now and forever

13

"It was finally healing! Why would you hurt it again?!" Freddy lightly scolded you as he brought a bag of ice for your newly hurt wrist. You winced a little at the renewed pain radiating from the limb. In the haze of your wrath you had spent a good hour punching your pillow. Which, of course, had put a strain on your bruised wrist. Your friends surrounded you with worried/disappointed looks.

"I had an... exciting phone call with Mr. Selik." You said, not exactly lying to them. You accepted the bag of ice, and placed it on your sore wrist.

"What kind of phone call?" Roxy asked, crossing her arms. She was giving you a "no-nonsense mother" vibe.

"The kind where Ms. Odwell was forced to retire, Dave forced to leave me alone, and I got promoted to Head Mechanic." You decided to leave out the Bonnie parts for obvious reasons. Everyone with working jaws dropped theirs. Sun gave you the impression he'd be doing the same if he had the ability.

"Oh my GOSH! THAT'S AMAZING!" Sun yelled, swooping you into a hug, forcing you to drop the bag of ice.

"CONGRATS!!!' Chica squealed, jumping up and down in shared excitement.

"Now that IS an exciting phone call!" Freddy said, incredibly happy for you.

"Rock and roll!" Was all Monty could say as he did the typical "rock on" gesture with his hands.

"You're the best person for that promotion!" Roxy couldn't hide her excitement, even though she tried.

As your friends congratulated you, you noticed a certain emotion swimming in their eyes. Something you probably wouldn't have seen if you weren't looking for it. Something that kind of broke your heart a little more if you thought about it too hard: hope. Your friends were looking at you with hope. It was sad that in an entire department of people dedicated to their wellbeing, you were the ONLY one they felt they could place their hope in. A hope for being treated with dignity. A hope to have all their issues big and small taken seriously. A hope to have their lives valued... You felt your determination increase. These poor people had placed their trust in you, and you would sooner die than let them down.

"Thanks guys. I'm glad I was the one who got that position too." You smiled at them, trying your best to convey a promise for a better future without having to say it in words.

"I understand why you were excited, but why did that make you hurt your wrist?" Freddy asked, reminding everyone that you had accidentally made your injury worse.

"Well, I was too overwhelmed with emotion that I felt I had to punch my pillow over and over to process it." You didn't lie... You just didn't say which emotion you were overwhelmed with. Sun set you down as they all scrutinized you. Freddy sighed, and then walked up to you to gingerly grab your bandaged wrist.

"You're forgiven since that was incredible news you were shared with, and anyone would be excited in your position. But please, take better care of yourself in the future. You have become one of my dearest friends, and I hate seeing you hurt even by accident." he said, his pleading eyes peering into your own. He was genuinely concerned for your wellbeing. You couldn't help the wide smile it brought to your face, nor the small blush dusting your cheeks.

"Okay, Freddy. I'll do my best to not hurt myself in the future." You promised, and he looked immensely relieved at that.

"That is all I ask for." he said, letting go of your hand. A breathy "wow" off to the side caught your attention. Chica was looking at the two of you as if she was seeing you for the first time, and Roxy gazed on with a knowing look.

"I think I understood what you saw earlier, Roxy." she whispered loudly to the wolf. You rolled your eyes. They were reading too much into the situation again.