#mostly everett

It was cold out, he hadn’t bothered to put on shoes and the concrete outside the door was freezing, but he hardly cared. He made his way over to the railing and leaned against it, not in the mood to make his way all the way downstairs. He wasted little time in getting a cigarette and his lighter from his jacket pockets, holding it in his mouth while he lit it. He usually didn’t smoke so close to the apartment, in fact he’d been trying to quit lately, though he was still quite young, as Eli was getting older he didn’t want him to pick up that habit from him in the future.

He tried to remember the nightmare that was already fading from his memory. He believed there was a lot of importance in dreams, but this one was already getting blurry and hard to recall in detail. He could remember the walls closing in on him though, and his father was there, refusing to help. Claustrophobia and daddy issues, he thought, snickering to himself. He hadn’t spoken to his father in roughly four years now, though he had been thinking about trying lately. He didn’t know why, a part of him knew it would be useless, after all, it was his dad who told him not to call him anymore, he doubted he’d get an answer if he tried. Just thinking about the situation made him angry all over again, angry that he’d been abandoned, even angrier that their dad never even tried with Eli. His little brother deserved more than an absent father and neglectful mother, Everett wanted him to have the best life possible and it seemed the whole world was against that happening. It wasn’t fair, which only added to the anger.

He took his time out there, despite the fact that the cold was beginning to hurt his feet. Once he decided he had enough, he pushed his sleeve up, taking his cigarette and putting it out on his arm, squeezing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth as he did so. He didn’t know why he did it, but it was just another mark among several other identical ones. He tried to reason it to himself many times, the one he’d settled on was that it would deter him from smoking if he did that every time. So far, it hadn’t.

He planned to stay outside at least a little bit longer, but he heard the apartment door open, quickly whipping around and expecting to see his mother. Instead, he saw Eli, tiredly rubbing his eye with one hand. His brown hair was a wild mess around his face and he was only wearing one of Everett’s old t-shirts and a pair of shorts, not dressed for the cold weather outside.

“Ev…?” He asked softly, but he was already heading over to him, quickly scooping him up into his arms.

“What are you doing up, kid?” He asked, carrying him inside and shutting the door behind them, making sure to lock it. “You know you shouldn’t go opening the door at night.”

“I- I- I know, but- but I- but I had a- a bad- bad dream…” He murmured, his skinny little arms locked around Everett’s neck. “Had a bad- had a bad dream and couldn’t- couldn’t find you…” He felt a twinge of guilt at that, upset he hadn’t been there for him.

“I’m sorry…” He said softly, carrying him back to their bedroom, careful not to risk waking up their mom. He shut the door and then took Eli over to his bed but he refused to let go, so Everett sat down, holding him on his lap, wincing when the fresh burn on his arm rubbed against him. “Still scared?” He asked him, trying to ignore the pain, and Eli nodded. “Wanna tell me what the bad dream was?”

“Ch-chased by a- by a monster…” He murmured. “The-the uh- the monster I saw- saw on tv last night…”

“That’s enough late night tv for you.” He told him. “Will you go to sleep if I check the room for monsters?” He asked, and after some hesitation Eli nodded, allowing Everett to set him down on his bed. He sat there and hugged his shark while he watched Everett move about the room, checking the closet, under both their beds, and once he’d assured him the room was safe, he let Everett tuck him into bed, happily curled up beneath the blankets.

“Th-thank- Uh- thank you…” He murmured, smiling as Everett ruffled his hair.