"Mom, mom, I'm fine. Honest." I said to her as she rushed to help me as I walked into the small living room. Well, dragged is probably the right term. Apparently walking does not involve clutching your bandaged torso while rolling vertically on the wall, which is unfortunately what I was doing. “Don’t panic.” I added with a sigh as I plopped unto the worn couch, the springs digging into my back which probably wasn’t a good thing but I decided to bear with it. I could feel my mother’s eyes boring holes into my back, waiting to see if I needed any help. After a few minutes of awkward staring she left me alone, like a vulture deciding it was a waste of time waiting for an animal that wasn’t going to die anytime soon actually die.
Harsh, I know.
My siblings rushed to me with tear streaked faces as soon as our mom left the room; it was probably quite a shock for them to see me like that. I sat up so they wouldn’t have to lean over me, making myself feel worse. My eyes instantly fell on Leah, she was still crying, her hands were halfway up signaling that she wanted a hug from me; but I can’t, the blood was beginning to seep through my bandages.
“Stop crying, Leah. I’m fine.” I smiled at her, tugging at her pigtails.
“But you looked like you were dying.” She murmured as she sat next to me. “Didn’t he, Luke?” She asked as she looked up to the little boy with the huge glasses that took up half his face.
“Yeah, what happened to you, Kyle?” He asked me worry pasted on his nerdy face. I reached out to ruffle his dark hair as he instinctively ducked but failed.
“You really want to know?” I asked them feigning mock seriousness. Leah being the youngest at only six years old nodded vigorously, but Luke being eleven just sighed and played along.
“It’s supposed to be a secret, but I’ll tell you guys anyway. I can trust you to not tell anyone, right?” I said, hugging Leah to my side even though it hurt. She nodded again; the excitement was making her jump up and down. They did not need to know that I myself had no idea what was happening. They’re just kids anyway. Luke just sat on the floor pretending to pay attention. He already knew I was not going to tell them the truth.
“The truth is that, I was attacked by this vicious baby dragon, he had a very long tail for just a small creature but he also had these gigantic teeth and claws!” I told Leah, her eyes shining with awe and her mouth half open. “What did you do?” She asked eager to know more.
“Well, I took out my trusted paintbrush and poked him in the eye! And then with my magic powers I also painted a portal on the bathroom wall, that’s why you guys found me there. I tricked the little dude into going into the portal but then he slashed at me with his tail and claws that’s how I got all these cuts, you see, and then he just vanished.” I said, clapping my hands together, making Leah jump.
“’Poof!’ Just like that?” She said mimicking my gestures. I nodded.
“Wow…” She just murmured her eyes suddenly far away, probably imagining how it happened and I just smiled.
“But remember, paintbrushes are supposed to be only used for painting…” I said as I tugged at her pigtails again.
“But you-“ she said as she scrunched up her forehead.
“Unless you have to poke a dragon in the eye of course!” I said as I gathered her little body into a hug wincing as I did and she just giggled.
A loud thud made our eyes go wide and made our bickering stop. Luke stood up looking tensed.
“Hey mom! You okay there?” I called out.
“Uhh. Yes, honey. Just. I’m just packing our stuff.” She sounded breathless.
