coffee stains || dreamnotfound

twenty five - george

i stand in the doorway, stunned, staring at the sight of my brother. his state is shocking, dark bruises scatter almost every visible area of his skin and a black eye to match. my sister, elizabeth, explained earlier that it's not as serious as it looks, and that he'll be just fine. he should recover well, and will be released from the hospital in a couple months; with only a few broken bones.

i take a seat opposite his bed, and he perks up at my presence, "thank god you're here, i need a wingman."

he chuckles loudly at my silence, and i frown, "what?" i expected him to be sitting in pain and self-pity, crying or something. instead he's joking around and acting normal. he's usually overly dramatic, but he sounds fine.

i watch as he awkwardly raises an arm, and pushes the red button behind him. my eyebrows shoot up and i don't get the chance to ask what the hell he's doing before a dim light flashes to alert nearby nurses. it's an emergency button, for emergencies. the curtains surrounding us are drawn, and a short blonde lady walks in sporting a concerned expression, however this is wiped off almost immediately and replaced with a stern one.

"daniel." she deadpans, scoffing. "what's your emergency?" sarcasm and fake annoyance laces her tone, and i can tell she isn't seriously upset with him.

my brother snorts, "the lack of your number in my phone."

the nurse fails to suppress a laugh, "i'm going to stop responding to your emergency buttons, you know." a playful look on her face.

i turn to look at daniel, and he motions towards me, "this is my wingman." he tells her, and i roll my eyes with a sigh. she raises a brow at this, a grin making its way onto her face.

"wingman?" she repeats, laughing.

"brother" i try to corect but daniel interrupts me.

"yeah, wingman." he pauses, looking between the nurse and i, "george, tell her i'm hot without the black eyes."

"i'm not lying to a nurse."

the lady giggles at my brothers fake angry reaction, "excuse me?" i respond with a shrug, paired with an innocent smile. the room falls silent as the nurse checks her watch, and stutters a short apology as she exits the room. my attention turns back toward my idiot brother, and gives me a throaty laugh, which i copy.

"so how's florida?" he asks casually, attempting to sit up a little which seems to prove difficult as he winces with his arm in a cast.

i smile, fond of the memories i have of the place, "good. it would have been better if you stayed out of trouble." i say, a pointed look evident on my face.

"it wasn't my fault!" he protests, "they crashed into me!"

scoffing, i force another eye roll and wave my arm dismissively, aware of the situation as my sister explained after she picked me up from the airport. i glue to my eyes to the floor as a blanket of silence falls over us once again.

i move my chair so i'm closer to my brother, and i lie my head on the side of his bed. i wonder what happened to the guy that actually caused this.

my phone makes a sound, and i pull it from my pocket, grunting as i read it. i feign an irritated expression, but my heart can't help but swell at the message.

'just checking if i'm still blocked.'

daniel clears his throat, "who's clay? boyfriend?" he asks casually. i turn to scowl at him, but pause when i can't think of good way to answer him- who is clay? shaking my head, i reply to the text, 'don't tempt me.'

the idiot beside me nudges me, raising his brows in a suggestive manner, "i don't know."

"ah." is all he replies with, a small smile tugging gently at his lips. i don't hide the amusement on my face as i shake my head.

'i would never' clay responds, and something inside me secretly hopes our stupid arguments can be over with.

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word count: 705
*in editing*
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