HEART FOR BRAINS • the walking dead

048: interwined

i hope yall know that I have a life outside wattpad and I think yall should consider getting one too

anyway foreword im not gonna be writing the conversations in Spanish anymore bc not everyone knows Spanish and i cba to translate long conversations so when i say they are speaking in spanish believe me

A firm hand shook Rio's shoulder and he pulled himself away from the car window. The hand then brushed his curls from his face and laughed as he swatted it away.

"Come on buddy. We're almost there." The voice said. He gave in and looked to the brown eyes staring down at him.

"Looks like someone's tired."

"I'm not tired."

"You drooled on the window." Jesse laughed. Oscar sat beside him grinning. He'd been acting differently than usual and Rio wasn't sure whether it was a good or bad thing.

He was home more: good.
He seemed more tired: bad.
He was happier than in the hospital: good.

Oscar always made time to play with him and Rio was starting to wonder whether he made his brother tired.

"You better not have, mijo." His father warned, his voice too stern to leave room for any teasing.

Oscar passed him a tissue and he wiped it away quickly.

"How long until we're there."

"Just pulling into the car park." His mother answered.

With that Rio perked up, almost stretching out of his booster seat to look out of the window. There was a hand upon his shoulder again, pushing him down.

Oscar signed one word to him. Calm

Rio huffed but sat back anyway.

He closed his eyes just for a second, listening to the beeping of the car. The specific one that meant you were going backwards. When the noise stopped he unclipped his belt, hand reaching for the door before he even knew.

Oscar put a hand on his shoulder again as he got out of the car. Rio was about to tell him off, to stop using him as an arm rest but then he caught sight of his face. Oscar had paled, hand reaching for his nose. When he drew it back small drops of blood spilled on his fingers.

An exhausted look fell over his face, one that said again, really? It also kind of looked like a prayer, one that was saying I don't want to do it again.

"Mama." Rio muttered.

His father had scooped his arms around Oscar just before his eyes closed.

"Back in the car." Was all his mom said.

***

Rio cracked open his eyes, forehead stuck to the glass window it rested upon. For a moment it was quiet, but the familiar sound of the engine hum got louder as he came around. He mumbled something to himself as he sat up straight.

"Hey."

"We there yet?"

"No. But we're closer." Glenn answered as if that wasn't given.

"Eugene awake?" Rio tried. He knew he probably wasn't.

"Also no."

Rio rubbed at his eyes and let out a long huff. "I don't usually sleep in cars." He muttered to Glenn, the older boy's eyes on him already. "At least not in the daytime."

"Technically this is a truck."

"Whatever." Rio rolled his eyes.

"Are you okay? You were talking in your sleep a little."