Myocardium

Part 43

 "What the heck are you doing here? Where's Eli?" I hear my brother's defensive tone getting clearer and clearer as I gain back my consciousness. When I'm a bit more than half awake and becoming more aware of my surroundings by the second, I feel the emptiness on the bed next to me. 

"Calm down, buddy, I promise you that everything's okay. Your brother got a bit sick at work yesterday, so I brought him back here. He's still asleep, but he's okay," Rafael's calm voice explains. Strenuously, I force my  tired eyes open and stretch my aching limbs away from my body, rubbing my eyelids to adjust to the light in my room. 

It's now a lot brighter than it was before I fell asleep. By the fact that my brother being awake, I would guess it's around 10 in the morning.
"Uh, what?" I whisper to myself hoarsely, catching both Rafael's and Sasha's attention. The older of the two is leaning against the door frame and looks back at me apologetically, addressing my sleepy face.
"Sorry Eli, didn't mean to wake you up."

Tiredly and in a bit of leftover pain, I sit up on the mattress, looking past the open door directly at my brother, calming down his suspicion after clearing my sore throat,
"It's okay, Sasha. Rafael's just here to take care of me until I feel better."
My brother storms past Raf, who gives way to my overly cautious brother. Sasha stops next to the bed, right by my side, eyeing me up and down worriedly. 

"What happened, Eli? Are you okay?" he asks, Rafael gives us some privacy and steps into the kitchen to supposedly prepare some breakfast, judging by his gesture of bringing plates and cups to the table. 

In a desperate attempt, I try my best to give my brother a smile and ruffle his hair affectionately, saying,
"I'll be okay, Sasha. I don't know what happened, really. I just began feeling very weak and sick to my stomach. Maybe I didn't eat enough throughout my shift, but don't worry. I just told Raf to help me out a bit until I'm feeling better again, so be a dear and try not to fight with him, okay? He's only trying to take care of me, I promise."

"Okay, Eli. Just...get well soon, okay?" my brother responds in acknowledgement, opening his arms for a hug that I appreciatively accept.
"Don't worry, I will. Now go ahead and ask Rafael if he needs some help, okay?" I continue and pinch his cheek before he leaves my room, not closing the door behind him upon my request.

I'd rather not be alone right now, even if it's just the distant voices of Rafael and Sasha chatting that keep me company. I lie back down flat, trying to recollect the events from last night. It takes a while until I begin to vaguely recall bits and pieces of what happened. When the rest of it comes back to me, I wish it didn't. 

I turn to my side, pulling my legs towards my chest and the blanket over my shoulders. A set of tears leaves my eyes, dripping off the corner of my eyes onto the mattress. It's all over now. I have no job anymore, no financial stability and nowhere to turn to when I'm in the need of a community. I see it might take a while for me to understand it's better this way. Who knows what would have happened to me, had I stayed there any longer.

Still, I'm afraid. Afraid of the boss' men, even more afraid of Joe. Not only did he somehow figure out my intentions of quitting the job, but he also ratted me out to the boss, most likely fully aware of what would happen to me. 

What is he going to do to me when I next see him? Will I eventually end up like my parents? Is there even any way out of this mess? I can't keep fleeing from all the things that hurt me. At some point, I'll be cornered by my problems. What am I supposed to do? Am I not already too deep in this whole matter? 

Mom, dad...I'm so afraid.

Quietly, I sob. The physical pain I feel is nothing compared to the emotional torment inside of me. I am so caught up in my own, negative thoughts that I don't even notice the third voice joining the conversation outside of my room. Soon, I'm ripped out of my headspace by my sister's high-pitched voice, screeching,
"Good morning, Eli!"