Elain remained frozen on the gravel, stony playground. That wasn’t good, not at all.

Was it her arm? Her clothes? The boy’s clothing? She couldn’t tell.

Her adrenaline was high, her heart pounding, afraid to know for certain, to look.

Her body was completely frozen, unable to move. She felt like she couldn’t breathe as adults and children began to surround her with frantic, panicked looks. But to Elain, right then, all those people didn’t look like people who were concerned for her health, but of those laughing, mocking, with jeering smiles and snickers as they took photos as she fought for her life not to lose anything else while ignoring the current state of her bleeding arm.

But then, a familiar voice snapped her out of it. “El!”

She blinked. Gone were the faceless shadows of her tormentors and replaced with faces of concerned parents and kids of varying ages.

It was her sister that called out. Now looking to be on the verge of tears as she pushed past the adults to reach Elain.

“El!” Kaya landed on all fours looking at her big sister. “Are… are you okay?”

“Yes…” she groaned as she sat up with the boy as his parents rushed over. “I’m… I’ll be fine, just please… lower your voice, Kaya.” She tried to ignore the stabbing pain, but it did little good, not that it mattered right now. She looked down at the boy. “You okay, kid?”

The boy, looking up with tears streaming down his face and eyes filled with confusion, nodded. “Yeah… I’m okay!”

“Ryan!” a woman and man rushed over, being Ryan’s parents with frantic concern as the boy moved out of Elain’s arms and to his family as he cried even more.

“Mom, Dad!”

Before she had the chance to speak anything to the parents amid berating for doing something so reckless and relieved that their kid was okay, she felt someone rest their hands along her upper arms. Looking to her right, she realized that Alastor and Amalie were right by her. “Mr. Hilmarsson?”

“Let’s get you home.” He says as he helped her stand up, with concerned parents watching, asking if she was okay or if she had anyone to call. “She’s my neighbours’ child,” he says to them, which halted their concern. “I’ll take her home and see that she’s looked after.” He then glanced at the boy and seemed to be reflecting on his impulsive actions while clinging to his parents. “Please, be careful next time.”

The boy nodded. “I’m sorry you got hurt, miss.” He said, looking as though he were about to cry as his parents looked equally as apologetic.

Elain smiled at the kid. “Hey, no harm was done. I’ll be fit as rain in no time. Just don’t do something so crazy next time.”

“We’re sorry we should have kept a better eye on him,” the Dad said.

“Are you really going to be okay?” the mother asked.

“Yeah, yeah,” Not at all, my arm is hurting like hell! “I’ll be okay.” She just kept smiling not wanting to worry anyone, but Alastor seemed to notice this out of all the other adults.

Alastor then led Elain and the other two little girls away from the park as he kept his hands on her upper arms to make sure she wouldn’t fall back down again. “Are your parents’ home?” he asked as they walked.

“No,” Elain admitted. “They’re at work, and Nathan, our older brother, he’s looking at Universities today, so he won’t be home until late tonight. It’s… it’s just Kaya and me.”

“Then a slight change of plans,” Alastor says. “I’ll take you to my home. What hurts?”

“My… my arm. My right arm feels a bit off. I think it’s just the nerves, but…” she paled, thinking about how the graph might have torn since she couldn’t see anything else being wrong, her clothes were fine, and nothing had torn. “I thought I heard something… something bad.”

“Then we’d better hurry.” He says as they pick up speed. When they reached his home, he then looked at his daughter with a kind smile. “Amalie, why not show Kaya your room? I’ll look after Elain.”

Amalie looked to Elain and then nodded before turning to Kaya. “Okay, come on, Kaya.”

Kaya, on the other hand, looked worried at her big sister. Elain smiled. “It’s okay, Kai, I’ll be fine, go and check out Amalie’s room. I think you’ll like it. It’s pretty cool.”

She hesitated, not wanting to leave her big sister, but seeing how Elain smiled, it seemed to ease some of Kaya’s worries. With a nod, she followed Amalie up the stairs to where the little girl’s room was. Faintly, Elain could hear Kaya ask. “Do you have any video games?”

Where then Amalie responds. “No, but I do have toys and books.”

“Oh, okay, what kind of toys?”

Elain was then guided to the kitchen, where he had her sit down in one of the chairs and then knelt on one knee in front of her. The motion of his doing that made him look elegant. If Elain weren’t in genuine pain, she would have felt embarrassed.

“May I take a look?”

Elain couldn’t respond, her voice stuck in her throat as shame rested on her heart before looking at him to see genuine concern in his grey eyes with his faint smile before she rolled her sleeve up, revealing the bandage which he gently removed some of it to show the graph on her skin. Thankfully there didn’t seem to be any signs of the graph tearing or bleeding. The moment she saw this, the pain she was feeling began to dull. Was it all in her head?

Elain noticed that his grey eyes moved along her arm. From her hand to her elbow, as if capturing every detail of the healing injury. “Were you skinned?” the tone of voice he had was grave. As though he could tell right away this wasn’t an accident.

“Yeah,” she said, unable to hide the truth. “The people at my previous school… they did this. And this,” indicating to the scar on her shoulder, then touched the one along her eyebrow. “They even tried to take my eye.”

“How awful, you have such lovely eyes,” he said before pushing some strands out of her face and behind her ear. “Does it still hurt?”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Ah, a bit, but I think it was all in my head. Fear made me think it was worse than it was until I see it for myself if that makes sense. As long as I don’t use my right arm, I should be okay.”

“May I ask how this happened to you?”

She hesitated. “Have you… have you ever had to deal with an act of violence?”

His gaze flicked to Elain’s mismatched eyes before looking back at her arm that he gently held as he put the bandage back in place. “In a matter of speaking, yes.”

Elain looked at her sister playing. “I…”

“Really?” Kaya’s loud voice drew the two’s attention. “That’s so cool!” she then turned and ran into the kitchen, where Alastor stood, pulling her sleeve over her arm to hide her injury. “You make clothes!?”

Alastor chuckled. “Yes, I do on occasion. I even made Amalie a few dresses and skirts over the years. It looks wonderful on her, doesn’t it?”

“It’s so pretty!” then ran back up the stairs to Amalie’s room to talk with her in a much more subdued voice.

That surprised Elain. “You make clothes?”

Alastor adjusted the cuff of his sleeve. “On occasion, I found it easier to make clothes than to buy cheaply made off a rack. It takes a steady hand to do so, and it’s something I do almost as a hobby. Making clothes for Amalie as she grows has become a constant joy for me. Though I don’t do it all the time, normally, I tend to go to a reputable tailor for my personal needs or for something very special for Amalie.”

Makes sense. “You do that and cook delicious food,”

“Indeed, though cooking food is a necessity for life, there is enjoyment in it as well.”

“What made you start making clothes?”

Alastor leaned against the countertop by the sink, his arms crossed. “I used to be in theatre. Acting, making props, costumes, that kind of thing. Though that was also a pastime while I studied medicine, but found the joys of being on the stage much more fulfilling.”

“Were you studying to be a doctor?”

He nodded in response. “Yes, originally when I was in France. But one day, I realized that being in the medical field was sadly not for me. So, I took to the stage and then became involved in radio when my daughter was born. Being an actor was one thing, but I knew that my daughter needed me more than the stage itself.”

“Wow, what can’t you do, Mr. Hilmarsson?”

He gave a soft laugh. “Well, I could never see myself being vegetarian. I’m too fond of the delicacies of meat and the taste I get from it. Speaking of, I should probably start prepping for tonight. Would you and your sister like to stay for dinner? We’ll be having rabbit.”

“Thank you, but I don’t want us to impose after what just happened. Plus, I don’t think I’m all that hungry after this.”

“Then at least rest. You look a little pale. I’ll tell my daughter and your sister to keep quiet for a bit so as not to bother you.”

“But…”

“Elain,” he said, kneeling to her level so that he would be looking up at her. It surprised her; this was the first time he ever used her first name. “You looked terrified when you talked about your arm. As if you feared the worst. I won’t speak about it with your parents and cause unnecessary worry if that’s what you’re concerned about.”

“My Mom is going to be so mad…” Elain muttered as she felt like she was on the verge of tears. “I mean, she’s a nurse and has always told me to be careful while my arm and shoulder are healing. “Don’t lift too much,” “Don’t strain yourself” Don’t…” she let out a shaken breath while using her left hand to wipe her eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

Alastor merely watched her for a moment, then got up and headed to the fridge. “I think I know what you’ll need.” He says as he pulled out a pot of something. “I give this to my daughter whenever she’s had a bad day at school or had been a very good girl. It’s pudding, one I made myself, and something that will help you calm down.”

“Oh, but…”

“Please,” he says with a soft smile. “It’d do us both some good and put your mind at ease for a while.” He then moved to take a small pot from the fridge and placed something into a bowl before putting it in front of Elain with a spoon. When she looked unsure, he merely sat across from her with his legs crossed as he extended a hand. “Try it, at least.”

She took the spoon and did so. Her spine straightened the moment she tasted it. “It’s… it’s good, really good.”

Alastor’s subtle smile grew. “I’m so glad you think so. My mother used to make it all the time when I was a kid. I’m happy that I can share it with Amalie.”

“She’s lucky to have you as her father,” Elain said as she continued the portion that Alastor gave her as they talked for a while about other things, things that didn’t matter, just small idle chit-chat. Yet after a while, she began to feel a bit tired. Something about this pudding made her feel relaxed. Like her worries were being eased off her shoulders. “Thank you for the pudding.” She said when finished, yet when she stood, Elain sat right back down.

“Oh dear, are you all right, Miss Ortiz?”

“Yeah, I’m just a bit out of it. I think I’m coming down from that adrenaline rush I had earlier.” She looked at her arm with a narrowed look. “You know… sometimes I think it’d be better if they had just cut it off altogether.” She snarled, recalling those people surrounding her as she leaned back in the chair to stare up at the ceiling. “People like that wouldn’t change though… maybe if they had killed me, then they wouldn’t get off scot-free. But then it all comes down to money. That’s the only thing that seems to make people on the same level.”

She touched her forehead. What the hell was wrong with her? She never talked about this so openly. Did she hit her head from the fall?

Alastor seemed to think the same thing as he came right back around, and as lightly as possible, touched her forehead, the top of her head to the back and then base, followed by him brushing her hair off of her right shoulder where a tiny bit of the scare peaked out.

“You haven’t sustained any injuries along with your head from the fall.” He says as he remains standing behind her. His hands were now resting on top of the chair’s back. “We should count ourselves lucky that it was not the worst-case scenario for you or that child.”

Elain didn’t respond.

“Miss Ortiz?”

“Yeah?”

“You didn’t mean that, did you? About your losing your right arm?”

“I don’t know…” she answered honestly. “I mean, I’m right-handed, so doing things with my left has been hard, but not as much with how my right arm is now. I’d just have to teach myself, right? Or I could just get a prosthetic. That’d be kind of cool.”

He seemed to see past her remarks as if knowing that she didn’t mean any of it. A way for her to try and hide her emotions. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just… lamenting my stupidity.”

“For saving that boy?”

She shook her head. “No, for letting those people get away with it. But I can’t do anything about it, I’m not rich, and even if I was, I’m not even sure what it would accomplish in the long run besides more drawn-out court cases. They got away with it, and I’m mad about that. They can go on their merry way while I have to deal with what they did…” she bit her lip in frustration and turned around to face Alastor, who hadn’t moved from where he stood behind her. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s coming over me. I think I’m just overly exhausted.”

Alastor smiled as he offered her his hand. “Then why not rest in our guest room for a bit? I’m sure some sleep will help, and when you wake up, if you’re up for it, you and your sister are more than welcome to join us for dinner.”

She looked at his hand before taking it and standing up, still feeling a bit out of it. “Sure,” he then guided her upstairs and to the guest room, where he turned on a bedside lamp to add some light to the room as she sat down on the bed. It was soft, inviting to her body after what she had just experienced. “Mr. Hilmarsson?”

“Yes?”

“Could you… could you forget what I said before? About me wanting to lose my right arm and all that other stuff? I really shouldn’t have said all of that. I think with what’s been happening, it just kind of got out of control inside my head.”

He placed his right hand on his chest and bowed his head. “I vow not to speak of it unless you wish to. You are more than welcome to talk with me about it if you want.”

“Thanks, but I think right now I just want to sleep.”

“I’ll be sure to tell Kaya and Amalie to stay quiet so you can rest.” He says as she removes her shoes to lie down on the bed. “Sleep well, Miss Ortiz.” He says before silently closing the door as she lay in the dimly lit room.

“Seriously…” she spoke to herself. “The hell is wrong with me? Saying all of that to him, God, he must think I’m such a creep for saying that? Losing my arm… right.” She sighed as her eyelids began to grow heavy with sleep. “I just wish… that they’d disappear… every single one of them. Off the face of the earth… or have what they did… done to them… then I’d… call it even… serves them… right.”