Chapter 5

5.3K 46 3
                                    

When I woke up the next morning, my mouth was in a lot of pain. I started crying, but unfortunately, Gabe must have heard me, because he came rushing into my room. This scared me even more, because I didn't want him to hurt me. "What's wrong Ari?!" He asked, panicked. "Hurts." I sobbed. "I'm sorry, Ari. It'll get better soon. I sobbed into his shoulder, and he picked me up. He carried me downstairs. He sat me on the counter, and I was still crying. He gave me a glass of water, and two Advils. I took them, and held out my arms to be picked up again. Gabe picked me up, and carried me over to the couch, where he sat down with me on his lap. He pulled a blanket over me, and turned the TV on. "What do you want to watch Ari?" He asked. "Brooklyn nine-nine." I mumbled. He put the show on, and wrapped his arms around me, hugging me. Now, I was a little more comfortable with Gabe outside the office, but still terrified inside the office. We watched two and a half episodes, before Xavier came downstairs. He saw me curled up on Gabe, and smiled. "Do you want something for breakfast Ari?" He asked. I shook my head, knowing that if I tried to eat something, it would hurt my mouth a lot. "I can make you a smoothie?" He said. I nodded, hoping that it would be fine. A few minutes later, Gabe stood up, still holding me, and carried me to the kitchen, placing me down a the chair. Xavier gave me a smoothie, and he had cooked scrambled eggs and bacon for himself and Gabe. We all ate in silence. After we all ate, I went upstairs to get changed. I put on leggings and a long sleeved shirt, and came back downstairs. When I came downstairs, Xavier and Gabe were sitting together at the counter, discussing something, but they stopped when they heard me coming. "Did you brush your teeth Ari?" Asked Xavier. I shook me head. "It hurts too much." I whined. "I can do it if you want." Said Gabe. "Sure." Said Xavier. "Ari, let Gabe brush your teeth." I got a little scared, but I let it go. I went back upstairs, with Gabe following me. When we got into my bathroom, Gabe picked me up, and sat me on the counter. "First off, where is your toothbrush?" He asked. I pointed to a drawer. "And your toothpaste?" He asked again. I pointed to another drawer. He picked up my toothbrush, and squeezed a small amount of toothpaste on my toothbrush. He held it close to my mouth. "Can you open for me princess?" He asked gently. I opened my mouth a little bit, not liking how this felt. I didn't like that Gabe was doing anything to my teeth. "You have to open your mouth more than that Ari." He said. I opened me mouth a little wider, and he smiled. He started to brush my teeth gently in little circles, doing half my mouth before adding more toothpaste on the brush. He did the other half of my mouth, and then told me to spit into the sink. He then quickly did a once over with my toothbrush, and then gave me a cup of water to rinse my mouth out with. "Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Said Gabe. I shook my head. In my mind, this made Gabe a little less scary. Every time he didn't hurt me, I was a little less cared of him, but that scared me. He picked me up off the counter, and put me on the ground. I then walked out of the bathroom, and back downstairs. When I saw Xavier, he smirked. "How was it?" He asked. I shrugged. "Gabe is really nice, Ari. You just have to give him a chance." He said. I nodded. "About that, we're going bowling today!" He said. "Yay!" I exclaimed. Xavier stood up, and went to the door. I followed, and put my shoes on. Gabe came a minute later, and put his shoes on. We walked out to the driveway, where Xavier's car was. We got in, and drove to the bowling alley. We bowled for three hours, and then went out for lunch. I had noodles with Pepsi, which Gave and Xavier didn't approve of, and then we came home. Literally as soon as we walked into the house, Xavier turned to me. "Go brush your teeth Ari." He said. "You had a giant cup of pop, and it's really bad for your teeth." I glared at him. "It hurts." I whined. "Do you want one of us to do it?" He asked. I nodded. "Who do you want to do it?" He asked. I pointed to Xavier, and started walking up the stairs. Xavier followed me to the bathroom, and put me on the counter. He grabbed my toothpaste and toothbrush, and started brushing my teeth. He wasn't being rough, but it felt like Gabe was more gentle when he did it. He finished, and I spit it out, and rinsed my mouth. I walked back downstairs, and sat on the couch. I turned my Xbox on, and started playing NHL 20. Gabe came down and sat next to me. He selected his roster, and he had a Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Charlie McAvoy. Me, being a diehard leafs fan glared at him. I selected my roster, and I chose Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, and Morgan Rielly. We played for an hour, then I went upstairs to do some of my homework. "Ari, dinner's ready!" Yelled Xavier. I got up, and went downstairs. Xavier had made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, and it was delicious. After dinner, I watched Gravity Falls. Then, I had to get to bed. I went upstairs, and took a shower, putting on my pyjamas. I went to go floss and brush me teeth. While I was flossing my teeth, I accidentally flossed out one of the spacers. I started crying, because I didn't want Gabe of my brother to get mad at me. I slowly walked to the guest room, and knocked on the door. "Come in." Said Gabe. I walked in, and Gabe saw my tear stained face. "Ari what happened?" Asked Gabe. "I accidentally flossed out a spacer." I whimpered. "Shhh, Ari it's ok." Said Gabe. "Did the spacer come out easily?" He asked. I nodded. "That's a good thing, Ari." Said Gabe. "It means that your teeth moved quickly, so you can get your braces sooner." I buried my head. "I don't want braces." I said. "I know, Ari." Said Gabe. "But your brother wants you to get them, and you need them. I can fix your spacer tomorrow." Said Gabe. He then picked me up, and carried me back to my room, tucking me in. He kissed me on the forehead, and left my room. Soon I fell asleep, exhausted from crying.

My Brother, My Fear, Dr. Xavier Blake, DDSWhere stories live. Discover now