C O N N O R

I woke up to the sound of someone talking, I opened my eyes, squinting them as the sun beamed down on my face.

My head thumped, as I tightened the blanket around myself, trying to keep myself from feeling cold.

I slowly sat up, putting my hands up to my head in attempt to soothe my headache. I felt nauseous and the sight of all the bruises that loitered my stomach didn’t help. I looked up to see Jaxon on the phone to someone, his back towards me. I let out a small sneeze just as a blurry vision appeared.

"I’ll call u later, Connor hasn’t been feeling well all night." Jaxon said to the person on the phone before he walked towards me.

"Not feeling so good?" I shook my head in response, as he placed his hand on my forehead.

"You have a fever," He said slowly rubbing my forehead. "Lay back down."

"Where's Thibbault, Elliot-"

"They're at school. They won't be back til’ 3." He said cutting me off.

"I'm sorry about what they did, but don’t worry they got what they deserved." He stated.

"W-What do you mean?"

"Rick," He called out, completely ignoring my question. "Bring the thermometer, please."

I lay back down and started coughing, as the cold struck my body causing me to shiver. Not more than a minute later, I realized that I wasn't in my wet clothes from yesterday.

"W-What happened? How did I get here?" I asked.

"You don't remember?" Jaxon asked with a raised brow.

"Not really." I whispered.

My hands gripped my head, once again, in attempt to stop it from aching. I felt Jaxon pressed his own hands against my head softly, causing some relief.

"Here you go, sir." Rick said placing a thermometer on the table besides me.

"You aren’t feeling well, Master Connor?" He asked, giving me a smile.

"No." I whispered.

"Hopefully, you'll get better." He gave me a sad smile, before leaving.

Beside Harvey, no one is allowed to call us by our names. I don't know why.

"I don’t want you to use that." I exclaimed to Jaxon when I saw him holding the thermometer in his hand.

"It will help to tell the temperature of your body."

"No." I said.

"Yes. Now open your mouth."

"No, it will hurt." I frowned.

"It won't hurt, I promise." He said softly, while stroking my hair. "Now open your mouth."

"It will hurt." I muttered while slowly opening my mouth.

I felt the stick being placed under my tongue and I closed my mouth. I’m not going to lie; it didn't hurt like I thought it would.

"It’s 40 F!" I looked at him, worriedly.

Is 40 F considered as a high fever?

When he saw my face his worried expression quickly morphed into a slight frown. I bit my bottom lip and stared down at my bedsheets.

"Don't worry, I’m going to call the doctor, he’ll give you some medicine and you’ll get better."

"No." I quickly replied.

What if the doctor saw my bruises and made fun of me, like everyone does?

I felt Jaxon staring at me, so I looked up at him and let out a sigh. He sat down beside me on the bed, taking the thermometer out of my mouth and putting it down on the table.

"Why?" He asked, as he brushed the hair back from my face and stroked my right cheek gently.

"The doctor will find out about my bruises." I replied quietly.

"I'll be here the whole time, don't worry." He said trying to convince me, but I refused.

I don’t remember the last time I went to the hospital for a check-up. What if they find out about my bruises and burns, I don't want anyone to see all this and.what if they find out about me cutting? No way, am I going let this happen.

"I should get you to the hospital." He told me, standing up from his spot. Tears formed in my eyes, just at the thought.

As he pulled my forearm I let a tear slid down my cheek. He sighed and sat down again pulling me closer.

"I don't wanna go," I sniffled. "I don't want to."

He sighed and lifted up my chin, "Listen, it would only be for a couple of minutes and hopefully you'll be alright."

"No, I don't want to. I'll be fine." I said and he sighed at me.

"Okay, let me check if I have any meds."

WHY ME?

"Does it taste good?" I asked referring to the medicine in Jaxon's hand. I can’t remember the last time I took a pill.

"It tastes so good." He said, popping two pills out of their plastic nest and handing me.

"Your expression's telling me, you're lying," I mumbled. "I know, it tastes horrible.

Is it bitter or sweet?"

"Sweet. Now, eat it."

"What if I puked?"

"Please Connor, just eat it."

I stared at the pills in my hand for a couple of minutes, before shoving them in my mouth. I quickly picked up the glass of water next to me, swallowing the water along with my pills.

Jaxon shook his head while chuckling, "You still have trouble swallowing pills."

"You said it was sweet." I slightly glared at him. "I’ve got a bad taste in my mouth."

"Medicine is never sweet." He chuckled.

I shrugged and wrapped the blanket tightly around myself. The phone began to ring, causing me to glance at Jaxon, who ignored the call and stood up.

"I have to go now, but Emma will look after you." He said softly.

"Do you have to go?" I mumbled, biting my bottom lip.

"I'll be back before you know it." He placed a soft kiss on my forehead and ruffled my hair, causing me to smile, before he walked out of my room.

"Give him his medicine on time and take care of him until I come back." I heard Jaxon telling Emma.
____

I walked towards the kitchen for a glass of water when Emma came up to me with a frown on her face.

"What are you doing here, Master Connor? Your father has told you not to leave your room." She said softly.

"I came to get some water." I mumbled.

"You could have told me." She smiled. "Now please go to your room, I'll bring the water upstairs."

I looked at the clock which showed that it was 2:54 PM. I slowly walked upstairs to my room and sat down on my bed.

Emma is a nice woman, she was in her mid-30s, but she was very strict. She disn’t let me go anywhere and came to check up on me in every 10-15 minutes. I was intertwining my fingers together when Emma entered with a glass of water and some pills in her hand. She walked over me and put the glass down.

"Again?" This is the second time; I’m going to take a pill.

"Sorry." She smiled sadly and handed me the pill.

I popped it in my mouth and swallowed. She made me drank the water and then left.

My head was still hurting a lot and I was feeling so cold. It felt like the blanket wasn't working on me, I clutched the blanket to myself, shivering in the cold. Panic rose in me when I heard the front door slam shut and footsteps run upstairs.

I didn't look up to see who is was when my door creaked open. It will be Emma. 

I flinched when a cold hand touched my forehead, I immediately looked up to see Elliot standing above me. I felt my breath hitch and a shiver ran through my spine, as he looked at me.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, the concern evident in his voice.

Why was he asking?

Wasn’t he supposed to hate me?

"B-Better." I lied. I was feeling worse.

I watched him walk out of my room and come back with a thick woollen blanket. He draped it over me, tucking me in. I felt so warm.

"Did you take your meds?"

"Yeh." I replied.

He pulled out a phone from his pocket and began to text someone. I took a deep breath and decided to ask the question, that I was scared to ask.

"Aren't you mad at me?" I whispered.

"Huh? Mad?" He gazed over me and turned off his phone.

"About yesterday." I whispered, playing with my fingers.

"No. Why would I be?" He answered. "Just rest-" he got cut off when my door opened, revealing Emma.

"You can go now Emma, I'll look after him." Elliot told her.

"Master Elliot, Sir has told me to give-"

"Now I’ve told you not to, didn't I?" He said angrily. She frowned and left.

Is he planning to murder me or something?

Why is he being nice to me all of a sudden?

I felt like I was going to puke all of a sudden, I quickly stood up and tried to run to the bathroom, but I couldn’t help the feeling rise into my mouth and I accidentally puked all over the floor. My eyes began to well up, as I felt someone rubbing my back.

Elliot pulled my arm and helped me back into the bed. I took the glass of water from his hand and drank a few sips.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'll..I'll clean this up." I wiped my eyes quickly, standing up.

"Sit down. Rick will clean it!" He demanded.

"No, I've caused this mess and I'll clean it up. Don't worry."

"You're not going to clean it. Go and wash your face, come back, lie down and get rest, like Dad’s told you."

"I can clean it." I mumbled.

"Rick!" Elliot yelled, completely ignoring me.

I quietly walked to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face.

Not more than a few seconds later, I heard my door opened.

"Yes, Master Elliot?" He asked politely.

"Clean this mess." Elliot demanded.

I slowly returned to my bed and stared at the ceiling while lying on my bed with a blanket wrapped around me. I felt a lot better. I felt so much better at the moment.

"Get some sleep." Elliot said, stroking my hair.

His eyes held so much care in them. I didn't close my eyes instead, I started watching Rick cleaning the floor.

"What did I say?" Elliot asked, in his stern voice once again

I quickly shut my eyes and hear him chuckle softly.

WHY ME?

I closed the zip of my jacket; which Jaxon had given me to wear and rested my head between my knees. I tried to stop myself from asking questions, but the voices wern't letting me.

"Connor?" Jaxon called softly, rubbing my back gently.

Can't you just ask your father why he left you when he knew your mother didn't like you?

Can't you tell him that you know about what happened when your parents were getting divorce?

I shut my eyes taking a shaky breath. I looked over to Jaxon who was staring at me and decided to ask.

"Why did you leave me when you knew how  mom treated me?" I asked sounding confident.

"I know you don't remember clearly what happened, but I think it's time, I answer your question."
____

AHH! FINALLY HERE'S A NEXT CHAPTER!

I'm so sorry for the late upload. I didn't have an internet service available in my area. Anyone Indian? If you're, then I hope you understand the reason perfectly.

It's been so long but thanks for being patient with me.

It was bit of a sweet chapter but I enjoyed writing it and I hope y'all enjoyed it too!

Q: Favorite moments of this story?

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