Chapter 3
Middle of the night...
Riker POV
"Riker, wake up!" Someone whispered.
I opened my eyes, but only saw blackness. Something touched me, and I flinched, letting out this weird squeaking sound.
"Riker, it's just me, Ellington."
I sat up in bed, and squinted. But it was dark, and I don't have my glasses on.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"You were making these weird sounds in your sleep like something was wrong."
I realized my face was wet with sweat and tears. He'd heard me having a nightmare. But not just a nightmare... It was the crash.
Just thinking about it again and being so tired at the same time made me start to cry.
"Riker, what's wrong?" Ellington whispered.
"I miss my mom and dad!" I cried, quietly.
I covered my face with my hands. I felt Ellington sit next to me. He put his arm around my shoulder.
"Riker, it's ok."
"Can I have a hug please?" I whispered.
"Sure."
Ellington pulled me to him, and I hugged him tight. I calmed myself down, and then pulled away.
"Are you going to go back to sleep?" Ellington asked.
"Um... Yeah... I just have to go use the bathroom first. We're allowed to, right?"
"Yeah. Are you sure you're ok?"
"Yeah..."
"Ok. I'll see you in the morning then."
"Ellington?"
"What?"
"Thanks."
"For what?"
"For coming here, and making me feel better."
"Oh... You're welcome."
Ellington went back to his room. I quickly went to the bathroom, and then got back in bed. I was still exhausted, and fell asleep quickly.
Morning...
Riker POV
"Riker. Wake up. It's time for breakfast."
I opened my eyes to see Ellington standing next to my bed. I groaned.
"Come on, sleepy head!"
He grabbed my wrist, and started pulling me.
"No... I'm not hungry..."
"Riker, you didn't eat anything last night. All you did was drink water."
"I don't like breakfast."
"Riker, come on."
"No..."
"Fine... Just know, you made me do this."
My eyes were closed, so I didn't even know what was going on at first. But he started tickling me! I squirmed all around, and fell out of bed. I only fell about a foot, but it still hurt!
Ellington handed me my glasses, which I put on my face. And then he led me to the cafeteria.
We got trays like yesterday, and food was put on them for us. We had cereal, fruit, and chocolate milk today. But my appetite was still gone.
I sat down with Ellington where we did last night.
"So what exactly happened last night?" Ellington asked, digging into his breakfast.
"What do you mean?"
"Why did you have a nightmare?"
"It was the accident..."
"Oh... What's that?"
"I don't want to talk about it..."
I didn't know if I could trust him yet. And I was sure I'd start crying if I talked.
I stirred my cereal around, not feeling hungry at all.
"What are we going to do today?" I asked.
"I don't know. Whatever we want. We could go for a walk outside maybe if it's nice weather."
"What do you mean a walk?"
"There's a fenced in area in the back. And there's also courtyards. I can show you around more today."
"Ok..."
"Hey, why aren't you eating!? You didn't eat last night either!"
"I'm not hungry."
"Riker, how long has it been since you last ate?"
"I don't know... A few days..."
"Well why haven't you eaten!? Do you have one of those eating disorders?"
"No! I just don't feel hungry, ok?"
There was silence between us after that. I was really frustrated with myself. I was starting to make a friend, and I didn't want to ruin it because all the other boys here looked scary. I was on the younger side of this group, and they all looked like they could beat me up or something.
After we brought our trays back, I followed Ellington to his bedroom. I went to mine, and sat on my bed, not knowing what to do now.
Ellington came to my doorway.
"Riker?"
"What?"
"Do you need to talk about anything?"
"Why?"
"I can tell something's wrong."
"I just miss my parents, ok? I don't want to be stuck in an orphanage. I want to be home."
"Well you're here whether you like it or not, so why not make the best of it?"
I sighed.
"So do you want me to show you around yet?"
"Um... Actually... I think I'm going to take a nap."
"Alright..."
Ellington left, so I got under my blanket again. I quickly fell back asleep.
Later...
Ellington POV
I didn't really have anything to do. I'd finished my book. I kept peeking in Riker's room to see if he was awake, but he wasn't.
I went to my bedroom, and sat on my bed, not knowing what to do. Riker's my only friend here. Should I wake him up? If he sleeps too much during the day, he'll never fall asleep tonight...
I heard soft whimpers. They sounded like they were coming from next door.
I walked into Riker's room, and saw him in bed, moving around uncomfortably. He was whimpering, and I guessed he was having a nightmare.
"Riker. Hey. Wake up!"
I sat down on the edge of his bed, and shook his shoulder. His eyes snapped open, and he jumped backwards.
"Hey. It's ok. Just a dream."
He broke into tears, and covered his face with his hands. I could see he was all sweaty.
"Riker, it's ok. You're fine. It was just a dream."
"I-it's not f-fine!" He whimpered.
"Why not?"
"T-they're d-d-dead!"
His whimpers turned into hard sobs. I shut his door, and pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around me tightly. I could practically feel his fingernails in my back.
After a few minutes, his crying changed. I could feel that his whole body had tensed up. His sad crying had turned into terrified crying. He was shaking uncontrollably, and his voice sounded strained and weird.
"Riker, calm down. You're ok, I promise. Nothing can hurt you."
I pried him off of me so I could grab his water bottle. I handed it to him, and he took a few sips. But about a minute later, he threw up on the floor.
"Riker, lay down."
He laid down in his bed. His crying had mostly stopped when he threw up. He just looked exhausted now.
"You ok?" I asked, quietly.
He rolled over onto his side, and covered his face. I sighed, and went to the bathroom to grab paper towels. I cleaned up his puke from the floor, and then got him another bottle of water. He drank about half of it, and didn't throw up this time. He was still all sweaty, and his hands were shaking a little, but he wasn't crying, and he was pretty calm.
"Riker, I know you're not feeling well, but it's time for lunch."
"I don't want to go."
"You haven't eaten, Riker. You need to eat!"
"I feel sick."
I sighed.
"Riker, please eat."
"No..."
I stared at him. He looked kind of pale.
"Alright... Well I'm going to go have lunch. I'll come back when I'm done, ok?"
He nodded, and pulled his blanket over himself.
I closed his door as I left. As I ate lunch, I couldn't help but feel kind of nervous. What's wrong with Riker?
Riker POV
I've never felt more scared in my entire life than I did 5 minutes ago. That was the first time I had a flashback of the crash.
I don't want to think about it...
I really didn't want to be alone. Who knows what would've happened if Ellington wasn't there.
I need to find him...
I crawled out of bed, and walked quickly down the halls until I came to the cafeteria. I slipped inside, and spotted Ellington where we sat for breakfast. I started running until I came to him. I sat down across from him, and hunched over the table a little. I put my arms on the table, and then laid my head down. I didn't look at Ellington before I did that, and I didn't know what his reaction was. I just wanted to feel safe.
"Riker, are you ok?"
I nodded, not looking up.
"Did you want something to eat?"
I shook my head no.
"Well then why are you here, silly?"
I looked up, trying not to start crying again.
"I don't want something to happen to me again."
Ellington sighed, and just looked at me for a minute.
"What happened in there, Riker?"
"The crash..." I whispered, close to tears again.
"The crash?"
I laid my head down on the table again, holding in my tears. I heard Ellington get up and put his tray away.
"Riker, do you want to go back to your room?"
I nodded, and got up. Ellington and I walked back to my bedroom. Ellington shut the door, and we both sat on my bed, facing each other.
"Do you want to talk about anything?" Ellington asked, quietly.
I sighed. People say talking helps. But I know if I start talking, I'm going to cry. And I've done enough of that already.
"Riker?"
I looked up. Ellington looked a little concerned.
I sighed again.
"No... Not yet..."
"Ok."