LOTUS | ManxBoy

CHAPTER I

Clank.

Clank.

Thump.

"Oops."

Cra-a-ash.

The sound of heavy footsteps and shattering glass jolts me awake.

I raise my head and look around, rubbing sleep out of my tired eyes. Where am I? What time is it? I frown, confused for a moment.

Damn it. Did I fall asleep again?

I glance at the clock.

00:12

I blink at the digits for a couple more times before yawning and pulling myself up.

About time I wake up.

I head directly to the kitchen, following the muffled sounds – and, of course, he's there, leaning heavily on the counter.

"Grandpa, why are you here again?" I hurry to help him up. "Didn't Mrs. Brown tell you not to get up unless necessary?"

He sighs. It's hard for him, I know – but it's for the better.

"Now, now, don't be like that, Daniel." He pats my back with a sheepish smile. "If I lie there all day, I think I might actually die. Do you want grandpa to die?"

He's joking, of course – but I still purse my lips, displeased, and he grins. Good lord, he's over 80 but worse than a child sometimes.

"Alright, alright, grandpa will go back to bed once he cleans this up." He points at the broken glass.

I just roll my eyes. "Do you want to hurt your back again? I'll do it, go."

He pouts, and I narrow my eyes at him. See what I mean? Even Kiera doesn't bribe me with pouts anymore, so no, I ain't falling for that.

It's the second time I catch him walking around today, and I'm not really sure if it's good or not. I mean, he's still sick, but at least he's able to walk?

"Don't be so stubborn, grandpa. Or you won't be able to lift Kiera up for another month," I remind while nudging him back to his room.

He sighs again, but unlike before, this one is more...calm. Does that make sense? It's like these long, deep sighs you take when you remember good things. Nostalgic, they say.

"Yeah, yeah, that's right." He chuckles quietly, and my heart clenches at the tenderness of his tone. "But that kid is growing too fast these days. I could barely lift her up last time!"

He laughs, and the sound makes me smile. It's nice to hear him happy.

I help him lie down on his bed, fetching a new set of blankets from the drawer. I heard it's gonna drop down to negative tonight, better to bundle up beforehand or he'll get sick again.

"Then next time I'll lift her up for you," I murmur with a smile, fixing the blanket on his shoulder.

I stay there for a while, just watching him snuggling under warm layers. He's getting older – could barely lift up a pail, even, the other day – yet he still keeps pretending like he can do everything on his own.

He dozes off eventually, and I put another blanket on top of his bed before leaning to press a kiss to his forehead. But just as I'm about to leave, I hear him shifting and calling me.

"Daniel."

I glance back. "Yeah?"

"You need to sleep more. Those bags are awful."