Our Safeguard

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

~Nolan~

       I ended up waking up in the morning before my alarm went off, so I slowly opened my eyes and reached for my phone charging on my nightstand. It took a few moments for my eyes to fully adjust and once it did, I looked at the time on my phone. About ten minutes before my alarm went off.

       Knowing I could start getting ready for school, I turned around, bringing the blankets closer to my chin. I was about to close my eyes and go back to sleep, but I noticed that the left side of the bed was completely empty. 

       Jerome, like me, normally took as long as he could to get out of bed. Even if his alarm was going off in less than a minute, he would stay in bed until that sound came. It was very odd that he was already out of bed.

       Wanting to make sure Jerome was okay, I got out of bed and left the bedroom. I was about to head downstairs to see if Jerome was there, but then I noticed that the bathroom door was closed. Not only that, but I heard the sound of Jerome vomiting inside.

       I quietly knocked on the door and after a few moments, Jerome asked, "Yeah?" in what sounded like a very weak voice.

       "Are you okay?" I asked.

       He didn't reply. The toilet flushed, then the faucet started running for a bit. Shortly after the faucet turned off, Jerome opened the door to the bathroom. He didn't look well at all. He had dark and heavy bags under his eyes, his cheeks looking flushed while the rest of his skin was extremely pale.

       "I'm fine," he said.

       Ignoring his evident lie, I pressed the back of my hand against his forehead. He didn't feel hot, so I doubt this was the flu or some sickness. "It didn't sound like you're fine."

       Jerome sighed heavily and rested his head against the door frame. "Then, I'll be fine. I just need to sleep this off or something. Probably."

       I hesitated for a bit, wondering if I should question Jerome what I think that was. I never wanted to pressure him into talking about it, but he had been a bit open about it the past couple days. Maybe he wouldn't mind if I got some sort of confirmation. "Did you relapse?"

       Jerome didn't look at me for a few moments. As soon as he did, he said, "I'm trying, Nolan. I swear, I am. It's just... It's not easy and--"

       "Hey..." I interrupted, gently placing my hand on his cheek. "You don't have to explain yourself. I know what it's like to relapse with something. It's not easy, but don't beat yourself up over it. It, unfortunately, happens. But if I do know one thing, it's that pretending like everything is okay when it's not doesn't actually help."

       "I know," Jerome said with another sigh. "And I'm sorry that I expect you to open up to me when I don't."

       "It's okay," I said. "Do you want me to stay home with you?"

       "You shouldn't skip school."

       "Funny coming from you. You skipped all the time. If you really don't need me to stay with you, I'll go, but I really will stay if you want me to. My parents will be fine with me missing one day."

       Jerome hesitated. "I... do want you to stay but I really don't want to be the reason you're skipping."

       "I was the reason you skipped all the time."

       Jerome sighed. "Fair enough. Are you sure you'll be okay with it?"

       "Yeah, of course."