't even want him looking.
He asked why, and Edmund just sighed. "Because you'll just beat yourself up over not being able to help." He replied. "I don't need you all mopey if we're gonna find a way out of here."
Peter actually gave his brother a small smirk at this. "Alright alright." He muttered, breathing out in defeat. "But if you start feeling weird or unwell, or they start hurting too much, let me know straight away."
Edmund nodded a little, giving Peter a soft smile. "I will, don't worry." He breathed, before taking a deep breath. "Now let's get the heck out of here."
