Chapter 14 Fruitloops
The next few days are frustrating for everyone as for some reason, they can no longer get Carlos to come out of his room.
They have already removed his bed and replaced it with a bunk bed. It looks sort of like a children's bed. Especially since they had a curtain set up on the bottom instead of a bed. Even though it is still a bed, they know it looks different. And it might remind him of home, since they used to sleep in bunk beds back at the Palm Woods. But no one has seen him sleep in it yet.
Thankfully, he does go to the bathroom by himself, which is next door. But other than this, he sits in the corner of his room.
There are exceptions, though. One day when Mrs. Knight catches him emptying out the medicine cabinet and flushing down all the pills or medication he can find. He flees out of the room when he sees her. She sighs after him, rubbing a hand over her face.
He stays in his room once again. They try to give him food by leaving a plate on his desk. But they have to throw away the food every single day as he just refuses to eat anything.
But this same day seems different somehow. When everyone goes down for breakfast and silently eat, another presence enters the room. They all stop their eating and watch in surprise as Carlos slowly shuffles into the room. He looks very hesitant as he stands there, still huddling his helmet close.
This may seem such a small thing, but it is so huge to them that he hangs on to it. It doesn't matter that it hasn't been on his head yet. The fact that he already sees it as some sort of protection has them jumping on the inside.
"Carlos… Come sit over here!" Katie says excitedly, pulling out the seat next to her. He still looks very hesitant, but very slowly makes his way to the table. They stare at him in disbelief.
He sits down and they just stare again.
"Oh uh.. I'll get you a plate." Mrs. Knight suddenly says as she quickly gets up from her chair and grabs a plate and a glass. She puts them in front of Carlos and Katie doesn't hesitate to put a pancake on his plate.
They watch him and he just stares down at the food, like a lost child. Then they realize how awkward this must be as everyone stares at you, waiting for you to eat.
Kendall clears his throat. "Uh, Logan, could you pass me the syrup?" Logan hands it to him and then elbows James next to him, who still stares.
"So, what are you boys going to do today?" Mrs. Knight asks with a smile as if this is what they do everyday.
"Well, uh, I was thinking of going for a swim today." Kendall tells them.
"yeah and I wanted to play some hockey." James announces. They look at him n surprise. "What? We all love hockey." He defends himself.
"Yeah, but you haven't wanted to play for a long time." Kendall explains.
In the meantime, Katie stays quiet, just listening to them as she carefully watches Carlos and eats her pancakes slowly. She watches as he just stares at his plate.
"It's really good, you know. Mom made them. There's chocolate chips in them, just the way you like them." She tells him with a smile.
She watches and tries not to react as he very slowly moves his hand up and towards the fork next to his plate. She looks at her own feet and tries not to cheer out loud when he picks up the fork and slowly moves it towards the plate.
The others have noticed what is going on, but try not to react either and keep up their small conversations.
Very slowly he starts to cut a piece of the pancake with the fork, but then stops and seems to think it over.
"It's okay." Katie softly tells him with an encouraging smile. He hesitantly moves his hand again, when suddenly the doorbell rings. The shrill sound makes him shoot up from the table and run up the stairs within seconds.
They groan and Kendall angrily stands up from the table and heads out of the room for the front door. The others just shake their heads in annoyance. Such a good moment, ruined by some salesman.
When Kendall comes back in, they are surprised to see a grin on his face.
"Uh, there's a delivery truck outside." They look at him in confusion. "They are here to deliver a purple swirly slide for inside."
"What?" they all reply in disbelief and hurry up from the table. They look in the hallway, when the delivery guys start to bring in parts of indeed a purple swirly slide.
"But we didn't order this. It couldn't go anywhere." Mrs. Knight says in confusion. Kendall shrugs.
"Apparently this was sent here by Griffin and the company. We're also getting an interior designer who is going to adapt the entire house to whatever we want." He says with a chuckle.
Logan and James look at him in shock. "No way…" James exclaims.
"You're serious?" Logan asks. Kendall nods.
"Yeah." He laughs. "Gustavo and Kelly must have talked to him. I mean, I don't know why else… just wow." He says, shaking his head.
That whole day is spent by all of them talking to the designer and making sure the house will be as fun as they and Carlos will want.
The only thing saddening them is Carlos again not coming out of his room. Late in the evening they are all up watching TV, when they hear some noises coming from upstairs.
They look up, but when the noise stops again, they decide to stay. Pushing Carlos isn't going to help at all. They need to give him time, give him space.
The next morning they hope for Carlos to come down for breakfast again, but he never does. They clean up again and the guys go outside to the pool, while Mrs. Knight goes to grab a book from her room.
"Hey guys?" She calls out from the doorway outside as she comes back down.
"Yeah?" Kendall calls back as she walks towards them.
"Have you seen my favorite Fabio novel?" She asks and they have to suppress a grin.
"Haven't you already read that like ten times?" Kendall asks her with a smirk.
"Yes, but I like it. I wanted to read it again, but I can't find it anywhere. I know I put it on my nightstand yesterday and now it's gone." The guys shrug.
"Maybe you placed it down somewhere else?" Logan suggests.
"No, I know I didn't move it." She says again.
"Well, we didn't take it, Mrs. Knight." James tells her. She sighs.
"Alright, I guess I'll have to read another one." She says as she heads back inside.
"Hey, mom, have you seen my leather jacket? You know, the one I got back from the Jennifers at the Palm Woods?" Jennifer Knight rolls her eyes.
"Please tell me you didn't lose that. Do you know how expensive that was?"
"Oh, please, we didn't even pay for it. Gustavo did. And I didn't lose it. I hung it on my door so I could wear it today. I'm meeting with Russell Brand to discuss some party ideas. So have you seen it?" Jennifer Knight frowns.
"No, I haven't. Did you see my Fabio novel?" She asks her daughter.
"The one with the beach on the cover?" She nods. "No." Mrs. Knight hangs her head and sighs.
"Fine, I'll just pick a different one to read today."
"And I guess I'll have to pick out a different jacket to wear. I just can't figure out where it went."
"I know." Mrs. Knight frowns again as she thinks of this.
By the pool the guys sit with just their feet in the water.
"So do you guys think this will ever get any easier?" James quietly asks his friends.
Logan sighs. "I don't know. I mean, every time he does something I really want to be happy that he's improving. And then something happens and we're back to square one. I'm not sure he'll ever be himself again." He confesses in all honesty.
"Guys, how can you stay so negative? The doctor said it would take time. And he has been improving. He let me touch him. And he threw out those pills. Doesn't that say something?" Kendall asks them, getting out of the pool and standing up.
"Kendall, those were just moments. He went straight back to being a lost child afterwards." Logan argues.
"He almost had breakfast with us yesterday. He came downstairs all by himself and he almost started eating. How are those just moments? I'm telling you, he is improving." Kendall argues back. "How can you be so negative about this?"
"Do you really think I want to feel so hopeless? Don't you think I want to jump for joy every time he does something even remotely normal? I do, Kendall. But every time I almost do, he reverts back into a scared kid who won't talk to us. We can't even go near him without him flinching or backing into a wall. It's just easier to handle this way." Logan tells him now also on his feet.
"I really can't believe this. You're actually giving up on him." Kendall tells them, shaking his head. James and Logan exchange looks.
"We are not giving up on him, Kendall. We just don't think you should read too much into this." James adds.
"So him saving your life by throwing out those pills is just a moment, too, huh?" Kendall asks, eying James intently. James sighs and looks at the ground. "Yeah, that's what I thought. He may be moving slow, but he is coming back to us. I can feel it."
"Kendall, you're only going to get disappointed or frustrated if you keep this up." Logan tells him with concern in his voice.
"So I should just expect him never to get better, just so I can feel better? No. I am not going to do that. You know what, I am going to get him to eat. Today." He announces as he heads inside. James and Logan quickly shake a look and rush after him.
"You can't force him to do anything, Kendall." James warns.
"Who says I'm going to force him?" He says with a sudden smile. The other two can see the gears in his head turning as his devious smile shows an obvious plan.
"I really don't think this is a good idea." Logan says while shaking his head. They watch as Kendall grabs a small bowl and fills it with fruit loops and milk. "This isn't going to work." He adds as Kendall starts to head for the stairs.
"You don't even know what my plan is yet." Kendall replies as he starts to climb the staircase. His friends quickly follow.
"No, but it can't end well." James adds now. Kendall stops walking and rolls his eyes as he looks at his friends over his shoulder.
"If you guys don't believe in it, then stay out of it. I don't need your help. I am going to get him to eat this." With that he turns back around and walks further up.
"I can't watch this." Logan says as he shakes his head. But then he reluctantly follows his blonde friend. He only climbs a few steps and then stops, when he realizes James isn't following. He hangs back and looks at the pretty boy. "James? Are you coming?"
"Uh, no. If he wants to sit there and wait for paint to dry, he can go ahead. I'm going out." James says as he heads back down. Logan watches him with confusion.
"Out where?" He calls out after his friend as he reaches the door.
"Just out!" James calls back. Logan can just see his friend grabbing his jacket, before he hears the door slam. He groans in frustration as he ponders whether to go after him. But then he takes one more look up the stairs and decides to choose Carlos.
He heads for the boy's room, not surprised to see Kendall waiting outside.
"Didn't want to miss it, huh?" He teases with a smile. Logan just sighs in annoyance.
"Yeah, whatever. Just don't get your hopes up for this, Kendall. You know there's a slim chance anything will happen." He analyzes, making Kendall roll his eyes again.
"Come on." He says as they head inside. Kendall makes sure to knock on the door, making the young man sitting in the corner look up. His eyes look frightened right away, but he doesn't turn away.
"Hey, buddy. How are you?" Kendall asks him. Of course not getting a response, so he clears his throat and continues, walking closer to him as he talks. "You must be hungry. I mean, I haven't seen you eat anything for days now. I uh, I got you some fruit loops with milk. Just the way you like it." He holds an encouraging smile on his face as he shows Carlos the bowl.
The young man just stares, his emotions not changing. Logan watches with concern and then surprise when Kendall goes to sit directly in front of Carlos on the floor.
Carlos seems surprised as well as he stares at his blonde friend. Kendall just acts as if it's completely normal and makes himself comfortable.
"Wow, this floor is really comfy. No wonder you like to sit here." He jokes with a smile. But it falters a little when Carlos just continues to stare in apprehension. He chooses to look at the bowl of cereal instead.
"Oh man, this looks really tasty. I might just eat them myself if you're not hungry. Are you hungry?" He asks, but gets no response. He proceeds to pick up the spoon and stirs it into the bowl a little, before scooping up some fruit loops and milk. He lets it hover just over the tip of the bowl and then sneaks a peak at Carlos.
Just like he was hoping, he finds the boy's eyes now staring intently at the spoon. The minute he finds Kendall staring, he quickly turns his head away. But Kendall just smirks and starts to move the spoon further up. He catches Carlos following his movements from the corner of his eyes.
He slowly moves the spoon towards his mouth. He opens it up and right before he shoves the spoon in, he looks at Carlos again.
Logan watches the exchange from the doorway with interest. He is amazed to see Carlos actually responding to what his friend is doing. It seemed so simple, yet it hurt so much, seeing as this was the same way to get a baby to eat.
Carlos stares intently at the spoon again and Kendall closes his mouth.
"Do you want it?" He asks and offers the spoon in his direction. Carlos backs up again when he finds himself caught staring again. Kendall sighs and drops the spoon. "Well, I guess I'll just have to eat it myself then. But you know what? I'm not really that hungry. So I guess I'll just throw it out." He shrugs and moves to stand up with his back turned towards Carlos.
He can sense movement behind him and looks at Logan with a triumphant smirk. Logan's mouth opens in slight shock as Carlos has actually reached his hand out quickly to almost grab Kendall's wrist. But before he does, he suddenly looks at his own hand and draws it back with some disbelief.
Kendall turns around with a smile and looks at Carlos who now tries to avoid his gaze.
"On second thought, I think I'll leave the bowl right here. Eat it if you want to, leave it if you don't. It's your choice." He shrugs again and gently places the bowl on the floor in front of Carlos. Carlos cautiously keeps his eyes on it as Kendall slowly walks out of the room.
The two friends sneak one more glance at Carlos, who still stares at the bowl with caution, but interest as well.
"Come on." Kendall whispers and he takes Logan by the arm as he guides them a few paces away from the door.
"What are we…"
"Shh. Just wait." Kendall tells his friend as he waits for something to happen. Logan just looks at him with raised eyebrows. Kendall strains his ears for a moment and then smiles.
Logan listens closer and suddenly recognizes a faint sound. It's the soft clinging of a spoon being picked up.
"Is he actually taking the bowl?" Logan whispers with some disbelief.
Kendall slowly moves his head towards the doorway, just barely peaking inside, before moving his head back.
"I told you I could get him to eat." He says with a smile, but Logan can hear the surprise in his own voice. Together they slowly move their heads to the doorway and sneak inside.
Carlos is cautiously holding the bowl of cereal in his hands as he slowly, but surely eats the cereal with shaking hands.
"Dude… I can't believe this. How did you do that? I mean, he hasn't been eating anything since we got here. And you did it within minutes." Logan whispers in disbelief.
"Don't you realize he was probably really hungry? I really don't think I had much to do with it. Why do you think he came down for breakfast yesterday?" Kendall says with a soft chuckle. "He's starving and he knows he can't keep this up. I mean, it's still Carlos."
"Still. I mean, you got him to eat." Kendall looks down a little and smiles softly. "Who knows what else you could get him to do." Logan adds and Kendall raises his eyebrows.
"I don't know about that." He replies with a shy smile. Logan smiles back.
"I think you can, Kendall. I really do." He pats his friend in the arm and together they start to head back downstairs, giving Carlos time alone.
"Hey, where did James go by the way?" Kendall suddenly asks.
"Uh, he went out." Logan replies, leaving Kendall to look at him in confusion.
"Out where?"
Later that day, Katie and Mrs. Knight listen to the two boys telling them what happened with big smiles. They look hopeful, but they remind them that this is Carlos and it's about food. It doesn't mean that much.
They sit down for dinner, but the conversation quickly goes silent when they realize James isn't home yet. Kendall decides to call him. But when his voicemail message plays, he sighs and hangs up.
Logan looks at him with worry. "What now?"
"We just wait. There's nothing we can do. He's gone out before. He'll be back." He explains, but he can't help feel worry creeping in.
A few hours later, when they are sitting in the living room watching TV together, they all look up at the door opening and shutting. James strolls in, breathing heavily as if he's been running.
"Hey, guys." He says nonchalantly.
"So where've you been?" Kendall asks him with a slight scowl as his eyes are still glued to the TV.
"Out. I needed to clear my head." He explains. Kendall nods.
"So, did you go to buy new pills? Or maybe you bought some pot this time." James looks angry and shakes his head.
"No, Kendall. I didn't buy drugs." He says, his eyes narrowing. Kendall huffs. "For your information, I went to the gym. I let out all my frustrations on a punching bag and then I sat and cried in a corner by myself. Okay?"
The others turn around and Kendall looks a little guilty as James looks hurt.
"I just… I just needed some time alone and I.. I guess I couldn't hold it in anymore." He says softly, his voice sounding upset as he holds his head down. Kendall and Logan get up from the couch and walk over to him.
"James, you are not going through this alone. Don't think you have to." Kendall tells him and he pulls his head up slightly. Tears are pooling in his eyes.
"We're here for you. If you want to talk or scream or cry, just talk to us." Logan adds. James nods. "But if you need to punch something, talk to someone else." He suggests and James chuckles and sniffles.
"Thanks guys." He tells them and pulls them both into a hug.
"hey, we're all in this together man, whether you like it or not." Kendall says as he playfully slaps James, who punches him in the shoulder.
"Oh, James. You'll never guess. Kendall tricked Carlos into eating fruit loops this afternoon." Logan gushes.
"What? No way." James says in disbelief, but a smile is already on his face. Kendall shrugs a little. "Dude… what happened?"
Their conversation trails off as they explain the story the second time that day.
That night, the boys sleep in their own rooms. No matter how much they need each other's support, they know they need to learn not to depend too much on the others.
When everyone sleeps, Kendall awakes to a strange sound. He can hear moaning and mumbling down the hall. He sits up and throws his blankets off. He heads out the hallway, nearly bumping into Logan who looks at him sleepily.
"Do you hear that?" Kendall asks as he hears the moan again.
"Why do you think I'm walking around like a zombie?" Logan retorts. Together they slowly walk through the hallway.
"I think it's coming from James' room." Kendall suggests and Logan nods as they head towards his door.
When they reach the door, their eyes widen in shock. James is tossing and turning in his bed. Sweat is glistening on his forehead and he is moaning and mumbling as his eyes are scrunched.
"No, please, don't hurt him.." he mumbles.
But that is not what shocked the two boys in the doorway. They are busy staring at the figure sitting on James' bed and his hand reaching to brush the wet hair from his face.
Before he can stop himself, Logan gasps. The figure stiffens and whips his head around. They all look at each other in shock, but a sudden cry makes them avert their gaze.
"No!" James cries out as he shoots upright. He tries to get his breathing back to normal. But he wasn't prepared to be staring into the warm brown eyes of Carlos as he stares at him and sits near him.
They stare at each other for a little while, before Carlos' eyes turn frightened once again and he practically jumps off the bed and flees the room.
Everyone is frozen to the spot for a moment, until Logan breaks the silence.
"What was that?" He asks. The others shake their heads. James gets up from his bed, ignoring how he is covered in sweat as they all rush towards Carlos' room.
"Why was he in here?" James asks, his voice sounding strained.
"I'm guessing he heard you moaning and mumbling. That's why we came over. That must have been some dream, huh?" Kendall asks. James just nods absentmindedly.
"I don't understand. He didn't even look scared. He looked worried, hurt." James tells them.
"I know, that was really weird. I mean, he actually brushed the hair from your face right before you woke up." Logan adds.
They look inside the corner of his room, but find nothing there.
"Guys, look." James whispers and the other two follow his gaze. There underneath the bunk bed, they can see a shape sitting behind the curtain.
"I guess he found a new hiding spot." Logan suggests.
"Yeah. I guess it's better than sitting in the corner all day." Kendall says with a sigh.
"Come on, let's just go back to bed." Logan tells them. Reluctantly they leave, as there is no way he'll come out again. They don't notice the face peaking over the side of the curtain, staring after them as they walk out the door.
A/N So here's another chapter. So soon? Yes, that soon ;)
Sorry if this chapter is a little confusing here and there. For some reason I'm really tired lately and today I can't seem to think completely straight. So if you do catch some mistakes or are confused about something, let me know. I'll make sure to adapt the chapter and reupload
Thanks for the support once again. I'm feeling really stressed lately and all the reviews and stuff are giving me a nice boost to feel better
I hope you liked this chapter and I will try to update my other stories as well soon, when I'm more focused :P
Until next time and Love, Baxxie