I own nothing! Nya!
When we were kids, Arthur used to get sick really easily, so you'd think seeing someone pass out would be normal for me. Wrong. Seeing Gil's eyes roll into the back of his head and drop like a rag doll scared the shit out of me. I can't quite pinpoint why though.
"You alright Mattie? You look like your next" Francis' worried voice made me even more nervous as we hiked Gil onto one of the bunks, his bunk. I shook my head and grabbed a tissue from our little bathroom to wipe the blood off my face. The little mirror above the sink was cracked, spitting my face so I had to stand crooked to see my reflection.
Yea, I was pale like I was about ready to faint. My brothers know better though, I've only ever fainted once in my life, but we don't talk about that. Not anymore.
"So does he do that all the time?" Al asked as I was walking back into the room. I took a breath and restrained myself from cracking him upside the head.
"Nein, not really. He's probably just stressed is all, he hates the sight of blood." Ludwig shifted, obviously uncomfortable to be here without his brother awake. I know how he feels, I used to trail Francis all the time because I hated to be alone. I walked over to where Francis was sitting and sat below him, offering Ludwig a small smile. I know how you feel.
He seemed to get what I was saying and smiled back before fiddling with Gil's pendant nervously. The granfather clock rang in the hallway, signaling dinner time, and as if on cue Gilbert's eyes fluttered half open.
"Bruder" he mumbled and sat up slowly, "where am I- Oh, sorry."
Al started snickering and Iggy bashed him over the head with a book.
"How are you feeling?" Francis asked, playing with my hair.
"Like I got hit with a door- oh wait" he looked over at me with a smirk and we all started laughing. Shouting echoed down the hall and Iggy's stomach growled.
"Guess we should head down for dinner, Vash will scold us if we don't" Al whined and started pulling Iggy out the door. I wanted so much to giggle like a school girl seeing them like that. When they were younger, Iggy pulled Al everywhere and now the tables have turned.
Gilbert followed them out with Ludwig trailing behind him, but when I tried to stand my hair pulled.
"Ow- Hey!" I whined, but stopped dead when I saw the look on Francis' face. He wasn't paying attention to me, his eyes were trained on the window. I pulled my hair out of his grasp and looked out to see a beat up black car pulled to the curb and a man in a suit walking towards the door.
I know that man, don't I? I can't remember how, but something about him-
Oh no. Francis turned to me and my fears were confirmed. Months ago, that same man came here wanting to adopt a child because his wife died, bringing their child with her. He had taken a liking to me, and not in the good way. Francis doesn't want us to be seperated in the first place, but this man just reeks pedophile. Last time he was her he filled out a form for a background check and now he's back.
I'm scared. Francis put his arms around me to comfort me, but we both knew we had to go down there like it or not.
"It'll be OK Mattie" he said with a weak smile while we headed downstairs, "I heard rumors that he has a record so I don't think he'll get you. Just try to endure it until he leaves." Something about the way he said it put me on edge, but I shook it off. Vash is always really thorough in his background checks.
I hope.
Whenever someone is here for a child, we are to greet him and be good little children until they leave. If someone leaves, we are not allowed to cry over them. I've seen many come and go, and I've never once cried. As long as my family never goes, I'm fine.
I almost cried once. There was twin girls who came here with their brothers who were separated The couple took the girl home crying and screaming to her sister that she didn't want to be alone. Even now, her sister cries in her sleep that she wants her sister back. I couldn't imagine being ripped from my family like that, let alone if I was torn from my twin.
Before we ate, Vash introduced the man at the head of the table. He was aproved. I gave a sideways glance to Francis, he was gripping his legs under the table so hard his knuckles were white. The man's name was Johnathan.
No one spoke as they ate, and no one dared not to eat. When we were done, we were to stay seated until we were told otherwise. Those who were to do dishes gathered up the dishes and the rest of us were to head to our designated rooms.
In our room, we all sat on Iggy's bed, Al facing Iggy and me next to Francis drawing each other. I made sure to sit in the corner of the bed so I was almost completely hidden. Even though it was just us, I didn't want Iggy or Al to see me shaking. Hell, I didn't want anyone to see me at all.
"In room 20 we have four brothers" I heard Vash say, "Boys! Attention!" We all got up and stood in a line in order of age. Al stood so our hips were touching and squeezed our hands together behind our backs. I couldn't tell if it was because he was nervous or he wanted to make me feel better, either way it worked. The man stepped in and looked around a bit before looking at each one of us in turn. His eyes lingered on me a little longer than they should, but rage built up in me an his eyes drew to Francis and a smirk stretched across his face.
Back off of my brother you son of a bitch I wanted to shout, but I didn't. The man turned and continued on his way to the next door.
Later that afternoon, a boy went home with Johnathan. He was one of the younger ones, the quiet ones like me. He was a chineese boy who looked more like a girl than anyone was willing to admit. Yao Wang.
I kind of felt bad for him, his hands were shaking so hard I thought he might end up flinging what little belongings he had across the lawn as they walked to the car. His siblings stared out the front door until they were gone and then two of them broke down.
That night, I stayed in Al's bunk with him so he could sleep. I've had insomnia since I could remember, only sleepin maybe once or twice a week. I spent the night with Al curled next to me in a ball, listening to the soft snoring down the hall and around the room. every once in a while, a silence would fall followed by a low sob next door. Sounds like Nat is having another bad night. I can hear Iggy tossing and turning in his sleep, mumbling about Al stealing his underwear, and Francis is dead weight as always. When he sleeps, he never moves, never makes a sound, only lays his side facing the middle of the room. Every once in a while I find myself holding me breath and looking over at him to make sure he's breathing.
It sounds silly, but he's stopped before. One time he ended up in the hospital because of it. The doctors can't explain it, but it happens. They did hundreds of sleep studies on him, but found nothing wrong. He just stops breathing for no apparent reason. We all have problems of some sort. Iggy has a low immune system and suffers from anemia. Al has a really fast metabolism so he has to eat a lot in order to stay at a sem-normal weight. Francis stops breathing in his sleep and I'm just messed up.
When I was younger, I was told I have a form of HSAN - which stands for Hereditary Sensory Autonomic Neuropathy. Basically, it means I don't feel pain the way I should. The only times I really feel pain is when I break something, and by that time it's already too late. Along with that, I have scopeaphobia and aichmophobia, which is the fear of sharp objects, and thats mostly because of my neuropathy.
In the morning, breakfast today consists of powdered eggs and oatmeal. For dishes, Francis gathers the dishes, Iggy washes them, I dry, and Al puts them away. It goes along smoother than normal, only three cups broken this time, and doesn't take very long so we have a few minutes to spare before morning chores.
For my time, I decide to head upstairs to the library so I can find a book. The library is the largest part of the house, consisting of almost an entire floor. There are over a hundred book shelves stacked so there's just enough room for you to squeeze through with a ladder if needed. All the books are arranged by language and then in alphabetical order by last names of the authors. On the end of each book case is a clipboard to sign out the books. This time, I head to the English section for a book instead of french, skimming my hand along the spines as I walk. The library is my favorite place to be in this place, everything is so quiet and peaceful.
"BOO!" Someone shouts, grabbing my sides. I scream and trun around fast, slamming my fist into their face. Their very, very pale face.
"Oh! I'm so sorry Gilbert!" I squeel and he just laughs, holding his swollen cheek.
"Holy shit! How'd you learn to hit like that? That was awesome!" he laughed, causing heat to come rushing to my face.
"S-so why are you h-here? I th-thought you couldn't r-read english very well" I stumbled over my words and bit my tounge in frustration.
"Oh, I saw you come in and thought I'd sneak up on you! There's hardly any books in the german section that I haven't read and the other ones are totaly not awesome enough for my time." He chuckled, a sort of odd sound.
I ended up spending my time sitting on the floor in the library with Gilbert. I pulled out a random book from the shelf and attempted to teach him English It probably would of been better if Iggy taught him, he's a great teacher. I took my time to make sure he was getting what I was saying. He could speak it perfectly, but give him a pen and paper and you got German every time. Give him a book, and he'd be lost within the first couple of sentences.
"So why did you move to America?" I asked, shocking myself. I don't usually ask people anything except the usual "hows it going?"
"Well, my mom got really sick so we moved for the hospital care and because our dad was working here for his company. When mom died, dad lost his job and-" he paused, looking down at the floor. His pendant was clutched in his palm like a lifeline and my heart sank with sympathy.
"You don't have to tell me" I breathed, hoping to make him feel better. Seeing him this way seems...scary. He seems like the kind of guy who could face the world without blinking.
"To be honest I really want to. Is that OK " He looked at me like he was waiting for me to yell at him and run away. I nodded, if he wanted someone to talk to, I'd listen. It's probably best anyways, I never tell anyone personal things except my brothers. Even with them I hold back some information.
"When my dad lost his job, he started working at a small car repair shop near home. We didn't have much money, just enough to get by, and it hurt him." He wiped his hands on his jeans, "he started drinking. It was only a few times at first but it kept getting worse, and when he'd come home-" he pulled his legs up to his chest and pressed his forehead to his knees. It was then that I realized a few things. He was sickly skinny, his ribs showing even with his shirt covering him. Where his shirt hiked up a bit in the back was a thick white scar, about the width of a fifty cent piece.
Without thinking, I reached out and brushed the tips of my fingers against the scar and noticed he was shaking. Standing up, I pulled on his sleaves until he stood to and led him out of the library and down the stairs.
I took him to the one place I know he would feel better, Nina's room.
Nina is the live-in nurse here at the orphanage, and she's one of the nicest people I've ever met. She has long red hair and dark green eyes with a child's face and the body of a swimsuit model. When we walked in, she took one look at me and then at Gil before shooing us to a corner of the room where two cots lay. I sat cross-legged on one and watched as Nina gave Gil a fluffy blanket and rocked him gently in her arms. He didn't cry, which was surprising, but after a little while he calmed down and fell asleep.
"How have you been feeling Mattie? Still quiet as ever?" she giggled, pulling another blanket over Gilbert, "It was nice of you to help him out though, sometimes talking about things makes it easier." I nodded and she handed me a blanket as well, sitting next to me. This is sort of a routine with her and I. Whenever Al's dreams get real bad or when he gets a panic attack, I bring him here and I sit with Nina and talk till he wakes up. Technically, I could have just dropped Gil off and left, but something tells me that would be cruel.
"Have you been sleeping Mattie?" Nina asked and I shook my head. OK talking isn't the best way to describe it. She sighed and jingled her keys, getting up and opening the medicine cabinet. She came back with a little paper cup two pills and a cup of water.
"Here, take this and get some sleep, I'll wake you up before lunch time." It took me three tries to finally get them down and I laid down, letting Nina tuck me in around a few blankets. I found myself watching Gil's back, the rise and fall of his breathing, and before long I was asleep to.
Finally I got chapter 2 done!
I'm hoping to start the next one soon, but I'm not sure when
As always, much love to all my viewers!
please R&R
~Yulie
