(Home)Less Without You

6

TW's:
*Mentions death family member
*Mentions suicide

I woke up next morning, feeling even worse than yesterday. I was confused about where I was, wasn't I evicted? I started coughing loudly and heard footsteps on the stairs coming up. The door slowly opened and I suddenly saw George coming in. That was it, I was with George. He came in with a plate with a cup of soup, some water and a thermometer.

'Here, soup is good for you. Can I maybe take your temperature?'

I nodded slowly, I opened my mouth and he put in the thermometer. He waited for a little and I saw him concernedly looking at it when it was done.

'39,8 degrees (around 104 Fahrenheit) that's really high. You have a bad fever.'

'I'm sorry, I don't want to make you sick.'

'I don't mind, sleeping on the streets with wet clothes is way worse, I'm not letting you go there anymore, definitely not with this high of a fever.'

'But I can't stay here, you have a life.'

'We will find something for that. Do you want to shower?'

'I'm so weak.'

'Go and lay down then. Do you want the soup?'

I nodded slowly. 'Thanks.'

'Maybe we can get to know each other a little more?'

'Yeah, sure.'

'So I'm George, I'm twenty four years old. I'm from England, but my parents moved here when I was sixteen. I finished computer science in college. I used to live with my mum, but I moved out one year ago.'

'Sounds pretty chill. Well I didn't do a study, I uh- I moved out when I was young. Well- move, I-.'

'Are you alright?'

'Uh- I don't really uh- have parents anymore.'

'Oh gosh, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?'

I nodded slowly. My parents died when I was sixteen. My mum died because of a heart attack and my dad- he killed himself. I had therapy for it and I could handle it better now. It was still very difficult, that's why I had no one to help me take care of my house. I had no one to help me pay, I had no one to help me grow up. I was alone since I was sixteen and I lost my mum when I was twelve. I had gone to many foster families, but I was unbearable. I guess I lived on my own when I was eighteen, working in a store. There was no way I made enough to pay my bills. And so it happened.

'You're crying, Clay.'

I startled and quickly wiped my tears away. 'Oh nothing.'

'Do you want to talk about it?'

'I'm just a little emotional because of the fever.'

'I get that. But I guess we are roommates now for a few days, maybe longer. You can always talk with me.'

I nodded slowly, whilst drinking my soup.

'Did I make the soup tasty enough?'

I nodded. 'Thank you so much.'

'I'm going to get you some medicine, you should sleep again.'

'But isn't this your bed?'

'Oh, yeah, it's fine. I can just stay on the couch, don't worry about me. You need it way more than I need it now.'

'Thank you for helping me. I was so hopeless,' I whispered.

'Do you want to talk about it?'

'I just- I was so cold.'

'I know, you're very sick.'

When I had a fever, I always got really emotional. I started crying suddenly about absolutely nothing and George grabbed my hand.

'You're going to be fine, okay?'

I shrugged a little and closed my eyes. 'My head hurts so much, I'm sorry for complaining, but I feel so bad.'

'I'm going to get you some medicine and you will go to sleep after, okay?'

I nodded. George stood up and walked away to get me some medicine. I shivered because I was feeling very cold and pulled the sheets up high, making me sweat immediately. I had tears streaming down my face as I rolled to my side. I was so emotional suddenly. I looked up as George walked in with some medicine. I took the pills and George sat down on his bed. He grabbed my hand and rubbed it softly. It calmed me down a little and I closed my eyes again, making me fall asleep within a few minutes.

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