Sitting still on the floor, I didn't know how much time had passed. However, when I finally snapped out of the cold oblivion that I had descended into, I could feel a warm hand enclosing my own. Slowly turning my head towards my left, I saw Oliver sitting down next to me, his eyes fixed on the direction of the bedroom, as he enclosed my freezing pale hand within his.
Noticing that I was looking at him, he slightly tilted his head towards me and gave a small smile.
"You are a hero."
Ignoring my confused look, Oliver turned his attention back towards June's bedroom. Following his gaze, I turned my head and saw several people streaming in and out of the bedroom. Focusing on their faces, I could recognize all of them. There were, of course, my parents, followed by Dara and the doctor my mother knew, Link.
Watching them bustle in and out, Link pointing at objects and giving out orders for my parents while Dara was helping Link treat June, I could feel the remaining tension escape from my body.
Although the adult's expressions were serious, it was obvious that the tension was different from one where the patient was facing a life-ending injury.
"Thanks to your impeccable timing, June's going to be fine."
Squeezing my hand from beside me, I glanced at Oliver and saw the genuinely glad smile on his face. However, that smile quickly gave way to something much darker and sadder, and I could feel what little warmth he had on his face fade away.
"The biggest problem now would be what to say to Ralph."
Returning my gaze back to the adults, I tried my best to crane my neck to see June. However, before I could even catch a small glimpse of her, a hand blocked my view.
"You shouldn't look."
Flickering my eyes to Oliver, I saw the grim expression on his face and clenched my jaw. It seemed that there was something in that room that I wasn't supposed to see.
I could feel my curiosity peak at Oliver's words, but as I tried to remember the scenery of the room when I rushed in, all I could see was the hanging body of June.
And as that memory surfaced in my mind, I could feel the surroundings darken and my body turn cold.
"Don't think about it."
Hearing a slightly harsh tone from beside me, I saw Oliver narrow his eyes at me with an expression close to a glare. Then, after seeing that he had distracted me from my memories, he sighed and shifted closer to me. Putting his hands on my shoulders, he shifted me towards him and pulled me into a warm embrace.
"Some memories are like a whirlpool, sucking you under until you drown in their depths. Promise me that you won't try to remember what happened today."
Separating from the embrace, Oliver looked me straight in the eye, concern plastered all over his face. I had a feeling that if I didn't promise, he would never let me out of his sight. However, even if I did promise, I also felt that he would keep a strict eye on me.
"I promise."
Smiling as I said those words, I then thanked him for his concern about me before asking about what I had missed when I was blanking out.
Turning his head to look at the adults, Oliver's mouth straightened into a thin line as he spoke.
"After Van and I entered, we noticed that you had managed to lower June to the ground. Immediately, Van started doing a bit of first aid and ordered me to search for some items. After that was done, he said he would go fetch Dara and left. Then Elaine arrived. When she saw June, she was slightly shocked. However, almost as if she were familiar with the procedures, she continued with first aid while Van left."
Locking onto my mother's figure as she bustled around the room, Oliver's eyes narrowed for a slight second before they switched to Link.
"Van or Dara must have contacted Link while they were downstairs, as when they came up, they were both only holding supplies to keep up the first aid until Link arrived. After that, Link just took control, and that was what led us to the situation you see now."
Gesturing to the ordered chaos that was currently occurring inside the room, Oliver squeezed the hand that was holding mine and leaned closer to me.
"After Van arrived, they told me to go outside. Seeing someone injured in front of you isn't exactly a pleasant experience, and I could sense that they didn't want me to develop any mental-related disorders from this incident."
Speaking near my ear, I then felt Oliver's head move to a position where his eyes were looking at me.
"I also sensed that they wanted me to accompany you."
Squeezing my hand again, I let Oliver lean on my shoulder as we both watched the adults work. Feeling the warmth radiating from where his head lay, I could almost feel the freezing coldness that had taken over my heart heat up a little at his contact. At least I wasn't alone.
"But that's because, as children, we can't do anything."
Lowering my head, I let my gaze rest on the floor as I muttered bitterly. I had always despised my age, but nothing had made me feel as powerless as this moment right here. The adults were running all over the room, helping out Link as he tended to June, and yet since we were children, we could only sit here and watch.
It was pathetic.
"That's not true."
Feeling the warmth disappear as Oliver lifted his head, I shifted my sight to him. He was looking at me, his near obsidian eyes earnest and sincere, as he said in a low voice.
"Not even adults are all powerful. The fact that we are children doesn't change anything."
This sentence was unexpected. I had expected Oliver to comfort me with false lines such as "There are some things children can do that adults can't". This line would have worked for countless other situations. But not this one.
Turning his gaze away from me, I followed his line of sight to the adults.
"This inferiority, this sense of helplessness, does not change the moment you become an adult. You're just slightly larger and can legally sign important papers. It's not your age that affects such things."
As if speaking from experience, his eyes calmly looked at the carnage in front of us. Then, snapping back to me, those eyes seemed to hold a determined light. One that I wonder how I've never noticed before.
"We're just at the stage of finding what it is that we can do."
Those words wormed their way into my ears, making a nest in my brain, as the two of us stopped talking to watch the adults. After our long talk, Link looked to be done tending to June. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, I saw him heave a sigh of relief and give a hopeful smile. Then, that smile was quickly replaced with his usual deadpan expression as he stood up.
Gathering around Link, the other adults seemed to be discussing things with each other. I then saw my mother glance down and extend her hand. Grabbing her hand, I saw June struggle to sit up.
At this position, I could see that her face was paler than normal, but at least it had a tinge of color. Looking around blankly, it took a while for her to gather her bearings before she hung her head and avoided the eyes of those around her.
To her obvious surprise, the other adults didn't scold her or anything like that. Exchanging glances between each other, Link was the first one to break off from the group. He casually waved to the others and started walking towards us.
Straining my neck to look past Link's body that was blocking my view, I managed to catch my mother giving June a gentle smile before reaching out a hand towards her. June, staring at the hand blankly, slowly took it and looked up to my mother with wide eyes. Then, those beautiful eyes filled with water, spilling droplets all over the floor. Seeing this, my mother kneeled down beside June and pulled her into an embrace.
That was the last scene I saw before Link's legs fully covered my view.
"Dan."
Calling my name in a serious and authoritative voice, I immediately jerked my eyes up to meet his.
"Show me where it hurts."
Sitting down on the floor between the rest of the adults and us, Link ghosted his eyes over my injuries with a frown. Digging into the small little bag that he seemed to bring with him everywhere, he fished out several pieces of gauze knitted from thin thread, as well as medical tape and an antiseptic cream.
Laying the white tube on his palm, he squeezed out a blob of the green paste and spread it over the bleeding wounds on my knees and elbows. Then, once he was satisfied with the thickness of the layer of cream, he smiled and ruffled my hair gently.
"You did a good job."
As he lifted his hand off my head, I could see the gentle smile on his face as he stared at me with pride. He then picked up the gauze and taped it with the medical tape. Stretching out his hand, he gently circled the perimeter of the gauze, ensuring that the tape was secure, before keeping everything back in his small bag and closing it.
"You should take today off from school. Although your physical injuries are light, you need to give yourself a rest after going through what you did today. I'll pass your mother the sick leave form later, so you should just go back and rest."
Laying one hand on the floor, Link supported himself as he stood up. Then, as he wobbled to his feet, I saw a pair of hands suddenly shoot out to stabilize him.
"Thank you, Link. We owe you one."
Popping his head out from behind Link, my father smiled as he said those words. Then, as he released Link's shoulders, he turned his eyes towards us children and softened his voice.
"Come. Let's head back home."
Kneeling on one knee, my father whisked me up into his arms, holding on to me tight as he freed one hand to grip one of Oliver's hands.
Snorting from beside us, Link shook his head as he pursed his lips, visually upset.
"You people only know how to give and take favors. Why don't you two learn how to accept something without expecting anything back?"
Knuckles white around his small bag, Link then swung his head away from us and marched out of the apartment.
Turning my eyes to my father, I watched as an amused expression overcame his face. Shaking his head with a small laugh, he then lowered his eyes to look at the two of us and slowly started walking back to the apartment.
"Later, I'll inform Frank's parents about why you're absent from school today. Since Link said he'd pass the form to your mother, we can just leave it to her and take a nice long nap at home."
My father leaned his head towards me, slightly squishing my face with his own as he rubbed his skin over mine.
"It's been a long time since the two of us, father and son, spent a peaceful day together. Now with Oliver, we can have twice the fun! We'll cook some simple dishes for ourselves, huddle under the blankets, and hug each other. We can also play some of the sandbox games! Although Dad hasn't played it in so long, I may have gotten a little rusty. Please go easy on me."
Cheering up the atmosphere with a laugh, I could feel a smile hang on my face as his words dragged up nostalgic and warm memories of father-son days together with Leo. Those days were the warmest and also the coldest when Leo had left us.
Resting my head on his chest, even though I knew he was trying to distract me from the awful experience that I had just experienced, I couldn't help but look forward to the activities that he had mentioned.
Stepping out of June's apartment, my father turned his body and was facing the direction of our apartment. Pausing for a slight second, I felt his body's center of gravity shift as he seemed to maneuver his leg to close the apartment door beside us. Turning my head right before the door closed, I managed to catch a glimpse of my mother and June exiting the room. The two women had their hands intertwined, with my mother clearly leading June, despite it being her apartment. The two were heading to the living room table, clearly about to engage in a deep talk that neither one of my parents wanted us to be the audience of.
As the door closed shut I could see my mother's firm gaze stare at June's wrecked one. However, as they both met eyes, June's face seemed to visually perk up, and I could see a ray of hope shine within those pearl-like eyes.
And I had a feeling that everything was going to be alright.