Closer 2

146.

The nausea wasn't that bad when she didn't move. If she curled up with a pillow pressed against her chest and laid completely still it was bearable. She knew she had to move soon to drink some water, though.

Ray had made her promise to drink half a glass of water every half hour. He had provided her with a jug with ice water on her bedside table and a glass to refill. She didn't want to move to do it, though, knowing the nausea would start up again once she moved from this position.

She tried not to think too much about everything she was missing or should be doing for her studies, or the fact that she had used up all her sick leave and really only was lucky to have the nicest boss on Earth who still paid her despite this.

The fact that Ray was leaving for his tour in just a few days scared her too. How would she manage on her own like this? Sure, Ray had already talked to Brett and Eddy, and sure she could cash in some favours from some of her other friends, but how would she manage when just the thought of pouring herself a glass of water made her stomach twist?

...

"You okay?" Eddy asked softly, placing his arms around his boyfriend from behind where he stood by the counter and watched coffee drip into the pot in front of him. He jumped in surprise a bit when Eddy touched him, but quickly relaxed back into Eddy's arms.

"I honestly don't know," Brett sighed as another drop of dark liquid fell into the pool in the bottom of the glass coffee pot. "I guess I just... I wish I knew why Elise was so angry, and I guess... I guess I feel guilty."

"Why do you feel guilty?" Eddy asked, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "You have nothing to feel guilty for, love."

"I do, that's the thing. I really do," Brett mumbled, turning to look up at Eddy. "There's some thoughts in my head I feel really guilty about."

Eddy nodded a bit, stroking some of Brett's dark hair out of his face.
"Wanna tell me about them?" he asked, pressing a kiss to his forehead. Brett shrugged a bit, eyes dropping to Eddy's chest.

"Only if you promise not to be too disappointed in me," Brett sighed, licking his lips a bit. "It's... I've got some... some negative thoughts."

"About what?" Eddy prompted softly, continuing to touch Brett's face with gentle fingers to keep him calm. "And of course I won't be disappointed in you. It's just thoughts."

"About Elise," Brett admitted quietly, his hands finding one of the drawstrings on Eddy's pink hoodie. "When we fight like we did before, or sometimes when we fight about bedtime, I... I think that... that I don't really like her..? I mean, I love her, I'd die for her, but I don't really like who she has become."

The fact that Eddy got really quiet after his admission made Brett's stomach feel heavy like a stone, and like he just wanted to go gide under the covers and cry for the next few hours while the twins slept.

That was until he looked up at Eddy and found a similar, guilty face.

"I have had the same thought, but I didn't want to say it because... because of the whole biology thing," Eddy mumbled, not meeting Brett's eyes anymore. "I don't know why she's decided that hitting is okay, why she refuses to sleep or why she cries all the time, and it's so frustrating, you know? Especially when the twins are... are pretty much just like she was when she was their age - pretty much quiet and good kids."

"So neither of us like her, then," Brett mumbled, shaking his head. "That sounds bad. We're her parents. If anyone's supposed to like her, it's us."

"I know. I don't kniw how to fix it, though," Eddy mumbled, pulling Brett into a tight hug. "I suppose it could just be a bad case of the terrible twos, that we'll get our angel back eventually. It is almost her birthday, after all, she is almost two."

"I hope so. I really do, I hate feeling like this about her," Brett mumbled into the side of Eddy's neck, squeezing his eyes shut. He missed feeling like he could call her baba's little princess.