Loss 6 

When break time appeared, Geno happily ran to the closet bench to sit. Once he sat down, he broadly smiled while swinging his legs like an excited child. Geno kept thinking about staying on this chair forever and never doing the devilish walk again. However, he ignored the part where the break was temporary, and he would have to get up again. Let's pretend that isn't true. Geno thought, never dropping his smile.

When Nicholas joined, he felt affected by Geno's happy mood. He couldn't stop staring at the wide smile that seemed to grow. His smile stretched so far that it almost looked like he had dimples. Geno's brown eyes shone brightly from the sun or from how happy he looked. Either way, Nicholas felt lost in Geno's shining eyes and bright smile. Then, he could not help but turn towards Geno's hair, which left him with questions.

From the few times, Nicholas saw him (when he would catch him picking up or dropping off Mikeal at school), he noticed that Geno's hair was always in a weirdly flat bun that appeared stiff. He wondered if Geno ever did anything to his hair or if it was matted. After staring for long, Nicholas couldn't help but bluntly ask, "Is your hair matted?"

Geno finally looked at Nicholas, forgetting that he was walking with someone when he got to rest. He reached up, touching his hair that he forgot existed. Honestly, Geno forgot a lot of things on his body. When was the last time he did anything to his hair? Or when is the last time he has done any self-care? It's probably been years because his wife was the one who used to fix him up.

She loved self-care the most.

"Most likely. I think the last time I did something to my hair was during my wife's funeral, and then I stopped touching it. I believe the hairstyle has been like this since then." Geno answered, scrunching his nose as he tried remembering. Has it really been that long? Should I shave my hair all off? Geno thought.

Nicholas opened his mouth, getting ready to say that he could do Geno's hair because Geno would most likely reject the option for a salon, but before he could, Mikeal appeared out of nowhere, running to his father and grabbing his arm.

Mikeal was breathing hard while sweating with a refreshing smile, "Dad, why didn't you tell me it was break time?" He tightly held his father's arm, slightly glancing at Nicholas.

Ah, a child's possessiveness. Nicholas guessed with how Mikeal glanced at him.

"You seemed to be having fun, but I also don't remember if I left the house with my phone," Geno responded, patting his pants pockets to check if he had brought his phone. He felt nothing but proof that it was, in fact, at home.

Mikeal sat in the small space between Geno and Nicholas, causing Nicholas to move over to give him more room. Mikeal sighed, "Dad, I keep telling you not to forget your phone."

Geno shrugged, "I barely go out, and if I do, you have yours."

"Maybe that is something we should add to the list," Nicholas commented.

Mikeal nodded, agreeing with Nicholas, "Yeah. We should also go to the store and buy a whiteboard to hang on the wall. On the board, we could write a list for you."

"I don't know." Geno hesitated. He did not want to go to the store and did not know if he would follow the list. Geno knows his son wants him to improve, but will Geno allow himself to heal?

Mikeal hit his shoulder against his father, "Come on, Dad, it is a good idea. We will make it like a checklist of how you are improving. Plus, you don't have to go to the store; I don't mind going in."

"Neither of you have to go; I have an extra whiteboard at home with markers and everything—the perks of being a teacher," Nicholas chimed in.

"See, there is nothing to worry about now!" Mikeal happily rejoiced.

Geno thought awhile before agreeing, "Okay, we will put up a whiteboard."

Mikeal cheered.

Nicholas pulled out his phone, checking the time, "I believe break time is over, and it is time for another set of walking."

Geno groaned, "Can we skip it and go?"

"No." Nicholas and Mikeal simultaneously responded.

Geno looked at the sky, wondering when the torture would end.

When Sunday hit, Nicholas joined them for lunch.

"Dad, I'm ordering some groceries; is there anything we need?" Mikeal yelled from the kitchen, looking in the fridge. He was going to make lunch but realized they were missing a few ingredients. He wondered what he should make while they waited for the groceries.

Geno and Nicholas were in the living room, watching TV silently because Geno looked seconds away from falling asleep. Mikeal woke him up early to eat breakfast and exercise. The only thing Geno wanted to do right now was sleep.

Hearing the question, Geno blinked a few times before yelling back, "I don't know, just get what you believe we need." He never questioned what was needed with food since he would skip meals all the time. Now that he is forced to eat regularly, he still does whatever Mikeal decides.

"Instead of ordering, why don't we go to the store?" Nicholas asked.

Geno instantly shook his head; he went outside enough. Mikeal quickly ran in, "Yes, we should do that. Dad, you need to go out more."

"I went out enough," Geno muttered, trying to become one with the couch. He is starting to regret going to the doctor then—look what the doctor has done; his son keeps forcing him to eat and venture outside!

"Sunlight is good for you," Nicholas commented while Mikeal agreed in the background.

Even though Mikeal enjoys being with his father indoors, he would love to be with him outdoors, too. Being inside constantly can be tiring; he is still young and wants to go places. But he would never voice those thoughts to his father.

"Is this two against one, or will my disagreement matter?" Geno whined. Is this a new form of torture—because Geno believed it to be?

Mikeal grabbed his father's hand and tried to pull him off the couch, "Come on, we are going outside."

Nicholas wondered if he should join in on pulling Geno off the couch or stand by. He chose to stand; even though he was here to help, he wasn't close to them yet to be pulling Geno off the sofa.

"It isn't bad. At least I am not saying we should try a gym." Nicholas tried lightening Geno's protest.

"Oh my god," Geno looked at Nicholas in disbelief, "if you ever tried suggesting that, I will never let you in this house again."

Nicholas laughed, "So that is a yes to grocery shopping in person?"

Geno stared at Nicholas, then the couch, and back again with an angst expression, "If I say no, would you turn the gym thing into reality?"

"Would you really kick me out of your house?"

"Yes."

"Then, no."

Silence filled the air for a minute as Geno and Nicholas stared each other down. Mikeal bit his lip, looking back and forth at them, feeling left out—he gripped his father's hand tighter.

Geno didn't notice Mikeal's grip tightening as he finally relented, "Fine, let's go to the store."

Mikeal smiled, getting in his father's face, blocking Nicholas to have his father's attention back to him, "Yay! It's been a while since we went shopping together."

Geno patted his son's head, feeling guilty. He knew he closed his son off from everything. Before now, they used to go out all the time, but after everything, he closed off and pushed his son into the same state. It must have been hard on his son to go from being social to staying locked away due to his father.

"I will get dressed." Geno softly responded, getting up and waking to his bedroom once his son let him go.

Nicholas and Mikeal stood alone, waiting for Geno to return. Nicholas kept glancing at Mikeal, wondering if he should say what had been on his mind. Even though it was the second day of fully being around them, Nicholas felt slight resistance from Mikeal.  

After working with kids for so long, he knew that some kids can be possessive of their parents. And for Nicholas to enter a dynamic that only had two people for three years, he could feel some tension.

"Mikeal, do you want to go to the store with just your father? If you two don't mind, I can stay here and wait for your return." Nicholas offered. Since Mikeal commented that he had not shopped with his father in a long time, Nicholas thought it would be best for only them two to go.

Mikeal quickly wanted to agree but shook those thoughts away. He did not want to seem rude. He knows his teacher is here to help him with his father, but he can't stop these negative feelings from boiling inside. It felt weird having someone else with them after only being him and his father for three years.

"It is okay, Mr. Raven; we can all go," Mikeal reluctantly answered.

Nicholas opened his mouth to say something, but Geno returned with heavy sighs. "I am ready." Geno felt like the world was ending. Mikeal smiled, grabbing his father's hand to walk them out of the house. He hesitantly also grabbed Nicholas's wrist to pull him with them.

"Let's go grocery shopping." Mikeal cheered, walking them out of the house.

Geno prayed for anything to save him during the trip.