Duct Tape Can't Fix This

"I want to help you," I said, as Roy stared me while I paced around his room.

"Really?" Roy started, raising a brow. His shades sat on his nightstand, not having been touched since I calmed him down from his panic attack.

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"How about I show you?" He nodded. "Alright," I grabbed his claw, and I noticed he was shaking a little bit. I smiled reassuringly at him. I pulled him up and we walked out of his room. I guided him downstairs, and he was breathing rather harshly with each passing stair.

As we reached the bottom, I heard our father in the kitchen. I guided him through the hall, and into the gracefully and expensively decorated space. The pattering of our feet on the hardwood flooring gave our position away as bowser turned around and looked at us. Roy huffed extremely harsh as he faced his dad without his shades. I smiled innocently. Bowser looked shocked and morbidly confused at the lack of his sons shades.

"Dad, I'm sorry," he stuttered, Bowser's mouth opened slightly as he probably never seen his son act like he is now. Gripping my hand harder, he puffed out his chest confidently.

"I'm really sorry for hurting Taemin. I was just scared and afraid of my shades being knocked off. I didn't know what to do. I'm sorry for letting my..." he struggled, not being able to get this out of his mouth. I smiled comfortingly at him, which pushed him to breathe out the last part.

"I'm sorry for letting my mental illness get the best of me, " he quivered, visibly shaking. Rushing over and embracing Roy in a hug, he forgives him, seeing as I'm okay with it. That's what I like to see.

"Atta boy!" I pat him on the shoulder, earning a chuckle from both of them.

Bowser sends Roy to apologize to his siblings. Bowser stops me as I start to walk with him. I look up at my father as I hear Roy go up the stairs.

"Dad! I wanna see if Taemin's oka-" Larry is cut off as he walks in, eyes landing on me. His eyes widen and he runs over to me, engulfing me in a hug. Larry was about my height.

"Oh my god, are you okay?! Are you hurt? I'm so glad you're okay!" he yipped happily. I smiled at the twelve-year-old, playing in his blue hair. He gladly let me. I wasn't hurting as badly thanks to the spell Ludwig cast.

I cut him off as I was about to hear what dad had to say. "Okay, okay, " I laughed. "I'm fine, how about we play the game when we're done talking, huh?" He nodded and hugged me again, a more serious and mature air surrounding the boy. "For real, I was mad at Roy when he apologized to me. I just might forgive him now because you're okay, " he smiled softly, before walking out of the kitchen.

Before Bowser could start talking again, I asked him, "What are we gonna do now that dinner is ruined?" I asked, looking up at the Koopa. It was hard for me to take in his immense size compared to me. He explained that he was going to save it for tomorrow and that everyone can get what they want from the kitchen, the atmosphere being too tense for a family dinner. He seemed horribly disappointed. I forced his arm up and slid under it. A faint smile formed on his face. He looked down at me and sharply inhaled.

"Why did Roy push you? I only want the truth," he said softly, a hint of sternness mixed in. "I was knocked into him and his shades flew off. Since I was the one who fell into him, he blamed me for it. And completely went off. He cut me trying to get his shades off before pushing me through the railing," I said, feeling horrible for Roy. "Ludwig told me what happened to him," I finished off. He nodded, deep in thought. "Who pushed you?" He questioned. I didn't dare think about ratting Lemmy out. So I tried to lie.

I was horrific at lying.

"I actually- uh- uhh, tripped..?" he looked at me suspiciously, an exasperated look forming on his features.

"If you're gonna lie, at least do a good job, now who pushed you?" he questioned again. I looked down, eternally ashamed. "Lemmy, " I said sadly. I was so stupid! Why couldn't I be better at lying?

As if reading my facial articulation, his mouth parted slightly, and he seemed a bit surprised he made me sad. I wasn't sad, just disappointed in myself. I didn't want Lemmy to get in trouble. Pulling me closer, he seemed to read me like a book, "He won't get in trouble, " he said softly. "He was involved in a plane accident a few years back. The horrific wreck gave him some leg and lung problems, and a severe balance impediment. Sometimes he has a really bad balance, and can't even run sometimes. He likes using the circus ball because it helps him cope with his lack of balance, " he said. I nodded.

"Thanks for telling me what happened, " he said and we got up and walked separate ways. He walked into some sort of office, so I turned and went upstairs. Once I got upstairs I heard what sounded like...yelling? Arguing? Growing fearful, I approached the sound which was in Roy's door. I opened it quietly and closed it quietly so no one noticed I was there. Roy and Morton were screaming their heads off at each other, Junior was sitting in the corner with a nosebleed, Wendy was looking at them in panic. Larry was standing closely, trying and miserably failing to mediate them. I watched from against the wall as the argument got more and more heated. Roy had put his shades back on. I realized Junior was crying, so I went over to the shaking six-year-old. I sat beside him and wiped the blood from his snout, letting him lean on me for comfort. He huddled against me and watched our brothers with a grim expression on his face, tears not ceasing to fall. I played with his hair as I watched them get closer and closer to each other, cursings becoming more evident in their phrases. Wendy is now attempting to try and help Larry with calming the argument.

It all went down when Morton accidentally hits Larry with one of his hand movements, sending him crashing into the corner of Roy's headboard. Everyone freezes as Larry begins to cry softly, blood dripping steadfastly down his head, as he fled the room. Junior gets up from me and goes after him, slamming the door after muttering "Dumbasses, " in an utterly frustrated tone.

"SEE WHAT YOU FUCKING DID?!" Roy hollered, face red with animosity.

"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT YOU DIPSHIT! AT LEAST I DIDN'T ALMOST FUCKING KILL MY OWN BROTHER!" Morton yelled. Neither of them has noticed my presence yet. Oh, that was the last straw for him.

I shrink back toward the wall as Roy begins punching Morton in his face. As he fights back, they begin to roughly fistfight each other. Roy slams Morton against the wall as they mercilessly throw punches at each other. Wendy ran to the door, sticking her head out, calling Iggy's name. Soon after, Iggy ran into the room, hurrying to split them up. As I tried to sneak back out, however, I wish I had stayed my ass put.

Wendy gasped as she watched Roy throw Morton into me on accident, sending me pummeling to the floor, smashing through the glass coffee table on my way down. This hurt beyond anything that could compare, so much so, that I couldn't even scream as the shards pierced my body all over. Everything and everyone went silent as the consciousness faded from my vision while I groaned in utmost agony.

Panic ensued when I didn't get up. Wendy started crying, Iggy was panicking next to me, uttering nothing but curse words as he didn't know what to do. Depression struck as I watched him slowly break down and cry.

Roy and Morton stood still, shocked, tears threatening to fall. This time, they both had a hand in my injury. That's what scared them the most. They couldn't blame it on anyone but themselves. I didn't want them to blame themselves though.

I listened to the sorrowful sounds of Iggy sobbing before blacking out.

I woke softly in a... wait...

Where was I?

Opening my eyes, I was blinded almost instantaneously. Looking around, the room was splattered in white, looking as if it was inspired by a piece of white printer paper. I was alone in this room, and I noticed my clothes were gone; replaced by a quaint hospital gown.

I quickly became scared, and my breathing grew heavy. I attempted to get up but the second I moved, my body exploded in pain from all the shards still left in my skin at some places.

I let out a yelp, and just then, as if waiting at the door, a nurse rushed in holding a clipboard. She grabbed my bony shoulders and maneuvered a pillow under them so I wouldn't have to move to lay back down. I slowly calmed down and the pain nullified once I had laid still. After I calmed, she began to speak.

"Your family was extremely concerned about you, " she frowned. "It almost broke my heart not letting them in, " she said sweetly.

"Your dad and the eldest sibling will be able to come in for the operation, " she continued, but panic ensued in my veins.

"Operation?" I quivered, trying not to shake. "Your dad is paying for a surgical operation to be done to remove the glasses from your skin, " she frowned. "You'll be put to rest, but you will be in a double room with another patient around your age span, who will also be under anesthesia. We practice this to conserve space within our facilities, are you okay with this?" I nodded shyly at her. "It'll be alright, " she said soothingly, writing something on the clipboard she was holding.

I gestured down to my clothes, er- gown rather. She noticed. "We got you in here before cutting your clothes off and getting your vitals. No one saw, don't worry, " she assured.

I nodded gratefully. She called the doctor in, and he smiled before moving me to the operation room where indeed, there was another bed. It was a human, tanned skin and black hair. He seemed to be under anesthesia already. They hooked me up to an IV, and heart rate monitor then put a mask on me.

The nurse smiled sweetly, mouthing "Good Luck, " before flipping a switch, sweet-smelling gas filling the mask. I was so concentrated on the smell, that I didn't notice I was out.

------

Anesthesia wore off, and I realized I was being transported somewhere as the nurse pushed me softly through the bright halls of the hospital. The operation must've been over. I was pushed into a large room with another bed. The same kid was on it and this time he was awake, looking at me. His incredibly skinny frame sat up slightly and looked at me. He waved, and I waved back. I noticed the lack of pain as I did this, and silently thanked every religious figure known to man.

"Operation was a success?" I asked. "I dunno. The doctor hasn't come back with the report yet," he said. "How long does that take?" I messed with the hem of my gown. "Around 30 minutes," he said. I nodded. "How did you get here?" I asked. He sighed "Plane crash. Only 23 out of 176 survived. I was the only one in my family on it, don't worry," As he began to explain the accident in his POV, I began to imagine the story as he told it,

I was on my phone, earbuds in, flying back from a vacation. Quiet and low chatter spread throughout the plane as I relaxed, neck pillow keeping me comfortable. I was texting my friends, when all of a sudden, the engine next to my window burst into flames, cracking the window and burning small bits of my body. I scream in utter terror as I watch pieces of my clothes sear. I yank the neck pillow and put out the fire quickly, holes burnt in my clothes. The plane jerked forward, and I knew we were going down. Oxygen masks dropped. The scorching heat shook me to the core as I had trouble breathing from the dangerously high, odorous black smoke that filled the plane as the fire spread, heat kicking in. Panic ensued within the plane once the ground came into view, but I stayed calm and braced for impact. There was no way I could die, right? I was only 13. I have 3 sisters, a mom, a dad, a life to live! I just couldn't die. As the ground got closer I could feel the smoke getting into my brain, and feared the worst. It felt like forever until the ground met the plane harshly. The impact jerked me forward, I heard my neck and back easily crack within the plastic restraints. I cry out in pain, as were others as the plane exploded into a fiery ball in the middle of a forest near a town. Fire and brimstone rush down the aisles, burning innocent people, teenagers, kids, dads, moms, sons, daughters. Their haunting screams filled my ears as everyone including myself howl in pain. The fire just barely missed me. I feel lucky as there were dozens of charred bodies of dead families on the floor near me. I unbuckled quickly, after being stuck for 15 minutes, shaking and not knowing what to do. Flashes of me playing games with my friends, having them come over and hang out, having bonfires with my family, and endless birthdays with me and my sisters flashed through my head as I flung myself out of the plane, through the fire and into the arms of a fireman. Nothing was coherent as I screamed in pain with glass coursing through my body, blood of mine, and other people covering me, dousing my hair and clothes. The firemen had a somber look on his face under the mask as he carried my partially burned and charred body to a paramedic before saving others. Images of dead bodies and young innocent screams of terror pricked at my mind until I finally blacked out.

"And that is pretty much what lead up to now, my body is numb and I can't feel anything at the moment," he explained. I nodded, understanding.

"They're gonna be letting our families in, so you can meet my mom," he smiled. I suddenly got worried but smiled with him anyways. Suddenly, the door opened. And a human family filed in, a mom and dad, and three girls. One was around 11, and the two others were 5 and under. They all clamored around him asking him things and such. I smiled at them.

"Your family sure is happy to see you, " I laughed as they calmed down and began waiting for the doctor. "Yeah, " he said happily. "Where is your family?" he asked. " It's a big family, so I don't know, " I said "I live next to a big family," he said. I nodded "Koopas, they can get loud sometimes, " he chuckled, his parents nodding and agreeing with him. I raised a brow. "Really? What neighborhood?" I asked. "Valley Estates, " I gaped but before I could get a word out, the door opened, revealing an expensively dressed Bowser, the koopalings AKA my siblings following suit.

They crowded around as Bowser swept me up in a hug, the others group hugging around me. The nurse walking in laughed softly as the other family smiled at us. After a bunch of questions and apologies, I was allowed to go the same day, because both of our operations we're a success. Prescriptions were made, and I was ready to discharge. I got to know the kid a little more as well. He seemed like a really chill guy.

Larry recognized him, as our neighbor. That was really cool but surprised me. I wasn't expecting it in the slightest. Bowser suggested we go eat, to which we all rowdily agreed to. Except me, of course. I'm pretty much the only quiet one around. He even invited the other family to tag along, which they happily agreed to. After giving us a chance to ourselves, me and the boy, who I found out his name was 'Kaylem' to get dressed in the clothes that were brought to us, we headed out to meet our families for dinner. Checking out, Kaylem and his family headed out into a White 2020 Honda Odyssey, and Bowser drove in a 2020 9-Passenger Yukon XL. Gaping at the expensive vehicles before me, I hesitantly climb to the back, sitting in between Wendy and Ludwig. Everyone could fit because it was a nine-passenger vehicle, something that I didn't know existed. Junior sat on Iggy's lap, though. Wanting to see out of the window, I turned to Ludwig as we pulled off, GPS guiding Bowser as he sped down the highway at high speeds.

"Do you mind we switch? I wanna see out the window, " I ask quietly. "Sure man, just go behind me," he says, unbuckling and sitting up slightly, giving me room to go behind him. I look at his menacing-looking spikes on his shell. "Will I get scratched?" I asked frightfully. He shook his head, laughing. "They're dull, touch em ', " he said, pointing at them. I touch some of them, and sure enough, they were dull. I slid behind him, making sure to avoid them anyway. As I sat in my new seat, Ludwig and Wendy fell into conversation. I look out the window, loving the feeling of watching the buildings blur by as they contain people who have such different and individual lives, Everyone who has their own story. People I may never meet, people who I may meet in just a few minutes. Who knows? Only time will tell. As we changed lanes and entered another highway, I noticed Lemmy's silence and overall absence from the good vibes filling the car. I look at him in the reflection in the window, noticing his dispiriting expression.

I reach through the crack and tap on his shoulder, seeing as he had earbuds in. He turned around and tried really hard to fake a smile. I don't know him very well, but this was not the Lemmy I knew.

"What's up, Taemin?" he asked me, smiling brightly. I could easily tell it was a fake. His eyes gave it away. They weren't bright, and cross eyed like they usually are. They were straight, and held an unreadable expression within them. I felt the car slow to a stop and realized we were here. I told Lemmy to meet me in the bathroom. We all got out and waited for the other family to pull in. I looked around to see we were at an upscale restaurant. Damn, this looked expensive. Of course, I didn't say that out loud.

Morton locked eyes with me and walked over, stuffing his phone in his pocket. Before I could say anything, he hugged me tightly, squeezing me with excessive amounts of force. I chuckled before hugging him back. He pulled away before speaking.

"Man I'm so s-sorry! I didn't mean to send you c-crashing th-through the t-table!" he apologized, stuttering absolutely everywhere. I noticed he was bruised a bit, and his shell was slightly cracked. His eyes were bloodshot like he had been crying earlier.

"Morton, it's okay! But, had you been crying?" He looks down, face flushing at the mention of him crying. He slowly nodded shamefully. I forced his snout up so he would face me. " It's okay, I just bumped into a coffee table-" "No, you don't understand! Iggy was crying his eyes out! A- And there was blood everywhere! And you wouldn't wake up. We thought we had killed our brother, " he looked at me sadly. Just then, Iggy runs over and swoops me away from him, picking me up and swinging me in a hug. "Gosh, I'm getting a lot of hugs today!" I laughed. Iggy laughed along before setting me down. His eyes looked twice as bad as Morton's, and his right cheek under his eye looked slightly bruised. He was wearing a white shirt with green sleeves, jeans, and green Nike sneakers.

Roy came over and scooped me into a gentle headlock. He chortled, before letting me go. He hugged me briefly before pointing behind me, snickering. I turn around and before I knew it, Larry ran towards me as fast as he could, jumping up and launching up into my arms. He wrapped his arms and legs around me and buried his head into my shoulder. It was difficult holding him since he was almost my height, I was really short. His hair laid flat yet fluffy atop his head, and a bandage was applied all around his forehead.

"You can't scare me like that!" he yelled. I giggled. "Well, I'm here now, " I chuckled before setting him down. Ludwig and Wendy came over to me. Ludwig gently hugged me, while Wendy almost dragged me to the concrete. Ludwig laughed as Wendy clung herself to me, as she had done in the hospital. "I'm glad you're okay, " Ludwig said happily. "I thought they killed you, " Wendy sighed, making Lemmy flinch from his spot next to Junior leaning against the truck. It was barely noticeable, and I just nearly missed it out of the corner of my eye. Junior was smiling at me, and Lemmy had a look somber with relief mixed in. I just hoped he would actually meet in the bathroom as I told him to.

I laughed at them and went over to Lemmy, hugging him before scooping the similar heighted six-year-old into my arms. "You could have got yourself killed walking in between one of THEIR fights, " he snickered. "I'm glad the operation was a success though," he beamed at me before I put him down and ruffled his hair. I shot Lemmy a concerned look before heading off and chatting with dad.

It felt weird calling someone dad for once.

He was on the phone but hung up when he saw me. He hugged me tight, and I felt his chest rise and fall as he let out a sigh of relief. He let go and looked down at me. "How was it?" he asked. "Scary until I realized there was nothing to be scared about, " he smiled at me. "You're a tough trooper!" he laughed heartily before seeing the family pull in. After meeting up with them, we entered the restaurant and got seated at the largest table there.

As we were conversing, I noticed Lemmy looking at me. I excused myself and motioned for him to follow me to the bathroom. His purple sweater wrinkled as he fidgeted with the hem of it, a fake smile on his face. We walked into the bathroom, and as we did so, I roughly shoved him into the stall and locked the main door so no one else could get in. There was a unisex bathroom so we'd be fine. His running shoes squeaked as he stumbled from me pushing him. "Kinky," he said dryly.

"Now what's up? You've been acting super strange lately. It's kind of scaring me," I said. His slightly cross-eyed gaze failed to meet mine. It was sort of heartbreaking to see the smile fade off his face, fake or not.

"It's my fault," he whispered. I couldn't make out the words.

"What?"

"It's my fault," he spoke quietly again.

"Speak up,"

"ITS MY FAULT!" He yelled, making me flinch. He shrank back at his own outburst. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell," he said somberly. I nodded, understanding completely.

"If it wasn't for me bumping into you, this mess wouldn't have been caused. We were lucky to save you with spells the first time, but the chain of events could've led us to lose you the first day we met you," he choked. "We would've been heartbroken, even Roy and Morton. They always have such a tough guy act, but once you look past that, they really do care, it's not their fault they can't express it like the rest of us," I nodded, him not knowing I already knew about their front. I respected it. I didn't even mention to dad that Roy put back on his shades again.

I sighed, deciding to be honest with the older boy. It's hard to believe he was the second oldest. "Hey, look. You may have bumped into me, but that doesn't mean that all of this is your fault. It's not your fault I tried to leave, it's not your fault that Roy slammed Morton into me. I'm really bony. It's not like I could have pushed the big guy outta the way," I laughed. He laughed along softly. "I guess you're right," he said. We'd been in here for around 10 minutes. I sat down next to him, and he leaned on me, letting me stroke his rainbow-colored hair. "So you're not mad?" He asked softly. "No," I laughed. "None of us are," I stood up and picked him up, and he wrapped himself around me. I smiled at him and ruffled his hair before putting him down. He was about to my chin in height, making him way shorter than me.

We walked out and sat down, and Bowser met us with a worried look. Everyone else was chatting nonchalantly. "Everything okay, boys?" He asked. "It's okay now," Lemmy answered with a genuine smile. I smiled just looking at how I cheered him up. We sat down and waited for the waiter to be called.

We ate and cleaned up quickly. It was about a 2-hour drive back to our house. The dinner was nice. I haven't been out like this since I was a small child. Heading back to the truck, I climbed in quickly. This time I sat in the back again, but Morton and Roy sat in the back. I was on the end, and Morton was pushed in the middle, his side resting against my arm. Bowser pulled off and Wendy from the front seat turned on the radio, which emitted soft sounds of pop music. I've always loved the music in this country. About 15 minutes in, everyone was lightly chatting. Except for Roy, Larry, and Lemmy who all fell asleep in the two seats in front of us. I was an extremely quiet and observant person. Sometimes that can be a good thing or a bad thing.

I felt my mood dropping but I absolutely refuse to show it because I cheered so many people up in one day. I was not gonna ruin anyone else's night because I was feeling down all of a sudden. That's not the kind of person I was. Morton looked at me and instantly knew something was wrong.

No offense, but this kid was not as stupid as he looked.

"Hey," he started. Everyone in the front was quietly singing along with the song playing. "Why the long face?" He asked sympathetically. I smiled a convincing smile and shook my head.

"Lemmy tries the same thing, it won't work on me," he giggled. I frowned, sadly twiddling my fingers. "Hey, stop, man. What's bothering 'ya?" He asked, swinging an arm around my shoulder, pulling me close to him as he inspected my face for any source of the problem. "Can I do anything for ya?" He proposed, frowning. I nodded at his phone, which he handed to me. I let him put his passcode in, but he just handed it back to me.

"120904," he said. "You're just gonna give me your password? Why?" I question. "You're my brother," he smiled. "I trust you," he grinned goofily. I searched his apps and I saw some I never thought would be on his phone. Evernote, Duolingo, Pinterest, Tumblr, and a lot more apps that didn't fit his appearance.

Man, I'm stereotyping so hard right now.

Going into the zSync app, which was basically the Instagram alternative since it isn't available in the North Islands country, I put my name in and showed him. I noticed Iggy and Ludwig passed out two rows in front of us. Wendy's claws tapped softly on her phone. He followed me and looked at my pictures. Noticing the Koopa accompanying me in every picture, he pointed at him, looking at me.

"Who's this?" He asked, flicking his eyes to Roy, and back to the pictures. "Peep the resemblance, right?" I chuckled sadly.

"That, right there, is Richard 'Boom Boom' Montaro, my best friend," I said fondly, missing him. "I was supposed to call him tonight, but," I pulled out my phone, to see it totally shattered. "Broke when I got pushed through that table. That's actually where some of the glass went," Morton's face looked horribly guilty, and he genuinely looked like my concern and distress affected him greatly. He even looked like he might cry.

"Taemin, I-...I'm so sorry!" He said. The wind blowing in the windows upfront of the SUV drowned out any noise, so Dad and Wendy couldn't really hear us over that and the music. He pulled me in for a hug, at a loss of words. It wasn't entirely his fault, anyway.

I wrapped my arms around him as best as I could. I cooed to him softly so that he knew it wasn't all his fault. He pulled away and shoved his phone in my hands quickly.

"Are you sure?" I asked, feeling slightly guilty for making him feel bad. I didn't mean to. I always did shit like this. I'm such a bad person.

I always fuck shit u-

"Yeah man!" He said, snapping me out of my depressing thought streak. Dialing the number I've known by heart for years, I slowly brought the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" Oh my god. The second I heard his voice I instantly felt horrible for him. His voice was dull, but had a tint of sadness to it. It easily sounded like he'd been crying due to the raspy touch it had to it.

"Rick?" I asked softly. He gasped on the other side of the phone.

"T-Tae?" He asked. I smiled. "Hi! How have you been?" I asked, grinning. The perk up in his tone was so noticeable even though he tried to hide it.

"I'm really sorry I couldn't call you earlier. My phone had broken. I'm using a different phone until I can get to my new one," I explained. "You already broke it, and replaced it, huh," he snickered in his extremely deep voice. "I actually got it replaced before I broke it, heh," "Oh, you're gonna keep that old one, right?" He asked. I knew exactly why he was asking that. "Of course dude, you know it means a lot to me," I could practically feel him smiling through the phone. I was glad to be one of the only ones who can cheer him up this much. Not even his therapist can do this. It made me feel special, and wanted.

It helped since all I was doing is causing so much fucking trou-

"T-thanks! U-uhh, YOU mean a lot to me," he stuttered. "Same here bud! You're my best friend!" I heard him sigh over the phone.

Weird, I thought he'd be happy for that.

Ah, well. "Hey I'm actually on my way home, I have one more hour, can I call you tomorrow?" I ask.

"Ahm, yeah sure buddy!" He said. "Okay! By-!" "It's hard, so hard without you here," he cut me off. I already knew what was going on, and a look of concern shriveled onto my face. The grim and dark tone his scarily deep voice took on was signal enough.

"Really?" I started. "I'm here bubby. Tell me what's wrong," I said, using yet another nickname only I used when calming him down. "Wendy isn't the same. Her peppiness is all fake. She got her joy from helping you thrive around the facility. Coming everyday to cheer you up and laugh with us as we played her video games in the office, screaming our heads off all day with her. Now that you're gone, it's taken a toll on me, and now no one wants her help. I was watching through the dormitory doors when you left, and when you left, she cried. You were the only one who appreciated her. Who gave her something to look forward to when coming to work. Now she's miserable that no one appreciates her and wants her to help them," I suddenly felt horrible for leaving.

I'm so fucking stu-

"And me, I can't have you to calm me down from fighting. Remember how many times you stopped me from fighting someone that was picking on you?" He asked. I gulped and nodded, even though he couldn't see me.

"How many times the staff dragged me away from a bloody body that I had beaten over you? They would drag you along because they KNEW by heart that you were the only thing that meant anything enough to me to calm me down. Wendy was the only other one I got along with. No one else likes me here," he growled. He sighed again, but it was shaky. And I feared the worst. "Don't cry, bubby, it's okay," I said. "I'm here,"

"I just wish you meant that in the way I wanted it to be,"

I knew I wasn't physically there, and it hurt my heart because he was hurt, but confused since there was no way I had that amount of impact on anyone.

I was a nobody.

I am a nobody

Taemin Silwinder, always a fucking nobody.

I frowned, hating the way I thought about myself. I knew it was true however, and came to accept it. Nothing I could do about it anyways.

"I know," I breathed. I honestly didn't know what else to say. I wanted the right words to magically slip out. Saying our goodbyes, we hung up. I felt really bad. I put on a fake smile and pretended everything was okay.

I prepared to hand him his phone back, but I saw he was fast asleep, mouth slightly parted, dribble washing down the bottom of his snout.

I slid the phone back into his right hand, while pulling his left arm up and sliding under it. I curled myself up into the seat and fell asleep, his idle arm draped across my bony shoulders.

I woke up drowsily to being carried out of the SUV by none other than strong man himself Roy. I mumbled something totally incoherent before he hushed me lightly, a shush oozing out of his snout slowly and calmly. I eventually fell back asleep peacefully drifting off as I was being carried into the large sandstone estate.

I woke up again, this time in cold sweat. I pushed myself out of my baby blue covers harshly and sleepily and panic-drivenly trudged over to my computer.

I hadn't set it up yet, but it should tell me the time.

4:46 fucking AM. I was having night terrors again, greeeaaat!!

I decided to get a drink so I could go back to sleep, because my throat was horribly dry. I walked out of the room, softly closing the door behind me. I walked down the stone-walled hallway until I found the balcony that overlooked the living room. I went through the large hallway into the spiral staircase and went downstairs, knowing the stairs were wood and being mindful of any creaks. Luckily though, there were none. I walked into the gloriously decorated kitchen and looked in the cupboards for a cup. Finding one, I go over to the fridge and stick the cup under the dispenser. I watched in astonishment as the heat from my hand and the glass set the dispenser off, filling my cup with water. There was no switch. I walk into the living room.

I wasn't expecting to see Ludwig sitting on the recliner, knees hugged to his chest. His expensive phone was in his hands yet he wasn't looking at it. He had his hands over his face.

I sat on the couch beside the recliner he was sitting on and tapped his shoulder. I noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt and wore only a pair of pajama pants.

He smiled "Hey what's up, little man?" His face molded into a concerned look. "What are you doing up at 5 in the complete darkness?" he asked. I shrugged. "I could ask you the same thing, " I retorted. He chuckled.

"Couldn't sleep," I nodded, him not asking me the same thing anymore. Ludwig stared into space as I drunk my drink quietly. I waved to him before walking back upstairs, rinsing my cup and placing it in the cupboard I found it in. I quietly opened and shut my door. I climbed into bed, Rick being on my mind since the end of that phone call.

I got up and walked to the windows, before realizing one was actually a door. I never wondered why one window touched the ground, because of their pearly white curtains, giving the silhouette that the windows were the same size. Amazed, I pulled the curtains back, and gently pulled the door open.

The view of the backyard lit up in the night sky alone shows me just how filthy rich this family really is. A Vikan Goliath trampoline was parked in the corner near a large swimming pool, glowing colored lights shimmering in the crystal clear, well kept water, there were 2 water slides, a red one, that looped down into the water, and a blue one that was steep and really high up, lacking any curves. Two tennis courts and a basketball court line the edge of the yard, and from where I was, I could see how neatly kept the balls were in the racks and bins. The miscellaneous equipment was stored in a field house that was probably the size of my foster parents old house. I saw a sandstone staircase, leading to a guest house at least the size of my elementary school gym. The driveway led throughout the backyard and I noticed a portion of the estate had a huge archway going through it for cars to drive through the pavement on the yard to get to the guest house. I saw a few expensive cars parked neatly in the driveway.

Why the fuck would a family like this want a suck up like me?

Ignoring those thoughts, I step back in to close the door. I draw the curtains back and begin to lay down in my bed, but was stopped by Ludwig. He came in the room and walked over to me, wrapping me in a tight hug.

"I apologize for today, it probably wasn't the best experience, but we will most definitely make it up to you tomorrow, I'll make sure of it," he said, ruffling my hair before letting me go. "Love you bro," he said before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Climbing in bed, relief washing over me as I grew drowsy again, thoughts swirled in my mind as I nodded off into a peaceful sleep, crickets chirping as I embarked on a dream-filled journey in a world of slumber...