#ejjxnes

This one was hard. Darcy hugged Ethan as tight as she could, she really didn't want him to think she was just abandon him, the teen had already suffered enough.

boys, boys, boys

It’d been about three hours, closing in on four hours if he were lucky. Something he was used to on most nights, sometimes getting even less. Maybe for once he’d reach the elusive five hour mark? Nah, not this time.

The light blanket that had been over his body as he laid on the bed prior was already a mess by his feet. His tossing and turning only helped accomplish that. His head filled with the mournful cries of a young boy, the orphan boy. The one that he was at fault for. Or at least, that’s what the guilt that never left him that night was screaming and blaming him for.

In truth, it was not Riley’s fault at all. He did everything he could for the mother of the boy to keep her stable, keep her alive. A rough spot for him in his second year of being a paramedic. What made it worse, she somewhat recovered for mere seconds. Then she crashed before even reaching the hospital. She never recovered after that. The woman was gone by the time Riley had exchanged her with the nurses whilst she was being rushed into the emergency department. That’s when he saw him. The boy.

Other paramedics had taken him with them as there wasn’t enough room for the two patients in one ambulance with only one Riley to tend to them. Especially not in this domestic abuse situation. It was the worst Riley had encountered. Unlike his mother when they arrived at the scene, the boy was conscious. In a hell of a lot of pain, but conscious. The other paramedics wheeled him in, Riley was already moving back down the hall after the nurses had taken over from him with the mother. The eye contact with the kid was probably what haunts Riley if not the most. He could see deep into those once innocent, now tarnished blue eyes as he cried for his mother.

Now Riley was abruptly awake, gasping for air as his heart pounded. The sides of his face were damp from the tears that rolled down his cheeks throughout the span of his nightmare. Sitting up, he hunched over himself as his face was then buried into both of his hands. Keep calm, it was just another nightmare. Same bloody one nevertheless. It’ll be okay. His fingers gripped the curls of his own hair as he attempted to steady his breathing and set his mind on something else. That was when his elbow was met with a cold, wet nose and a weight settled on his knee. Yowie. 

“Hey mate.” Riley spoke quietly, his voice rather raspy as he pulled his hands away from his face to rub the loyal kelpie’s ear. “Did I wake you up? I’m sorry.” He softly forced a chuckle, wiping his face with a sniffle. It wasn’t the first time Yowie had comforted Riley in this kind of a situation. He was Riley’s shadow ever since the day he adopted him. Match made in heaven honestly. Giving a sigh as he rubbed his forehead, Riley shifted his legs to the side of his bed. 

  Reaching back to grab onto to grab the bar above the seats to steady himself against the jostle of the subway, a very much zoned out Gabriel was snapped back to attention when he felt the collision against his elbow, and the wounded noise that accompanied it.

Where we going, boys?

“—I can’t help but feel a little worried now.”

[ ♤ ] ~ "It'll heal. Not like I didn't want it... Besides, I've got something way more worth your attention." A bruise had become nothing more than a little annoyance to her, a consequence of her kind of desires. Right now, Lorelei was more interested in the paper in her hand, waving the folded up wad of cash for him to see. "I'll be getting myself a proper breakfast this morning. Would you like to join me?"

The boy down below had to be around Jean-Pierre’s age, if not younger. What a fucking coward that mugger was. The shapeshifter let out a growl, loud enough to reverberate against the brick walls of the alleyway.

Hopping off her perch, Esprit landed in front of the kid, her grey feathered wings almost taking up the whole alleyway as she glared at the mugger. They slowly folded into her back, her animalistic teeth bared as she gave a warning.

“Leave. Or else.”

Darcy made sure she had everything for the weekend, even though she knew they’d stop for more snacks once she picked up Ethan. She brought food to make the easiest meals because let’s be honest, she didn’t want to end this trip a little too soon because she set fire to the RV.