Obliviate My Rebellion {Book 3}

23. Band shirts and mistletoe

Cole spent a lot of the afternoon and evening sleeping, though he was woken up on several occasions by healers to give him his medication and some food. We all spent the night in the same family room, all of us getting much more sleep than before.

The next afternoon, Cole was awake and more alert, though he was still tired from all that had happened. He was getting restless as his mother and sister still hadn't arrived, and the healers couldn't tell him what would happen next without her present.

"It's stupid," He declared over another bowl of cold soup they'd given him. "It's my body, my mind--I should have first say at what's happening, not my mother."

"I suppose it's procedure." I shrugged from the end of Cole's bed, where I had been sitting. He shrugged, and shuddered as he swallowed some of his cold soup. "Why are they only giving you soup?"

He laughed once. "Well that is simple, dear Rory. They don't want to give me solid food or metal cutlery so I'm not tempted to stab or choke myself."

"Cole," his healer said sternly, looking up from checking Cole's vitals. "Don't talk like that, you'll upset your friends."

"He's always had a dark humour, don't worry." Gennie chuckled, unable to keep the smile from her face. She hadn't stopped smiling since Cole had been awake. "I tend to let it blend into conversation after awhile."

"But I'm not going to stab or choke myself." Cole whined to the healer. "Can't you get me some cake or something? Please Gladys?" he wiggled his eyebrows as if his lame attempt at charm would work.

"No." The healer said with a smile. "We'll be getting you onto solid foods once we're certain you aren't a threat to yourself." she checked something off on her clipboard. "I'll be back later with your medication."

"Yay." Cole said once the healer had left. "What does she think I'm going to do? Waste a perfectly good slice of chocolate cake to choke myself? No, I'd use the bed covers."

"Your attitude is really starting to annoy me, dear brother." Alia said dryly. "Can't you joke about cannibalism or something?"

"If you insist." Cole said. "Okay, so a cannibal and a vegan walk into a bar--"

"Good news!" Sam announced, waltzing into the room. "Elena and Camille's flight just landed. Arthur just made it to Manchester airport."

"Such fun," Cole said, clapping his hands together. "Wonderful family reunion. I just might cry."

"Arthur can drive?" I asked curiously. "I thought he was sixteen?"

"He turned seventeen early September." Cole said, not sounding all that interested. "But he knew how to drive before he got his licence. Ben used to take him driving literally all the time."

Feeling extremely bad that I hadn't gotten Arthur a birthday present, I realised something else about Sam's statement. "Why don't they just apparate?"

Sam and Cole both snorted. "His mother is petrified of apparating." Sam smirked. "She used to all the time, Cole's Aunt said. But then she took Cameron apparating for the first time and his foot got left behind--"

All of us burst into laughter, even Cole cracked a smile. "--And it didn't re-appear for like a day, and Elena got so terrified she's never apparated since."

 Cole went back to his cold soup, shuddering at every spoonful. He threw down his plastic spoon once he finished, looking annoyed. "I hate this place so freaking much. I can't eat cake, I can't listen to Quidditch matches, listen to my mp3 or wear band tees."

He pushed back his long fringe, looking more agitated, before pulling on his hospital robe. "This thing doesn't even have a back to it."

Alia snorted. "Seriously? I thought that was just a stereotype."