blood and dreams

sick

Henry slept for 4 hours straight. Ray managed to slide back next to him and rest Henry's head over his lap without waking him up. He occasionally checked to make sure Henry was breathing, which Ray understood was irrational, but who cares?   

When Henry finally woke up, it took a second to register what was going on. He opened his eyes to a dark man cave with just one lamp on. He lifted his head, and it felt heavy and achy. He dropped it back down onto Ray's lap as soon as the headache hit him. 

"Henry, you alright?" Ray whispered, resting a hand on Henry's head. 

"Uh-" Henry started, but immediately noticed how badly his throat hurt. He tried to swallow and winced. 

"R-Ray I don't feel good." Henry said, his voice cracking. 

"Shh I know. You have a fever. Try to relax." Ray said, getting up to get Henry water. 

"Don't leave" Henry said, reaching for Ray as he stood up. 

"I'll be right back Hen. It's okay." Ray said, walking away. 

Henry sat up on the couch. He checked his phone. 9 pm. He felt awful. He had felt fine earlier. 

As Henry struggled with the pain in his throat, he got that feeling you always get when you're sick. The one where you think about how you take not being sick for granted, and how as soon as you're healed you're gonna appreciate every minute of health you have. Even though of course you won't. You'll forget about it in two days. 

Ray walked back with a cup of water for Henry. 

"Can you drink that?" Ray asked gently, sitting next to Henry and handing it to him. 

Henry didn't say anything. His voice hurt. 

He picked up the cup and forced himself to drink the entire thing, even though it was so uncomfortable. He dropped his head into Ray's shoulder when he was done, wiping his nose on his sleeve. A tear dripped from his eye. He hated being sick. 

Ray just sat there with him,  running a hand through Henry's hair. Henry relaxed a little. Maybe he'd be okay. Ray would help him.  

"You gotta tell me when you don't feel good, I wanna help you Hen." Ray said. 

Henry understood exactly where Ray was coming from, but he was too miserable to agree. He just said, "I never feel good." and rubbed his face on Ray's shoulder in an attempt to get more  comfortable. It didn't work. He was too exhausted to care. 

Time seemed to go slower for Henry. He felt like this was a weird dream he'd wake up from any second. He started to feel dizzy. He sat up and planted a hand on Ray's shoulder, gripping him like he was going to fall if he didn't. 

"Henry? Are you okay?" Ray asked, growing worried. 

Henry just nodded, even though of course he wasn't okay. His stomach started to hurt. He crossed his legs on the couch, hoping it would go away. It didn't. 

Henry stood up and sprinted to the bathroom. He closed the door quickly when he got inside and knelt down, throwing up. When he finally stopped, he felt briefly euphoric, like you always do after puking. Then he stood up, brushed his teeth, and next thing he knew he was throwing up again. Ray knocked on the door. 

"Henry? Are you okay in there?" He called. 

"No." Henry replied weakly. 

"I'm coming in." Ray said, opening the door. Henry was now sitting on the floor, hugging his knees to his chest.  Ray sat next to him, rubbing Henry's back. 

"I threw up." Henry said. 

"I see that." Ray replied. "Are you okay?" 

"Not really." Henry said, his voice muffled from his head being pressed against his knees. 

Ray let Henry sit for a minute, then put an arm around him and helped him stand up. Henry leaned over the bathroom sink and looked up into the mirror. The florescent lights mixed with his sickness made him look like a reanimated corpse. He had dark bags under his eyes. His lips had no color. The whites of his eyes were vaguely red. 

He picked up his toothbrush and brushed his teeth again. Then he splashed his face with cold water and glanced at Ray, standing behind him. Ray helped him walk to their room. Henry felt lightheaded and almost tripped on the walk down the hallway. 

Ray helped Henry lay down and brought him some cold medicine and water, which he reluctantly drank. His throat ached with every swallow. Ray noticed a tear on Henry's face and wiped it off, sitting next to him. 

"I promise you're gonna be okay." Ray said. 

"I know, I just hate this feeling." Henry complained. 

"You should try to get some sleep Hen." Ray said, hoping if he got to sleep then at least he wouldn't have to feel the symptoms anymore   

Henry just closed his eyes and hugged the blanket. He couldn't imagine getting to sleep feeling like this. It was unbearable. 

Ray eventually fell asleep, but Henry kept tossing and turning all night. Ray woke up from this and half asleep, reached over to hold Henry's hand in hopes of making him feel better. Henry still felt awful, but slightly comforted. He ended up finally falling asleep at 3 in the morning, and once he was out he didn't wake up again until the next day.