Blood of Acheron

Broken Chains

I wanted to fucking die. I groan as I am surrounded by beeping machinery. The walls were off-white, and the room I was in smelled so sanitary that it burned my nose hairs. I was in a fricken hospital. I was really starting to regret my brother coming home. I'd rather be freezing out in the snow in the middle of nowhere than hooked up to a bunch of dang machines. Every time I was in a hospital, my parents would have these doctors convinced I was getting worse, and soon I would be drugged up and tested for hours upon hours.

I yawn as my family begins to file in. Crap, I was hoping for a few minutes of silence. "Sapphire, dear, how are you feeling?" My mother coos

I resist the urge to vomit in my mouth. I force a smile to grace my lips before I respond.

"Perfect"

Tyros's eyebrows are furrowed, and he walks closer to my bed. He was so confused, and honestly, if I were in his shoes, I'd be confused, even mortified. He grabs my hand and takes a seat next to my bed, and I softly squeeze his hand just to let him know I am okay. Though we had a big age gap, my brother was my best friend and the parental figure I needed; he was my rock. I could see the pain in his eyes as he stared at me in this hospital bed. "I'm okay, Ty; don't worry," I whisper.

He stares past me, almost as if he's not staring at anything at all, but I know he's focused on me. I could see the gears turning around in his head, and I knew I wanted no part of whatever it was he was planning. I already knew after he left there would be hell to pay; I wasn't going to add even more to my plate, so I acted oblivious for everyone's sake. I lay back, observing the concerned faces around me, and silently prayed for the strength to face whatever was coming next.

"I understand now," Tyros says softly.

I keep my face as still as possible. What's he about to say?

"You have to deal with so much; I never knew she was so hard to handle." He starts, and I was secretly glaring at him at what stunt was he trying to pull," You need a break; she's draining you and I now I can finally see it."

My parents were just as surprised as I was because their eyes were wide open. My father was quick to recover and coughed; he knew that was a bunch of garbage; he barely saw me in that house because of the way he threw me out of it all the time.

"It is hard on her, but a hundred times worse on us, " he says, looking at my mom and frowning

"I wish I could help; let me help you," Tyros says

I could see where he was going with this; I'm just not aware if they were stupid enough not to see where he's going with this. Tyros's hand slithers behind him and pats my hand. He was lucky I could see right through him, or I'd be smashing those fingers of his.

"Idiot," I murmured

"What?" My mother says

"I sneezed." I lie

I shifted in my hospital bed, waiting for my brother to just rip the bandage off metaphorically, of course. I still had a long bandage plastered on a gash on my arm that I definitely didn't want him ripping off. He clears his throat and sighs as I prepare myself for whatever is about to come out of his mouth.

"I think I could take her off your hands, just enough for you to relax a bit," He adds

He stands from his chair and reaches for our parent's hands. They look at each other before pulling him outside. A soft click can be heard as they exit the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I sank even deeper into my bed, trying to ignore the decisions before my family. It wasn't like I wanted to stay isolated; it was just that I wasn't going to be dumb enough to allow myself to get excited. Good things don't last here. One of the benefits of living on a desolate, isolated farmland was that we were safe, That wasn't safe outside of this little bubble we were in. There was a war going on, and even though my brother taught at the most prestigious school in the universe, there was no telling what would happen.