Chapter 34
I looked over at Artemis and Seb before chuckling and going back to my homework. Seb has been in an irritated mood recently and Artemis wouldn't leave him alone.
"Artemis, I'm not kidding," Seb said. "Just leave me alone."
"But I love bugging you," she said. Seb was trying to cook dinner on the stove, but Artemis was hugging him from behind. She has been for the past five minutes and with each passing minute, my brother was getting even more irritated.
Finally, Seb couldn't take it anymore. He put the spatula he was using down and pried Artemis's arms off of him before turning to face her. "I'm not kidding, leave me alone," he said.
"How about you take a nap and I can bug you later when you're feeling better?" Artemis suggested. "Seriously, you're acting like you're the pregnant one."
"Artemis, I'm not in the mood," Seb said. "Just....go read a book or something."
When he turned around to face the stove again, Artemis placed her hand on his back and slowly rubbed in circles. "Seb, seriously, go take a nap and relax," she said. "I'll finish up with dinner."
Seb sighed. "I-I'm sorry, Artie. I didn't mean to get mad."
"Don't worry, it didn't affect me at all," she said. "Seriously, take a nap."
Seb nodded, so Artemis kissed his cheek before he headed off to their bedroom. "What's up with him anyway?" I asked.
"He's just been really tired," Artemis said as she took over cooking the food on the stove. "Seb has been up at nights unable to fall asleep."
"Why?" I asked.
"I don't know," she said. "I tried talking to him about it, but he says it's nothing. I'm just going to let it slide for now."
"I don't know," I said. "Usually when Seb says 'it's nothing', it's something."
"Well, some people really do mean nothing," Artemis said.
I snorted. "Yeah, some people, but not Seb. You should probably talk to him after dinner."
"You're right," she said. "I will. So, how's Isadora?"
I smiled at the sound of my girlfriend's name. "She's great. I'm happy I found her."
"Well, I can tell you two love each other," Artemis said. "I haven't seen you this happy before."
"I know," I said. "She really makes me happy." It was true. Isadora was the best thing that has ever happened to me and I honestly don't know what I would do if I never met her. I probably wouldn't be getting better like I was with Isadora near me.
Shortly after I completed my homework, the dinner was ready. I put my school stuff in my bedroom before heading back to the dining room table. Artemis had already set the table and she went to get Seb.
Seb looked extremely tired as he walked to the table and sat down. "Are you okay?" I asked.
Seb just nodded, but I knew he was lying. So I was right when I said something was up with him. Hopefully he would tell Artemis when she asked him about it later on.
I was starting to grow a bad feeling in my gut with each passing minute. Seb was barely eating thing and he looked so troubled.
"Seb?" Artemis said softly, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You barely touched your food. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he said. "I'm just tired. You know I haven't been getting any sleep."
"I know," Artemis said. "But what I want to know is why you haven't been sleeping."
"It happens to everyone," Seb said. "Everyone has those nights that they can't sleep for no reason."
"Right," Artemis said in a way that sounded like she didn't believe him. I didn't even believe him.
When Artemis and I finished our dinner, Seb stood up as well. "I have to go somewhere," he said. "I'll be back soon."
"Okay," Artemis said. "When will you be back?"
Seb shrugged. "Don't know." He then pulled Artemis into a hug. "I love you, Artie. So damn much."
"I love you too, Seb," Artemis said. "Are you sure you're okay? You're acting like you're not going to see me again."
Seb didn't reply as he looked at me. "Bye, Dax." And just like that, Seb left the apartment.
"What was that?" Artemis asked me. "Why was he acting so weird?"
"I don't know," I said. "I've never seen him like that before, and that says something because I've seen him in the darkest part of his life. He probably just went for a walk or something." Yeah. He just went for a walk. That was it.
Artemis didn't say anything else as she began cleaning up the kitchen. I noticed that she usually cleaned vigorously when something was troubling her, so I knew the house was going to be spotless in a matter of an hour.
And for me to get my mind off of Seb acting weird, I hung upside down on the couch and watched TV, only getting up a few times so too much blood didn't get to my head.
Within an hour, the house was spotless. Artemis flopped down on the couch and dialed someone on her phone. She then sighed and hung up. "He's not picking up," she said. "I'm really worried about him."
"Don't worry, it's only been an hour," I said. "He's almost twenty, he could be gone as long as he wants."
"But he was acting so weird when he left," Artemis said. "And when I made that comment about I'm acting like he's not going to see me again, he didn't say anything. What if he...." She didn't even finish her sentence, but I knew what she was going to say.
"Artemis, come on, he's not going to do that," I said. "First of all, he just married you a bit over a month ago and he would never do something to leave you in such pain. Second, he's so excited about Evelyn coming along soon. And third, there hasn't been any reason why he would try killing himself. He's going to be fine."
"Then why can't I shake this weird feeling?" Artemis said. "He hasn't acting this weird before and he's not answering the phone, and...."
The front door suddenly opened and Seb walked in. "See?" I said to Artemis. "Fine."
Artemis ignored me as she hurried over to Seb and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're okay," she said. "Why weren't you answering my calls?"
"I was driving," Seb said in a quiet voice.
"Where were you?" Artemis asked. "And why were you acting so weird before you left?"
Seb looked down. "I, uh....I can't be a sensei at the dojo anymore."
I furrowed my eyebrows. "What are you talking about, Seb? It's not like you were fired or anything. You own the dojo now."
"I know," Seb said. "Last Saturday, when I was teaching the kids, they wanted to see me use the bo staff during their lunch break, so I did. And I pulled something in my back. I thought it would get better the next day, but it didn't. It, uh....It got worse. That's why I couldn't sleep. My back had been in so much pain lately, so I went to the doctor's. It turns out I have this thing called cervical radiculopathy. I'm going to need treatment for it and in the meantime, I can't be a sensei."
"Oh, Seb," Artemis said, wrapping her arms around him again. "Everything will be okay."
"You don't know that," Seb said. "I don't know how long it would take for me to be able to be a sensei again and you know how much it means to me. I won't be able to see those little kids again."
"You can still see them," she said. "Not as much as you do now, but once you find another sensei, you can step in on the lesson at anytime."
"I won't be able to find one in time," Seb said. "The next lesson is in two days and the doctor strictly said for me not to engage in any physical activity."
"Then I will teach until you find someone," Artemis said.
"Artie, you can't teach when you're pregnant," Seb said. "It won't be good for the baby."
"Seb, come on, it will be fine," she said. "I already talked to the doctor and she said said still teaching karate, especially to the seven year olds, is fine, remember? We just decided for me not to teach to still focus on university and being pregnant."
"I can help too," I spoke up. "I haven't taken lessons, but I've been to enough to know what's going on and how to do some moves."
"See?" Artemis said. "Everything will be fine."
"No, it won't," Seb said. "The dojo and being a sensei is everything I have. Yes, I have you and Dax and soon-to-be Evelyn, but you two also have something else. Artie, you have university and your education. Dax, you have Isadora and Skittles and your going to university next year for music. I just have the dojo and that's gone too."
"Seb," Artemis said softly, resting her hand on his cheek. "You still have it. You're still the owner and you could be the sensei again later on. Things have to go on break sometime."
"I guess," Seb said. "I don't want it to go on break, though."
"I know," Artemis said before kissing Seb's cheek. "Things will be okay. I promise."
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I think this book is going to end up being longer than My Ex-Best Friend. I want to get to the end of the school year and it's currently December. cx
Aww, so poor Seb. :( I'll just insert a picture of him just because.
Dem dimples, though. <3