Changes

19.

Alex

When I'm done tucking Nina in, I return to the livingroom and find Elliot sitting there all by himself.
"Where is Marcus?" I ask.
"He needed to use the bathroom." Elliot says while fiddling with his teddy bear.
I smile at his actions and sit down beside him on the couch.
"So,how are you feeling about all this? Are you feeling comfortable?"

He glances at me and then returns his focus on the teddy bear.
"Yeah... I um..it's actually not that bad." he says.
"I'm glad to hear that."
I smile at Elliot once again and watch as he interacts with his stuffed friend.

"You really like that teddy bear, don't you? What's its name?" I curiously ask.
"Um... I don't know." he says, a little taken aback by my question while also looking like he is deep in thought. "Maybe... Mr Snuggles junior?"
He looks at me with a questioning look as if he is waiting for my approval, and then I just can't hold back.
"That's a GREAT name." I exclaim overly enthusiastic, as if I were talking to a toddler.
But instead of Elliot getting embarrassed, his face lights up.
"Really?"

At that moment, Marcus returns from the bathroom and joins the conversation.

Marcus

After Elliot tells me about the teddy bears name, he suddenly stands up.
"I'm... gonna go to the bathroom." He says and begins to walk away, but Alex immediately tells him to wait.
The tension gets intense real quick and I understand right away what's about to go down. So I clear my throat and give Alex a stern look as a warning to stop him from saying what he is about to say.

"What?" He asks while giving me a questioning look.
I sigh and turn my attention towards a confused Elliot.
"It's okay, you can go." I give him a nod of affirmation and he scurries away.

"What was that about?" Alex asks and
without answering the question, I cross my arms while giving him an intense look.
"You were about to force him to do something weird, weren't you?"

He shakes his head.
"No... I was gonna make a suggestion, and that is in no way the same thing as forcing." he says sarcastically, and I can't help but roll my eyes at his statement.
"Ugh... Just stop it. We're supposed to help Elliot, not make him uncomfortable. I thought we both agreed on that."

"Yeah, I know... maybe I was gonna go over the line, but I don't see what's wrong with trying new things. I mean, he does wear a diaper for a reason."
His blunt words make me want to sew his mouth shut and rethink our friendship.
But just when I'm about to tell him off, I get interrupted by Elliot crying in the distance.

Alex and I stand up quickly from our seats and hurry over to the bathroom.