Rourke's Kid
Chapter 2
I rolled my eyes as Milo led us to the wrong archway, causing some weird thing to jump out at us, obviously guarding it. He turned the book, held it up close to his face, then sheepishly pointed at the other archway. Most of the time he knew what he was doing, but other times… I was reminded of the time he was trying to drive and failed. Dad was ticked and when we were sparring, hit a little harder than usual. I was careful to keep my shirt covering my stomach for the next few days after that. "Hey kid, you doin alright?" Sweet asked after I gasped in pain when a boulder we were climbing over was pressed into the bruise on my stomach. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" I asked, hedging away from the question. He shrugged but continued to keep an eye on me until lights out and even then, I could hear him and the rest of the group whispering quietly as I dropped off to sleep, curled up, protecting myself even in my sleep.
I was the first to wake up, thanks to the schedule dad kept at home. Starting a fire, I grabbed a metal pot, put water in it to start boiling and found the coffee beans. A few minutes later, the smell of coffee was rousing everyone. "Good job, kiddo." Helga said to me quietly, ruffling my hair and smiling at me. Mom had left dad four months after they were married but she sent me to live with dad. Helga was more like a mom to me than my dad's associate. "Here you go, Milo. Stop staying up late reading." I said, handing him a canteen of coffee. "Gee uh thanks." He said awkwardly, faking a smile. "Someone hasn't ever had coffee." I muttered as I walked back to the group.
I stood as far as from my dad as I could, absently rubbing the bruise on my ribs and watching as Milo tried and failed to look cool in front of Audrey, smiling when she punched him. True, she did feel kinda bad for how he kept being left out by her and the group. Maybe she would say something to Sweet later. She had never been very brave in making new friends.
I scooted over as Milo sat down next to me and smiled at him, my sketchpad open on my lap, food on the ground next to me. I rolled my eyes at Mole's antics. Who even gave him that? I suspected that he was the one who had stolen the L from the Motor Pool sign on the submarine and I knew I wasn't the only one. I was shading in the leviathan, but scowled at how it didn't match up with the image in my head. I ripped it out of the book, balled it up and was about to throw it into the fire when Sweet took it from me, and rolled up my sleeve, revealing my bruises in their multicolored glory. "Who did this to you?" He said, voice shaking. "No one did anything to me, I tripped." I snap, standing up and wrenching my wrist out of his grasp, starting to panic on the inside. I can't let them know what's really going on! I walk off and sit down on the edge of the chasm and wrap my arms around myself. Someone comes to sit down next to me. "We don't know each other very well, but if you ever want to talk." Milo says and I nod, too nervous to talk. "Are you Ok? Has someone hurt you?" He asks. I don't trust myself to talk so I write "No to your first question" I pause, bite my lip and write "yes to the second question. Don't ask me who, I can't talk about it." And show him the sketchpad. I keep my eyes on the darkness below me as he reads. "OK, if you don't want me to ask, I won't." I sigh in relief and smile at him. "Thank you. Can you teach me how to speak Atlantean? Even if it's only a few phrases? I like languages." I add the last part hesitantly, feeling a little self-conscious. "Really? You want me to teach you?" He asked excitedly and I nodded. "I'll go get my book!" He said giddily and I laughed. He dashed off and I shook my head, still smiling. What a weirdo.
I shuddered as Mrs. Packard walked by us and laughed at Milo's terrified look when he was told that Mrs. Packard sleepwalks. I took a deep breath and walked over to Sweet's tent. I wasn't good at apologies, but Sweet was my friend and I had to apologize. "Hey Sweet, can I talk to you?" I asked and he nodded and got up. We walked over to where I had sat earlier. Taking a deep breath, I rolled up my sleeves as far as they could go. "I'm sorry for yelling at you and for lying to you." I looked down, rubbing one of my bruises. "Someone did hurt me but I can't tell you. They would get even madder at me than they already are." I wasn't expecting the giant hug. "Don't apologize. You were scared and you were protecting yourself. We've all done the same exact thing." I wish Sweet was my dad rather than my friend and teammate. "How long has this been happening? During or before the expedition?" He asked, probably trying to narrow it down. "I can't tell you who it is so please stop trying to guess." He nodded. "Do you have any other bruises or just the ones on your arms?" I lifted my shirt, keeping my chest covered. The worst of the bruises were on my stomach and ribs and they still hurt. He poked a dark bruise on my rib and agony flared and I hissed. "Broken rib, I'm carrying you piggyback until we get there and you will be resting. I'm wearing my doctor hat now." I sighed but nodded. He could be as stubborn as a mule and I knew him well enough to know that he had put his foot down.