inevitable entanglements » a.i. + l.h.

30

It didn't take long before Luke became more and more glad that Michael hadn't given him any opium when he was recovering. Besides the drowsiness, another side effect occurred soon after Calum had woken up. Maybe it had been there the whole time, you never knew with that boy. Calum ended up throwing his guts up, ridding himself of whatever food that was left in his body, much to Michael's dismay. He knew the boy couldn't help it, but he wanted him to eat more and gain some strength. The worst thing about the vomiting was that with his food, the opium, too, got out of his system. Some of it was already in his bloodstream, so the effects didn't wear off immediately. But barely half an hour later, Calum was back to being a frozen, whimpering mess.

“Can't you give him so more?”

Ashton winced at the sight of Calum. It hurt him to see him like that, curled up like when they had found them.

“No, he'll throw up again. Please, Cal, eat some more.”

Michael focused his attention back on the trembling boy, holding out some pastries. He'd let some servants bring it to the examination room. That's how desperate he was to get him to eat. But Calum shook his head, muttering: “'T hurts.”

With a sigh, he handed the plate to his brother, who gladly accepted the food. He had been dying for something as delicious as pastries, but hated the idea of leaving this room. After taking a few bites himself, he held out some of it for Luke, feeding him lovingly. Luke had been eating more, not as much as Ashton and Michael, but he had visibly improved.

He was sitting next to Ashton with his head rested on his shoulder, reading a book Michael had loaned him. Though it wasn't a children's book, it still wasn't a book on Ashton and Michael's level. But he was improving. Ashton had caught him reading to Calum when he thought no one else was around. He even showed Calum some of the letters.

“How about this, Calum. If you eat something now, you can have some opium tomorrow.”

Michael snatched the plate back, his whole face lighting up with hope. All he wanted was for Calum to eat some more, gain some weight. He hated feeling his bones when he embraced him. It was an endless reminder of his sacrifices, as if that was what the world needed to remember that he was a good person.

Calum's eyes bored into Michael's, glassy with a fresh layer of tears. They begged Michael not to compel him make this decision. Pain now or pain tomorrow. But Michael's eyes were equally teary, so he sighed, swallowing his fear. “Alright.” It was supposed to sound confident, convinced. It came out hoarse and barely audible. Michael didn't seem to notice though, or it just didn't matter, because a smile lit up his face.

Ashton didn't want to look. He didn't want to see how Calum's trembling hand reached for the pastries, how he forced it down his throat in the hopes of his pain getting relieved later on.

Michael sighed contently despite the tears that rolled down the boy's cheeks, and he leaned closer to press an encouraging kiss to his temple.

“Thank you.”

So Calum swallowed another bite. And another. And another. He forced his teeth to chew the food he would have killed for only a week prior. It didn't matter. The aching in his stomach didn't matter. Michael was smiling. Michael was proud. And tomorrow everything would be coated in a layer of innocence once again, that was worth the pain he suffered now.

“Calum.”

The boy cringed, crawling closer to Michael without any hesitation despite the pain it caused him. A shiver ran down his spine at the sound of his name, which always sounded so nice tumbling from Luke's innocent lips, rolling off of his tongue so effortlessly. So relaxed and calm, as if he hadn't screamed it before at the top of his lungs. As if he hadn't murmured it against his skin mere seconds before digging his teeth into it.