Message in a Bottle [LGBTQ+] [ONC 2024]

Chapter Twelve

Eli winced, gingerly placing his left foot on the cold wood floor of his bedroom. He perched on the edge of his bed, pushing down the nausea building as the room swam with the slightest movement. A small headache built behind his eyes as the bright sunlight streamed into the room through his window which someone had propped open to let a small breeze drift through the room.

He paused for a moment to allow the room to right itself. Once it stopped moving, or at least once the swaying sensation had abated enough, he shifted his body to move his right leg over the side of the bed. Each muscle screamed out in pain with each movement. The bruises that covered his skin — all in various stages of healing — twinged as he twisted his body enough to stand up. Each breath was painful to take.

Despite the pain, Eli pushed himself to his feet. He stumbled a little, the ground giving a sudden lurch beneath him. When the room righted itself, he took a small, painful step forward, but after several weeks in bed, his legs resembled that of a newborn calf. His legs buckle and Eli tipped forward, flailing his arms in an attempt to grab onto something before he hit the ground. Someone grabbed his arm moments before he hit the ground.

"I don't think that's a good idea, do you?" his mother said, her voice soft. "Let's get you back to bed."

"But I—"

"No, Eli. Not yet."

Eli didn't try to fight his mother as he led him back to the small, wooden-framed bed and helped him settle against the pillows. Even that small walk had taken the breath out of him, leaving his chest heaving and his entire body aching. He accepted a small glass of water, sipping on it slowly as his mother's face came into focus through his still-hazy vision.

Although the bruises and swelling were improving, his vision still moved in and out of focus. It improved with each day, but Eli grew frustrated at being unable to read to keep himself occupied since it was one of the few things he could do from the comfort of his bed. What he really wanted to do was step outside and feel the sun on his skin without a sheet of glass in the way.

"What were you thinking, Eli?" his mother said. "You know you're not strong enough to move around, not without help."

"I just wanted a change of scenery." He sighed, fiddling with the edge of his blankets.

"Well, I might not be able to offer you a change of scenery, but I can offer you something to do." She smiled. "You have a visitor."

Eli looked beyond his mother, his vision focusing on a second figure standing by the wooden ladder that cut him off from the rest of his family and the chance of freedom. Standing beside her with an armful of books, was Victoria. He had seen her only once since waking up a week before. She left him a letter from Samuel which Eli managed to read through the haze of vision he had.

"Miss Owens has offered to be a companion for you whilst you recover."

He frowned. "Why?"

"I thought you could do with some company. I'm a trained teacher so you can keep up your education." Her hand rested on the top of her stack of books, a sheet of paper wrinkling under her fingertips.

"It will give you something else to focus on as you recover, Eli. So long as you don't push yourself too far and end up doing yourself more harm."

Eli nodded, the room jolting for a moment before righting itself. "I won't."

"I'll leave you to it."

His mother gently squeezed his shoulder, looking at him with her eyebrows slightly narrowed in concern. It was a look he had seen since he first awoke in his bed a week before with little memory of what happened. He wished she wouldn't look at him like that. All he wanted was for everything to go back to normal, as though the attack never happened.

Eli woke in his bed several days after the attack with pieces of memories that he couldn't put back together in a way that made sense. His entire body ached and he could scarcely open his eyes for the bruises and swelling to his face. Peter Upton and his two companions had been arrested and would go before the judge when he passed through their village.

With Eli recovering and those responsible soon to be paying the price, he longed for the feeling of normality to return.

Victoria took a few slow steps into the room. She perched on the very edge of the bed, resting the books on her lap with her hands on top. Eli noticed the sheet of paper on the top with the familiar looping handwriting that covered the letters from Samuel that were safely tucked into his writing desk drawer. With everything that happened, he all but forgot about the letter he placed in the stream. The memory itself, like everything else from that night, was hazy.

"I'm glad to see you doing better," Victoria said. "I wanted to talk to you when I gave you Samuel's letter, but I didn't want to pressure you too much when you were still recovering. Did you read it?"

Eli nodded.

"Good. If you want to write him back, I can help you. It's one of the reasons why I'm here."

"Not to help me with my school work?" Eli raised an eyebrow, ignoring the still pounding headache from the light streaming into the room.

Victoria laughed, shaking her head. "That too. I know how much you like school and I thought it could help you with your recovery if you have something else to focus on. It could be a good to have a distraction."

"I suppose."

"I know you have questions, and Samuel has said I can answer them to a certain extent, though there are things he wants to tell you himself when he gets the chance."

"Can we write the letter first? The questions can wait another few days."

She nodded, smoothing the sheet of paper on the books and snatching a small, sharp pencil to write with.

~~~

First Published - April 19th, 2024