𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 - 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐨𝐲

28-Delilah Eyre

I listened to him as he spoke, almost in a manic way. The clothes were lined in intricate linear lines of navy blue, and very thin stitches of a yellow thread (that is assumed to be replicating the richness of gold) were sprawled on the bed. 

"Draco, that's insane. I can't possibly do that"

"But just listen- If we can train your muscles to walk..." His voice trailed in the back of my mind. He was (for the first time ever) nothing but an afterthought in my head. Something to worry about later as I had been too preoccupied with my makeshift problems 

"I don't know" I replied, honestly not knowing due to my lack of listening. "Well, there's no harm in trying?" I felt something inside me that resembled pity. I hated seeing him this optimistic. Not because of the optimism itself, but because I was in control of whether it should die or not. 

"I guess" I shrugged, which was animated by my tone. We both stirred in silence, yet again. And although my gaze stuck to the floor, thinking of what was to be next, I could feel like his eyes were burning into my skin and leaving a mark.

"Ok"

"Ok?"

"Yeah, I wanna try. I mean, there's no harm, right?"

"Yeah," He said, thinking for a second. When I looked at him, there was almost a twinkling look of desperation that reflected in his eye. I was not sure if that desperation had been an outcome of absorbing my gaze or just his own reflection on me"Yeah, there isn't" 

After several minutes, I was in a white button-up shirt, a dark grey skirt that slightly brushed my knees, and a cardigan that wrapped me up neatly into a bundle of unimportant things. And although I could not stand, I could slightly lift my leg and stretch my toes. I did so as Draco gently slid the knee-high socks up my leg. Afterward, he moved back, staring. It was a stare I had seen before, one that left my skin tingling in anticipation as to what he might say next.

"Ok, great" he mumbled, putting a hand over his mouth as his posture was slightly slouched. I noted his voice was restrained as if he tried to hold back something, but I later ignored this as he put my hand in his palm. "Alright, we're gonna try and stand up, okay?" I said nothing, expecting myself to nod. But I didn't. Instead, a sudden wave of fear hit me, and I began to think of an endless list of what could go wrong. 

"Hey, if you don't want to do this it's completely okay" "I do- I just-" I shut myself before I could say more as my muscles strained when they lifted themselves. I felt a sharp puncture near my thigh, and with that, my eyes squeezed shut in pain. My mouth made a sort of groaning sound as I felt that my legs had been placed against a firepit. Quickly, Draco dropped down to my legs, gingerly placing his hand on both of them as they had been spasming uncontrollably. I persist and resist the temptation to let out a scream as I (on my own) begin to stand slightly. My legs wobbled in every direction possible and my joints popped with each spasm. I could almost feel my skin rub against my bones; a shiver ran up my spine at the sudden overstimulation. 

"Are you alright?" He asked timidly: both my arms on him and his steadily on my waist. I did not answer. I could not speak. But I did not need to, nor did I want to. I was too focused on keeping my weight up. In a matter of seconds, Draco's voice was comparable to an echo in a loaded crowd. 

After a few moments, I realized I had been out of breath, and that a thin layer of sweat had coated my cheeks and forehead. 

"Do you think you can try on your own now?" He spoke in such a gentle way, and although it did contrast with the strain on my muscles, I was sure I felt my knees wobble and click out of their hold. I said nothing, but he seemed to hear a reply I didn't say (although I had thought it)