Episode 16: Laying in Bed

***Alastair***

Alastair was laying in his bed with his arm propped up by a pillow. Honey was curled up by his feet.

Ring-ring!

Alastair almost fell off his bed. When he looked at the nightstand, the screen on the watch lit up. It said in "Hannah" in round, green letters.

"Hannah?"

"Yep, it's me, sweetie." Alastair could hear relief in Hannah's voice. "How are you? Ame took me that your arm got broken."

Alastair looked at the red cast Ame had given him. "It's still a little achy sometimes, but it's better than it was." He sighed. "It sucks that I can't use it still."

Hannah stifled a laugh. "It's important to take it easy. If you overdo it, you'll just get hurt again. I know you don't want that." Alastair heard footsteps. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Alastair's gaze drifted toward the ceiling. "I landed in this yard with a "For Sale" sign. I moved, so the people who owned the house wouldn't yell at me."

"What did you do after that?" she asked.

"I waited for five minutes in case Ame was running late." The boy licked his lips. "Since I didn't have anything better to do, I ate the lunch box Betty packed for me."

"Was it good?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "It was like having Mommy's lunch again."

Alastair missed that good food. He learned how to cook in an attempt to replicate it.

"What did you do after you ate?"

The redhead reached out to pet his puppy. "I tried to call you, but I couldn't cuz my phone wasn't working. I was worried the neighbors would be mean, so I moved again."

"How did you get hurt, honey?"

"Eventually, I got hungry again, but I didn't have anything else to eat." Alastair scrunched his face. "These three strangers tried to give me something out of their groceries, but it was rotten."

"Oh no."

"I threw up a little. Thankfully, I only had a couple bites."

"What did they say after that?"

His lip quivered before he could talk. "Ungrateful brat."

"Anything else?"

"This big dumb oaf grabbed my arm." Honey licked her human's arm. "It really hurt so I made an egg out of my metal. The mean strangers kicked it and sent it rolling. It made me dizzy." Another quiver. "I threw up on myself after I got out of my egg."

"We don't have to talk about that anymore," Hannah said. "You have new housemates, right? How do you like them so far?"

"Cyan is really nice. She's a good cook." His mouth watered. "She might even be able to give Mommy a run for her money."

"What did she make for you?"

"She made me some strawberry waffles for breakfast and soup for lunch. Since they had chicken pasta, I got to taste it."

"Did you like it?"

"It was good. I would eat it again if they asked." The boy cracked a smile. "Maggie is like the Ens."

"The Ens?" Hannah asked.

"En and Len. The Ens."

"Oh!" Hannah giggled. "Were you able to get your suitcase?"

"Yeah. Ame left it on the metal desk."

"Do you need anything?"

"Not right now."

The air got heavy. "I need to ask you a very important question."

"What's that?"

"Did you want to come home? That way, your brothers, sisters, and I can take care of you."

"I need to do my job! I want to stay!"

"Alright. I'll let you rest. No working until Ame tells you that you can."

The boy sighed. "Okay..."

"Your arm won't get better if you don't rest it, so just focus on that for now."

Tears streamed down Alastair's cheeks. It was so good to hear Hannah's voice. He missed her so much. He didn't even realize how much until now.

Honey whined as she carefully crawled over to his head. 'What's the matter, Coco?' She licked his cheeks. 'Why are you crying?'

"I miss my mommy."

'Was that who you were talking to?'

"Yeah."

Knock-knock!

"Alastair, is it okay if I come in?" Cyan asked.

"Yeah..."

Cyan sat down in the chair by the desk. "Are you okay? It looks like you might feel a little crummy."

"I miss Hannah."

"I'm sure she misses you, too." She rubbed her neck. "I'd offer you a hug, but I don't wanna hurt you on accident."

Honey rubbed her human. That was her job. She could soothe him without hurting him.

"Ame told me that you came from somewhere abroad. Have you heard of the Ecerre Ball before?"

The boy shook his head.

"It's on March 22nd. Maggie and I are going dress shopping tomorrow." She smiled. "We can talk about this again later, but I was wondering if you'd like to go with me."

A flash of pain. Would Alastair really be up for that? His arm probably would still be hurt. He couldn't enjoy the dancing. Not to mention that he'd be trapped in a noisy place filled to the brim with strangers.

"Let me grab you some ice. Just rest now."

Alastair was sick of hearing that. Was this how En felt when he broke his leg? He never acted like it hurt.

Ame followed Cyan into the room. "Hi, honey. How are you feeling?"

His arm was still broken. How did she think he felt?

Ame grabbed the ice pack from Cyan. "You can go. I'll take care of him."

"Oh... Alright. Thanks."

Cyan shut the door behind her.

Alastair glared at Ame. What did she want?

"Relax." Ame showed her empty palms. "I don't want to hurt you. Do you remember what I did for Honey?"

"No."

She sighed before smiling. "I'm going to heal your wrist a little bit before I go."

What good would that do?

"It would be nice if I could help you heal a week or two sooner."

"It would be nice"? Was really supposed to make him feel better?

Honey whined. 'Let her help, Coco. She fixed my owie while you were sleeping. I feel so much better now.'

"Alright..."

Ame was gentle as she took his wrist in her hands. They were bathed in a gentle violet light.

The ache was gone. Maybe her healing did actually do something.

"Did you need anything?" she asked.

The boy shook his head.

"Alright. I'll try to be back tomorrow. I want your wrist to get better as much as you do."

She could say that. Alastair wouldn't believe that until she proved it.