A Sky Full of Blue

Chapter 24: Green is the Color of Envy

"Envy is the art of counting the other fellow's blessings instead of your own." ~Harold Coffin

*Song: Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol*

Theo's POV
I stare at the sink, seeing the water as it rushes down my face. My eyes are rimmed with red and my face is puffy. My hair is a curly, wild mess.

Hazel. I don't want to admit it, but she did scare me.

It doesn't change anything.

I was going to tell her as soon as possible, but now I can't. I can't tell her that as soon as I heard about her, even before she started the same school as me, I was intrigued by her. Everything about her.

I can't tell her that I may be falling in love with her. Not yet.

My arm aches in the cast. It feels too bulky and unnatural. I curl and uncurl my fingers one by one, looking at the bruises starting to form. I wince from the pain.

They remind me of back home, the things that I did, the things that my father did to me. I shudder where I stand, feeling a phantom chill spread through my body. I don't think I'd ever go home.

I wonder how Hazel is doing. I wonder whether I should go see her at her house, or stay at home to rest. My body feels weak, but seeing her will make me feel better. I want both of us to feel better.

I remember the heat from her body as I held her close, the way her lips felt on mine. I want that feeling back. I want things to go back to what they were before Hazel met my father.

I take my phone out and debate calling Toby to see if Hazel is ready to see me. She had an episode at the hospital, and I don't want to cause another one.

I go out of the bathroom and sit on my bed, resting my head against a pillow. I release a heavy sigh, staring at the clinical white of the cast. I'll have people lining up to sign this.

I knock it on the side of my bedframe, feeling the hollow plaster bounce. My arm hurts, but the pain is good for me. I remember the brand on my skin, how bad that hurt. It hurt way more than the broken arm.

Toby calls me before I get the chance to call him. It takes two rings before I answer.

"Hello?" I can hear his heavy breathing on the other side of the phone, but he doesn't answer. Does he realize that he just called me?

"Toby?" I make my voice a little louder, hoping that he can hear me. His breath is a wheeze on the other end. He hisses, making me pull the phone away. The noise rings in my ears.

"You have to be quiet. Hazel doesn't know that I'm calling." I shift on the bed, getting more comfortable. A stray curl falls in my face and I keep it there, watching as my breath makes it dangle in front of my eyes.

I blow out a puff of air.

"Why did you call?" My voice sounds drugged up, and maybe it is. I can still feel that cottony sensation in my head, my ears, my mouth. I've been bed-ridden and I need to get out of this house. It's just my mom and I, and I need to move. She's hovering.

I can hear footsteps over the line. I hear the flicker of the light as it turns on, and the oof of breath that comes out of Toby's mouth as he sits down.

"Hazel's been having dreams. She's been keeping all of us up at night, and we don't know what to do. We thought that if you stayed here tonight maybe she'd calm down." My heart leaps in my chest. Stay that close to Hazel all night?

He clears his throat. It sounds more like a growl than anything else. A warning signal.

"Of course you'd be sleeping on the couch. I'll make sure of that." His usual threats don't sound as convincing. He sounds worn out, tired after the events that have just happened.