Elliot's shoulders a bit slump from today's work. His actual job, the dare care center, has his shifts Tuesday through Friday. That leaves Monday from eight to three at the hospital as an intern with the resident social worker. Today was particularly brutal.
A little girl, Mila, came in with her neighbor when she fell off her bike and breaking her wrist. The neighbor claimed the parents were out on errands and had asked her to check up on Mila every hour or so. The girl was eight, riding around with neighborhood kids. But the doctors found too many bruises to make sense.
Elliot knows he has to control his emotions better if he ever wants to make it in this business. His future job will only exist because of the bad shit. His mother still questions why he would do this and not become a teacher if he cares so much about teachers. But besides all this shit, Elliot will be able to go farther than anyone to save a child. He'll get them out of the bad and into the good. Even if he cries along the way.
Sighing, he wipes his cheeks of unfallen tears, going to unlock the front door. Neither Tom nor Andy were parked out front, just a car Elliot didn't recognize. He frowns when he realizes the door is already unlocked. Carefully, he slides a key between his fingers before he hesitantly pushes the door open. The only noise he could hear was the faintest sound of the TV coming from deeper in the living room. He sets his backpack down so gently as not to create a noise before he walked slowly, farther into the living room.
As he sees the source of the unlocked front door and TV he stops. Slow and steady the noise of faint snores comes out of the open lips of a sleeping Ward. Elliot stands there in the middle of his living room watching the almost undetectable rise and fall of Ward's chest with his figure curled up to fit on the couch.
While Ward's face always held some range of emotion, his sleeping form was peacefully still. Elliot absentmindedly crinkled up his nose as another snore pulls out with the crinkling of Ward's nose. A few wrinkles between the man's sculpted eyebrows on the soft, smooth skin that Elliot knew took time to create. His pink lips encased in groomed facial hair. Ward was unfairly attractive.
Instead, he sucked in a deep breath, cautiously took the remote from the ground under Ward's finger. He clicks off the nearly silent show of Friends before the places the remote on the armchair.
He almost didn't want to wake up Ward. Elliot wanted to curl up and sleep too. Maybe even right on top of Ward. Elliot didn't know what Ward was doing here and if he was okay. But he figured Ward was sleeping so it would be best to leave him alone and began to back out of the room to go take a long shower when Ward let out a tiny cry.
Elliot immediately retreated, hovering closer to Ward to see if he was okay, what was happening. The only sign that Ward was suffering was the furrowing of his brows as more snores slipped out. With another microscopic cry, Elliot's fear and nerves of the day broke through to find himself shaking Ward's shoulder gently.
It took a minute but when it got through Ward's slumbering psyche, he shot out of Elliot's grip to sit up with a gasp. Elliot jumps back, eyes wide in shock and fear. Ward stares straight ahead as his back shakes with deep breaths.
Finally, he runs a hand through his hair and turns wide-eyed to Elliot, "Holy fucking shit, what did you do?"
Elliot folds into himself. His curls his hands around his stomach, taking another microscopic step back. He didn't know what he did. He thought he was helping, Ward was crying out in his sleep, what the fuck was he supposed to do? He didn't mean to make it worse. He should have just gone upstairs and let Ward sleep it out.
"I don't...I mean, I don't know?" Ward narrowed his eyes and scanned over Elliot. He didn't understand why the man with the loosens tie around his neck looks so terrified. He also didn't mean it in that way either. It was just a bit shocking being shaken awake when you're stomach was already mixing in...fear?
YOU ARE READING
Praying Under Pressure
Teen FictionElliot Fernandez is a man who has only ever done whatever expects of him. So when he hits his wit's end, he gathers all his courage and moved across the country for his Masters degree. But mostly to take control of his passive position. A move he al...
