Cough Syrup [Discontinued]

Guilt

Warning: Mentions of blood and severe injury ahead

"Would you care to explain why he's passed out right now? Why he has scrapes along his arms? And why he has a huge ugly red bump on his forehead?" Ella said, sounding almost like a detective interrogating a crime suspect. Ellie sat there beside her looking like the detective's partner, sipping tea in a slow, joking manner. Tord his his face at the last statement.

Tom had to think. There wasn't any other way to get out of the situation. He had to tell them, well aware that what he was about to say could be life changing for the girls. "Listen," He began, "Are any you aware of Edd's current condition?" Tom said softly. The twins looked at each other sadly and simultaneously said "He never goes out of his room, we have no idea."

Tom's eyes had a wash of sympathy now. He looked at Tord who nodded. "He's uh.." Tom trailed off for a bit, "He's getting bullied at school." He spat. "He has been since, I don't know, elementary?" The girls had an unwavering expression of shock and sadness. Well, why wouldn't they? Their oldest* brother is bullied in school and has been for more than half their lives and they've only found out now, about 11 years since it started.

*(yes, oldest. They do not recognize Edwin, their actual oldest brother, as family anymore)

"So that's what he's been hiding." Ellie said, tears pooling in her eyes. Tord sat next to her and let her cry on his shoulder, Ella followed soon after. "I'm really sorry we couldn't tell you sooner." The Norsk said sympathetically, "He.. never even told us he had a sister, let alone two. All he ever told us was about-" He stopped, deciding not to add fuel to the already raging fire. Tom felt horrible that he had to lay down this information to the girls so suddenly, but he had to. For Edd's sake.

Scanning the room, Tom noticed Matt. Although he was looking the opposite direction, he could tell Matt had a look of shame on his face. "Matt," Tom called out, "You alright?" Matt whipped his head around to look at Tom. "Oh uh.." He paused. "No? No. I'm not." Tom was surprised at how blunt he was. He looked over at Ella and Ellie. The girls seemed to be talking amongst themselves, so he went over to Matt and asked to speak outside.

The ginger immediately agreed and instead dragged Tom outside as Tord was left confused in the living room. "I knew!" He screeched. "I knew he was getting bullied and I never stopped them!" Matt wept on Tom's shoulder. Tom was left speechless. He knew Matt knew. But what could the pretty boy do? "It's not your fault, Matt.." he said, hugging the taller boy.

Matt pulled away and stared at Tom. "Not my fault?" He said quietly and slowly. His gaze was sharp, as if piercing straight through Tom's eyeballs. "I could've fucking stopped it!" Matt exclaimed, more tears flowing down his face like a waterfall. "But I'd always just.. walk away..." His expression was pained, guilty. Tom, still in shock, didn't know what to say. Sadly, the first thing that came to his mind was

"Look, it's not like he's fucking dead or anything!"

Tom was a second too late to realize what he'd said. "Shit." He cursed beneath his breath. Matt had no distinct expression on his face. It was sort of a mix between shock, anger, and sadness. Before Tom could apologize or even say anything, Matt left in a huff.

Tom rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. Suddenly, a warm presence wrapped around his waist. Tord laid his head on Tom's back and said calmly, "You fucked up, go get him." The brit stepped away from his boyfriend's embrace. "Why should I? He probably won't forgive me, so what's the point? -" Tord yanked Tom into a kiss. As Tord slowly moved away from their kiss, he had a look of sadness. "Y'know the one thing I dislike about you is how pessimistic you are. It's for Edd, He needs him."

Tom ran through the snow, trying his best to not trip and faceplant right into it. He regretted every second of their conversation. He wished he could just go back in time and fix it. Tears were starting to form in Tom's eyes. It was so cold and he was starting to go numb. Matt's figure was just up ahead, if only he could just reach him-

Crash

Tom yelled in pain as a car plowed straight through him. Matt turned, obviously shocked. And all he saw was Tom in a bright crimson liquid. "Holy shit! TOM!" The ginger screamed, terrified. He ran over to his injured friend, carefully dragging him off of the asphalt. Tom didn't notice it when he was running. Tord, hearing Matt and Tom's screams, yelled at the girls to call an ambulance from the porch.

He hastily put on his boots. He wasn't about to lose his sweetheart. Not today. Tord hurdled towards the two with determination, ignoring his buckling knees, blinding tears, and shivering figure. "Fuck this." He said through hurried breaths, "FUCK THIS!" He repeated louder. "Why me?!" Tord wept, tripping over his own feet a couple of times.

He finally reached them. Tord fell to his knees crying even harder. Matt moved his hand to Tom's neck. There was a pulse. Good. "He's still alive." Matt sighed, laying his coat over Tom's body. Tord had lifted his head up and rested it on his lap. He ran his fingers through Tom's hair whilst crying and muttering "It's gonna be alright." Or "You're fine, you're okay."

There weren't many injuries, but Tom gained a few bad scratches because of the coarse snow. He did gained a gash on his arm from a rock that was sticking out of the snow. However, the worst one was on Tom's head. There was a huge cut near the right side of his head and he was losing a lot of blood. Tord had wrapped up the head injury with his scarf, desperate to stop the blood. But the cold may have done that for him.

Tord's soft spoken words of encouragement were cut short by what sounded to him like the flutter of an Angel's wings, or as they're commonly called, an ambulance siren. Medics quickly rushed out the ambulance and headed in their direction. Matt sighed I'm relief. A medic had to carry Tom, Tord followed suit.

"Young man." A voice spoke. Matt looked up. He hadn't even noticed the man standing beside him. "A-ah, yes sir?" He stuttered out. "You should go home. You could get hypothermia out here." The medic said, giving him a pat on the head. Matt only have him a nod I'm response. As he watched the man walk away, Matt lifted his body.

It wasn't easy, it felt as though someone had taped 30 of those 15 kg dumbbells on his back. Like he was carrying someone or something. It became clear what made his trek back to Edd's house so difficult. He was carrying guilt. Shame. Self hatred. Afraid of what his friends would think of him now.

Tord, what would Tord think of him? Matt had landed his boyfriend in the hospital because he was just trying to be a good friend and chase after him to apologise. A sick feeling swirled in his stomach, making him gag a couple of times. He finally reached Edd's house and was greeted by the girls. They guided him inside and presented a cup of tea to him.

Tears started pouring from his eyes. Ellie sat next to him. "You okay?" She uttered quietly. Matt shook his head. Ellie pat him on the back. After all, she didn't have full context on the situation so she didn't have the guts to say anything. Ella came back shortly after with a plate of cookies she had baked earlier that day.

Matt covered his face with his hands. The sisters looked at each other. This was more conflict than they could handle. Usually they're good at troubleshooting, but they'd be damned if they said this was an easy problem to resolve. The atmosphere was so dense you could suffocate in it. They need some one else to step in.

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Hey there! Author here, sorry for the long wait. I was too lazy to continue writing. I'm considering quitting writing this story along with the others since I'm no longer interested in Eddsworld. But we'll see where fate brings us.
- Jess