❝hurt (pronounced həːt or hert), verb
to cause pain to something or someone.❞
Spencer opened his eyes again.
He didn't want to wake up again. Every time he woke up, there'd be another nurse with a painful injection, or another doctor asking how he felt, or more people saying words he didn't understand. His mother was always there, but the look on her face of desperation and sadness overwhelmed him more than any of the pain did. He found it was easier to just sleep through it all.
He hadn't seen Papa since the truck had hit them. He hadn't asked. He didn't know if Papa had gone to Heaven or not, but he was scared to ask, in case he had. He had been close to seeing Heaven, Robin had told him. He had almost gone to Heaven. Mama wouldn't talk about Papa much. Sometimes she cried when she thought he was sleeping.
He wasn't alone in the room. He looked and saw Mama sleeping in the chair, looking exhausted. "Mama?" he said feebly.
She woke with a start, rubbing her eyes. "Hey, baby," she said softly. "What are you doing awake, hmm?"
"I'm a bit thirsty," he said.
"Alright. Give me a moment, I'll get your cup," she said, going to the sink and filling his cup with water. "Are you feeling okay?"
"A little bit. Not really."
"I'll get a doctor for you, okay?" She pressed the big blue button beside his bed, and a nurse walked in, beginning to talk about his legs and his brain. He didn't like it, so he closed his eyes and slipped back under.
He woke up again, opening his eyes to a dark room. There was a woman sitting on the end of his bed, smiling at him. She had red hair, and grey eyes, and she seemed younger than Mama and Papa were. He didn't know her, so he closed his eyes again, believing that she must have been some sort of doctor.
He opened his eyes again, feeling a giant headache. He was alone in the room, and he stared at the ceiling, counting the tiles on the roof up to a hundred- that was all he knew how to count up to. Eventually, when he got tired of that, he fell back asleep.
The next time he woke up, Elle was sitting there. She didn't notice that he was awake, she kept talking on the phone.
"Drew, I-"
There was an angry outburst, and she sighed. "I knew I shouldn't've told you about it. Y'know what? Forget it. Forget I ever told you. You're every fedora wearing neckbeard out there right now." She turned off her phone angrily, groaning, before noticing that Spencer was awake.
"Hi Ellie," he mumbled.
"Hey! Ma- Ma should be here in a b-"
"No, stay!" he said, beginning to cry. "I want you to stay! Don't get a doctor!"
"I won't, I won't!" She sat back down, trying to hush him. "Be quiet, or a doctor will come in!"
That shut him up. He sniffled quietly. She looked sorry for him, and moved closer. "Do you need anything?"
"It hurts," he said. "I don't like it."
"What do you want me to do? Call a nurse?"
"NO!"
"Would you stop yelling, Spence?!" she snapped. That scared him- no one had snapped at him for a long time. He stopped yelling and sat and looked at her. She sighed, rubbing her temple. "Look, I... I'm sorry. It's been a long couple of weeks."
"Where's Papa?" he finally asked.
"He's here. He's getting better. Do you want to see him?"
"Yes!"
"I think he might be able to walk around now. Do you want me to go and check, or do you want me to just text Ma?"
"Stay."
"Alright. I'll text her."
They were silent for a small while, wondering what they could do until someone came. "Are you feeling better?" she asked eventually.
"No."
"Oh. That's uh... not good."
Silence for a while longer. There was a sound outside, and Ryan wheeled Hunter in on a wheelchair.
"Papa!"
"Spence! Oh gosh, Spence, I'm so sorry..."
"Papa, you're here! Hi!"
Though she didn't say anything, Elle noticed the look of hurt on Ryan's face. She said nothing, but Elle knew. She was hurt that no matter how much she tried to love Spencer that he would always levitate towards Hunter because he was the parent she had kept him from when they moved to London.
Hunter began to cry quietly, but didn't let him realise, coming closer to the bedside. "I love you so much, Spence. How are you doing?"
"Head hurts, but I'm okay!" He gave him a big, toothy smile, and though Ryan was hurt, she had to smile as well. Seeing Spencer happy was more important than the reason he was happy.
And while Hunter spoke to him and apologised over and over, he slowly drifted back to sleep, finally feeling happy when he did so.
<><><><><><><><>
"Hunt?"
"Mmm?"
"Are you awake?"
"I am now."
"Open your eyes, then."
He did so, and Ryan held up a cupcake. "I bought this for us to share. It's from a gourmet bakery."
"What flavour is it?"
"Apple crumble."
"Your favourite."
"There were lots you would like, and I thought you might like this one."
"I'm sure I will." He moved the table nearer to his bed- he had improved vastly over the last two weeks. "Am I allowed to eat this?"
"The nurses gave the all clear." She held the cupcake out to Hunter, who took a bite. The crumbs on the top that gave the cupcake a crunchy sense made flavour explode over his tongue, and the tartness of the apple made it so that the cupcake wasn't too sweet. "It's amazing, darling. Try it!"
She did so, and Hunter watched the way her eyes lit up, the way she smiled. "It really is gourmet," she said, and he chuckled slightly. They ate the cupcake together until it finished, and Ryan held the water up to his lips, to help him wash it down. He looked at her. "That was great. Thank you."
"I just felt like we may as well start trying again."
"I was always trying, thank you very much."
She sighed, leaning closer and brushing the hair away from his face. "You've been so good to me," she said softly. "I hate you and yet I love you more than anything. Does that make sense?"
"Yeah. I think I know what you mean."
"I don't know. It's... at least you're all okay. At least you're all alive."
"Is there any chance I can redeem myself?"
"Maybe. You'll have to show me that you can."
He smiled. "So, how about that holiday?"
"Will you be well enough by July?"
"I'm sure I will be. And besides, it'll be a nice getaway for all of us."
"Where would we go?"
"Perhaps to a beach. Has Spencer ever been?"
"No, it was always so cold in London, I was afraid he'd end up ill."
"That's alright. It's warm in Florida."
"Florida?"
"Let's go to Disneyland, the six of us."
"But-"
"But what?" He smiled slightly. "You said it yourself. We need a well deserved break."
"When did I say that?"
"Last month. It was a Wednesday. I don't remember the date, but whatever."
She rolled her eyes slightly, and moved closer to him. "I'm sorry."
"No, I am. You weren't wrong to be so cold to me last week. It's because of my stupid decisions that we're here at all."
She glanced at him, at his frowning profile. The room was dark, and it was nearing evening. "How are you doing without alcohol?"
"I'm alright. I'm tired, but alright." He looked at her, how her hair was messy like she had just woken up, and how her makeup had worn off, leaving her with her freckles, which made her look younger than she was. Hunter had watched her age very gracefully in the last ten years of their lives, from the moment they had met, and she was still more perfect than he could ever fathom.
Her eyes met his. "Do you think he'll ever walk again, bluejay?"
"I... I dunno, Ry. He's only young. I guess, if it's damaged him enough... maybe."
"Right," she said, though her voice shook. She didn't mean for it to shake so badly, and he reached out, touching her face and forcing her to look back at him.
"If he's anything like you, he'll be able to," he said quietly.
Something came over her in that small moment, something that made her lean in close to Hunter, that made her sit on the edge of his bed. "And if he isn't like me?"
"Then you'll teach our lark to fly" he whispered, before sitting up and kissing her.
This was different to that last time, when it was anger and sadness motivating them both. This was love, pure unadulterated love, and nothing else. Her hands came up to his face, and his went to her waist, pulling her closer to him, against his body. She moaned slightly into the kiss, and he pulled away just slightly. "We can't do this here," he breathed.
"Well, let's test the boundaries," she whispered back, kissing him again.
"Where are the kids?" he asked against her lips.
"With Elle. They're spending a night at home," she responded.
"Is that safe?"
"She's responsible," she said, kissing him again. "She knows... how to take care of them..."
"Ry," he breathed, but couldn't resist her either. His lips found hers, and he let his fingers get tangled in her hair as he revelled in her sweet, slightly salty taste, and her smell, like strawberries and cream. He finally felt free, despite being trapped in his bed. That was the thing that he loved about kissing her. When he did, he felt like he was flying.
"I want to try again," she breathed against his lips.
"Try again?"
"For a baby."
He pulled away. "Wait, what?"
"You heard me," she said. "Hunt, I know-"
"No, I'm not saying we shouldn't. But... why?"
"What do you mean, why?"
"Because I thought we gave up on that."
"You gave up on it, not me. I wanted you to stop drinking so that it wouldn't affect the child. Remember? I want to try. We should at least try."
"I..." He sighed, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Are you sure about this, Ry? I don't want you getting pregnant and..."
"Losing the baby?" She sighed. "Me neither. But if I don't try at least one more time, then I'll lose it. I'll only be able to think of the last time I got pregnant. The time I..."
"I know. You don't have to say it."
She looked into his blue eyes, pleading with him. "I know you don't want to," she said.
"Who said that I didn't want to?" He stroked her cheek. "I'm just worried about you."
"Don't be," she said quietly. "I'll be okay."
"Pinky promise me that," he said.
"I pinky promise," she said, taking his pinky and smiling slightly. "We're gonna work our way through this, okay?"
"Good," he said. "Now, get back here. I wasn't finished kissing you."
She laughed, before kissing him again, melting into his arms. For the first time, it was perfect.
<><><><><><><><>
Spencer swallowed nervously, looking out at Mama, who was standing with her arms outstretched. "You can do it," she said encouragingly. "Come on."
He looked up at Papa, who was holding him. "Now, do you think you can walk to Mama?"
"That's easy!"
It had been two months since the accident. Hunter had recovered from his injuries, but Spencer was still being wheeled around in a wheelchair. Until now, that was. His physiotherapist hadn't let him even try such a thing. It was far out of his comfort zone, and he wasn't ready. But now, Dr Potter had said, now he was ready.
Spencer liked Dr Potter. He had confirmed to Spencer after his great excitement at his surname that yes, he was related to Harry Potter, and pulled a penny out from behind Spencer's ear to prove it. Even though Spencer hadn't walked in such a long time, he knew he could remember how. It couldn't be that hard, could it?
"Ready?" asked Dr Potter, a small smile on his face.
"Yeah!"
"Okay. Let go, Hunt," said Mama softly.
The strong hands holding Spencer gently let go of him, and he tottered forward a step, before crashing, flat on his face.
"Don't worry," said Hunter, helping him stand again. "Try one more time."
But he didn't know if he could. His legs felt like jelly- like there were no bones left inside them. The cockiness he had felt earlier had been totally cancelled out. What if he couldn't walk anymore? He didn't like the wheelchair. It was so hard to move around and go places.
"It's not impossible, my lark," said Mama gently. "Come on. You know you can fly if you just put your mind to it."
"Yes, Mama," he said.
"Would you like me to hold onto you to help you?" asked Papa.
"Just my hands," said Spencer, and he did so, holding onto them firmly. Ryan smiled gently, and he took three wobbly steps before nearly falling again. This time, Hunter caught him.
"I think that's enough for today," said Dr Potter, and Spencer nodded, feeling exhausted. Why couldn't he walk suddenly? What was wrong with him? "His muscles are atrophied. Enrol him in swimming class. It'll strengthen his leg muscles."
"Alright, doctor. Thank you."
Swimming lessons? How would that help him to walk? He didn't know, but he didn't care. He just wanted to walk again.
*A/N: a chapter that took me nearly two weeks to write. i'm sorry :(
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Nethii <3*