Five Little Words

Part 7

"Come in" he instructed solemnly, and they all filed in to the room.

*****

Dec was so bored now, he'd counted all of the ceiling tiles so many times that he could picture the bland whiteness inside his mind whenever he closed his eyes. Sleeping only used up so much time - and to be perfectly honest, he wasn't that tired anyway.

He just felt.....flat, like he was a balloon that'd had all of its air sucked out of it. Particularly in these moments when he found himself alone, with nothing but his thoughts for company.

And what brilliant company THEY made. 

Even after all of the assurances that he hadn't done anything wrong on Saturday night, and that what had happened was nothing but an accident, there was still a - surprisingly large - part of him that felt horribly guilty, and this guilt always made itself most known whenever he was alone.

That - coupled with the boredom, the frustration, and (yes, he'd admit it) the loneliness - made for one very miserable Declan.

He passed the time by playing with his fingers, or fiddling with his wedding ring; spinning it up and down on his finger. All the while, the guilty and damning thoughts threatened to swallow his mind whole.

However, that afternoon, one visitor would quickly make almost everything alright again.

It was at around 2:30, and Dec had been dozing on and off for about an hour now, when he was startled by the sound of the door opening.

Blinking to wake himself up again, he almost didn't believe who was on the other side of the door.

"Mam?" he breathed, eyes immediately widening (and watering, but he ignored that) at the sight of his beloved mam.

Anne smiled at her youngest boy, and strode quickly across the room and wrapped her arms around him in a tender hug.

"I'm here: oh my boy, I'm here now" she whispered soothingly as she pressed a kiss to his hair.

In the safety and comfort of his mam's arms, Dec felt his resolve start to properly crumble as the tears stung his eyes - threatening to fall over his lashes. His breath started to stutter and his shoulders started to shake as he tried his best to keep his emotions under control.

Anne - of course - felt and heard all of this, and she kissed his unshaven cheek.

"I'm here" she repeated, voice soft and kind - and so much the comforting, motherly touch Dec had been craving.

He needed no more encouragement, and the tears started to fall. Anne's arms quickly tightened as they held onto her son as he cried bitterly into her shoulder, feeling the wetness of his tears on her neck and through the fabric of her cardigan.

"Mam, I was so scared-" he whimpered, eyes squeezing shut as more tears dripped over onto his cheeks.

If she had been able to, Anne would have picked him up into her arms properly and started rocking them back and forth - just like she had used to do when Declan had been younger.

Alas, she couldn't do that right now, but she could still hold her boy close to her, and that alone was enough comfort for the both of them right then.

Her own throat tightened as Dec's arms wrapped his arms around her and gripped onto the back of her jumper with trembling hands.

"I know sweetheart" she soothed, stroking his head as he continued to cry into her shoulder.

"I thought.....I thought I was never gonna walk again...." he sobbed, cries reaching a new pitch as all of his fear and frustration from the last five days poured out as desperate tears and heart-wrenching sobs.