Treats, Training, Therapy, and Thoughts

As morning dawned, the sun peered through the blinds of Damian’s room, hoping to greet him with the early warmth of a new spring day. Damian was already awake however, and the sun only woke up his sleeping brother from his deep slumber.

“Rise and shine,” Damian joked to Mark hoarsely as he let out a loud, harsh, dry cough. He rolled over with the small amount of strength he could muster and stared down to his older brother, watching him greet the new day.

The light beaming into his eyes accompanied by Damian’s comment was all it took to interrupt Mark’s much-needed sleep. He let out a long and tiresome yawn, but Mark eventually opened up his eyes to see his brother staring down at him.

“How long have you been awake?” Mark asked once his short series of yawns and stretches were completed.

“A while. I got thirsty in the middle of the night,” Damian replied quietly while rubbing his throat.

“Why didn’t you ask me to get you one?” Mark asked as he stood up from his makeshift bed slowly.

“I just figured I could get one myself,” Damian answered, reaching an arm up towards his brother to signal that he needed help.

“When? In the morning?” Mark asked sarcastically as he reached over towards his brother to help him sit up.

“Yeah…I was hoping I could just power through,” Damian started with a light laugh. “Well, you saw how far I got,” he continued in a soft tone.

Mark tried to look at his brother and give him strength, but the only thing Damian felt from his brother’s eyes was the sorrow of pity.

“Don’t look at me like that!” Damian snapped as he slammed a fist into the wall, leaving a small dent as proof of his strength. “Please, don’t look at me like I’m helpless,” he finished as he let out an angry sigh.

“I wasn’t trying to,” Mark said softly as he reached over to check on Damian’s fist to make sure there wasn’t any damage done to it. “Does it hurt?”

“No,” Damian said confidently.

“Looks like you’re still stronger than me,” Mark complimented as he carefully picked Damian back up over his shoulders in the fireman’s carry. “I wouldn’t be able to perform for months if I punched the wall like that.”

“Don’t patronize me,” Damian started, then quickly dropped his sentence. “I’m sorry; I know you wouldn’t do that,” he apologized.

Mark smiled seeing that his brother was still himself and that Damian wanted to change for the better. As he walked out of Damian’s room, he ran into an unfamiliar sight.

“Oh, good morning Mai,” Mark greeted softly as Mai gravely walked out of Alexa’s room, rubbing her eyes gently.

“Good morning Mark,” she returned stoically as she attempted to fix the loose strands of pink that obscured her vision. “Good morning Damian,” she added as she saw him slung over Mark’s shoulders.

“Isn’t my brother strong?” Damian asked light-heartedly.

Mai gave a small, subtle nod.

“He would be stronger than me, but he has a handicap!” Damian joked as he pointed at himself on top of Mark’s shoulders.

A quick silence fell in the air. For a brief moment, it felt like time had stopped. The only thing that broke the silence was a soft, quiet, laugh. Like a kid trying not to laugh, Mai put her hands up to her mouth and tried to stop herself from laughing, but she didn’t get there fast enough.

“Wait, did she laugh?” Damian asked as he pointed towards Mai playfully.

“No. Why would she be laughing at that awful joke?” Mark answered as he looked over to Mai who broke out into a soft laughter.

“Wow, she likes bad jokes. That’s adorable,” Damian whispered to Mark. “I’m pretty sure Chloe would’ve given me a look of disappointment.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be laughing at a bad joke,” she replied once her quick fit of laughter ended.

“It’s a dad joke. You laugh even if you don’t want to,” Damian joked lightly.

Mark stood there silently and shook his head disapprovingly as he proceeded to head down the stairs with his brother.

Mai stood at the top of the steps to follow the two of them down, but she couldn’t help but think about a time when she laughed with her father over these silly little jokes. Once the memory passed, she headed downstairs to help Mark place his brother on the wheelchair.

“Thanks Mai,” Damian grunted as he was placed into the chair carefully. “You’re the best,” he commented kindly as he gave her a warm smile.

Mai looked at Damian’s warm smile and subconsciously let out a shy smile of her own.

“Where’s my thanks?” Mark thought to himself as he unlocked the brakes so Damian could wheel himself around freely.

“Mark, do you think you can make some pancakes before you leave for work? You haven’t made them in a while,” Damian suggested as he wheeled over to the living room.

“I can help,” Mai offered softly as she walked over to the kitchen area with Mark.

As Mark tried to object to Damian, Mai reached her hands behind her head and tied up her hair in a small bun. Mark stopped his objection and gathered some ingredients from the fridge while Mai began washing her hands.

Without much conversation other than the occasional question, Mark and Mai had started making batter for the pancakes. Mai watched Mark’s process as he made the first batch of pancakes, and she started working on the next batch. The differences between their batches were the small morsels of dark chocolate chips and cinnamon that found themselves in Mai’s pancake batter.

“Mark, can you make these as well? I’m not good at flipping them,” Mai asked softly as she presented her bowl of batter towards him shyly.

“Sure! Just place it next to my bowl,” Mark answered back as he flipped his pancake high, revealing a fluffy, golden-brown underside of the pancake with a crispy edge, and catching it back in the pan.

Mai went into the fridge and gathered some strawberries to cut and use as toppings. She also found some bananas on the counter. Using a knife and cutting board, she carefully cut both of the fruits into small pieces and placed them into two separate bowls. When she finished with the fruits, Mark had finished cooking all of the pancakes.

“Damian, can you help set the table?” Mark asked as he started gathering plates for everyone from the cupboard.

“Sure thing,” Damian replied, wheeling himself around to the table, taking the plates from Mark and placing them carefully by each seat. “Should I wake up the sleeping princesses?” he asked sarcastically.

“No, I’ll save you the headache,” Mark laughed as he washed his hands and headed upstairs to Alexa’s room.

“Did you sleep well?” Damian asked Mai as the two of them continued setting the table with drinks and silverware.

Mai nodded softly in response.

“Hey, you don’t have to be shy around me,” Damian started softly.

“Sorry, I’m still working on opening up,” Mai confessed softly as she stared down with a frown and away from his gaze.

“A frown doesn’t belong on a pretty woman’s face,” Damian said kindly. “It seems like you’ve been through a lot.”

Mai looked up at Damian with a mute expression, only able to give him a slight nod.

“I’m just reliving everything I’ve already been through,” Mai responded coldly. “Oh, I hope that didn’t sound rude,” she continued stoically.

Damian shook his head dismissively. When he went to open his mouth and speak, he heard heavy footsteps make their way down the steps.

The footsteps belonged to Mark. Slung over each shoulder was one of the two “sleeping princesses” that took residence in Alexa’s room for the night.

“M-Mark, what’s that smell?” Chloe asked tiredly as she tried to turn her head towards the smell.

“P-Pancakes?” Alexa answered in a half-asleep tone of voice as Mark took them both off of his shoulders.

“Yep! Mai helped me with breakfast, so everybody needs to give her a big thank you!” Mark announced as everyone else took a seat at the table.

“Thank you, Mai!” Damian, Alexa, and Chloe thanked as they bowed their heads to Mai.

Everyone took turns grabbing from both batches of pancakes. Once they had their plates full, they passed around the bowls of fruits to add on top. Last but not least, they applied syrup over their fluffy pancakes, completing the meal.

After a quick prayer for their food, the five of them started enjoying their meal. Wide smiles on most of their faces as they took bite after bite. Even Mai was able to turn her previous frown into a warm and tender smile. Everyone bore a resemblance of a smile. Everyone except for Mark, who stared blankly at the food he was eating.

“This was so good!” Alexa exclaimed as she leaned back into her seat. “You’re a really good cook Mai!”

“Oh…thank you,” Mai said softly, a slight pink flushing over her face accompanied by an involuntary smile. “I didn’t cook them though. It was Mark-” she tried to say before being interrupted.

“Maybe next time, I’ll cook for you,” Damian interjected just as she was going to give credit to Mark.

“Since when do you cook?” Alexa, Chloe, and Mark all thought simultaneously as they peered over to Damian. Mark caught a glimpse at the wall clock that was near Damian.

“Shoot, we have to be at work soon,” Mark said quickly as he excused himself from the table and grabbed his plates.

“Oh, right. I forgot,” Mai said quietly as she also got up from the table and calmly walked over to the sink.

“I can wash them,” Chloe offered as she stood up from the table. “Alexa can help me,” she continued as she looked down at Alexa who tried to sneak away from the table.

“Aw! You weren’t supposed to catch me,” Alexa whined playfully as she headed over to the kitchen.

“Thank you. I appreciate it,” Mark responded as he ran upstairs to quickly get dressed.

“Wait, I don’t really have any clothes,” Mai said quietly to Alexa.

“I think you’re fine just like that. If they fit, you can borrow my black shoes,” Alexa responded as she pointed towards the door.

Mai nodded her head and walked over to the front door to try on Alexa’s shoes. To her surprise, they fit well. Mai had small feet, and this was even more proof of that.

As soon as she finished putting them on, Mark ran down the stairs in a hurry. His shirt was disheveled, and he was struggling with adjusting his belt to keep his pants from falling down.

“Are you ready to go?” Mark asked with a winded breath.

Mai gave an uneasy nod, and the two of them headed out towards the convenience store.

*     *     *

“Do you want me to carry you again?” Mark asked as he looked down towards her ankle. It appeared as if it healed overnight.

“No, it’s okay. It doesn’t hurt when I walk now,” Mai answered as she followed him back through the same path that they took last night.

Back to Damian, Alexa, and Chloe.

Chloe and Alexa were washing and drying the dishes from the breakfast they had.

“I like Mai,” Alexa admitted to Chloe and Damian. “She’s really nice.”

“I know right? She offered to help make breakfast for all of us,” Damian said as he wheeled over to them with the remaining plates and cups that were left on the table.

“And you offered to cook for her one day,” Chloe stated with slight aggression. “I’ve never seen you cook anything for someone else, even for me!”

“Uh-oh, is someone jealous?” Damian asked sharply as he tilted his head towards Chloe.

“Jealous?!” Chloe exclaimed. “Of course I’m jealous!-” Chloe slipped accidentally as she suddenly realized what just happened.

“It looks like he got you. Even I saw what he was trying to do,” Alexa teased as she continued doing her part with drying the dishes.

“Well, I have therapy later. We can talk then,” Damian said smugly as he winked at Chloe with a big smile. Then, he left the dirty dishes near her and wheeled over to the living room. Chloe, unsure of what to say, kept her mouth shut in defeat and continued to wash dishes with Alexa.

Back to Mai and Mark, who just entered the store and were by the break room.

“There are some spare uniforms I have in an open locker in the break room. Lock the door and try some of them on,” Mark commanded. “Whenever you’re ready, we can start.”

“Okay. Thank you again for the job,” Mai said softly as she bowed her head and headed towards the break room.

Mark watched as she closed the door behind her, then assumed his position behind the cash register to greet a familiar figure. It was the same man that had been asking for food the past few weeks. His eyes looked a little different than they were before. They weren’t as dead as he remembered.

“Good morning sir. Would you like the usual?” Mark asked as the man approached him.

“Yes please,” the man answered wearily with a staggering stance.

Mark pulled out a notepad, wrote down the amount of money the breakfast sandwich cost, and then took money from his wallet and placed it into the cash register.

“Can I ask for another favor?” the man asked gravely. His voice sounded like it was ready to give out like the lungs of a smoker. “Can I have some money?”

Mark paused when he heard the man ask for money. He had never been asked for money before. Mark was thinking about the expenses of the funeral, as well as money he would need to pay for the medical bills of his brother and sister.

He clutched at his wallet with a tight grip, then proceeded to take out enough money to stay at a decent hotel for a night.

“I’m sorry I can’t offer too much. I’ve been having a rough time,” Mark said as he handed over the money.

The man was in disbelief at how much Mark had offered him. It was the most money he had ever held in a long time.

“Mark, you are very kind,” he said gravely as he walked out of the store slowly with the money and the sandwich.

“Just stay safe!” Mark called out, watching the man leave happily.

As this happened, Mai had emerged from the break room with a white polo and the shorts that she was already wearing.

“One of the shirts fit me, but none of the pants did,” Mai said softly as she messed around with the bottom of the shirt.

“Don’t worry about it. We can get that later,” Mark responded as he motioned for Mai to get closer. “Are you ready to start?”

Later in the day, Damian, Alexa, and Chloe were in a building not too far away from the Reyes’ home. This is where Damian was going to start doing physical therapy with a leg brace.

Damian was standing upright with both arms on the guard rails on either side of him. He attempted to take a stride, but like before, his leg was being stubborn.

“Just relax Dami. Don’t force yourself too much,” Chloe reminded him as she saw his body tense with frustration.

“Yeah, you can do this big bro!” Alexa cheered as she watched on.

Using the cheers and support of the two of them, Damian finally showed some progress. His legs started moving towards his goal, and after a few more minutes of struggling, he was able to walk towards the end of the rails.

“Good job!” Chloe and Alexa congratulated as they ran over to Damian who was struggling to keep his composure.

“I need a break,” Damian said quietly. He was satisfied that he made it to the other side, but he wasn’t satisfied with how long it took him to get over there.

Alexa brought the wheelchair that was nearby and with Chloe’s help, they sat Damian down safely.

“Can I use the bathroom?” Alexa asked Damian in a whisper, trying not to create a distraction to others who were in the same area doing their own therapy.

“Go ahead. I won’t stop you,” Damian answered back in a playful tone.

As Alexa headed to the bathroom, she turned around and shot a thumbs up to Chloe, almost as if signaling to her that the coast was clear.

Chloe returned one back and then wheeled Damian over by some seats in a waiting area so she could sit next to him.

“I’m sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have gotten jealous,” Chloe apologized in a quiet manner.

“Wait, why are you apologizing? I…was actually going to apologize,” Damian responded softly.

“I pictured you cooking for a different girl, and I got jealous,” Chloe started softly. “I wanted you to do that for me,” she quivered.

“Chloe-” Damian started but was immediately cut off.

“I got so worked up from a friendly gesture, even if you did it on purpose to see how I would react,” Chloe continued sharply.

“…” Damian didn’t know how to respond to her. This was the first time Damian noticed Chloe show an extreme reaction that wasn’t pure love and care.

“Damian, I really care about you and your brother. But the things I feel for you two are different. I took so long trying to figure out what that difference was, and I feel like a selfish fool now,” she vented, putting her hands up to her hair and grasping onto the roots of them.

“Chloe, you aren’t selfish. You always helped look after both of us whenever things were rocky,” Damian reassured as he gently put his hands on hers. He held them carefully, bringing them away from her hair and into her lap.

“I love you, Damian,” she admitted quietly. “I hope that Mark doesn’t feel like I’ve strung him along all this time. I wish I had just acted on my feelings earlier on and not during this stressful time.”

Damian slowly processed the information given to him, then wrapped his arms around Chloe in a gentle hug, pulling her into his chest.

“Mark’s going to hate me. I’m going to lose one of the closest people in my life,” Chloe worried as she let out a small sniffle.

“Hey, don’t think like that Chloe. Mark would be saddened if he finds out that you thought he would bear any sort of hatred towards you,” Damian reminded softly.

“How are you so sure?” Chloe asked in a whisper.

“We both love you. Deep down, we just want you to be happy, regardless of who you had feelings for. Even if it was some other dude,” Damian answered.

“That’s the true meaning of loving someone,” Damian finished, planting a soft kiss on the top of her head.