Naked (Wattys 2022)

Part 3

"He is not okay! Does that blue mark surrounding his neck look okay to you?? He literally has a bandage around his head!" I was taken aback by the sudden raise in Calhouns voice. Even the doctor was unaware of how to reply back to him.

"Hey Eli! Tell him what happened and tell him where it hurts." Again, I could not reply. The determination in his voice was set in stone, unwavering.

"It doesn't hurt but I'll show you were I was beaten." My voice was monotone. There were no evidence that I was indeed in any discomfort, but more so internally. Usually, hiding my emotional wellbeing came easy, but for some or other reason Calhouns presence bothered me.

The doctors eyes were concerned and once he got the details he explained that a nurse would be with me shortly.

"Aren't you going to leave?" Calhoun seemed genuinely wounded by my words. I didn't mean for my words to leave paper cuts.

"No." He gave a firm answer before dialing a number on his smartphone.

"Hey mum! I'm at the hospital you use to come to." The cheeriness in his voice was something I never experienced before. I wasn't jealous. I just wanted to smile the way he did, for whatever reason actually made me happy.

The doctor came in and brought along a needle, and a bag with clear fluid.

Despite not being afraid of needles I could tell that Calhoun was. He gently held my hand and stated that it would be short, that I wouldn't feel any pain as long as I squeezed his hand.

Boisterous, was one word that came to mind as I stared at his perturbed face. I humored him as I reciprocated.

Holding on to his warm hand made me realize something very alarming. I began to form an unwanted attachment.

I shook my head, nothing made sense anymore.

"Are you okay? It's almost done. See, it's done!" I couldn't help but chuckle at his panic stricken eyes. Calhouns mouth opened wider and I looked at him before smiling softly.

"So you are human huh?" He smiled at me with his pearly white teeth before reaching out towards me. I flinched but Calhoun didn't seem to notice anything. His hand delved into my locks and moved them slightly behind my ear.

"I'm going to get you some clothes okay? Also you'd look better with a shorter haircut. Not that I'm saying you're cute or anything. Uh-" He coughed and then sped out like crazy.

Long after he left I continuously stared at the door. As if his return was the only thing keeping my mental thread from parting.

I touched my hair and realized that it had grown tremendously. Self care was lost within me. Caring about my appearance was never on the list until... I stared at the entrance again, waiting.

The door opened, interrupting my thoughts.

"Eli your mother is here." My heart stopped. Emily, my birth mother crouched down to eye level and hugged me. I could feel her body heaving up and down, which led to a tremendous amount of sorrow landing on my chest.

"I'm not angry at you at all." Hearing the words exit her mouth soothingly I sighed against her. It felt as if I were a burden to her and because I was never apart of the family to begin with, I thought I would be better off dead than alive.

I learned that existing for others was exhausting, that my recent discovery of love was distorted, absurd and downrite self-destructive. Which was partially the reason why I couldn't reciprocate what Emily was so generously sharing with me. It's the kind of delicate love that I wasn't use to

Even though I lived with her for more than seven months I couldn't bring myself to accept all the love and items she'd given me.

Emily left me when I was younger, a baby. I'd been through so much since then but I couldn't seem to blame her. Her story was one I wished never happened. She was as troubled as I was and for that reason, I stayed.

"Let's take you home." I stared at the door longingly but looked away immediately.

Calhoun didn't need to be sucked in the despair that was me. Even though he stirred something within me I couldn't bring myself to be selfish.

Living for other people was what I was use to. Placing their needs above my own.

"Let's go." Emily said as she asked her helper some assistance. May(the helper) always cared about me with her entire being and I couldn't help but feel terrible about running away as I stared at the tears in her eyes.

***
Calhouns POV.

I came back running with a smile on my face but before I got to the door I stopped, trying to show that I was merely just getting clothes, that this wasn't that much of a deal.

All I saw in Eli was a little boy who so desperately wanted to be loved. Someone who wanted to be told that they deserved to be on this planet as much as anyone else.

I looked down at the sandwich my mother made and some strawberries. I checked it once again and breathed out before stepping inside.

"I'm back. My m-" I stared at the empty bed and then proceeded to run towards the bathroom in a rush.

I realized that he had left without saying goodbye as if our meeting was insignificant.

Before I left, something caught my eye in the mirror. A sticky note.

"Thank you, for everything. - Eli."