The sun began to set through the window and over the city, washing April's room in oranges and purples. The glow of the sun reflected in her eye, but she didn't dare blink. Her eyes felt numb and dry, even the sun wouldn't get them to blink.
The sun probably took a good few hours to fully set, but to April, it ended in a blink of an eye. Just like the others she numbly watched for...how many days now? Night approached. Just another night where she was useless and alone.
The buzz of her T-phone went off and April closed her eyes, ignoring the sound. She didn't have to look to know it was from Donatello. He had sent her others over the past few days while she kept herself trapped in her bed, unwilling to move. She had hardly eaten and only really got up only to use the bathroom.
Her stomach had stopped rumbling and the need to eat felt foreign. Her own home phone had gone off quite a bit, but she never listened to the messages. April didn't care who called or what it was about, at that point, nothing mattered.
Somewhere between her thoughts and inner turmoil, the sky had gone pitch black and the room was bathed in darkness. April blinked until she could faintly see everything but still didn't budge.
From deep in the apartment, she could hear the front door click and slowly open before it shut so lightly, anyone who didn't have ninja training probably wouldn't have had heard it.
"April?"
April closed her eyes. After a few minutes, she could sense someone had entered her room. She heard a gasp and she opened her eyes to find the worried face of Donatello. Why was he there?
"April?"
She closed her eyes again, willing him to go away. April knew she couldn't form the words and any kind of movement would just make her want to cry. Donnie's hand was placed on her forehead. It felt nice and warm against her cool forehead and, if she didn't have any pride, would have sighed from the feeling.
"Oh, April..." he whispered and it made her flinch. Why was he here? After what she had said and done? For someone so intelligent, he was so stupid. His brothers had the right idea to bail.
She felt her body be lifted and placed in her wheelchair. April immediately wanted to go back to her bed where she didn't have to be reminded that she was broken, didn't have to live life in that stupid chair...
Donnie pushed her through the bedroom and into the kitchen. He set her up at the table and listened as he opened the fridge and cabinets, fishing around for something.
A minute later, she could hear the sound of a can being opened, liquid be poured and the microwave going. What was he doing? April stared at the table, hardly blinking. The sound of the microwave going off reminded her of what was going on and soon a bowl of what looked like cream of chicken soup sat in front of her with a spoon.
Donatello sat beside her and April felt him staring. She blankly watched the bowl in front of her, not really looking at it. The smell of the food that had once made her mouth water left her tongue dry and she wanted to push it away.
April heard the mutant sigh and he took the soup. Was he accepting defeat? A spoon was lifted to her mouth but she kept it shut. Donnie pressed the spoon to her lips but she still refused.
"April...please. You need to eat..." he tried again. Same results. He sighed, exasperated. She could imagine the look on his face right then but couldn't bring herself to look. She stared down at the ground, her eyes locked to nothing in particular.
"April...I'm begging you to eat. You need to. I know things are rough but not eating and sitting around moping won't get you anywhere," he tried to firmly reason. April sunk back in her chair a little but still didn't budge.
She listened as Donatello sighed again and sensed hesitation in the air. Why couldn't he understand she just wanted to be alone? She wasn't hungry and probably wouldn't be hungry again. Her bed will be her tomb. She was never going to walk again, and with how she treated everyone this is what she deserved.
"I'm SO sorry, April..." His voice sounded really strained and filled with pain.
She tried lifting her head to give him a questing look when Donnie grabbed her face and forced the spoon into her mouth. The metal grazed her teeth and made her shudder.
The now lukewarm soup filled her mouth and April wanted to spit it out. Donatello held her jaw shut and she struggled against his grip with no luck. In time, she had to swallow. But when she did, Donnie would be there to shove the spoon back into her mouth and force her to swallow the soup over and over again.
Soon, the bowl was empty and April slumped in her chair, shaking. Did he just do that? She could still taste the chicken in her mouth and wanted to spit it out. The sudden food that hit her empty stomach made her want to throw up but her gag reflex wouldn't kick in.
Donatello took the bowl and spoon, his hands shaking and began to walk towards the sink. He fumbled and the bowl went tumbling to the ground where it shattered.
April watched as he fell to his knees and shakily picked up the pieces, placing the ceramic in his large palms. He tossed the pieces into the trash can hidden behind a cabinet door.
The red head eyed the new scratches on his skin from the pottery and the shock from before was erased with guilt. Donnie's hands continued to shake and he wiped at his head as though brushing sweat away, took out his T-phone and dialed a number.
Donnie stood up, eyed her and left the room. April closed her eyes and strained to hear the scientist's soft voice in the other room.
"Hey...yeah, I'm at April's...no, I won't be coming home. I'm staying with April, Leo...Leo, she needs me. I don't care, she hadn't eaten in days when I got here. I don't even think she's stepped out of the bed until now...no. I don't care if you're the leader, April needs me and if you can't accept that, then you seriously need to change your priorities."
April heard him hang up and felt her body go cold. He sounded...broken. Was he really planning on staying with her? Why? He walked back into the room and she saw in time him wipe away what looked like tears from his eyes, but they were gone by the time he was fully back in the room.
Donnie gave her a smile that she didn't return. He pulled her chair from the table and pushed her to the living room that was connected to the kitchen. He sat her in front of the TV and turned it on, flipping through the channels until he lit up and settled on a show that he and April often watched just the two of them over the past few years.
"Here," he said, placing the remote in her lap. "I know it's not a lot, but it's something you can watch while I make this place more lively. I'll be staying until you get better. I hope you can forgive me for all of this one day, April..."
He stood there as though expecting an answer from her, but April remained quiet and stared at the TV. Familiar faces filled her vision that ended up looking more foreign than friendly to her. It was like she was glancing at something from another life.
Donatello sighed and left. Through the night, as she stared blankly at the TV, she could hear him cleaning up the apartment. Opening up blinds, turning on lights...stuff she hadn't bothered to do in days.
In no time, the apartment looked like someone lived there again. April blinked, flinching at the bright light, wishing it'd be dark again. The sun was one thing, but now the lights were waking her up from the stupor she didn't want to come out of.
Donatello came back, a grin on his face. April dared to look around and was shocked to find it so...different. Everything was more lively and he had even cleaned up the mess on the coffee table his brothers had left when they abandoned ship days before.
April knew now that the only thing out of place in the apartment was herself. She didn't have to look in a mirror to know how disheveled she probably looked. Her tank top was wrinkled and she still wore the same shorts she had been wearing for a while now with how banged up her legs were.
Donnie looked her over with a frown, left the room and came back with a brush. April turned her head back to the TV to ignore him. She felt the brush glide through her hair and winced when he tugged at knots that had formed.
She could tell he was disappointed by the lack of protest of any kind by her, but she knew he was thankful she didn't put up a fight. April closed her eyes and soon the pain that tugged at her scalp was replaced with a tickling sensation that made her want to sigh with how good it felt.
Donnie took her now groomed hair and pulled it back into her signature ponytail. The mutant stepped in front of her and smiled, flashing her his infamous gapped grin that made her heart lightly flutter.
"Much better. Now THERE'S the April O'Neil I know."
April felt her lips slightly twitch but the smile was gone before it could really begin. Donnie continued to smile, but disappointment flashed in those red-brown orbs of his.
The young man stood erect and glanced outside where the sky began to brighten. The dark blue was replaced with the breath of purples, pinks, and golds as the sun began to crawl out of its slumber from behind the horizon.
"We should get you to bed and get some sleep...we'll get you more food, a change of clothes and start working on your physical therapy tomorrow..."
Donatello turned the TV off and rolled her back into her bedroom. He scooped her up into his arms and gently laid her on her bed, tucking the sheets around her. He walked over to the window and shut the blinds, leaving the room in complete darkness for the first time in a while.
April watched the mutant as he headed for the door and stopped when he was in the frame. He turned to look at her, a smile on his face, a mix of emotions fighting behind his eyes like a hurricane.
"Just call me if you need me, okay?" He waited as though he was hoping to get an answer from her, but April closed her eyes in response. She could hear him sigh. "Sweet dreams, April..."
The door gently shut with a 'click.' April opened her eyes, letting them adjust to the darkness. Behind the shutters, the sun peeked through, and in the darkness, somewhere in the depths of her apartment, she could hear the faint crying that could only be from Donatello.
April flinched, tears building up in her own eyes. She never imagined any of her friends crying. They were rough ninjas who fought off an advanced clan of ninjas and alien race and came home often with wounds that any normal person would cry over. But they never did. But April forgot that, to Donnie, she was an acceptation.
And now...now as she could softly hear the unmistaken sounds of crying, April turned her back to the door and willed the sound to go away, squeezing her eyes shut, but the sound was still there. And as long as she acted that way, it will always be there, reminding her of the pain she brought.