You Don't Have To Be Sorry For Leaving and Growing Up

I Don't Believe That Time Will Change Your Mind

January 3rd 2017-

Eddie stands in the doorway, watching in fright as Richie hacks up a lung on the couch. He had woken up full of flu, the symptoms from the past few weeks finally blowing up into a mess of sickness for the comedian. Eddie was supposed to be working on his hypochondria in therapy but he was struggling. This was over thirty years worth of trauma that was hard to let go.

The coughing and scratchy throat had started first, then came the aching shortly followed by a headache. Next had come the difficultly sleeping and just yesterday he'd had a sudden loss of appetite, culminating to today. Where Eddie had been woken up by Richie puking into the toilet. He had a high fever and was shivering and it was obvious that the man had the flu.

"Eddie." Richie croaks out, not looking over at the mechanic, who stays in his place by the living room door." Baby?"

"Yes, Rich?" Eddie breathes out. Richie was clingy when he was sick, he was aware of that. He was clingy when he wasn't sick, but being sick made him even clingier.

"Can you cuddle me?"

"No, Rich, I'm sorry."

"Okay." Richie coughs and he turns onto his side, trying to sleep. He'd been drifting in and out for a good four hours and Eddie watches as the younger man drifts off once more before he heads off to their room to call for help.

"Maggie?" Eddie says as he hears the cheery "hello" from the woman on the end of the line. He picks at his nails anxiously as he says," Richie's sick...and I'm kind of freaking out about it."

"Okay honey, don't worry. I'll be over soon with some homemade soup, alright?" Her words are calming and Eddie is so thankful for her. He'd always wished he'd had a mother like Maggie; who cared and worried the normal amount a mother should. Soon enough, she was going to be his mother in law. He finds himself smiling as he says," yes. Thank you."

They talk only a brief moment longer and Eddie stalks back into the living room, finding his fiancé half asleep on the couch, stupid day time TV playing in the background. Richie's snoring slightly, a sign that he was unwell, as he only ever snored whilst sick. Eddie watches him from the doorway. He's pale and sweaty and his hair is half sticking up and half plastered to his head. He's trembling and whimpering slightly, sniffing every now and then.

Eddie feels a tug at his heart, one full of guilt. He wanted so badly to cuddle up with Richie and calm him. He wanted to hold his hair back and rub between his shoulder blades as he vomited. He wanted to bring him herbal tea and play with his sweaty hair. Because he loved him and he felt as though he was failing him to let his hypochondriac ridden brain prevent him from playing nurse. He didn't want to coddle Richie the way his mother did, but he knew Richie wanted to be coddled to an extent from his requests. Eddie couldn't provide this for Myra, either, and she used to say he was a 'good for nothing, silly little man' who didn't care about her. Eddie wanted so badly to not fail at being a husband like before. He just wanted so badly to not fail anyone for once.

Eddie decides to clean up a little before Maggie arrives. He knows he's stress cleaning, and he thought he'd worked past that, but today it just seemed like he was falling back into old habits and he hated it. He cleans up the coffee table that's filled with plates and cups and tissues and crumbs. Then he cleans out Richie's sick bowl properly before he grabs some water for the man, placing it onto the clean coffee table. Maggie arrives just as Eddie's sanitising the door handles.

"You don't need to do that, Eddie." She states as she walks in, the closing of the front door startling Richie awake, even though it hadn't been loud.

"I...suppose I don't but...I am." Eddie responds. Maggie nods and makes her way over to her son, who greets her with a," mom I'm sick."