Micah darted around the living room, his bare feet skidding slightly on the marble floor as he dodged his mother's strikes. He wasn't supposed to be running, his body was still sore, and his arm throbbed like hell after the anesthesia had worn off. But Elina's anger was not diminished even after a few minutes.
Then, it happened.
A sharp pain shot through his arm as he accidentally slammed His bandaged wound against the edge of the sofa.
"Shit!"
Micah yelled in agony, his knees buckling as he collapsed on the floor, grabbing his injured arm.
Elina caught up to her son, feather duster still in her hand. Her expression, which had been one of irritation moments ago, shifted to something unreadable as she saw her son on the floor, curled over his arm.
"What are you..." she raised her feather duster instinctively, thinking Micah acting to get away from the beating when her sharp gaze caught the way Micah was gripping his sleeve, his breath came in quick uneven gasps. Something was wrong.
Turning on all the lights, Elina caught the sight of blood.
She threw away the feather duster and shrieked.
"Micah! What happened to you?!"
Micah tensed. His mother never sounded this afraid before.
She fell to her knees beside him and grabbed her son's arm carefully.
The white bandages peeking from underneath Micah's sleeve were soaked through with deep red blood.
Micah cursed himself. How clumsy he could be to let them know about his injured arm?!
His father and sisters ran down the stairs, hearing Elina's panicked voice.
"What is that?!"
Aria's voice came out high-pitched as she pointed at the bloodstained sleeve.
Elina's grip on his arm tightened.
"What did you do?"
Micah sucked in a slow breath, turning his head away.
"Micah! Why don't you answer? Huh?!"
Elina asked in a panicky voice.
Jacob stepped forward before she could press further.
"Honey, let's call the doctor first."
Jacob said, noticing his son's aversion to elaborate.
He turned to his eldest daughter. "Call him now."
Willow fumbled with her phone, her fingers shaking slightly as she dialled.
Jacob crouched down and carefully helped Micah up from the floor, guiding him toward the couch.
Micah clenched his jaw, his body rigid as the pain burned through him.
Elina's hand was still gripping Micah's uninjured arm, her chest rising and falling rapidly as Aria placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, freeing Micah's arm from her grasp.
Then Aria guided Elina to the opposite side, trying to calm her down.
A deafening silence fell over the living room.
Micah bit his lips, staring down. This was his first real stab wound.
He had his fair share of being reckless, falling from a tree, breaking a glass wall, burning down a tent while camping, etc.
But he had never been seriously injured before.
The most he had suffered was a few bruises from participating in material arts competitions.
If he had experience in an actual brutal fight, he would never let his arm get stabbed.
The downside was he could not even say the real reason. Yes, he had saved a girl, his biological sister, but explaining why he had ended up in that poor suburb was the real problem.
Micah sighed inwardly. In the worst-case scenario, he would be confined in his room. It was less than two weeks before the university opened, and even though his mother wanted to, she couldn't stop him from attending.
Half an hour later, the family doctor arrived. Micah sat stiffly as the doctor unwrapped his bandages in front of everyone.
A collective gasp echoed in the room.
Ten dark stitches ran across his arm. The blood oozed from the gap.
"What?! How?!…"
Elina covered her mouth, her eyes widening in horror.
"Doctor, can you tell us what caused his injury?"
Jacob asked, the tension evident in his clenched jaw.
The family doctor glanced at the pale Micah and hesitated.
"It was likely a result of a sharp weapon… the edges are too clean."
"Like what?!"
Jacob frowned.
"A knife…"
The doctor said.
"For the love of God!"
Elina exclaimed.
"Where you in a fight? Where were you? How on earth do you have a stab wound? Did someone attack you? Who? Why? Why didn't you tell us?!"
Elina's voice rose with emotion.
Micah remained silent, staring at the floor.
"You went and got stitches, but it did not occur to you to call us? What are we to you?!"
Willow asked.
Elina moved forward, scanning Micah's body, and yanked his shirt up.
"Is there more to the wound? Let me see! Whose clothes are these? They are too big for you!"
Then she gasped. Dark bruises covered Micah's back and abdomen.
"You… why are you doing this to me?!" Elina's hands trembled as she touched his shoulder, her voice cracking.
Micah's throat tightened. He had seen his mother angry before. But never this afraid.
"At least before, I could tell myself you weren't like those delinquent kids out there. That you weren't getting into fights. That you weren't destroying yourself. But now…"
Elina said, tears in her eyes.
Micah felt a pang in his heart. But he couldn't tell the truth. The disappointment in their eyes was like a mallet hammering on his heart.
He hung his head low, his lips sealed.
Jacob exhaled and turned to the doctor.
"How bad is it?"
The doctor examined his injury before replying.
"Some of the sutures reopened. I will have to redo them. As for the bruises, I'll prescribe an ointment."
The doctor opened his medical kits and began to suture again.
Meanwhile, Jacob took Elina and his daughters to another room.
"Why are you pushing me away? I have to get to the bottom of this now! Didn't you see your son becoming like a street thug?!"
Elina said emotionally.
"Calm down. Can't you see how he is not saying anything? Why are you jumping to conclusions?!"
Jacob kept his voice level.
"If he wasn't involved in a street fight, what else could it be?! Who would attack him with a knife? Even our enemies wouldn't do that! They are not that lawless! And our family having a military son-in-law, they wouldn't dare!"
Elina argued.
"Either way, we need to treat him first. Then you can calmly ask him."
Jacob reasoned.
"Mum, please. If you get louder, I am afraid Grandpa will hear the ruckus."
Aria said.
"Yeah, that would be more troublesome."
Willow agreed.
Elina sighed repeatedly, trying to calm her nerves.
She felt heartbroken remembering she had hit her son when he was already injured.
She was a mother. Seeing Micah like that...
Elina was worried about his future. Until now, Micah had never mingled with the wrong crowd. He did not smoke, fight, race, or crave extreme activity. Not to say, he wasn't even a playboy, ruining other girls' futures.
Now, having participated in a fight this dangerous has made Elina too nervous and frightened.
She did not want her son to go astray.