The Kings IV II

40

Hero

This is the best sleep you've gotten in ages, man.

I rolled my eyes around, slightly opening them and seeing a dim light shining above me.

But it's time to wake up. Sorry.

My eyes snapped open and I inhaled sharply, shooting up from the position I was in.

"Hey, hey," a comforting voice said, making me look all around the hospital room.

"It's me," Dad said, earning my eyes.

I let out a shaky breath, my eyes locked on his.

"What happened?" I asked, tears stinging my eyes.

"You passed out," he said, "and had a panic attack."

I tried to steady out my breathing, blinking back tears. I sniffled, scrunching up my nose as I realized there were cords in both of my nostrils.

I tugged at it, shaking my head. "G-get them out. Please."

"You have to leave it in," Dad said.

I leaned my head back against the bed, looking down at my arm, which had an IV in it.

"You're killing yourself, Hero," Dad softly said, fisting his hands in front of his mouth as he leaned forward on my bed.

I clenched my jaw, looking away from his tear filled eyes.

"And I-I'm so sorry," he muttered, rubbing his eyes, "I'm so sorry I didn't address it. I'm so sorry that I let it get this far."

"Dad," I sighed, looking down at him.

He dropped his head, sniffling. "I'm so sorry."

"Dad, it's not your fault," I said, "p-please don't."

He leaned his head up, covering his eyes with his hand. "It is my job to protect you. It is my job to keep things like this from happening."

I bit down on the inside of my cheek, blinking back tears as I looked away from him.

The door opened, making him and I both snap out of our emotional states. I sniffled and looked at the doctor standing in front of me, my jaw taut.

"Hey, Hero," he said, "at least it's not another broken bone this time."

"At least," I muttered, looking down.

He sat on the edge of my bed, placing a gentle hand on my shin. "You feeling okay? We've got some fluids in you, trying to make up for everything you didn't have in you."

I nodded. "Okay. Thank you."

"Excuse me," Dad muttered, rubbing his eyes as he walked out of the room as quickly as possible.

My bottom lip began to quiver as I hung my head. All I wanted to do was fall apart, but there wasn't a single person in my life I could fall apart in front of. I had to remain a man in front of Dad, I had to remain a man in front of Mom and Fran.

"Hero, son," the doctor softly said, "your body, it's really weak."

I nodded, blinking back tears.

"I know I'm probably the last person you want to talk to," he said, "but you have to talk to someone."

I bit down on my lip, leaning my head back against my bed.

"This isn't a road you can go down by yourself," he said, shaking his head, "you need some land nav from this point on, and it can't be yourself anymore."