Unhealthy obsession (Haikyuu AU)

Chapter 42

RECOMMENDED SONG: SOBER BY DEMI LOVATO

Kuroo was sitting in an uncomfortable chair next to the bed. He stroked the back of Bokuto's hand with his thumb as the beep of the machine that measured the young man's pulse and oxygen saturation sounded.

The tests had gone well - or as well as they could in those conditions. The level of alcohol in Bokuto's blood was very high, as the doctor had already warned Kuroo during the previous late night in the waiting room. After doing several more tests, they had diagnosed a severe alcoholism caused by the continuous intake of alcohol but there was nothing more serious: his liver was fine, his heart was beating without arrhythmias, his pancreas was still working...

And now he just had to wait for Bokuto to regain consciousness. They had administered a medicine to reduce alcohol in the blood little by little, but it had to be his body that made the greatest effort and so, Bokuto was lying on a stretcher, in an agitated sleep while his body detoxified, in a room of the fifth floor of the hospital, outside the emergency room. His condition was not serious, and that, in part, comforted Kuroo.

He had not left his side at any moment. Ever since Bokuto had been taken out of the ER, Kuroo had kept his hand held. It had been 21 hours since he was admitted to the hospital, and Kuroo had not contacted anyone. But he had to do it, because he had several messages and several calls from Oikawa, who showed that he was worried about Kuroo since he had not shown any signs of life all day.

Without letting go of Bokuto's hand, he picked up his phone and dialed Oikawa's number. He responded on the second ring.

"Kuro-chan?" Oikawa asked in a shaky voice.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm sorry for not answering, Oikawa-kun," Kuroo said with a sigh. "I'm fine."

"Don't do that again," Oikawa whimpered. "Thanks God you're okay." Kuroo heard a muffled sound and knew that Oikawa had tried to hide a sob. "I thought... I thought the stalker had done something to you..."

Kuroo didn't say anything, but felt his stomach drop. He should have warned. He knew Oikawa would worry, even more so knowing that one of them had a stalker who followed them every step they took. But he hadn't thought about it, he could only think about Bokuto and how weak he was. Kuroo's eyes filled with tears and a thick knot formed on his chest that made him close his eyes in pain.

"I'm sorry," Kuroo stammered in a shaky voice, as tears began to fall. "Sorry, Oikawa-kun... It's all my fault..."

"No, don't worry," Oikawa tried to comfort him. His voice sounded muffled. "Why do you say that?"

Kuroo sobbed, unable to keep his muffled moans silent. He raised his head and looked at Bokuto in the hospital bed, connected to a machine to measure his condition. His face was haggard, sweat beading his forehead, dark circles under his eyes and his whole body shaking due to the detox that had already begun. And as the doctor had told him at night, things would only get worse. Bokuto would suffer the abstinence syndrome when the alcohol decreased in his body. Kuroo let out a new sob, louder than the previous one, and Oikawa knew then for sure that he was crying.

"Kuro-chan, what's going-"

"I'm in the hospital," Kuroo muttered in a choked voice.

"WHAT!?" Oikawa yelled in a pitchy, scared voice. "WHAT HAPPENED? WHICH HOSPITAL ARE YOU IN? I'LL GO THERE, TELL ME WHERE-"

"No, no, it's not about me," Kuroo said with great effort, trying to hold back the crying for a bit longer. "It's... It's Koutaro, he's..."

Kuroo burst into tears. He wasn't going to keep holding them back, he wasn't going to shut the cry up. His heart had been crushed, he felt weak, hopeless. He hadn't been there when Bokuto needed him the most. And now he felt guilty.