Trauma

Part 26 "My Gospel"

The morning quickly came. I was comfortable in my bed, but it was time to get up. I stepped out of the bed, yawning, just to step on something squishy.

"Oh hey. I missed this bear." I said, holding up my old teddy bear from when I was young.

"Lizzie, Oh. You're up. I was just about to wake you." My mom said, opening my door with a smile. "Oh hey! You found Mr. Cuddles." Yup. That was what I named my bear when I was 4. I wasn't that creative.

"I have to admit, I forgot all about this bear." I said, looking at the sad-eyed bear, all worn and looking kind of raggedy.

"Well, That's what happens when you get old. You can take it home if you want." Mom said, looking at the bear with a smile.

"Yeah. Maybe I will." I said as I gingerly put the bear on the bed.

"Breakfast is ready, hon. Jack and Rick are already eating the leftovers from yesterday. You should clean up and join them." Mom said as she ushered me into the bathroom.

I stepped in and looked at myself in the mirror. Yup. There was no doubt about it. The morning wasn't my best time of the day.

I quickly brushed my teeth. As I took a shower last night before going to bed, I just put my hair in a ponytail and went downstairs.

"Hey, Sunshine." Rick said, putting a piece of turkey in his mouth.

"Hmph." I grunted as I sat down on the table.

As I filled my plate with the leftovers, I glanced at Jack.

"Jack? What happened to you?" I gasped. Jack looked sleep deprived. More than yesterday. He was practically a Zombie.

"I couldn't sleep." Jack muttered, yawning under his hands that covered his mouth.

"I wonder why." Rick said, grinning madly.

"Gah. You idiot. You hugged the life out of him didn't you?" I said, glaring at Rick. Rick had a habit of hugging the person next to him while he slept. When you put it in writing, it looks like an adorable habit. In truth, It was a death trap. You just can't sleep while the other person squeezes the life out of you.

Jack wearily nodded, while Rick cackled.

"Gah. I know how you feel. Mom used to put me right next to him when I was young. She thought it was adorable that he hugged me while sleeping, but it was pure torture for me." I said, shuddering.

"Hey! My hugs are awesome, thanks." Rick scoffed.

"Yeah...And Dad's cooking is awesome too." I smiled.

"Aww, thanks honey. And for that, you get to eat my pancakes!" Dad said, placing the burnt pancakes on my plate. It looked like hell food.

Rick snorted. "That's what you get for messing with me."

Dad smiled graciously. "Why, Rick. You can eat the pancakes too. There's plenty to go around." And with that, He placed an another burnt pancake on Rick's plate.

"Oh man." Rick said, staring down at his plate.

"Haha." I laughed, pointing at Rick's face which was full of disgust.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure this is child abuse." Rick said, moving the pancake around.

"Maybe. But you are not 7 years old anymore. Though I have to say, your brain seems to be stuck at that age." Dad said, grinning.

Rick pouted while Jack and I laughed. "Now that's just mean."

"Aww. Is Ricky sad because he has to eat the black pancake?" I cooed.

"Shut up." Rick said, his cheeks burning. Look at who just got burned.

/

"Be sure to call us when you get home!" Mom said, waving at us as we put the car on drive.

"We will!" Rick and I shouted as we sped up.

"We really should visit them more often." I said, staring at the rearview mirror which showed our house getting smaller and smaller.

"Yeah. We should." Rick said, looking upset to leave.

"Well, at least we'll see them in the new years." I said, smiling.

"Hmm." Rick said. He soon pointed at Jack who was fast asleep.

"He should really sleep. He hasn't slept properly for two days straight." I said, turning down the volume of the radio.

"You know, I'm really happy that you are with him, Liz. He makes you happy. We can all see it." Rick said, smiling.

"Yeah. He really does." I said, taking a glance at Jack who was sleeping like a baby.

"Mom and Dad were delighted to see you two together, you know? They wouldn't shut up about it at the park." Rick said, mocking annoyance.

"Really? What did they say?" I asked.

"They said...That you looked free and more like yourself." Rick said.

That made me smile. "That's good, right?"

Rick nodded. "Yeah. It really is."