Casey thought that a good night's sleep would help, but he feels like shit when he wakes up. He had one too many nightmares, a horrible mash-up of all his usual night terrors, and yet even now he can barely recall anything other than how they made him feel.
Cheerful chatter comes from the kitchen as Casey hauls himself off the couch and stumbles off to the kitchen, yawning into his hand. He windmills his arm a little bit, frowning at the ache that seems to spread down across his collarbone and pectoral. He must have slept on it funny.
Inside the kitchen, the Hamatos crowd around the table in high spirits. Raphael and Leonardo chuck cubes of cheese across the table at each other, trying to catch them in their mouths while Donatello and Sarina nurse their coffee in matching mugs (his has Charles Darwin on it, hers has Marie Curie). Destiny and Michelangelo work by the stove, with Destiny mixing eggs and chopped ingredients into bowls while Michelangelo turns the mixtures into the fluffiest, most perfect omelettes that Casey has ever seen.
"Morning sleepyhead," Destiny calls as Casey enters. "What'll it be?"
"You can have-a anything-a you want-a at Chez Mikey!" Michelangelo says, making vaguely Italian hand gestures.
Casey settles into a chair, flexing his hand in an attempt to get rid of the tingling feeling spidering down his chest. "Meat, and lots of it," he says. A sharp pain shoots through his left pectoral and he hisses, pressing his hand to the spot.
"You okay, man?" Raphael asks. Leonardo accidentally hits him in the eye with a cheese cube. "Ow! Watch it, Leo!"
"Sorry! Sorry..." Leonardo says, holding his hands up.
"I'm fine. Just tired." Casey's vision swims and he squints as a headache builds against his forehead. His concussion symptoms must be acting up. He plunks his head on the table with a groan.
"One meaty omelette, coming right up!" Michelangelo calls. "Fully hyping myself up; these might be the best omelettes ever."
"Are you sure you're okay, Casey?" Donatello asks. "Didn't Zilla take care of that bite wound?"
"She got rid of the shade. It still hurts like a bitch," Casey grumbles. It's itchy, too, and at the thought he scratches at the bandage.
"My, someone is testy this morning," Sarina quips, taking a sip of her coffee.
Casey lets out a sarcastic laugh in response. He had a crummy sleep and he fell off a building three days ago. Once he gets some food and coffee in him, he'll perk up and it'll all be fine. He's surprised that Annalise isn't around, until he remembers her mention of school yesterday, and a sick feeling curls in his gut. He already has so little responsibilities outside of passing math, and here he is skipping school.
Damn it. Maybe he can call out sick. He sure feels like it.
There's the soft clink of ceramic against the tabletop as Destiny sets a steaming omelette in front of him. It smells amazing, but as Casey sits up and takes the fork from her, his stomach churns all over again.
He flinches away from Destiny's touch as she brushes his bangs away from his forehead. She frowns at him as she presses her palm to his forehead. Her nostrils flare, ears pulling back.
"You feel pretty hot, Case," she says. "And you don't smell too good either."
He brushes her hand away. "I'm just not feeling good, wolfie. Let me eat," he mutters. He stabs the omelette, tearing off a chunk and shoving it into his cheek.
Destiny frowns deeper, but she backs off, eyeing him all the way back to the omelette station. Casey keeps shovelling omelette into his mouth. It settles his stomach, but it does nothing for the chills spreading from his shoulder downwards. His heart feels like it's throbbing and not in a normal way.
YOU ARE READING
Shadow Mutation (Book Seven)
Fanfic"Try not to be stupid next time, okay?" When he's told shortly after graduation that he didn't actually pass and, in order to truly earn his diploma, he must redo his senior year math credit, Casey Jones isn't sure how things could get worse. He kno...
