Incompetent (BxB)

Chapter 4

Reina brought her hand to her mouth, and began biting on her fingernails. "Dad had me tutor him. You know how tense he's been for Eddie's exams." Reina explained. "We've just finished up, though. There's nothing to worry about, Noah." She reassured.

"Are you sure?" He questioned. "In that case, it should be long gone by now. The sight of it just makes my stomach churn." Noah asserted, he clenched his fists.

Eddie stood awkwardly, but not a squeak left his mouth. He glanced down at the table below him, with a small and grey empty pot. Months prior, he made plans on filling the pot with a gorgeous and colourful flower he had been nourishing, however Noah disfigured the plant Eddie had been caring for. His view shifted down to his feet.

"Don't look at him, Noah. Look at me." Reina crouched down to Noah's level and put her hands on his face, she moved it to face hers. "He hasn't done anything wrong." She insisted.

"Are you really going to let it get away with everything, Rein? Just look at it!" He shouted, slapping Reina's hands away. "Do you even care about what it did to us? Or are you just going to defend his every move?!" He continued

"I know! But you need to take your medication and calm down." She placed her hands on his shoulders. She turned her head to look at Eddie, "You need to leave." then faced Noah again.

"I can't believe you, Reina!" Noah yelled. He pushed his sister aside, she lost her balance and stumbled to the ground.

"Ow!— Noah!"

He stomped over to Eddie, who trembled to his younger and physically smaller brother. Eddie backed away a few steps, before Noah charged him and knocked him to the floor onto his back. Eddie grunted at the attack, but he resisted the urge to defend himself. He couldn't bear the thought of harming his youngest brother.

Noah repeatedly threw punches at Eddie's face, punches that intended injury. Unlike his considerate brother, Noah did not bother holding back, he let his emotions out of control.

"NOAH!" Reina screamed.

-

Eddie awoke at his desk, his basement desk. His best guess was that he went unconscious during Noah's blowup. He sustained many wounds, very harsh ones, and it hurt.

Eddie examined his face with his hands, he felt bruises and cuts, with each touch he felt pain, but it was not as bad as the aching feeling he felt. With the strength that remained, he stood up to leave the area, but his legs gave out. He immediately staggered back to the ground.

For a moment, he couldn't help but tear up. He pushed up his legs to cradle himself. He couldn't help but gave in to his emotions. He needs moments like this, where he would simply stop trying. Continuing to endure everything recently was stressful and fatiguing, Eddie needed the minute to be to himself, and to cry to himself.

Eddie has had good luck, yet bad luck at the same time in the last couple of days. It made him believe that he couldn't be happy without having the pain of his reality following right behind him. He felt alone, there was no escaping the weight of his faults, and no one to save him. His conclusion was a depressing one, but the only one he could accept.

He passed out to the sounds of his cries, curled up into a ball, isolated.

-

Knock Knock

Eddie was roused once again by the sound of a hard knock on the basement door. His sight was blurry and his eyes stung.

The loud knock repeated. Eddie was at the very bottom of the stairs, he couldn't bring himself to crawl up, though he tried.

"Out from in there, boy." Jonathan's stern voice ordered.

Eddie was scared. His father was upset. He attempted to make a move, but his body wasn't complying. He was very weak from the day he had, he needed to rest.

"I'll be out." Eddie's voice cracked, but he needed to respond as soon as possible.

Eddie climbed up the stares on all fours, slowly but steadily. Each step was a gruelling one, this was a lot harder than it should have been.

"Now." Jonathan demanded, harshly. His patience was running out. Eddie did not want to find out what would happen once it completely drained. He pushed himself, but every second passing of his ascendance, he grew weaker.

Finally atop the stairs, he reached for the door handle. Suddenly, Jonathan jerked the door open, aggressively. Eddie gasped, and fell back a few steps behind him. Jonathan looked down at him. His exasperated eyes eased up, the boy was at a pitiful state.

"I heard that you decided to lock yourself in as to not study." Jonathan crossed his arms.

"I'm so sorry." Eddie apologized, he balanced himself up with the railings.

Jonathan's gaze ached, his eyes furrowed. It was as if he couldn't stand the sight any longer and without another word, "If you wish to be so disobedient, stay in this room." he ended the conversation right there and then. He shut the door and his footsteps faded away.

Eddie plummeted to the stairs, breathing deeply. He scooted himself down step-by-step with the guidance of the railing, until he made it to the end.

With one last deep breath, he stood up, and leaned on the wall as he shuffled himself towards the shelf next to his studying desk. There, he took out a First Aid Kit, and opened the case. From inside the kit, he pulled out a few items to treat his wounds.

His previous bandages applied by Atlas were torn. Eddie sighed, and slowly descended onto the cold floor. Using the items he had in his hands, once he'd replaced his bandages he took the Hello Kitty sticker from his old dressings and stuck it on. He placed down the medical equipment, and pushed them aside. Eddie relaxed his muscles, but they still ached.

He slowly closed his eyes and let his lips curl into a smile as he thought about seeing Atlas the day after.