/vt/ - Virtual Youtubers

“Big bro, are you sick?” She asks softly.

“I-I don’t know.” You spot the pill bottle on the sink counter, and grab it. Giving it a shake, you find it’s still got plenty inside.

“Oh...Would you like a hug? Would that make you feel better?” The softness of her voice is soothing, and though you doubt it’ll improve your feeling, you can’t bring yourself to deny her.

“Yeah, I-I think I’d like a hug.”

All the vomiting caused a migraine, and you don’t look at how much pain medication you shake out into your hand before you swallow them. She comes and hugs you until you fall asleep on the bathroom floor. Your dream of fingers with nails painted a glossy black.

The next week or so you’re just on auto-pilot. Your family does their best to help you in any way they can, but you just thank them and say you need some time to yourself. You start taking more of your pain medication than is recommended, it makes you too sleepy to think about it all. But, the pills ran out today, and you won’t be able to get more until next week, so you just lie in bed staring at the ceiling, Button sleeping on your chest, stretching your bad leg. You feel so drained that even working out your leg like this feels like a full day's work, but your mom insisted and you obliged, if only so she would feel better. The home phone goes off and you hear the muffled sounds of your mother speaking on the other end. You can’t make out anything she’s saying but her tone quickly becomes more frantic and she starts to pace around the house very quickly. Your curiosity outweighs your lethargy, so you scoot Button off you and hobble downstairs. Your mother doesn’t seem to notice you as she moves around and almost bowls you over. She starts talking a mile a minute, but you make out the key parts. Something happened to your father at work and he’s in the hospital, she’s gonna go see him. Your blood goes cold and you tell her you’ll take care of your sisters. She hugs you and kisses you on the cheek before heading out the door. You try to explain what’s going on as gently as you can to your sisters, but it doesn’t work out that well and they seem just as scared as you are. You sit on your bed petting Button as it starts to turn dark. Something catches your eye out your window, and it’s the pink haired girl across the street, at her own window. You’re not sure who caught who staring but she smiles and waves before closing her blinds. You just clutch Button a bit closer to your chest.

Something about that girl puts you on edge.

Your cellphone ringing jolts you out awake. You didn’t realize you were drifting off. Button seems to have moved elsewhere. Checking the caller ID, you see it’s your mother and answer immediately.

“Mom? Is Dad okay? What happened?” You sound really raspy, and you realize you haven’t eaten or drank today.
“Oh, Anon. It’s-It’s, there was a chemical spill a-and he got burned all over his body and he just...” Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck. Okay, breathe. Just breathe, you can’t be the one freaking out, your mother couldn’t handle this on her own.

“Are the doctor’s doing anything?”

“...I couldn't recognize his face.” Your mother says in a very quiet voice, almost as if she doesn’t mean to let it out. Your stomach lurches and you feel bile rise in the back of your throat.

“Okay, Mom? Wh-What’d the doctors say? What are they gonna do?” You try to get her back on track.

“H-Huh? Oh...They’re gonna have him undergo emergency surgery, and that’ll probably be all night, so I should go home and get some rest.” She sounds almost robotic, like she just repeated what she was told verbatim. You really don’t like it.

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Come home mom, we can go back together in the morning.” ‘If there is anything to go back to’ goes unsaid. She hangs up without saying anything. You sit awake all night. You hear your mother come home and head straight to bed. You hear the birds begin to stir in the early morning, and the entire world starts to wake up with the rising of the sun. It’s well into morning, and your mom is still in bed. You’re not gonna wake her. You hear your new neighbours across the street, doing something outside.

“Calli! Come on, we’re already late! It’s gonna be packed! What are you staring at!?” You think it’s the blonde one shouting.

“S-Sorry, sorry. I’m coming.”