Raphael's Heart (2nd book)

4

4/11/19

Raph's eyes flutter open, but his eyes soon narrow due to the sudden sensitivity to the light.

He probably drank too much again.

"Raph? You awake?"

Once his eyes have finally adjusted to the light, he rubs them with the palms of his hands. He slowly tries to get off of the bed(?) —not fully orientated with his unfamiliar environment—but when he does, he feels a tug from the inside of his arm and two hands push his shoulders back. Instinctively, he swats the hands away and goes into defense. "Stay the f*ck away—"

"Raph,calm down! It's me, Donnie."

Raph lies back and looks at the tube that's penetrated in the fold of his arm—prepared to take it out.

"Don't touch that. You need it." It's that familiar voice that he's been yearning to hear. Was he not just dreaming seconds ago? So, you being scared of him and with someone else wasn't a dream?

He ceases to pull the tube out of his arm and turns to see you standing a few feet away from the bed. Your expression isn't a happy one. Instead, you have a frown molded upon your face.

Suddenly, a strike of memory hits him and he remembers the last few events before he passed out.
Raph turns his head toward his brothers who are standing at the edge of the bed, and he closes his eyes while taking in a breath of air before gritting his teeth: "Whatever this is, get it out of me."

"Raph, we have to keep it in you. It's an IV, and it'll help sustain you for a little." Donnie explains. "It-uh looks like you passed out from dehydration, over exertion, and dangerously low blood sugar. When was the last time you ate?"

Raph frowns. "Yesterday." He lies.  "Look, you've fixed me, right? So let me go."

"Raph you have to stay here and get better for a little bit. I was so worried about you bro!" Mikey exclaims as he walks toward Raph to hug him. Raph doesn't try to pull away, but he cranes his neck away from Mikey and keeps his arms limp by his side. As Mikey releases Raph from his embrace, he notices his furrowed brows and slight pout that makes Raph feel sick—which makes him even more agitated.

"Are you not gonna let me go! I'm tired of being here." He yells.

"Are you sure you ate yesterday, because your blood sugar was way too low, and you would've had to not have eaten anything for a few days for it to reach that level." Donnie asks.

It's true that Raph has been feeling the drop in his sugar levels, but he's been trying to ignore them and just push through it . He knows that he hasn't eaten in a few days, but it's what he deserves. The only things he needs to give him energy is the liquid in the shot glasses and whiskey bottles.

"Can you stop asking me questions Donnie! I'm fine now, so leave me alone!" Raph exclaims—his voice cracking at the end. It wasn't too noticeable that the others would hear it, Raph knows he heard it. His head is now pounding slightly, and he can feel the involuntary tears haze his eyesight for some reason. It's probably the overwhelming feeling of compressed emotions piling up, but he most definitely can't let them show. So, he bows his head and tells everyone to leave.

Everyone leaves, but he can feel the presence of someone else there.

"Leo, I don't wanna hear the sh*t you have to say, aight brother?" He growls frustratedly.

Your POV

All you could hear was the faint desperation in his voice. The way he yelled didn't sound like it was full of anger; it sounded like a hesitant, sorrowful plead, but you can't be entirely sure. So, you stay when everyone else leaves—just to check on him; you aren't  going to be too infatuated on him. That infatuation ended months ago.... I guess.