Raphril - Comfort

Peering deeply into the wood of the door of the bedroom, April wasn’t really sure what she was going to find. Raph hadn’t come down to eat all day. His room was eerily silent. She was afraid of what she would find. She didn’t want Mikey, little innocent Mikey, going in there without knowing for sure what was on the other side of that door. She was still anxious around both Donnie and Casey, so that was out of the question. And Leo — she didn’t dwell on without tears falling from her eyes.

So, it was up to her to find out what made the strongest and most hotheaded brother so incredibly silent for more than 15 hours. She shifted her weight from one to the other. The bare skin of her toes protesting against the lack of protection from the rough wooden floor. She swallowed the lump in her throat before she allowed her trembling fist to make a few soft knocks against the wooden door frame.?

"Raph?" she asked, her voice cracking harshly before it could fully even leave her lips.

Her heart race increased as she waited for an answer. She was terrified he may have ran off. Petrified of any guilt over Leo may have lead him to do something so incredibly stupid like taking on the Kraang alone. Or like many Japanese Samurai’s before — not being able to handle such guilt it to the point they ended it by — “RAPH!” she screeched suddenly, the familiar wetness and burning in the back of her swollen eyes.

"What?" the voice — a mere dry whisper from behind the door.

She nearly sobbed hearing it.

"Can I come in?" she asked softly, not bothering to hide the pain lacing her voice.

"Yeah." the reply came a moment later.

April opened the door and stood at the ajar door for a moment and took  him in. He sat on the edge of the bed — his bloodshot eyes staring a the floor. His elbows leaning on his thighs as his head lolled forward. His eyes glanced up briefly to meet hers before they continued their visual on the grains in the aged wooden flooring.

"We haven’t heard from you all day, Raph. I was — we were worried." April explained quickly, closing the door behind her before walking the distance to his side.

"Just needed time to think. Be alone I guess." He muttered, not even bothering to look at her.

"Oh." she replied, quite lamely, she would admit. Crossing her arms over her chest. Feeling quite naked with just a tank-top and shorts and her hair loose and brushing against her shoulders.

April couldn’t be for certain how much time had passed in awkward silence but the sound of him suddenly whimpering nearly tore her still beating heart clean out of her chest. “What if he never wakes up?” he mumbled, his palms pressed hard against his face.

Without thinking, she grasped his hands and tried to get him to look at her. As she did this, she kept muttering filtered encouragement, ‘He’ll be okay’, ‘He’ll wake up when he’s ready, ‘Everything’s going to be alright’. She then realized those words were all she’d been telling Mikey — telling everyone — when in her heart, she knew she was lying. She felt the words begin to falter when the first truth in forever fell from her lips.

"I don’t know, Raph… I really don’t know"

It was when out of nowhere, he pulled her into his lap, pressing his face into her chest and allowed himself to fall apart. His hands holding her tightly as the harsh sobs shook his body.

April could do nothing but hold the red masked turtle and hope against hope that Leo would wake up. Because his brother’s needed his leadership more than ever… They all did.