Chubby ✔️

I'm Sorry

"Okay, nice and easy. That's it," Natalie helps me walk through the front door as she guides my, one hand holding mine and the other gently supporting my back.

"Nattie, I can walk," I mumble tiredly.

"Will, the doctor told us you need to rest as much as possible, and you have to walk less so your body can recover properly!" She tells me worriedly and grips my hand tighter, but not tight enough to hurt.

"May I?" Theodore asks as he walks in behind us, with a duffle bag Natalie had brought for me s9 I could change before I came home.

Natalie looks at me in question and I nod my head slowly. Natalie gives my hand to Theodore and he holds it assiduously, and places the other hand on my back.

Natalie end up the stairs but turns around to look at us, "I'll go get your bed ready."

I nod my head gratefully at her and give her a smile. Then I look at Theodore who is intently focused on helping me safely walk; patient as ever.
A click is heard and the both of us look up toward Natalie and find her holding her phone, pointing it at us. She shrugs her shoulders, "the two of you look so adorable."

I feel heat creep up from my neck to my cheeks and look at Theodore, surprised immensely when I find him smiling at me softly and looking at me with a look in his eyes I can't decipher.

Natalie finally jobs up the stairs and we continue or slow trek to the stairs. Once we reach the bottom of the stairs, I inhale a short, sharp breath.
Theodore notices and reassures me, "it'll be fine. I'll help you."

I lift my foot up slowly and wince when a sharp ache hits my right hip. Theodore runs my back slowly and I try again, and gasp when the ache gets worse.
I go to try again when I'm suddenly lifted off of the floor and being carried bridal style as Theodore stares at me.

Our faces are so close.

"Uh- what're you doing?" I mumble, embarrassed and look away.

"Helping you," He whispers and nudges my cheek softly with his nose.

I hide my face on his shoulder and he chuckles softly. He carries me up the stairs and stops when we're at the top. I lift my head off of his shoulder, waiting for him to put me down but his arms slightly tighten around my body, curling me towards his. I look at him and almost gasp at the way he's looking at me. In adoration?
We continue staring at each other when he slowly leans in and presses a deep and soft kiss to my cheek.

I slowly put my arms around him and hide my face, this time in the crook of his neck and he continues to walk toward my room.
But I couldn't help but think:

Why does it feel like he's walking slow?

•••

I slowly blink my eyes open when I hear the door open. The person steps in with a tray containing a warm, steaming bowl of soup and a glass of water.
"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you," Theodore smiles sheepishly and sets the tray down on the night stand.
I sit up a little with his help and he sits next to my feet, at the edge of the bed.

"I want to talk to you, now that you're awake," he starts. "I'm going to your school tomorrow. This time, it's gone way to far. I've stupidly been ignoring it all but not anymore. I gave you the chance to tell me who it is but you don't want to for some reason I cannot for the life of me, comprehend," he glares at me as he speaks the last few words and pulls a hand through his hair. A sign of stress.

"No you're not," I simply mutter and grab the glass to take a sip.

His eyes widen and he looks at me as if daring me to repeat myself, "what did you say?"

I swallow the mouth full of water and look at him as I shrug, "you're not going to my school. Not for me, anyway."

He stands up abruptly and starts pacing as he looks down and mumbles words I can't hear to himself. He stops and looks at me accusingly, "So let me get this straight. You get beat up, end up in the hospital where even the doctors are concerned on what's happening and yet here you are, ready to endure it all once more? Do you have some sort of death wish I don't know about? And most importantly I want to know why you're going through with this."

I look at the covers covering my legs and speak, not making eye contact, "I don't want to be a burden. I don't- I just want it to go away itself."

Theodore scoffs at my pathetic excuse, "Burden? Are you out of your mind? If you were a burden Willow, then you would not have been sitting here right now. Helping someone does not make them a burden, last time I checked. It's not hard at all if you just let me come to school and deal with these arseholes."

I frown up at him, "what're you gonna do? 'Deal' with them for this one time and then what? Then what Theodore!?" I explode. "You will come one day, pretending to be my bodyguard and maybe they'll back off. For ONE DAY! And it gets worse. You won't be there every day, will you? No you won't. Which is why I didn't tell anyone before when this happened back home. Natalie found out one day when she came to pick me up from school. Otherwise I had no intention of telling her. Ever."

He looks at me with wide eyes, filled with disbelief, "and you're ready to suffer through this? WHY WILLOW?"

"WHY DO YOU CARE?" I yell at the top of my lungs.

"I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU GET HURT, WILLOW!" He looks down and speaks in a much lower tone of voice, "I almost had a heart attack when I saw you lying on the floor. You looked lifeless and so... broken," he looks up and speaks slowly with a determined look in his eyes, "I just want to help."

"I NEVER ASKED FOR YOUR HELP THEODORE! AND I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP! OKAY!? STOP MAKING ME FEEL LIKE THIS MESS WHO JUST CONSTANTLY NEEDS SAVING AND NEEDS HELP LIKE A FUCKING MENTAL PATIENT. I AM FINE! THIS IS MY LIFE AND I HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO WHATEVER THE FUCK I WANT!! SO JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!! I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU AND I DON'T WANT YOUR HELP. YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO INTERFERE IN MY LIFE!"

Theodore looks at me with a blank and emotionless expression on his face, "You're right. I have no right to interfere in your life. I'm sorry," he walks toward the door but stops and looks back at me over his shoulder, "I won't bother you anymore."

The guilt rushes in and I realize how wrong I am, "Theodore- wait."

But he doesn't listen and walks out, slamming the door shut behind him.
I fall back on the bed and look at the ceiling in distress.

What have I done?