Bury The Shadows

Part 14

It took about a week before Silver would even leave his bedroom. He usually wanted to be alone, and wouldn't get out of the bed most of the time. He didn't shower, barely slept, and hardly ate anything. His anxiety induced vomiting had come back.

Roman had been there for him the whole time, just letting him have some space to himself to wallow in his feelings, but on day six he decided it was time to step in. He gently dug around in the layers of blanket wrapped around the boy, looking for his arm. He grabbed it, and gently pulled Silver out of his bundle.

"You need to shower," Roman said, trying to convince the boy to get up. He didn't really care what the cause was, he just wanted to get him out of bed and moving, but he was a little worried about infection settling into the wounds that were almost healed. Silver groaned and pulled his arm away, tucking it back in.

"Come on. The bathroom's five feet away, and there's nothing in there that's going to hurt you. I know how you feel right now, but you can't just rot away in bed. It's not good for you."

Silver had been really traumatized by the whole ordeal; he had finally started to feel safe and then the danger showed up right on their doorstep. The man was being held, along with the other scientists and guards, in prison. They had a court date coming up to decide their fate. Caleb was pressuring Roman to get Silver to testify, but seeing the boy like this made Roman have doubts whether he could even get him to leave the house, much less make him testify in court. 

Silver scooted away like an inchworm and mumbled protesting came out from under the blanket. 

"Seriously, Silver. You need to get up." Roman knew he was walking a fine line between helping and making it worse, but he was right. Silver needed to get out of bed. 

Roman paused for a moment, deciding to give one last warning. "If you don't get up now, I'm carrying you in there and sticking you in the shower whether you like it or not. You have one minute to decide."

Silence. Thirty-six seconds passed before Silver stirred. He sat up slowly, and as the blanket slid off his head, Roman gasped. 

Dark circles. Tear stains. Chapped, bloody lips. His hair was all matted, and his clothes wrinkled and damp. His face was thin and pale, and his eyes were dull and unfocused.

"Jesus, kid. You're worse than I thought. Can you stand?" 

Silver nodded and swung his legs off the bed. But the second he put weight on them, his knees buckled. Roman caught him and scooped him up, feeling the way he stiffened at the contact and closeness.

"I'll just carry you, okay?" 

Silver nodded a tiny bit as Roman hauled him to the bathroom, leaving the blanket behind. Silver shivered. It wasn't cold, but the boy was thin and stressed. 

Roman turned on the water, helped Silver undress, and helped him step in. Silver's thin legs knocked like a baby deer's as he tried to stand on them, but he nearly fell the moment Roman pulled out the arm he'd been leaning on.

"Just sit down," Roman said as he turned and walked away. He came back with a towel and handed it to Silver for him to sit on in the floor of the shower. He sat beside the cracked curtain, looking on but making sure Silver could see him. 

The water washed away all the dried sweat and tears, and Silver nearly fell asleep under the warm spray. He didn't have the energy to actually wash right now, but Roman was proud of the effort he'd already put in so he let it slide. When Silver was ready, Roman turned off the water and wrapped a fresh towel around the boy before helping him step out. He immediately started trembling, his weak body unable to hold its weight and the cool air brushing his skin.

Roman helped dry and dress him, then lead him over to the bed and tucked him in. "Feel better?"

Silver nodded. Roman had been right; it felt so much better to be clean and in fresh clothes.

Roman smiled and left the room, knowing he'd maxed out Silver's battery for now. He went to his own room, his heart breaking. Why couldn't he do a better job of taking care of him? Was there something about him that made Silver not able to trust him, or had he pushed too much progress in too little time?

Roman paced around his dark room, equally dark thoughts swimming through his mind. He felt like a failure for not protecting Silver better, or being more of a comfort to him after the fact. He walked over to his nightstand and picked up a framed picture of his mother, rubbing his thumb over her smiling face. Daisy Quinn was beautiful. She'd passed away much too young; at only 45. 

He stared longingly at the picture, wishing his mother was here. She' would know how to help Silver. 

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Silver breathed slowly in the dark pocket he'd made in the layers of blanket wrapped around him. He was tired and felt sick, and his feelings were too much for him to bear. Tears kept coming, and his chest heaved with unwanted sobs. 

He felt so scared that someone was going to take him away, but at the same time he thought that if he was too much of a nuisance that Roman wouldn't want him around anymore, so he was torn between staying right where he was or coming out and making an effort to pull himself together.

His belly rumbled, but he ignored it. He didn't want to eat. He just wanted to lay here and let his emotions take over him. He wanted to cry until he couldn't anymore; and that's just what he did. He let the tears fall and the sobs wrack his thin body, not caring to do anything else. He just wanted to get all that weight off his chest.

He decided that once he was done crying, he would put in some effort to get up and take care of himself, and make sure he wasn't being a burden. But for right now, just for a little while longer, he would allow himself to release all the pent-up emotions he was feeling.

Just one last good cry.

                                    Part Fifteen Coming Soon