Chapter 26 Freezing Cold Pain

Lemmy reached up and switched on the light in the hotel room. Said room, now that he could fully see it, looked positively cozy. The walls were painted blue, which was a sight that Lemmy DEFINITELY needed. The shade was so soothing, so perfect, and it helped the burdens in his heart to feel so much less pronounced. If the hotel room had been painted any other color, he'd probably feel even more stressed out.

But that wasn't all. A carpet that was the most stereotypical form of minty green rested on the floor. The lighting was a soft yellow, which in Lemmy's opinion was much more pleasing to the eyes than a bright white light. A TV and a mini fridge rested in front of the beds on the wall and in the corner, respectively. A black bedside table (which was the PERFECT size) stood between the beds. And the beds themselves… oh wow. They were so fluffy they could be compared to both clouds AND marshmallows. They were so beautifully decorated with snow-white blankets that would shut out the elements and help the Koopas to be both warm and stress-free. This… this hotel room was perfect.

The mood of the scene, however, was not. Lemmy took slow steps into the room, looking over at Ludwig. The special sighed and threw the room key down on the bedside table before collapsing onto the bed closest to the door. Still walking slow enough to lose to a snail in a race, Lemmy crept over to the bed closest to the window. He climbed into it, not taking his eyes off his brother. Why? Because he knew it was coming. He knew an explosion would occur when the anger and pressure in Ludwig's head became too much to bear. Did this make Lemmy feel unsafe? Potentially. Did it make his mind play the scene that went down with Junior on loop? Definitely.

But could he even talk about it? He honestly didn't know. He couldn't for the life of him muster the courage to do so, and that wasn't for lack of trying. Looking over at Ludwig, Lemmy felt like was gonna burst into tears. Especially since… well, they couldn't leave Junior alone. They couldn't! Not only was believing that they could illogical; it was dangerous! They left Junior alone, in a strange cabin that belonged to a person who Ludwig and Lemmy hadn't even seen! How could Ludwig and Lemmy feel comfortable about Junior's current situation when they didn't even know what it was? Could they put trust in a complete stranger to take good care of Junior, and to make sure he was safe?

It was these thoughts that helped Lemmy finally find his voice. "Ludwig." Ludwig didn't bother looking at Lemmy, but that was fine. "We need to go back to get Junior."

Ludwig stayed silent for a minute before turning over on his side. "He won't come with us."

"Well, we need him to. We don't know the person who he's staying with, and because of that, we don't even know if he's fully safe." Lemmy wiped some tears from his eyes. "And… I don't want him to get hurt! Just the thought of him getting injured is just so hard to think about!" He sniffled. "And if he gets hurt because of us, then…"

"He already got hurt because of us." Lemmy blinked and looked over at Ludwig as he sat up in the bed. "Or at the very least, that's what he believes." He placed his hand down on the mattress.

"Well, maybe that's reason enough to go back to him! We need to tell him we're sorry and…"

"LEMMY!" Lemmy shrieked as Ludwig slammed his fist down on the bed and turned to him with heat in his eyes. "Were you even in the room when I talked to him? I apologized to him! I apologized to him multiple times."

Lemmy frowned as he looked Ludwig right in the eye. "That is true, but… you also insulted him."

"And those insults were unfounded?" Ludwig got up and walked over to the window, into the snow that was thankfully starting to die down. "None of the points he made during that conversation are logical. He claims that we don't care about him, ignoring the fact that we gave him a happy life and even hung out with him from time to time." He gripped his fist. "And yet, he conveniently forgot about that all of a sudden."

Lemmy whimpered. "Ludwig, he's seven. Seven years olds aren't the best when it comes to critical thinking! Don't you remember what you were like when YOU were seven?"

Those words didn't have the effect on Ludwig that Lemmy expected. Quite the contrary. Ludwig looked down at his hand, opening and closing it as he bit his lip. A dark look appeared over his eyes, almost like he had a shadow lingering over him. And… he shook. His legs shook so much, as if he was just minutes away from collapsing.

"I mean…" Lemmy ran his hand down the height of his head. "Seven-year-olds don't do the best at thinking things through. They can come to conclusions that don't really make sense. Especially if they don't have the full picture." Lemmy fidgeted with the blanket. "They can be brash, they can make stupid mistakes that…"

"Stop it."

Lemmy blinked. "What?"

"Stop it!" Flames sprung up around Ludwig's hand, which he worked quickly to put out. "I get it! You made your point!"

Lemmy paused before sighing. "Okay." He scooted to the edge of the bed. "So, I'll move on to my next point." Ludwig scowled when he heard this, but Lemmy wasn't going to let that scare him. "I don't want Junior getting hurt knowing that he's going through emotional turmoil. Forget about him not being safe; I just don't want him to make any choices that he'll regret." Ludwig started shaking again, which did ignite Lemmy's sympathy. He wanted to comfort Ludwig… and he would. After he was done talking; this point was far too important to not say out loud. "I mean, despite what Junior said, he knows full and well that we care about him. He may have forgotten about it for the moment, but I know for absolute certain that he knows it. Instinctually, that is." Lemmy placed his feet down on the floor. "And I don't think he likes the idea of hurting those who care about him. I mean… can you imagine how much that would hurt him? He'd probably carry that guilt for a long time." Lemmy sniffled. "And I don't want that for him. ESPECIALLY because he's just a child. Whether we like to admit it or not, the choices children make do have consequences. They mold them into who they'll be when they're adults. And… I don't want a mistake to be the thing that has the most say when it comes to molding Junior's character."

Ludwig WHIMPERED. That threw Lemmy for a loop so big that it wasn't even funny. He did a double-take, turning to look at Ludwig. He was… he was crying. Tears streamed down his face as he stared out the window. He shook even more. He didn't just look like he wanted to collapse; he looked like he wanted to run away. Run away sobbing, run away from everyone, everything, and most importantly, his own feelings.

"Ludwig?" Lemmy bit his lip. "Are you alright?"

Ludwig took in a big, shaky breath, rising into the air as he tried to hide his tear-stained face from Lemmy. "I need to get out of here."

"What?" Lemmy approached him, but he made his way to the door before he could get to him.

"I need to get out of here!" Ludwig opened the door telekinetically. He was clearly trying to hide his tears, but Lemmy knew they were there. Even if he couldn't see them, he would know.

"Ludwig, where are you going…?"

SLAM! The door closed behind him, leaving Lemmy alone. Shivering despite the fact that the room was well-heated, Lemmy couldn't take his eyes off the door. He imagined that Ludwig was flying away at top speed. Why? Did… was it something Lemmy said?

Tears welled in Lemmy's own eyes. His cries quickly turned into sobs as he made his way over to his bed. He buried his face in his pillow, crying harder and harder the more time passed. Alas, he didn't know how much time that was exactly. A minute? An hour? He couldn't say for sure. Something told him that piece of information wouldn't do him any good even if he did know about it.

Bring! Bring!

Pulling himself up, Lemmy pulled his phone out of his hammerspace. On the screen, Bowser's name and picture were fully visible. The tears falling down on the screen, Lemmy wiped his nose. He held his finger over the accept call button. He was just about to press it when…

He stopped. He wasn't in any state to answer this call. Tears coming down like the snow outside previously did, he put the phone to the side and lied back down. The ringing eventually stopped, but then came the sound of the notifications. One voice mail. Two texts. One more call from Bowser. One text from Roy, another from Iggy.

A fresh batch of tears came up, making him feel horrible. Everything made him feel horrible right now. The fight with Junior. The sound of the door slamming as Ludwig rushed out of it. The fact that Bowser had tried to call, clearly having gotten Lemmy's early text and hoping to get some relief from his son.

There was no relief that Lemmy had to give. All he had now was pain.

…

Ludwig sighed as he stood outside the hotel lobby. He looked out the window, limply gripping the windowsill. His heart pounded. He felt like turning into a wet, puddly mess, one that no one would be able to clean up. The words Lemmy said played out in his head. He didn't dare think of them too long. For the sake of his mental health, he couldn't dwell on those words.

Bring! Bring!

Ludwig got his phone out of his hammerspace, seeing that it was a call from Bowser. Of course; Lemmy had texted the family when they first found Junior. It was also possible that Lemmy had mentioned that Ludwig was with him in said text. Putting on a brave face, Ludwig accepted the call.

"Hey, Bowser."

"Ludwig! Oh, thank goodness! I tried calling Lemmy, but he didn't answer!" He paused, his heavy breathing hearable in the silence. "Is everything okay? I would think, since you found Junior, that you would be…"

"Everything's fine." Even Ludwig wasn't anywhere close to believing those words. "We did find Junior."

Bowser sounded like he was crying on the other end of the line. "Oh, that's great! I…" he cried some more, this sound so much louder and sadder than the other sounds that Ludwig had ever heard from his adopted father. "Can I talk to him? Can you put him on the phone?"

The hurt that came from that statement was legendary. Ludwig felt like his heart had shattered into a million pieces, each one sharper and more painful than the last. Tears streamed down his face despite using every last ounce of self-control to contain them. The hand that held the phone to his ear shook.

"Ludwig?"

Without any other words, Ludwig ended the call. He wiped the tears from his eyes, not even worrying that the lady at the front desk or anyone coming into the hotel could see him. He wiped and wiped, the action growing faster and more desperate the more time passed. It quickly became evident what he needed to do. Actually, it didn't JUST become evident; it had been obvious to Ludwig ever since he heard the words Lemmy said.

"I need to get Junior back," he whispered. He opened the door, feeling the freezing chill. Taking in a breath, he rose into the air.