Getting Wilder ✔️

issue twenty-first: scalpels and stitches

My mom arrived like the hurricane she is.

She ran through the glass doors, her eyes wild and face pale as she reached me and hugged me close. Kailey followed soon after her, her eyes were wide and panicked.

After I had assured them that everything was fine and calmed them down, I announced that I would stay for Arfie. My mom shook her head and started to protest before I put my foot down stubbornly. After a lot of arguments, my mom finally agreed and completed the formalities while I stood in a corner, softly assuring Kailey. She was hugging herself as she trembled slightly, her face pale. Her bottom lip quivered as she nodded at my words. I hoped I had done enough to put her at ease. 

I waved them goodbye, my heart seizing in worry. I moved to the waiting room, finding it mostly empty except for an elderly couple, both of them dozing and a middle-aged man with his head leaning against the wall.

The waiting room was basically a wider extension of the lobby outside. Pure, white, depressing tiles covered the drab walls and series of metal benches stood against the walls. It was mostly empty apart from a door on the other side which I assumed led to the restrooms and a few lush plants desperately trying to brighten up the morbid space.

I took a deep breath and sat on the bench, feeling strangely like an adult and clenching my fists on my thighs. I had never been alone outside at night, not even for sleepovers. I had never been comfortable with sleeping in a different bed.

The mental and physical exhaustion of the day washed over me and I soon found myself dozing off. I woke up suddenly to the sound of the door opening after a few minutes and blinked in bewilderment when I saw Wilder, grinning at me as he strode towards me, a backpack on his shoulder. He walked over and sat beside me, placing the backpack on the floor near his legs as he turned to look at me.

"Thought you might get bored."

I gaped at him silently, at a loss for words. He leaned over his backpack and unzipped it, fishing out a red something and handing it to me. I gazed at the KitKat that he presented, a warm feeling blossoming in my chest. I remembered the first time we had sat together in class, the very first day when I had been set up with 'the new kid'. I had offered him my KitKat because he had been nice to me. 

And now, everything was being repeated. Maybe in a pathetic way, the reason I was so taken by him was because of how kind he had been. Even when I detested myself, he had always found a way to love me. 

"Cheers, Evans!" he said, reaching for another KitKat and opening it. I gaped at him silently, as if he was an illusion that I expected to disappear at any moment. He didn't however and instead bit into the chocolate wafer bar. I gazed, mesmerized at the way his mouth moved, the way his tongue stuck out just a little when he took a bite, the way his lips looked. He caught me staring and to my surprise, I saw a blush creep up his cheeks.

His eyes twinkled as he spoke, "You look creepy right now."

I blinked, staring at him before I burst out laughing. I shut up quickly, gazing around at the now staring people who had apparently woken up. Wilder chuckled.

I opened the wrapper and slit the foil before removing it and gazing at him. "Are multiple people even allowed here?"

He shrugged. "Sure. As long as the hospital isn't overflowing. And, no one finds out." He ended with an obnoxious wink that made me giggle stupidly. 

I nodded and bit into the chocolate, feeling slightly better as I realized I hadn't had dinner in a bid to eat at the party. I sighed, wondering how it was possible that the party mere hours ago now seemed to have been a lifetime away.