Star-gazing: Eric Coulter

Chapter 3

TW- mature content

Song: Teenage dream
Artist: Katy Perry

Eric's pov:

Suddenly, she grabbed a hold of my shoulder and fell against my chest. I felt a wave of worry wash over me. "Baby?" I tried to keep my voice calm, as I attempted not to show the panic that was coursing through my veins.
I lowered her onto the floor, whilst I sat behind her so that she could lean on me. I didn't want her to fall backwards or hit her head on anything. When I had lifted her, I did realise that she felt lighter than usual. As if she hadn't eaten anything in a long time... shit.
I remembered her telling me that there 'just hadn't been any time.'

Leaning her head on my shoulder, I shifted my gaze into her eyes. Her emerald orbs were spinning and her fragile eyelids were fluttering. I knew something was definitely wrong with her- and I wasn't going to stop until I found out who or what had started this.
"Layla, I need you to talk to me." I informed her, noticing how her hands had begun to shake subtly. I lightly kissed her forehead, "You need to tell me what you've eaten."
She was a stuttering mess as she tried to answer me. I also noticed how she had turned a deep shade of red and trickles of sweat had started to run rivers down her face. Eventually she mumbled something along the lines of, "Breakfast."
Another wave of sheer panic crashed against me, "Today?" I pecked another kiss onto her hot face- she was definitely running a high fever.
"Yesterday." Layla answered me. I couldn't breathe. She hadn't eaten anything all of this time? How had she even lasted this long?
"What about before that, baby?" I asked her, caressing the outer side of her arm.

When she didn't answer me I grabbed her chin and pushed her head to face mine. Her lips were quivering, whilst her emerald iris' were high up underneath her eyelids- as they roll back and after a few seconds close. I tried to shake her awake, "Layla, darling?" I hoisted her up into my arms after I had stood up myself and decided that I had to take her to the infirmary. Usually I would just take her back to our apartment if she fainted or got hurt. But this was different. She needed medical attention.

Carrying her out of the vacant training room, I started to jog -making sure to be careful and gentle with her- the infirmary was only around the corner and down a hallway. I knew I would hardly see anyone as they would all be at lunch (Layla hated when people saw her acting weak or injured, she said it always reminded her of her old life back in erudite).

"Bring her over here and put her on the bed!" Shauna (one of my wife's closest friends from initiation) told me, an urgent tone to her voice, "What the hell happened, Eric?"
Placing her down on the thin, hospital mattress, I enlightened the nurse on everything that I knew had happened. She glanced at me, as a worried look twinkled in her eyes, "Someone page Doctor Lewis, he needs to put in a feeding tube." I shut my eyes. Layla had had one of these during stage two of initiation when she had stopped eating. She's told me she was over it all now, that she was better and her life in Erudite didn't affect her anymore...

As the doctor (whom was originally sent from Erudite, seven years ago) made his towards my fragile-looking wife, I gave him a quick nod before he started to talk. "Is she not eating again?" He asked in a hurry, as he opened a box with a long, thin, flexible plastic tube in. He was ready to insert it down her nostril, "We didn't get to have that whole chat much before she passed the fuck out!" I snapped at him, crossing my arms against my chest.
"Eric calm down." Shauna approached me and led me to the waiting room at the front of the hospital. The room had a minuscule reception desk in the middle with plain, worn-out, ash-coloured sofas dotted around. I slouched down onto the chair, as the woman sat opposite me.
"I know you're worried about her, Eric. But you can't go around yelling in the infirmary. They'll kick you out eventually." She sighed, I glared at her at her feeling irritated and irrational- but I knew she was right, they would kick me out even if I was leadership.
"The things that woman does to me." I murmured, I held my head in my hands, "She's survived worse things than this."
Shauna chuckled, "It's love Eric." She paused as she thought, "Love is a crazy thing. You out of all people should know that..."
I nod, knowing exactly what she meant.