Ch. 22 A Latte For You, A Latte For Me

When I wake up

I'm lying on a black bean bag

with Bitsy curled up against my side,

Johnny in a matching bean bag next to me,

and Will nowhere in sight.

Johnny tells me

Will went to work

but he said he was sorry

that he had to go,

but neither of them wanted to wake me

because it was the first

relatively real sleep

I have gotten in a

long,

long

time.

He's not playing video games anymore.

He's watching Phineas and Ferb on TV instead.

A nice, safe show

and a nice, safe episode

without cars,

or bright lights,

or people named Charlotte.

He's worried about me.

I can tell

because he hates Phineas and Ferb,

even though I love it,

and by the way

he's talking to me,

and how he's looking at me,

and because he's Johnny.

I lie and tell him I'm okay.

He doesn't believe me

but he nods anyway.

"Don't scare me like that again,

okay?"

he says.

Usually I'd get mad

and tell him

I'm not doing it

on purpose.

But I don't

because he sounds

very scared

and nothing scares Johnny

except needles

and those life size cartoon people in costumes

that walk around amusement parks.

So instead

I say,

"I'll try not to."

He forces a pathetic smile

and leans to the side.

He picks something up

and hands it to me.

"Almost forgot,"

he says.

"From Will."

I wrap my fingers

around the still warm latte

and look down at it

like it's the most beautiful thing

in the world.

Sometimes

it's the little things

that help the most.

Author's Note

Please let me know if there are any mistakes and leave any comments, reviews, or opinions down below! Thanks for reading.
--theladygraceling