Otis preferred to stay in the room they had given him, at least for now. He was still too skittish. He was also still relatively weak from his ordeal, and wasn't entirely sure if he could fight his way out of a situation if he had to. He preferred the relative familiarity of the room to the new environment of the house. He had been downstairs, but he didn't remember it at all. He had been in and out of consciousness at that point.
He had basically completely recovered, but his body still ached and he felt slow. Hugo- the man who had doctored him initially- had warned him against being too strenuous on the wounds that were still healing. Otis didn't argue. He was in no place to do anything strenuous, anyway.
All of the family had stayed away from him while he was recovering except for Mother Firefly, Vera-who now preferred to be called Angel-Baby, and Hugo. He had heard them downstairs, though. He knew well enough to match a voice to a name, but not a face. He knew Tiny's lumbering steps and Rufus's stomps.
Cutter had been up to see him a few times, just to check on his condition and fill him in on the condition of the store. He knew Otis wouldn't really care about the shop when he was on death's door- it was more about making him feel normal when he was gasping for air. Like he still had a fighting chance.
He heard a soft knock on his door. Baby was home.
"I'm awake." He announced.
"Hey, Otis!" She wrapped her arms around him. He flinched, internally damning himself for doing so.
"Hey, Angel-Baby."
"How are you feelin' today?"
"Huh? I'm fine. Still just tired, is all."
"Grampa said you'd be like that for a while, considerin' you almost died and all. You were really, really sick."
"Yeah. I've heard."
"Do you remember comin' here?"
He shook his head.
"Hm...So you don't even really know where you are?"
He shook his head again.
"You're only about 20 minutes from Daddy's shop. In Ruggsville."
"Oh, okay."
"You've seen the outside, right?"
"I've been outside. I don't remember anything."
"Yeah, Daddy basically drug you in here."
"I don't remember any of it...The first thing I remember is your Mom holdin' me while your grampa worked on me."
"Do you remember him working on you?"
"No, he put me out."
"Oh..." She reached out and stroked his face. He hadn't been ambulatory for about 2 weeks, and now that he was getting around, he hadn't been exploring much. He had grown a thick stubble on his face. Well, it was debatable whether it could still be considered stubble. "You need a shave, Otis."
"Mm. I know."
"You want me to help you to the bathroom and you can do it? I'll stay in there in case you need help."
"No, it can wait."
"Ok..."
"How was your day, Angel-Baby?" He lay his head on his arm, still wrapped around his knees.
"Oh, it was good! Rufus and I went into town and got some stuff he needed at the hardware store. We ran into a real interestin' woman we think might be our next play toy. She's from out of town, single and she just moved here bout a week ago. No one would miss her! She looks like she'd be a real hoot, too."
"What's she look like?"
"She's tall and thin, and she's got long brown hair, bout as long as yours is. And she's got green eyes that look like emeralds."
"Sounds interesting."
"That's what I thought! Rufus thinks she's too plain. He likes the big-boobed blondes, y'know." She smirked at him. "What do you like, Otis?"
"Huh?"
"You heard me. What do you like?"
His face reddened as his eyes trailed her body. She was 18. Barely 18. He was 23. It wasn't too large of an age gap, but she was his sister now, and these people had been so kind to him...would that be betraying them to think she was attractive? God, how could he not though? Unless he was blind. "A...ahh..."
"What? You gonna answer or you just gonna sputter?"
"I don't...really...have a preference..."
"No? Come on, now. You have to! You're not gay, are ya?"
"N...No!"
"Then come on, what do you like?!"
He flinched back. He knew she wasn't yelling at him, but raised voices in general alarmed him.
"Ooh...I'm sorry..." She stroked his arm. "I keep forgettin'...I just get excited."
"S'okay. Ain't nothin' but nothin'."
She smiled sweetly at him. "You're a cutie, y'know that?" She bit her bottom lip. He raised an eyebrow at her. "I'd like to fuck you."
"A...Aaaahhhh..."
"I think you still need some more rest. But we'll see how things turn out." She smirked, sticking her tongue out at him and swinging her hips as she walked away. It was a good thing Otis was curled up the way he was, hiding the evidence of his attraction that would have been staring her in the face.
Otis lay on his side and tried to sleep. His eyelids felt heavy, but he couldn't fall asleep. He heard his door click open and instinctively curled in on himself, covering his head abruptly.
"Shh, it's just me, Otis." Mother Firefly cooed. "Just came to check on you."
"I'm alright..."
"Yeah? She sat on the bed beside him and stroked his side. A chill ran up his spine and he shuddered, curling tighter on himself. She tried to ignore his reactions to her touches as best as she could, but it broke her heart. It absolutely broke her heart. She didn't understand how anyone could hurt someone this much to make them react like he was to simple touches. "Can I get you anything?"
"N...No...I'm okay."
"Okay, sweetie. Just holler if you need anything. You know you don't have to stay in here all the time..."
He nodded. He would come when he was ready.