The Alpha's Broken Runt

Chapter Thirty

~Playful~

~~~~~My eyes flicker open, met with darkness. I turn over as I blink rapidly, allowing my eyes to focus on the clock next to me, which reads nearly four in the morning. I put my arm over my eyes as I turn back onto my back, a small sigh escaping my mouth. I jump at the sound of a loud crash from downstairs, followed by hushed curse words.
I groan at the familiar voice, forcing myself from my bed to go downstairs. I wince as I stand, a sore feeling spreading across my back, likely from Theodore tackling me earlier.
I quietly pad down the hallway, paying extra attention to Theodore's door, which appears to have pure blackness behind it. Hopefully he is still asleep.
I creep down the stairs, cursing quietly as one of the lasts ones creaks, gaining the attention of Alex, who appeared to be pouting on one of the stools.
"Eleanor? What are you doing up?" I raise an eyebrow at him. "I could ask you the same thing." His eyes drift away from me. "I can't sleep... and I was hungry."
I search his face for a moment, I know there is something on his mind, but I don't push. "What are you hungry for?" I question, hoisting myself onto the counter with minor difficulty, cringing at the pain in my back.
"I'm not sure, but it's been a bit since I ate." I decide against telling him I'm the same way, and instead look down at the ground as I sway my feet slightly. I never exactly learned how to cook, so I can't really help him with that, unless they have microwavable dinners somewhere, which they don't. I checked already.
"Uh... I could wake somebody?" Alex chuckles, causing confusion to take on my features. "What?"
He shakes his head. "Look at us, neither of us can manage more than cereal." I grin at him. "Yeah, that's kind of sad, huh?" He nods. "Nightly gets up pretty early, so I can ask him to make something then." I feel Alex looking at me as I glance upstairs. He stares at me for a moment before sighing. "Will you eat whatever he makes?" I bite my lip and shrug.
Alex leans back against the counter. "We're messed up, aren't we?" I nod my head lightly. It's quiet for a short as we both sit in our respective spots. It's not an awkward silence, it's actually quite calming.
"What are you two doing down here?" I jump, violently, practically slamming my head into the cupboard above me.
"Eleanor! Jesus!"
I whimper as my hand goes up to my head, cringing at the pain. "Eleanor are you okay?" even though his voice is rough sounding, I can tell its Theodore. He stops in front of me, appearing to catch himself as he takes a step back. I nod my head, cowering down into myself. Mildly from fear and mildly from embarrassment. I take a deep breath in as I glance at Theodore. "Sorry."
Alex groans from his new position next to Theodore. "Ah, yes, you clearly need to apologize for head-banging into a cupboard." I hear Theodore let out a quiet laugh and groan.
"Sorry." I say again before cringing. "I'm going to touch you, okay Eleanor?" Alex says, waiting a moment before placing his hand on my chin, lifting my head so I'm looking at him.
I avoid his gaze along with his grin. "You okay?" He questions, and I quickly nod my head. "Okay. How about you ask that question now?" He asks, casting a look to Theodore.
"Question? What question?" I roll my eyes at Alex. "Uh... could you make food?" Theodore looks at me a moment before smiling lightly and shaking his head. "Yes, yes I can."

~~~~~I'm practically falling asleep on the counter as Theodore cleans my plate for me (much to my argument) and Alex finishes up his plate. I can feel the dirty looks he keeps giving me for the little to none amount that I ate.
"Eleanor, why don't you go back up to your bed and get some more sleep?" Theodore asks as he turns the faucet off. I shake my head, which is still planted against the counter, and he sighs. "Why is that?" I point to Alex, who sighs before explaining. "Just trust her, as soon as she goes upstairs to her bed, she won't be tired anymore, its how it works." Theodore doesn't say anything, so I assume he nodded his head or something.
"How much sleep did you get?" Alex questions as Theodore walks around the counter. I shake my head at him. "Yeah. Me too." I sit up, choosing instead to plant my face into my hands. I am so freaking tired.
"You could try to go back to sleep..." Alex trails off. "You could, too." I mumble into my hands.
"True. I'll try if you do." I turn around to face him, putting my arm out. "Promise?" I question and he sighs, locking his pinkie with mine. "Promise."
I force myself out of my chair and Alex follows me to the stairs. I'm about to ascend them when I stop, looking over my shoulder past Alex.
"Uh, Theodore?" I call out quietly. "Yes, Eleanor?" There's slight worry laced in his voice as he calls back from wherever he is. "Alex and I are going to try to get some more sleep." He peeks around the doorframe leading to another room.
"Uh... not together... right?" I roll my eyes and sigh. "No, Theodore, not together." He gives me a small smile before disappearing back around the corner.
I stare at the spot he was for a moment before turning around and starting up the stairs. I feel Alex staring at me, so I turn to look at him, only to find his squinting at me. "What?" I question, but he only squints at me harder. "What is it?" Alex gasps and puts a hand to his chest.
"You have something for him!" I look at him confused. "What are you talking about?" He shakes his head at me. "I saw it in your eyes. Good for you, Eleanor." I stare at Alex for a moment, switching between him and my bedroom door.
"Okay, well uh, I'm just going to uh... go to sleep. You have fun with whatever you're on." I walk past him and into my room, falling onto my bed and cuddling into the blankets.
What does he mean he 'saw something'? What was there to see?