cooler, stanley barber

2

2 - a distraction from this thing we call reality

people asked questions every chance that they had, from staff to patients. you'd think being covered in blood was a normal thing in a hospital setting, but no. surgery went great, i now have a cast in a sling, which isn't ideal but nothing that's happened tonight has been in the best interest of anyone.

by the next morning, my arm was firmly secure in its new sling-cast cage. stanley dropped me off home, seeing my brother stood in the doorway with winnie in his arms. dad must've called him when he got the news that he'd be on this case for a long ass time.

"josh" i weakly smile at him. it's at least been 3 months since i saw him. his hair's longer; the madness, that is his curls, are wild but it suits him well. "hi."

he takes a deep breath and exhales, upon seeing me in grey jogging bottoms and a huge plain t shirt, curtesy of the hospital. i'm clutching a flimsy plastic bag with my ruined homecoming dress, which he doesn't stare at for too long. "hey, sis."

he welcomes me into a hug, winnie throwing her short arms around my neck. oh, to have such an innocent, untainted, simple mind like hers. she doesn't know of homecoming's horrors and i will do anything to hide that from her for now.

josh shuts the door behind me and sets winnie down on the floor, so she can roam free like before. i stand awkwardly as josh takes the plastic bag from grip. "i'll give it a wash."

"don't" i'm quick to oppose, scaring him slightly as he flinches. it's early, just gone 6am and i feel bad for snapping. "it might have to be used as evidence."

josh nods obediently, before hanging the bag out of reach and sight of our younger sister. "how about some breakfast?" josh asks, rocking on his heels and clasping his hands together.

the possibility of sleep crosses my mind, but to my eyebag's dismay, i know i won't be able to shut off all of my thoughts right now. "sure, thanks."

for the duration of josh's waffle making, we make the tiniest of small talk, which comforts me. i feel normal, like every puzzle piece has slotted back together and there's a pretty picture to admire. but it can't ever be that simple, as josh can't hide his curiosity any longer.

"what the hell happened?" he whispers. "i mean, it's homecoming. the only eventful thing that occurred for me, was when spencer jones' pants were dangling by his ankles cause he cheated on allison wakowski with tiffany bridges."

i chuckle, a ghost of a smile on my lips. i'd swap my memories to see some girl power face up against a cheating bastard. alas. "bradley lewis..kinda died."

"brad lewis? star quarterback brad?" josh furrows his brows, abandoning the stodgy waffle mix and resorting to forgotten eggos from the fridge. he toasts a handful and prepares condiments as his questions tumble out of his mouth, like a game of scrabble. "but how? how does someone just die? and like that? and that's a shit load of blood on a single dress, let alone the rest of your school year-"

"can we not, josh?" i thump my palm on the table, raw emotion getting the better of me. "sorry, i'm tired and there's a lot that's happened in the past 24 hours."

he nods respectfully, the toaster popping up breaking our uncomfortable silence. "i'm sorry, elly. it's baffling, truly baffling. i'm sorry you went through that- still are, sorry."

i meet his eyes, honest sadness pushing through the dark brown. "it's okay, j. thanks for being here."

we finish the morning with eating eggos in front of the tv, a simple distraction thag means well but isn't enough. winnie cuddles closer to me, bashing my arm in the process, but i bite my tongue or i'll bite her head off.

the majority of my day is spent in the hospital hand-me-downs, until taking a shower seems essential. everything goes wrong, everything feels wrong. the struggle to remove my clothes, to the insecurity of the slippery shower itself.

instead, i find myself on stanley's doorstep, gazing into his broken brown eyes. his bruised cheek is so plump and fresh, my heart strings snap completely. no words are exchanged whilst we climb down into his bedroom. "how's the arm?" he delicately, as if his fingertips are feathers themselves, strokes the clean white cast.

"fine" i mutter, finding his face more interesting than anything. "your eye?"

"hurts when i blink" he says, straining as his eyelids painfully close. "it'll be alright."

i brush my hand through his curls as his eyes fall to my chapped lips. but it's me who kisses him, enjoying the intoxicating ecstasy of each other and finally finding a distraction from this thing we call reality. we take our feverish kissing to his bathroom, where we finally catch our breath.

i stare at his shower curtain, knowing stan can read me like a book. "c-can you help me?" i look back at him. he smiles genuinely, adoring my childish helplessness. he kisses my cheek for 'yes', knowing the sweet sensation of warm water about to hit our backs as we touch, as if our skin is meeting for the first time again.

yooo
fucking rip for ianowt being cancelled, cried for dayssss
but here we are, continuing anyway
even if it's been a few centuries :)
sorry for slaking but it do be like that
i love you all