drapetomonia - the overwhelming urge to run away.
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When Junia Beaumont, her brother and their classmates get a last assignment before the end of the school year, she doesn't know just how quickly things will change for her.
Who would have thought t...
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42. the future
The last thing June expects to see when she comes back is Max on the hospital bed in a criss-cross position, holding three marbles in his hands. Treech is in front of him, fixing his posture, while Cas sits at the table with an amused yet interested look on his face. And yet, here they are, having a conversation about what she can only assume is juggling.
Treech looks up in surprise when she enters the room, relief written across his face. She looks tense, but the smile on her face when she approaches him and her brothers brings him some peace of mind. Surely she won’t be forced to leave if she’s smiling at him like that.
“What’s going on?” she inquires curiously, taking in the scene in front of her. She gives the marbles a curious look. “Did you bring those here?”
Max nods eagerly. “Yeah! I remember you saying he knows how to juggle, and I wanted to know how!” He exclaims with a grin on his face. “I can’t get it right, though. I’m doing something wrong…” He trails off, looking at the marbles as if it’s their fault. His eyebrows furrow in concentration before he sticks his tongue out in defeat.
“It doesn’t come naturally to everyone,” Treech quickly says. “And you keep on messing up the timing. You’re too fast.”
“Max being too eager to do something?” Cas leans back in the chair. “Shocker.”
June and Treech both have to stifle a laugh when they hear that, silently agreeing not to say anything further to upset the boy. Max pushes his bottom lip out and gives his big brother the stink eye, but Cas doesn’t seem to care or mind much.
“How did it go anyway?” Cas then decides to ask. He watches as June sits down on the hospital bed as well, only to be immediately tugged against Treech. Even in front of Max, he can’t seem to help but want to be near her. She really does calm him down, as the tension in Treech’s body subsides as soon as his arm rests around her waist. “What did mom and dad say?”
She sees Treech’s nervous stare and soothes him with a smile. “I’m staying here tonight. We agreed it’s probably for the best,” she says. Her gaze flickers over to Max, and she shoots him a sympathetic look. “But they did ask you to come home with them, Max.”
“Nothing about me?” Cas replies coolly, his lips curling up into a smile. “I’d ask to join your sleepover, but...”
“What?” Max looks in between his siblings and Treech. “Why do June and Treech get to have a sleepover and I have to go home?”
Cas sighs. “You’ll understand when you’re older,” he merely says. “But you probably shouldn’t keep them waiting too long. You know how they can be when things don’t go their way.”
