Saving Them (Chapter 1, Part 2)
Summary: After the brutal murder of her found family, Gemi loses years of her life to grief, leaving her remaining family member, Chaim, to suffer alone. Gemi is too late to save him from the spiraling path of hatred and revenge against the killer(s), but the Fates are on her side.
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Chaim left me on the worn down peach couch while he grabbed a glass of water for me, from the kitchen attached to the living room. On the coffee table was a new book- well, new to my eyes. It was rather worn from use, and had a library sticker on it.
On the cover, it had a profile picture of some woman I did not know, and a name for the title I could not recognize.
Chaim set down the glass beside the book, when I asked, “What are you reading?”
Uncharacteristically secretive, he flipped the book over and said, “Oh, it's nothing.”
“Ah, so it's erotica.”
Chaim's whole face turned red. “What?! No, it's not-”
“I'm joking,” I said in my new, and unfortunate, monotone voice, but my first smile in years. My face felt stiff and heavy, so I'm sure it was barely noticeable as a smile.
He pouted the same way Obi would, and it stung my heart. “How are you feeling?” he asked.
I wanted to feel lively again, but truthfully, “I'm tired.”
“Yeah, you should lay down and rest.” He did not hesitate to assist me, supporting my head like I was a delicate infant.
Before he could walk away from me, I grabbed onto his wrist with a weak grip. “Wake me up for dinner.”
He smiled with his eyes. “I will.”
Surprisingly, my nap was short- at least, in comparison to the double digit hours I'd been accustomed to getting. The sun was still out, and Chaim was still here. He was sitting on a loveseat with one leg under his butt, and the other bent and acting as a surface for his book. He was captivated by the pages, but I'm eager to talk to him again. I want-
I briefly woke up several more times before quickly falling unconscious, struggling with all my might to stay awake. Finally, when the natural light of the sun was dimming, I woke up.
The fragrant scent of fried garlic and ginger, and the rumbling sound of a thick soup boiling on the stove spoke to me like a siren, so I was able to remain conscious for more than a few seconds.
The sheer determination I had earlier in the day amazed me now, because I could not imagine sitting up on at this moment. I thought of maybe rolling over and plopping onto the ground, maybe it'd be easier to crawl.
The longer I stayed still, the stronger I felt, and eventually I eased myself up. The scent of Obi's favorite soup pained my heart, as anything that reminded me of the others did. “You made groundnut soup?”
Chaim whipped around fast, holding his spatula out like a weapon. It took a second for him to ease up, and I made a mental note to make a gentle noise or something before speaking next time.
“Oh, uh, yeah. Is that okay?”
Curse my misleading monotone voice, I want to sound spirited again. “Of course, it's delicious,” I reassured.
“It is. It'll be ready in 10 more minutes.” He put the spatula down, and headed towards the couch, but remained at a distance, simply leaning against the arm of the couch instead of sitting with me. “How are you feeling?”
Tired. I'm so tired, but, “Glad.” Glad I'm still alive today to see you again. “How are you feeling, Chaim?”
He gave me a soft smile, like a loving parent seeing their adult children in good spirits after a long time apart. “I'm glad, too.”
I lifted me arms, and waved my hands towards myself. “Can you come over here so I can hug you?”
He slid his legs over onto the couch, and fell into my arms. Curling himself in my embrace like he used to, but I wasn't strong enough to give him the bear hug he was probably waiting for. “How old are you now, Chaim?”
He took a moment of silence before answering. “I'm 16.”
My heart swallowed itself. Four years. I... I left him alone for four years... “You're,” my voice shook, so I shoved down the emotions welling up inside of me. “You're still a baby in my eyes.”
He chuckled lightly at that remark. “I know.” He sighed before pulling away. “I gotta make the fufu.”
“Did you get the-”
“Instant taro? Of course.” He ruffled my hair like I was the child. “I didn't forget it was your favorite.”
By time he got up, the exhaustion had already caught up to me. I rested my head against the plush backing of the couch, and stared at nothing in particular until Chaim brought two steaming bowls of soup and fufu to the coffee table.
He immediately spooned out a small portion of food, blew on it, and guided it towards my mouth with a hand under to prevent spilling. “Hey, I can do it myself,” I insisted, grabbing the spoon from his grasp.
With hesitation, he lowered his hands. “Oh. Uh, are you sure? I don't mind feeding you.”
I waved the worry away with my free hand. I slowly lowered myself to sit on the floor in front of my bowl, shakily holding my spoon. “Come, sit down with me.”
He did so without saying anything, and held his bowl in his arms, but didn't so much as take a bite of the food for himself. I was purposefully ignoring it, but I could feel that he was watching me. As simple as the task was, it was difficult for me. My muscles were significantly weakened, and a regular silver spoon was heavier that I could've possibly imagined.
I barely got in two mouthfuls before I could hold the spoon up no longer. Chaim put his bowl down. “Do you want help?”
I finally admitted defeat with a nod, and sunk my head into my chest. Like a parent of a newborn, he lifted my chin and fed me. He's still so young, and yet...
Don't cry! Don't cry. The tears spilled from my eyes unwillingly. I dropped my head and sobbed, “I'm sorry for not being strong enough.”
Chaim rubbed my back affectionately. “You don't need to apologize, it's only natural. You'll do physiotherapy and get stronger with time. You don't need to push yourself so hard right now.”
I shook my head, but couldn't even find the strength within myself to explain why I was crying. I'm sorry for not being strong enough this whole time. You're my baby brother, I should've been taking care of you instead.
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