Whimpers

Chapter Six: Rest and Recuperation

Freyja's POV

I didn't like Kaelan's mother at all. She was mean and I was guessing that she made Kaelan uncomfortable, but I suppose we all have our faults and failings, so I really shouldn't judge. I turned back to the door that Kaelan lay behind. I could hear his shallow breath and his slowing down heart rate. He wasn't hooked up to a heart monitor or anything, but I could still hear it. When his mother had been in the room, his heart had been beating erratically.

I approached the door, and slowly turned the knob. His heartbeat increased for a moment, when he probably thought that it was his mother, having forgotten something. But when he saw that it was me, he calmed down again. His face broke into a grin. I was really flattered that he was so pleased to see me.

"What are you doing here, Freyja? I'd have thought you'd only heard."

I remembered Kaelan's conversation with his mother. Huh, so he really didn't remember anything. "I was there, silly. But you wouldn't remember that, concussion and all. Do you want me to fill you in on what happened?" He smiled and nodded, but then I saw him wince.

"Is your head feeling okay though?"

"It's doing better than before, I think. I mean, I get the feeling that it hurt a lot. I vaguely remember a throbbing in my head... and... people underwater or something. I don't know, it didn't make much sense."

"You're right. That doesn't make any sense." I tried not to chuckle, because I knew he was in a lot of pain, but my lips still twitched upwards at his nonsensical explanation. I gazed around the room, finally looking at my surroundings.

"Mind if I pull up a chair, Kaelan?" I asked as I spotted one.

"Yeah, I mean, no- I mean, I don't mind," he said, cheeks turning red.

I dragged the chair across the room and stopped when it reached the bed. I turned it around and straddled the chair. "So," I began, "was that your mom out there leaving the room?"

"Yeah," he replied a little sourly.

"And your dad?"

"No."

"Can you tell me about it?" I asked, deadly curious. I had always had a problem with curiosity, which was a bit of an issue when people had secrets.

"There's not that much to tell you about. It's not an average divorce story, but only because of stuff that doesn't really matter. My parents separated. I was eight."

"And you picked your mom?" I inquired. I knew that I should probably have left it alone, but my curiosity got the better of me."

"I picked my dad." He looked down at his hands. He was bending a paper clip into some sort of shape. Where he got the paper clip, I wouldn't know. "They took that into consideration in the court case. More than I thought they would, actually. But in the end, the court decided that they'd rather I not go with a possibly negligent father with a criminal record."

"Your father is a criminal?" I said, my voice rose a bit and he frowned down at his paper clip thing, still fiddling with it.

"I said that he has a criminal record. He's a reformed criminal. And he's not really negligent, he's just more relaxed than my mom." His voice softened as he spoke. He sighed. I again got the feeling that Kaelan didn't like his mom.

"What about your mom? Was there any particular reason for not favoring her?" I asked.

He dropped the paper clip into his lap. "Nah, not that much. I just wanted to live with my dad. I don't really want to talk about it."

I looked at his long bony fingers, picking up the paper clip again. "I'm sorry. I have a problem with keeping my questions to myself." I said, feeling embarrassed for making him so uncomfortable.

"It's okay, Freyja," he answered smiling shyly. "I don't mind that much."

Neither of us said anything for a while. He laid back on the bed and closed his eyes. He wasn't asleep though, I could tell.

Neither of us said anything for a while. He laid back on the bed and closed his eyes. He wasn't asleep though, I could tell.

"Are you alright?" I asked him finally.

"I told you I was." He replied in a soft voice. His eyes were still closed, but if they were open, it would look like he was staring at the ceiling.

"No, I mean... Are you really all right? Your mom... she's certainly a piece of work," I looked down at my nails as I tried to phrase what I wanted to say without insulting him, "I mean, not to imply anything... She's just," I stopped. His head was still resting on the pillow, but his eyes were wide as he stared at me, and his expression guarded.

"She's just what?" He asked slowly. He seemed to want me to say something, but I didn't know what. I decided to be truthful.

"There's just something... off about her." I admitted. I crossed my legs, waiting for him to respond.

He sighed. Clearly this was not what he was looking for me to say. He went back to staring at the ceiling. But this time, his eyes were open."Yeah, I suppose. She is pretty weird at times."

"I don't know, though..." I said, trying to phrase it differently. "To be honest, she seems a little... angry." I hadn't meant to say it that bluntly, but it was the truth. "And I don't like the way she looks at you either."

Kaelan smirked a little, like this was some sort of private joke he told to only himself. As I watched him more and more, I'd come to realize how often he did this. It was almost like he thought himself the spectator in life, understanding all the jokes aimed towards audiences, but being unable to interact with any of the characters.

I took Kaelan's hand. I was worried he'd react poorly, but he didn't really react at all, aside from a happily embarrassed expression.

"I don't like your mom," I told him, as quietly as he'd been talking. I was usually the loudest person you'd ever meet, but something about Kaelan made me want to be softer.

Speaking of loud, Kaelan's mother decided that this was the right moment to burst into the room. I got a better look at her this time. She wore dangly gold earrings in her ears and bangles on her wrists. Oddly, she wore a wedding ring, but maybe that was because of Barry. I don't remember Kaelan mentioning that Barry was his step-father though. I'd almost assumed he was a boyfriend. At the sight of his mother, one hand on her hips, and the other in Barry's, Kaelan instantly dropped my hand. It hurt a little, but it made sense.

"Who is this?" the woman demanded, her gaze sweeping harshly over me. "Oh nevermind, Kaelan, we're leaving. I finished signing you out of the hospital.

Kaelan nodded woozily, getting out of the hospital bed. He was still in the dirty clothes he'd vomited in, I realized, but then again, he hadn't had any time to change. They were wiped off, of course.

With the first step he took, he stumbled, and nearly fell. What was his mother thinking? He was obviously still very injured! I jumped up to help him, but at his nervous -and almost fearful- expression, I just stood there. It was hard, watching him struggled to walk. With every interaction, I was growing more suspicious. Of what, however, I wasn't sure.