Fractured

Chapter 7

I'm awakened by someone lifting me, warm arms press against my back and hook around my legs.

I'm thankful for the person carrying me. I inhale threw my noise and catch a drift of mint and chocolate.

Conner.

I don't know why he's being so nice to me.

Then everything hits me like a ton of bricks.

My mother crying over the phone, Conner driving me to the hospital,

And finally seeing my brother lying still way to still in the hospital bed.

I open my eyes and

scream. I can't help it.

Vivid memories of Andrew swollen and bruised body is drilled in my mind.

The arms carrying me tighten.

"It's okay, go to sleep. Your Mom is in her room sleeping." I look up at Conners face and he looks down at me and gives me a brief smile before setting me on my bed.

It's an odd feeling, Conners voice actually sounds comforting, something I haven't felt in a long time.

A very long time.

"Can you stay?" I ask my voice hoarse from crying. I close my eyes and try to imagine something happy. Someone happy. I think of my Dad smiling.

He replies "Until you fall asleep, I have to work today."

I wonder where Conner works? Before I can even ask the question I drift into a light sleep. One of the kind of sleeps your hardly even sleeping in, just lying motionless.

I hear the creak of my bedroom door opening and crack my eyes open just enough to see Conner exiting my bedroom.

I lie in bed for a while longer pushing everything that's happened in the last 24 hours out of my mind.

It's hard to do, so I decide to take a shower. I grab a pair of checkered pajama pants and a baggy t shirt and pad my way across my room and into my bathroom.

I adjust the water quiet alot hotter than I normally would and undress.

I slip into the scolding hot water and just stand there scrubbing my body.

Maybe if I scrub hard enough the last few hours will disappear.

I don't bother washing my hair. What's the point?

I decide to get out of the shower when the water starts getting cold signaling we are almost out of hot water.

I towel off and get my pajamas on . Not even bothering to look at myself in the mirror.

I grab a hair tie from under the sink and put my hair up making my way to my bed.

It's dark in my room. How long did I stand in that shower? I turn on my lamp on my night stand and find a note scrawled in messy handwriting

Call me if you need anything. -Conner

Followed by his phone number.

I smile at the note, I'm exhausted but that was surprisingly really sweet. I walk over to my white curtains and slide them close them I don't need to be waken up tomorrow.

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Slowly hours turn into days and days turn into weeks and nothing has gotten easier. If anything it's getting worse. Everyone told me it would get easier but ,Its just a bunch of bullshit because it doesn't.

The pain of loss is still making it hard to think rationally so when the butler and maid came up to my room to ofer me food and to clean my room, I fired them.