|Weak Hero| D-TecnoLife

Chapter 6

"You don't have to stay with me," Kingsley said after he was admitted into the hospital. "I'll be fine on my own. You should go back home—"

"Gray is important to me since he's my little brother," Donald cut him off. "But you're also important to me because you're my best friend, Kingsley,"

"You said that he had a nightmare," Kingsley reminded. "You should be there for him,"

"He specifically requested Ben's presence," Donald pointed out. "Ben knows about Gray's relationship with Stephen so he's more suited to comfort him at the moment. And although I detest him being inside my house, I doubt he'd steal anything since he's different from the likes of the Union,"

"Stephen?"

"He's a friend of Gray's," Donald informed. "We bumped into him as we were leaving the hospital,"

"Should I look for any info on him?"

"No, I don't want to invade Gray's privacy by digging into the past he shared with him," Donald shook his head. "Besides, you should be focused on recovering,"

"I'll be discharged in a few days," Kingsley said. "The most serious wound was when they hit me in the head with a wooden beam. It's not too bad but the doctor just wants to make sure it's not worse than it seems,"

"I'm still going to stay here with you," Donald refused to leave.

"You know I can call for the doctor and nurses to kick you out,"

"And you know that they tend to be easily bribable,"

XXX

"Gray, you shouldn't scratch your arms like that," Ben said softly, noticing the smaller boy's skin reddening with each scratch. "You're going to end up bleeding,"

"Sorry," Gray apologized. It was a nervous tic of his to scratch his forearms when nervous or anxious. "Donald's been gone for a long time," 'What if something bad happened to him? What if those monsters...what if they kidnapped Donald!? What if they hurt Donald like how they hurt me!?' His scratching became more erratic.

"Gray," Ben carefully placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Everything's going to be okay,"

"When's big brother coming home?"

Ben grabbed Gray's phone from the table. "Let's give him a call," He went to Gray's contact list and clicked Donald's name. He placed the phone on speaker.

"Hello?"

"B-Big brother?" Gray stuttered. "Where are you?" 'He's fine. See? He wouldn't be able to answer the call if he had been kidnapped by those monsters,'

"Sorry for leaving without warning, Gray. I'm at the hospital,"

Gray was concerned. "What happened!?"

"Just some high schoolers who decided to attack Kingsley to get to me. I took care of them though. I made sure to break some bones,"

Part of Gray felt guilty. He felt guilty that he had thought that maybe Donald abandoned him when Donald had a good reason for leaving while Gray was in a panic. 

"Gray, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," 'I don't want to be a bigger burden,'

"Are you sure?"

"Yes,"

"I'll be back some time tomorrow. There's still a lot of cream stew in the fridge if you're hungry,"

"Okay,"

"Is there anything else you need?"

"No,"

"Alright then. See you tomorrow, Gray,"

"Bye Donald,"

The call ended.

"Wanna call Stephen next?" Ben offered.

"No," Gray shook his head. "Not yet,"

XXX

Kingsley eyed Donald when he hung up and leaned back in his seat with a loud sigh. "You're tired,"

"Exhausted," Donald corrected. "I love my little brother, but sometimes it can be quite wearisome. Not burdensome, just tiring. I know what I signed up for when I decided to take Gray in instead of bringing him immediately to a hospital. I'm able to leave him home alone with Jawbreaker for a few hours, but part of me would constantly be worried about him. At least right now, my mind can be at ease since Ben Park's with him,"

"He's not a helpless infant," Kingsley told him. "He has some independence,"

"I know, and that's why I trust him to stay home by himself while I'm out," Donald said. "One of the reasons I took him in is because he reminded me of my mother and I thought I could make up for not saving her by saving Gray. I'm a bit paranoid that..."

"That you'd fail him," Kingsley finished his friend's sentence. "That you wouldn't be able to save him like your mother. That you'd lose him like how you lost her,"

"Yeah," Donald nodded.

"You really should be talking about these sorts of things with your therapist,"

"I know," Donald scratched the back of his head. His fingers itched for a cigarette, but he couldn't smoke inside a hospital. "It was extremely difficult for me to open up to my therapist the first time. It's even more difficult for me to open up even more,"

"Recovery is a long process. Don't rush things. Go at your own pace,"

XXX

Donald hadn't realized he had dozed off in his seat. He had actually half-expected a nurse to tell him that visiting hours were over and that he had to leave, but he guessed that his bloody knuckles and clothes made them think twice. 

He was surprised to find his long coat draped over him. "I thought I left this at home?"

"Gray visited," Kingsley told him.

Donald frowned. "He hates hospitals,"

"He does," Kingsley said. "But he still brought me a get well card. Ben Park was still with him so you don't have to worry about him being by himself. They left not too long ago so you might be able to catch up to them,"

"I want to, but at the same time I don't know if I should," Donald slid his jacket on. "I don't want to accidentally hinder any progress he made," 

"You can at least see him off, even if you don't talk to him,"

Yeah Donald, listen to Kingsley!