Sickness

Chapter 7

When Mike woke up, Billie was gone. This was never a good sign.

When they were 16, one time Mike woke up and Billie was gone.

Mike found him asleep with his head in the sink.

It was never a good sign when Billie wasn't in bed.

Mike stayed still for a while, and he heard a strange retching noise. He immediately knew where Billie was.

He plodded barefoot into the bathroom and, as expected, found the singer hunched over the toilet.

He rubbed a circle pattern onto Billie's back, shushing him as he whimpered. When Mike was sure he was done, he flushed the toilet for him and gently led Billie back to bed.

Billie stumbled his way over, swaying from side to side. Mike wondered how he had even managed to get into the bathroom in the first place.

He tucked Billie into bed, switching the TV on because he knew Billie had sleep for more than at least 12 hours, so he probably wouldn't be tired and would need something to watch. However, Billie's head soon dropped to the side and he was snoring once again.

Mike turned the TV off and set the remote down, chewing on his thumbnail as Tré popped his head into the room, handing Mike his morning coffee, mouthing a silent 'how is he' as he nodded at Billie.

Mike simply shook his head. He wasn't good, that's for sure.

Mike drank his coffee sitting on the couch silently with Tré. He was scared to wake Billie so they stayed quiet, not even speaking as they sipped their coffees.

Tré looked over at Mike, a man he knew very well by now, and saw many of the symptoms Mike shows when he is scared.

His thumbnail was in his mouth and was currently being attacked by his teeth. His brow was furrowed, and he stared at the wall in front of him. Tré patted his knee. "He'll be fine." He said softy, as Mike looked up and removed his thumb. "He always is." Tré reassured him.

Mike set his empty coffee cup down after ripping it into bits, running a hand through his bleached blond hair.

It occurred to Tré that Mike needed to bleach his roots again, but that wasn't really important right now.

He reached over and patted Mike's leg as a sort of comfort. Mike half smiled, and Tré gave up. Mike wouldn't settle until Billie was completely healthy, back on stage and back to normal Billie again.

Instead of just trying to comfort him, Tré sat up and put his cup down, pulling Mike into a hug. Mike leaned into Tré, letting the first tears form in his eyes.

Tré patiently patted Mike's back, whispering comforting words to him as he rocked him, running his fingers through Mike's hair slowly and gently.

Comfort.

Because if Tré has learnt anything from being in this band for so long, it's that sometimes the comforter of the band needs comforting too.