The Kings IV II

53

Hero

A bad day.

I hadn't had a bad day- a day like this, in what seemed like forever. I'd learned to appreciate the good days, and when I wasn't having one, I felt like my entire world was falling apart.

"Well, you can talk about it," Amelia said, gently floating her fingertips across my forehead.

"It's fine," I sighed, rubbing my hands down my face.

"I don't think it is," she softly said.

I rested my hands on my abdomen, my jaw taut. My head was resting on her stomach, and I felt like I could hear every move the baby was making.

"Is everything going okay with, like, your eating and stuff?" She asked.

I bit down on my lip, nodding. "Yeah. It's alright."

"I'm always starving," she said, and I could hear her head hit her pillow.

"Well, you're feeding you and a kid," I said, "I can see why."

"You know, all I've wanted is a burger. Just a big, nasty burger."

I laughed, looking back at her. "You're fucking with me."

"I swear I'm not," she giggled out, propping herself up on her elbows, "it's literally all I've wanted."

"I don't think I've ever seen you eat a burger," I chuckled, keeping my head in her lap as she sat upright.

"Yeah, because they're gross," she said, and I just simply looked up at her.

She looked different from this angle. Her jaw was a lot more boney from beneath her, her long eyelashes curving over her eyelid.

"You've got a pointy chin."

"I hate it," she said.

"What?" I asked, gently touching it with my index finger.

"Seriously, I hate my chin. It's one of my biggest insecurities."

"Your chin is one of your biggest insecurities?"

"Hey, don't judge."

I held up my hands. "No judgement here."

She smiled down at me before grabbing the neck of her sweatshirt and pulling it over her face. I chuckled and sat upright, rubbing my eyes.

"We should go get a burger," I said, standing up. I stretched and looked back at her, earning a disgusted look on her face.

"What? You just said you wanted one."

"I don't think it's me that wants it, I think it's this child," she said, looking down at her stomach.

"Okay, well, gotta listen to it," I said, shrugging.

"How long has it been since you've had a burger?"

I froze at that question, standing in front of her mirror. "Uh, it's been a while. For sure."

I lifted my shirt, trailing my hand down my side as I stretched. My obliques were coming back in, but I looked bigger than I had. I realized that I'd never be able to only notice something good without countering that with something bad.

"You look great, Hero," she softly said, looking at me through her mirror.

"Mm," I muttered, dropping my shirt. She gasped, making me immediately turn around.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Hero, come here!" She exclaimed, holding out her free hand, her other resting on her stomach.