𝚍𝚛𝚞𝚐𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚢 | 𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚘𝚕𝚏 [1]

neck holes

—

"No."

"Ryder, sweetheart, please."

"No." The girl grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest after shoving Aaron's hand away from her face.

The man sighed, dropping the spoon back into the bowl, "You have to eat."

"I'm not hungry. And even if I was, i am very much capable of feeding myself."

Not wanting to force her, he placed the bowl off to the side. "Okay. Can you at least tell me how you're feeling?"

"I have a hole in my neck, how do you think I feel, dad?"

"I think I need a break." Aaron huffs, "I'll send in Josie."

•••

He, in fact, did not send in Josie.

Ryder's eyes instantly dropped to her hands when Austin walked through the door. She had been instructed to take her rings off, so she hand nothing to fiddle with, aside from her bare fingers.

"Hey, Ry."

He received silence in response.

Nodding to himself, the teen moved to sit in the chair next to her bed.

"I brought you something." He spoke softly, his hands lifting into her line of vision to show her Marco the Monkey. "He missed you."

Her eyes closed as she breathes out a chuckle.

"Are you okay?" He continued, placing the monkey on the edge of the bed.

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine." He muttered, pushing his hand forward, brushing his fingers against hers.

Ryder pulled away, taking Marco from his other hand, turning to her lay on her side.

"Your dad told me that you wouldn't eat."

Ryder huffed, "Because i'm not hungry."

The air grew silent at her words, the George teen simply starting at her.

"You get out soon." He attempted to comfort her, "Are you excited about that?"

"No."

Austin frowns, "Why not?"

"Austin, barely two days ago, I was bleeding out from my neck because some psycho went out of his way to take a chunk out of me to spite my mother—"

"He's dead now. You don't have to worry about him anymore."

"That's not the point." Her eyes filled with tears as she spoke.

"This—" She gestured harshly to the cuts that littered her arms and the bandage in her neck, "Isn't going away. In a few days from now, i'm probably gonna be a rabid dog, just like McCall. But i will still know that that weirdo tried to eat me."