Your shoulders

Every Dog Has It's Day

Eric cursed the slits of sunlight peaking through the blinds as it pierced his eyes. He groaned lowly pulling the blankets over his face. Eric noticed a strange tingling sensation in his arms upon moving them but that didn't bother him as much as the dull ache bleeding through his whole body. He'd never woken up feeling like this before? At this point he wished he wouldn't have woken up at all. 'Was I moving couches in my sleep? What happened last night?' Eric thought. He deemed himself mildly alarmed by his inability to remember recent events but figured it'd come back to him eventually.

He propped himself up on his elbows, head softly waving side to side as the room started spinning. His stomach stirred as his body punished him for even attempting to sit up. 'Don't throw up, don't throw up, don't throw up' the mantra repeats and spins around his mind silently as nausea continues to build, planting a rock in his throat. He barely gained enough strength to pull himself over the bed as the bile shot out his mouth, the acid burning his throat as it kept rising from the depths of his stomach. He faintly heard his door open through his heaving.

Shawn immediately rushed to Eric's side, brushing back the sweaty hair that stuck to his forehead and holding it back while he continued dry heaving over the edge of the bed. He let out a pathetic whine as he tried to sort himself upright. Shawn hurriedly assisted him by putting a pillow against the headboard and lightly pushing him onto it. "I'll clean this up.. don't move." He said rushing out the door. Eric barely processed the instructions but obeyed anyways as his legs were feeling too numb to move. Shawn came back with a paper towel roll, a plastic bag, and a cup of water. He placed the water on the bedside table and began wiping up Eric's last meal off the hardwood floor. He dumped the soiled towels in the plastic bag and pulled another towel from the roll. Eric's mind was fuzzier then it was upon waking up and he started to feel himself growing more panicky by the second. He panted like a dog as the aching in his body intensified.

Shawn made his way to Eric's bedside and got to work sweeping the vomit around his mouth with another paper towel to add to the pile in the plastic bag. Eric felt his eyes slip shut as the headache intensified. He feel like someone was pushing two fingers into his eyes. Suddenly, something prodded his lips. He resisted the intrusion with a confused grunt. "Its just water, Eric. Please drink it you need fluids.." Shawn pleaded. Just then his attention was drawn to the bedroom door as he heard Jack enter the house. He swiftly sped out the room leaving Eric unattended for a short period.

"Jack-" "is he awake?" He interjects, pulling his jacket off and hanging it on the rack by the door. Shawn winced at that, following Jack through the apartment. "uh yeah but he's in rough shape. He threw up everywhere and is refusing water." Jack sighed opening the door to Eric's room only to be met with a pitiful sight. Sweat beaded 'round his forehead and dampened the neck line of his shirt. His cheeks were flushed red in contrast to the rest of his face as it was white as sheet paper. Jack raced over, grabbing the water off his bedside, and sticking the straw between Eric's chapped lips. Eric, predictably so, turned away in protest. Jack was having none of it as grabbed him by his lower jaw and pushed the straw back into his mouth. Eric fussed - confused for a minute - and kept weakly resisting until finally taking a few sips, making a mess of his already damp shirt. "Eric? You alright?" Jack asked with a softened tone. He turned to him and nodded, trying to pull himself over the bed. "Where we going, buddy?" Jack didn't protest but rather, helped him to his feet (even though he knew it wasn't a good idea).

Eric croaked "living room" in a scratchy voice before letting Jack help him to the couch. After a few episodes of Ren and Stimpy, Jack left the couch assuring Shawn and Eric he'd be quick. "I just need-a make a quick call?" Shawn nodded from the kitchen, silently agreeing to keep an eye on Eric and with that, he retreated to his room. Jack pulled up the sleeve of his flannel and glared at the numbers Lola scribbled on his forearm. He debated calling it and asking if she knew what Eric was coming down from and if it was something he could sweat out at home.

He dialed the numbers and called two times before getting an answer. "hello?" Her groggy voice pierced through the static. "Hey its Jack.. did ya ever figure what happened to Eric or what he was given? I just wanna know if it's anything super serious.." Jack nervously paced in circles while Lola took a second to respond. "No, Jack. For the last time I don't know. But if he woke up this afternoon, he should be fine..." she sounded disappointed at Jack's reason for calling. Sighing and droning on over the phone like carrying this conversation was a chore and it probably was to her. Though Jack valued Eric's life over her comfort any day, he still felt bad for some reason. "Right right.. how'd you sleep after last night?" He initiated small talk in hopes of brightening the conversation. "I slept fine. 'Last night' is every night for me so... nothing out of the blue." Jack nodded and hummed waiting for someone or something to finally end this dreadful conversation. "Look I'm not used to being up before 1 in the afternoon so maybe call me later and we could make some plans for lunch or something?" Lola said hoping he'd take her up on her offer. "Sounds good. I should check on Eric anyways, I'll call you later." They exchanged goodbyes before letting each other go.

Jack left the bedroom, kindly greeted with the smell of marinara sauce. He joined Eric on the couch, relieving Shawn of his 'babysitting' duties so he could put his full attention on making their lunch without burning the house down. Eric drearily laid his head on Jack's lap while pulling his legs up to rest on the remaining half of the sofa. "Eric?" He shifted just barely to show Jack he was still awake but didn't say anything, waiting for him to spit out the rest of his sentence.

"... you feeling any better.. I can fetch some pain killers if you need any?" He asked softening his tone in hopes of sparing Eric another splitting headache. We was initially going to ask him what he was doing on his lap but figured he should be more sensitive of Eric's situation. He couldn't even imagine what he was feeling especially since he had no idea what those girls gave him. "I feel better.. Shawn gave me some painkillers a few minutes ago" Eric droned, his response laced heavily with a slurred voice. Jack nodded in acknowledgment with a tight lipped smile across his face. The silence felt a little awkward to him and probably only him as Eric was far too ill to notice any difference. He let out a long drawn out groan "pat my head." Eric insisted. Jack let out an airy chuckle "like a dog?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. Eric simply dropped Jack's hand on his head. He complied of course but while meeting Eric's demand, he decided to turn his attention to Lola and their plans for this evening. He glanced at the clock 'she sure seems to be taking her sweet ass time calling back.. it's 2:00 a.m. two hours since I called the first time' Jack pondered on that while absently looking back and forth between the clock, and the tv, clock, tv, clock, and so on. He wasn't really looking forward to seeing her again but he figured coffee couldn't hurt. Or could it? I mean, maybe drinks wouldn't be such a good idea considering her and her girlfriends were a gang of drug slipping coke whores. While she had insisted no connection between her and the other ladies, Jack had yet to be fully convinced.

"Jack!" Shawn called from the kitchen. Eric lifted his head so he could get up and make his way towards his brother. He made sure Jack was within earshot before saying "Lunch is ready, make a plate for you and Eric." He was already walking out with his own plate towards the La-Z-Boy recliner in the living room. Jack made him and his friend hearty plates, just barely setting it down before the phone rang.

He rushed towards the landline phone in the hallway, pulling it off the receiver. "Lola?" He said overriding a 'hello' or a 'who's this'. "The one and only. How do you feel about drinks tonight? I know a place." Hmm. Sounds like a bad idea. "I'll pick y'up at eight?" She gave him the address of the motel she was staying at before they hung up, saving the real conversing for later.