A Lost Soul

An Unusual Memorial

I wake up to the sound of the door opening and closing in my room. I feel drained, but I'm okay, I'm feeling better.
Ethan's asleep on a chair by my bed. Mom's also there. Her eyes are closed, but I can tell she's awake by the way her right hand is clutching her knee. "Mom", I whisper. She immediately opens her eyes and tears start flowing. "Don't say anything, mom. I love you. I'm here now. I'm not doing this again. I promise." She nods; she's biting her lips. And now she's smiling. I love her, truly; and I don't try to hide the fact in front of people or whatever. I'm proud to be her son.

-"Diana just left to make breakfast. We've been here the whole night, Ethan, Diana and I, eversince Nate brought you in. You were already sleeping; but as soon as he put you in your bed, he got the first aid kit and bandaged your leg."

I run my hand to my leg and i can feel the soft silk wrapped around my muscle.

"Where is he?
-He wanted to be there when you wake up. He went out earlier in the morning. He left some notes on your shelf.
-Not Nate. Dad. Where is dad?
-He's helping Mr. Clare with something."

Mr. Clare is Rhea's dad. He's a really nice guy, but I wish my dad was with me now rather than him.
"-Did he say something?
-You should ask Nate. He was with him most of the night."

My head's not pounding anymore, but it still hurts a little. Diana comes in with a tray of pancakes, maple syrup, some tissues and water. She sees i'm awake and her face refills with some color. She could cry, but she doesn't. She just says, "Promise me you'll never do that again."
I smile at her and nod. Diana is the best.
Ethan is still sleeping. He doesn't wake up easily. I get out of bed, take hold of him and lay him in my stead; then I cover him and sit in front of the desk where Diana put the tray.

A few minutes later mom leaves the room, she has to prepare herself for work. She can't take the day off for some reasons; so I'm left in my room with Diana. She's staring at me. I'm trying to act normal, but now I'm uncomfortable.

-What?
-Will you tell me what exactly happened?
-Not now. I can hardly think straight.
-I received a text from Rhea. She's worried. And Laurel, and Sky, and Julian. They're all freaked out. I charged your phone during the night. Please always keep it with you.
-Thank you, Diana.

She smiles at me, then gets up. She's on her way to the door when I call her by the sacred brotherhood name. Tone.
Mine is Nick's. Nate's is Finn, and Ethan's is Zeus.

I'll explain. Phoe[nix], Grif[fin], Peri[ton], and Pega[sus]. These are names meant for bonding. They link us. They unify us.

"Where's Padfoot?"
She seems sad. She's trying to find the perfect words to say. But I stop her right there. "It's okay. I love you, Tone."

I'm walking through the room to get to the shelf where Nate left me the notes. There's a bunch of these, so I make sure I got them all before I go back to the chair on which Ethan was sleeping.

"Morning, sunshine."
Ethan is usually not a morning person. But I can see he's glad his morning started this way. And so am I. He never needs to ask me to tell him stuff. I do this without thinking. I do feel better from the way he's looking at me; curious, understanding, and passionate. Yet he chooses to keep his advices for until Nate and Diana know the whole story and are all ready to talk. And I agree with him. I need them as much as I need him.
Ethan doesn't really look like me physically, but on the inside we're exactly the same. And that's why our bonding moments are the best; we feel like one.
And then, just as if he read my mind, he tells me to read the notes. I guess they've been doing quite alot of stuff together while i was asleep.

I start with the first note.
"Hey Dan, I hope you're feeling better. I'm sorry I couldn't be with you right now but I'll see you soon."

"I covered everything. I thanked Connor again and he sends his regards. I also took care of your leg, it should be getting better. Besides, try to avoid putting all your weight on it."