Team8s and Counting

188. I Can't Let You Do This

"Sprinkle!" Sack whispered. "I thought Mom said you can't eat until you take your shots."

Sprinkle shrugged. "Forget mom. You and I are finally gonna get to hang out with the cool kids, this might never happen again!"

Sack frowned, shifting nervously. He didn't want to ruin Sprinkle's moment, but the thought of his brother getting sick made his stomach twist. "But what if you get sick? What if you start shaking again and have to go to the hospital?"

Sprinkle hesitated for a second, remembering the incident. His grin faltered, but he quickly shook it off, determined not to let this opportunity slip away. "I'll be fine, Sack. It's just a few candies. I promise."

Sack loved his brother more than anyone in the world, and he still had vivid memories of that day. Seeing him shake in bed, not being able to have any control over his body, him running to go get his mom, and seeing the ambulance come and take him away; it all came back to him at that very moment. Tears started to form in his eyes. "I can't let you do it Sprinkle, I'm sorry."

Sprinkle grunted. "You're so annoying! Whatever, I'll go ask Dimey about it then, he'll at least be supportive of this."

Sack crossed his arms. "Fine. Do it. But don't say I didn't warn you."

Sprinkle walked away, and the cool kids followed him. Sack felt bad for yelling at his brother, but he just couldn't let Sprinkle do it, not on his watch.

As Sprinkle approached Dimey, who was on the swings, Sprinkle instantly saw his face go from carefree to now angry. "You!" He said, pointing to the kid who offered Sprinkle the candy. "What are you doing with my cousin"

The kid shook his head, showing off his tooth gap again. "Oh great, not you." The kid looked back over at Sprinkle, whispering something in his ear. "This kid gave me this tooth gap, you know? All I did was yell at his little friend for having two dads and he freaked out."

Dimey got off of the swing, walking directly towards the kid. "Her name is Capy and stop being mean about it. Like I said, her dad's are awesome!"

The second grader rolled his eyes, stepping back slightly as Dimey loomed closer. "Whatever," he muttered, trying to look unfazed but clearly unnerved by Dimey's confidence.

Dimey crossed his arms. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Now, what were you whispering to Sprinkle?"

The kid hesitated, shooting a nervous glance at Sprinkle. "I just said he could play with us if he ate some sour candies. No big deal."

Dimey's eyes narrowed, and he turned to Sprinkle. "Sprinkle, you know you're not supposed to eat candy without taking your shot first, right? You promised your mom you'd be careful."

"But it's just a few pieces." Sprinkle said. "Nothing bad is going to happen, I promise!"

Dimey snatched the bag of candy out of Sprinkle's arms, then looked back up at the kid. "I thought maybe after I knocked your tooth out, you'd learn to be nicer. But now...now you want to make my cousin sick? Not on my watch."

"Dimey!" Sprinkle exclaimed. "Give it back!"

"I don't care if you hate me." Dimey said, tears starting to form in his eyes. "But I can't let you do this." He glared back up at the kids. "Especially with you guys."

"Woah, chill kid." The kid said. "It's just candy."

Dimey rolled his eyes. "To you maybe. But to Sprinkle, it could be dangerous. You think this is just some game, but it's not!" Dimey's voice cracked with emotion, but his resolve was unshaken. He stuffed the candy bag into his pocket and turned to Sprinkle.