|20| the Ambulance call

Everyone has a chapter

They don't read out loud.

~unknown

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I stare at the man sitting on the couch, his frown is deep, and his eyes don't meet mine as I continue to talk to him

"Can you not be annoying for two seconds please, just take it, you stubborn man!" I talk starting to give up

"I don't need the damn medication I'm perfectly fine" he huffs continuing to look at the TV ignoring my presence

I step in front of it "Aaron take the medicine"

"I feel fine," he says not looking at me making his lie more obvious

He's been out of the hospital for 4 days and has been so damn stubborn about the pills to help his pain

"Do you have a pain kink? Is that it? Do you like the feeling of your body hurting you" I raise a brow

He smirks slightly shaking his head "you're so annoying Vanessa...and no I don't have a pain kink"

Couldn't be me...shit Vanessa, the man is in pain, and you're thinking of kinks seriously?

"Aaron...you're killing me here, I just don't understand why you'd want to sit in pain when you can take a pill and be able to sleep peacefully" I sigh sitting next to him on the couch

All he does is shrug while his tongue goes to poke at the inside of his cheek, continuing to watch some Marvel movie

"Aaron" I sigh losing my patients, I begin massaging my temples

He's been great with everything so far...aside from those damn pills, I plead and beg for him to take them but he refuses each time, he gets rest when I tell him to, eats when I tell him to, doesn't get up when I scold him, but never listens when I tell him to take the pill, the stubborn man won't even tell me why

"you're giving me a headache Aaron, I'm going to check on Henry" I sigh getting up and taking the spare key to Henry's place, all the while Aaron sits on the couch ignoring me.

I enter Henry's place going to the kitchen to heat some soup I made yesterday, I take it out of his fridge and get him a bowl, I then grab his pills and a cup of water and walk over to his room

"Hey, henry how are you doing," I ask while I set the soup on his nightstand and hand him the medication and water, he takes it without me even having to tell him and finishes the cup of water before speaking,

"I'm still very sore but it's feeling a little bit better than it did" he nods

"here eat some soup" I hand him the bowl

"Thank you you're amazing" he smiles

I end up talking to him for about 15 minutes until I decide to head back to my place

"Okay well, I'm going to go to Aaron, make sure to call me if you need anything okay?" I tell him, eyeing his phone on the nightstand making sure its there

"I'll be fine, you go to Aaron" he grins

"Alright I'll be back in a couple of hours to check on you anyway" I smile before leaving

Entering my apartment, I see Aaron leaning his head back against the couch, his face holding discomfort, his hand trembles slightly making me immediately walk over to him

"Aaron you're clearly in pain can you please take the pill," I plead just wanting his pain to go away

"No, I'll be fine like I said the first hundred times you asked" he shakes his head closing his eyes taking a deep breath

"Why did you take it in the hospital but not here? Do you not trust me or something? I just don't understand..." I murmur, slightly confused and now getting worried that maybe it's me...maybe he doesn't trust me to give him pills?

"Because the damn nurses were annoying the shit out of me about it, and I was high on the drugs so I don't remember much anyways" he huffs

"Clearly I'm not annoying you enough then" I mutter walking to the kitchen, my anxiety rises at the possibility that it might be because of me that he's not taking them

I sit on my little island in my kitchen with my hands massaging my temples, I'm so damn exhausted I don't think I got a proper night of sleep in days because I'm constantly worrying, making sure Henry and Aaron are doing okay, my eyes widen realizing I have only eaten some oatmeal early in the morning, I make a mental note to eat something in a few.

I walk up to Aaron from behind and wrap my arms around his neck "I'll be back I need to make a quick phone call in my room" I whisper before kissing his cheek

I see him nod, he hesitates before cupping my face and bringing my lips to his, I look at him after the kiss and sigh kissing his temple before walking to my room.

I close my bedroom door gently and dial the doctor's number

(Call with doctor)

Doctor: hello this is doctor Adams how can I help you?

"Hi I'm calling about Aaron Huxley"

I hear shuffling and clicking of a keyboard in the background

Doctor: Okay, how may I help you?

"right so he's refusing to take his pain meds and the other pills you guys proscribed him" I sigh

Doctor: is there any particular reason why?

"I'm not sure he just doesn't want to take them, would he be okay without taking them?"

Doctor: of course but it's going to be very painful, but if he refuses the medication then it shouldn't be a big deal other than it taking longer to heal and major discomfort

"Okay thank you, have a good day"

Doctor: you too

(End of the phone call)

I end up sitting on my bed staring at my wall aimlessly for over 15 minutes, feeling sick to my stomach, not even wanting to eat, I hate that Aaron doesn't want to talk to me, how he's hiding a reason for not taking the pills, and yes we haven't been dating long...but we've known each other well over two years.

I barely make it to the kitchen until I hear Aarons's voice

"My sister overdosed on pills," he says quickly, taking a deep breath after

My stomach immediately sinks, and I feel physically ill,

Oh Gosh, I think I'm going to puke...

And I was pushing him to take them...pushing him to tell me why he wouldn't.

Gosh, now I feel terrible.

I walk behind Aaron and wrap my arms around his shoulders to where he's sitting on the couch, slowly covering his mouth with my hand so he doesn't speak any further

"Aaron you don't have to talk about it, I'm sorry I was trying to make you take them" I whisper taking a deep breath

He shakes his head no and grabs my hand over his mouth clasping it together with his hand "She was 16, none of us knew she was even suicidal in any way until I found her on her bathroom floor with bottles of pain meds around her" he says swallowing hard

"I was 18, and I too was too excited getting ready for college to even realize my sister didn't want to live anymore" he whispers in anguish

I place my chin on his shoulder trying to contain my tears, breathing hard as I run my hand to the top of his chest under his shirt massaging lightly feeling his body shake

"Aaron...you don't have to tell me okay? I understand why you don't want to take them anymore we can figure something else out" I whisper my voice trembling

He shakes his head once more, "I want you to know...and I trust you, so much I don't want you thinking otherwise" he whispers slowly rubbing my thumb with his as he holds my hand

"No...don't feel obligated to tell me because I unknowingly made you feel guilty for keeping it to yourself" I shake my head

"Vanessa...you know me, and I won't even speak when I don't want to, and I want you to know this"

"It's been 11 years and I still haven't taken any sort of pills because it reminds me of that day" he whispers

I tilt my head to the side to look at him and saw tears streaming down his face, I go around the couch and sit on the side his stitches aren't, I cup his cheeks and wipe his tears away, and he nuzzles his head in my neck, I cup the back of his head stroking his hair gently

"God and I was over here practically throwing them at your face...you have to believe me when I say I wouldn't have kept trying to talk you into taking them if I would've known...I was only trying to get you to take them because I care, and I don't want you in pain" I say in his ear

"And you don't have to take the pills, I called the doctor and he said they're not necessary, they just help with healing faster and pain" I whisper

I feel him nodding his head, I don't say sorry for his loss because as someone who lost both her parents, hearing the words sorry doesn't do much, it just sounds like something you're supposed to say in that situation,

"I'm here for you, and as much as I want you to take them for your pain, I won't do it if it brings back horrible memories" I kiss the top of his head

He lays sideways with his face buried in my neck, his body twisted to the side so there's no pressure on his stitching

I feel the tears on my neck, and I continue stroking his hair letting him cry, and making sure he knows I am here for him, I want me to be as much of a safe space for him as he is for me.

"I miss her" he whispers into my neck as he trembles under my touch

I nod against his head massaging his back slightly, running my fingers up and down his back trying to soothe him

"She would've loved you" he rasps

"it's my fault that I didn't realize her struggling, if I was more aware she would've been able to meet you and she would be alive" he murmurs against my skin making it tickle,

"I know for a fact she loved you a lot...and please don't blame yourself, you were only eighteen excited to start college of course you weren't all up in your little sister's business" I exclaim my voice trembles as I speak

"Please don't blame yourself Aaron" I whisper pleading for him to understand that it's not his fault

"I don't know how not to" he admits quietly

"I know it must be hard to tell yourself otherwise, especially when you've been blaming yourself all these years...but trust me when I say you had no control over the situation, it breaks my heart to think you've been sitting in guilt this whole time" I move and cup his face

His eyes are puffy and tears continue to stream, he looks so vulnerable and racked with guilt that it physically makes my heart ache,

"Oh Aaron" I murmur

"You seriously think it's your fault?" I ask hesitantly

The way his face breaks and he starts crying makes me freeze in shock

"Aaron," I rasp

I notice his breathing going harsh and I realize he's having a panic attack

"Hey, hey, hey" I gently cup his face

"Can you take a couple of deep breaths?" I ask

He shakes his head closing his eyes tightly, forcing my hands to fall to my sides,

"What do you like about your job?" I ask cupping his face once more, not letting go,

He frowns trying to breathe "control...power"

I nod as I gently run my fingers over his jaw

"Can you tell me some things you love to do?"

"Have...lunch--with you" he says in between breaths

I smile a little at that

"making you smile" he whispers

"Work," he says more evenly

"Cooking" he continues murmuring things for a couple of minutes answering my questions

"Feel better?" I ask watching him

He pulls me closer to him kissing me softly and slowly

I move his hair out of his face pressing a final kiss to his lips "you should get some sleep, I'll be right here when you wake up"

"Promise?" he asks watching me with a soft expression

"I promise Aaron" I gently say, he clings to me and hides his face in my neck, kissing it lightly as I massage his head

His breathing soon evens out and he falls asleep, I then allow myself to let the tears fall and to take deep breaths, I can't imagine what he went through in the moments of walking into the bathroom seeing his sister like that, the grief he has been holding, no wonder he always refused Advil for headaches and the way his jaw tightened when someone would ask about his family, he never mentioned having a sister, which I am guessing is to avoid the questions on how she passed.

I hold him and massage his head even though he's already asleep, I don't even blame him for shutting everyone out after having to find his sister like that, everyone handles pain and grieves differently

"Я люблю тебя, мое солнце" he mumbles into my neck tightening his grip on me ~ I love you, my sunshine~

I knit my brows as he mumbles Russian, I have zero clue what it means and am certain it's probably him talking in a dream

"My silly man" I whisper kissing his head

________________

He sleeps on me for about an hour and a half, while he was asleep I answered some emails on my phone and made sure everything was going according to plan on the rooftop

Aaron starts shuffling in his sleep and then groans burying his face into my neck as he continues groaning in pain

"Are you in pain?" I whisper moving his hair away from his face,

No shit he's in pain Vanessa...I don't even know why I asked.

"Yeah" he mumbles

"what can I do?" I whisper

"Just get the damn pills," he says digging his head further into my neck, biting it slightly

"Ah this is like hell" he grits out

My heart sinks thinking about how much pain he's in

"Are you sure?" I whisper

He gives me a nod mixed with a groan

I quickly get up, get the pills and some water

"Close your eyes for me first" I whisper

He frowns, and my face softens "trust me" I whisper

He closes his eyes and I connect our lips in a soft kiss, I continue kissing him softly

"Open your mouth slightly," I ask against his lips

He opens it and I place the 2 pills in his mouth, he immediately freezes feeling the pills on his tongue

"Hey look at me" I whisper

"It's just candy...okay? You're just going to on accident swallow hard candy, and down some water after" I gently say handing him the cup

His eyes soften but his hands shake as he takes the cup, he puts the rim to his lips but freezes again

"It's Just hard candies..." I whisper

He closes his eyes and takes a big sip of water and then quickly downs the rest

"Good just you drinking some water, nothing special" I nod kissing his cheek taking the cup out of his hands placing it on the side table

He cups my face, taking me by surprise, kissing me, I slowly kiss him back, he gently bites my bottom lip earning a gasp out of me to which he's able to add his tongue into the kiss, he tries moving but I break the kiss slightly mumbling a "don't move" and I continue the kiss

"You're so boring" he mumbles against my lips when we pull apart after a while

"No, I'm trying to ensure you heal faster" I tease kissing him once more

"Thank you" he whispers running his hand up and down my side

"For?" I asked tilting my head slightly

"Everything sunshine" he whispers cupping my face

"I wouldn't have been able to take the pill without you" he whispers against my lips

"You mean drinking the water after on accident swallowing candies whole? I don't remember there being any pills " I smile

He shakes his head fighting a smile "this is what I mean by me not being able to do it without you"

"Well you don't have to worry about doing anything yourself while I'm here" I gently smile as I run my fingers over his lips

"I'm going to heat you some of the soup I made then go check on Henry and see if he's doing okay" I kiss his cheek

_______________

30 minutes later after I give some soup to Aaron and help him up to the bathroom and then back on the couch I head over to Henry's place

Entering his apartment I grab the thermometer so I can check to make sure there are no signs of a fever, the doctor told me to watch out for the first week to make sure he's doing fine

I grab him another glass of water to make sure he's hydrated and walk to his room

Everything in this moment feels like a blur after a terrible nightmare, that happens in slow motion yet really fast all at the same time

The glass slips out of my hand shattering all over the floor.

Splashing water all over me and the floor, glass shards go everywhere, but I don't focus on that because my eyes are glued to the figure laying on the floor,

Henry has blood seeping out of his shirt from what looks like stitching coming out from the impact of the fall,

I run to him and grab his phone that Aaron bought him a little bit ago and call an ambulance

My hands shake, an endless stream of tears run down my face, the pain I feel at this moment is too much to let out a scream,

The ambulance comes, I don't register anything, one minute I'm sobbing on the floor holding Henry's hand the next, he's being carried and taken to the ambulance.

Then I'm all alone in his place.

Hoping that I'm not about to lose someone I consider my family.

----notes-----

Hope you liked this chapter (sorry it was a bit shorter I'm HELLA busy at the moment so this was all I could write)

I kind of hate it...it felt repetitive to me but I can't think straight from stress so I'm really sorry!! I'm trying to make this story actually interesting to read but I feel like I'm failing.

Vote and comment!

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