Relative Strangers (Book 2) No Man Is An Island

8. Emotional Trauma

Doing everything one handed, was proving very difficult for E.
She was no stranger to injuries, she'd broken countless bones and been scarred by so many creatures that she had lost count.
But having a bullet wound in her shoulder, was something new.
However, E refused to let it hinder her, as she didn't want to become someone who always asked for help. So she tried to do what she would normally do, attempting to ignore the pain in her shoulder.
The pain relief she had been given at the ARC while unconscious, had worn off, and the more she used her arm, the more it hurt.
The rest of her body caused her pain as well, since the bullet wound wasn't the only injury she had.

She lay awake that night staring at the ceiling for quite some time, before giving up and heading out of her room, hoping that Matt had some pain killers somewhere.
Since she had spent several months living there, she knew were most things were.
E knew exactly where the first aid box was, but she was disappointed to not find any paracetamol inside.
After putting the box back, E made her way into the bathroom, and opened the cabinet above the sink. This time she struck gold, and found what she was after.
She re-entered the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water, so that she could swallow her pill.
Once that was done, E placed the glass into the sink and began to head out the room.
But before she could return to her bedroom, the kitchen light suddenly flicked on, and E blinked rapidly as it momentarily blinded her.
E looked to the light switch and saw Matt standing there beside it, in his pyjamas.

"Leaving so soon?" Questioned Matt.
E shook her head, "No, I'm not going anywhere. I just needed some water, and something for the pain".
"Oh, did you find what you were looking for?" Asked Matt.
"Yes. And I'm sorry for waking you" apologised E.
"I wasn't asleep yet. My thoughts were keeping me awake"
"Mine too. And the pain was making it a little hard to drift off as well"
"I'm surprised you don't have your own medication on you"
"I have a few things in my bag, but nothing like that. All my pills are kept in my secure home in the future. But I didn't think you'd want me heading there tonight"
"No, I wouldn't want you going there, while you in your current condition".

"I thought not... Look, I know I've made it quite clear, that I don't want you to care or worry about me. But I am touched, that you do. Not many people in my life have actually cared about me, so I'm not used to having someone worry about me or my whereabouts. I've never had someone to worry about me being home on time. If I ever went on my own adventure for a few days, Helen wouldn't have cared. She knew I would always find my way back to her. And if I never did, and was killed, then it wasn't exactly a great loss" admitted E.
"I'm sorry that you had to grow up with a parent who didn't care about you" replied Matt softly.
"I never knew any different, so it didn't really bother me. It wasn't until I saw more of the real world, that I realised what she was, and what kind of person she had become. That was when I realised how unnatural my upbringing was".

"My childhood in the future, wasn't great, but I had my father. My parents both loved me when they were alive, and I never doubted that" said Matt.
"Most kids don't doubt that their parents love them. When I was very small, I thought that Helen did love and care about me. But the longer we spent away from humans, the more estranged she became. As soon as I could walk and talk, I was pretty much left to my own devices. And that didn't change when she revealed her existence to my father and the rest of the ARC. She would never come back for me, if I was in danger, because her own life came first. When she worked alongside Oliver Leek, and the building they were working in was suddenly swamped with escaped creatures, she made no attempt to find me. And when she blew up the ARC, she didn't look for me then either. She had told me what to do, and she expected me to follow her instructions and my own intuition to keep myself alive" replied E.

"With the upbringing you've had, I understand why you find the concept of someone worrying about you, strange" admitted Matt.
"Sam worried about me, and he was probably the first person to do so. But we were lovers, so worrying about each other was natural" replied E.
"There are other kinds of love out there. And when you love someone, worry always follows. Love between and two partners is just one kind of love. Love between friends, and love between parents and their children, are two examples... And parental love doesn't just stem from blood. Sometimes people never find love from their birth parents but they find it elsewhere"
"I know what you're getting at Matt. But I don't need a parental figure in my life. I am quite happy being a solitary figure"
"I think you were once. But your life is different now, because you have experienced love, so you will never be able to go back to the way you were before you met Sam".

"You're right. Loving Sam opened me up to a whole new world that I had never experienced before" agreed E.
"I know that you don't need me in your life. You can look after yourself, we all know that. But I can tell that deep down you want me in your life. And now that you have me by your side, you never have to be alone again, I promise" insisted Matt.
E forced a smile, "I have you now, but for how much longer. No one knows how much time they have left. And when you work at the ARC, your life is always on the line. A long and happy life is never guaranteed".
"So that's what you're afraid of. You're worried about caring for me, because you don't want to hurt if anything happens to me" replied Matt.
"Well is that wrong? To want to distance myself from people who will cause me pain if I should lose them in the future".

"You can't live your whole life without any attachments, that's not how life works. Losing people you care about, hurts, there's no denying that. But it's that hurt that makes you love and care about the rest of the people in your life, even more. Without the dark we can never truly appreciate the light" admitted Matt.
"That's very philosophical of you for a conversation taking place at midnight" grinned E.
"I'm being serious E"
"I know you are... I guess I had never really thought of it like that before. And maybe allowing myself to open up to you, will enable me to see the world in a different light"
"Maybe... But we'll talk more tomorrow. Right now, we both need to get some rest. We have a busy day tomorrow"
"Yes, I suppose we do. Goodnight Matt"
"Goodnight E".