We'll Get There {AntiAverage} (ABANDONED)

4: C B

958 words

It had been a few weeks since we had gotten Anti back. He had stayed on a fold-up bed in what Schneep's 'Hospital Wing' to be monitored the first few days, but we'd moved him into my room after the doctor had deemed it safe enough. He'd gotten more comfortable being on his own, so long as I wasn't too far away, but he had really bad nightmares. So I'd insisted on him sleeping in my bed while I took an air mattress on the floor, despiste his protests.

We'd started to get him to walk small distances, and he was comfortable going down the stairs on his own now. He'd gotten on a regular eating schedule, and he was starting to build some muscle again. His injuries had started to heal, for the most part, but there was no doubt most of them would scar.

His eye had begun to glow a healthier green again, too, and he didn't look quite so close to death now. He was getting better, and for that I was thankful.

During this time, I had started to change his bandages after Schneeplestein had gotten caught crying in the bathroom. I couldn't blame him, they were... bad. I wanted to cry myself, sometimes. The only reason I wasn't trying to drown myself in the bottle again was because Anti needed me at my best.

It was worse after we had gotten the shock collar off. The thing had left some nasty electrical burns just under his iconic slit throat, and they were really hard to look at. His neck had been red, and swollen, and there were evenly spaced indents from where the prongs had been.

Now, I received a call at nine in the morning, rousing me from my sleep. Who the hell had called me at such an ungodly hour? I sighed as I saw Stacey's name written across the top of my phone. Anti stirred, making an almost nervous hum as he blinked awake. I answered with an unintentionally groggy voice, propping myself up on an elbow, "Hello?"

"Greyson's end-of-camp presentation is in, like, ten minuets, where are you?"

I stiffened. With all of the stuff going on with Anti, I had totally forgotten about my son's presentation. I wouldn't let her know that, though, so I put on my best poker voice. "Yeah, sorry Stace, I slept through my alarm. I might be a little late, but I'll be there, I swear."

I heard her disbelieving scoff from over the phone, "You'd better. It's going to break his heart if you aren't." I hung up, unwilling to respond to that, and pocketed my phone. She really had a way of making me feel like shit for so much as breathing.

"Hey, Anti? I have to go for a little while dude, are you gonna be okay?", I asked, rolling out from under the spare blanket. With the grace of an elephant I pulled myself to my feet on the edge of the bed frame.

"H- um, how long are you going to be gone?", he asked, pushing himself up on his elbows. He looked awfully small compared to the giant comforter bunched around his lower half.

"An hour or two? Three at most. Greyson has a summer camp thing that I totally forgot about. It won't be long, I promise. I'll let Marvin know I'm leaving, and he'll stay with you. Is that okay?" Anti nodded hesitantly, still looking nervous.

I crouched down next to the bed, "It'll be okay. Don't hesitate to call me if you get anxious, alright? I'll answer." He nodded, leaning towards me ever-so-slightly. I brushed some hair off of his forehead and stood up, "I'll see you soon."

I walked out of the room, ducking into a bathroom to change, then knocked on Marvin's door. The magician answered, looking like he'd been awake for a few hours.

His hair was up in a loose bun, and his pajamas were still on, but he moved with coordination not even he possessed when freshly woken. "Yeah? Is everything okay?"

"Hey, I have to go to Greyson's summer camp thing, and I don't want Anti to be alone. Could you..?", I trailed off, motioning towards my door directly across from his.

"Yeah, of course! He's in your room?"

I nodded, already turning towards the steps, "Thanks, man. I really didn't want to miss this. I haven't seen the boys in... a while."

He waved dismissively, calling something akin to 'don't mention it', and I sprinted down to the kitchen. Jackieboy was sitting at the counter, eating cereal and scrolling through his phone. I looked around feverishly for my keys, unintentionally whining as I knocked over some dishes.

"Coffee table.", Jackie didn't even look up as he said it, popping a horseshoe marshmallow into his mouth.

I quickly scurried over to said furniture, spotting them immediately. "Thanks bro!", I called, running towards the front door. He gave a two-finger salute, still not looking up.

When I got in the car, I had the strange feeling I was forgetting something, but I didn't have time to go back in on a hunch. I started the car and took off towards the science center, having memorized the route a long time ago. Trey had gone for almost a half a decade now, and it was Greyson's first year. Luckily, it wasn't very far; maybe fifteen minutes, max.

I'd been a few minutes late to these things before, they'd always allowed me in. It would be fine... Maybe I should consider going more than ten kilometers per hour

It was only when I was halfway there that I realized I had forgotten my hat.