About a Girl

chapter thirty two

The next morning, Lily woke up with Kurt's head resting on her chest. It took her a moment to remember everything that had happened the night before, but then it came back to her. She remembered the fight, she remembered crying with Kurt on the couch, she remembered telling him about how she had been stealing her mom's painkillers for years, and how she made herself stop using when she moved out of her parents' house. She remembered how the two of them had cleaned Vicodin up from the floor and – along with Kurt's box with his needles and drugs – and had thrown them in the dumpster behind their apartment building. After that, they went for a walk around the city until they found a mostly-empty diner where they ate pancakes, talked, and smoked cigarettes for hours.

Now as the bright morning sun shone through the window and illuminated the room, Lily smiled to herself as she looked down at Kurt, his arms tucked around her waist, his face calm and relaxed. She ran her fingers through his hair, breathing in the smell of cigarettes and cologne clinging to his skin. She pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead and his eyes fluttered open as he stirred awake.

"Good morning, sunshine," Lily giggled.

Kurt looked up, smiling at her and resting his chin on her chest. "Morning, sweetheart,"

"How are you? Did you sleep ok?" she asked, stroking the side of his face lovingly.

"Yeah, I did," Kurt said. A yawn escaped his mouth and he laughed. "Still tired though. But other than that, I feel great."

"That's good, I'm happy," Lily grinned.

Kurt smiled and hugged her, his arms squeezing around her. But the sudden pressure made her stomach turn; Lily scrambled out of the bed and raced to the bathroom as she felt her throat burning with stomach acid. As she heaved and gagged and sobbed at the pain of her insides straining, she felt Kurt's hands pulling her hair out of her face and rubbing her back soothingly. When she finally stopped, tears running down her face and out of breath, Kurt held her in his arms, kissed her head softly, and got her a damp towel to clean her face.

"You're still sick?" he asked, his voice heavy with concern.

Lily nodded. "It comes and goes," she said. "I hope it goes away soon though, I fucking hate throwing up all the time..."

"I'm sorry, baby," Kurt mumbled, hugging her and scratching her back. "You should go lay down and I'll make you some tea and we can sleep and read and cuddle all day. How does that sound?"

Lily smiled, her face buried in Kurt's chest. "That sounds amazing." A squeak of surprise left her lips as Kurt picked her up and carried her back to their bedroom. He set her down on the bed, wrapping a blanket around her and covering her face with kisses. "How can you not think I'm absolutely disgusting after just watching me puke up my guts?"

Kurt just laughed at her as he walked out the door to the kitchen.

A few hours later, the two of them were cuddled in bed, Lily's head resting on Kurt's lap as he read Alice in Wonderland to her. She had requested the book because it was what Tessa had always read to her when she was a kid and she got sick. Like most odd little girls, Lily had always felt connected to Alice, lost and frightened and alone in a world that made no sense at all to her. But what she loved even more about the story was the way that Alice found her way in the strange world.

As the book ended and the sound of Kurt's voice faded away, Lily drifted off into sleep. She didn't feel sick anymore, but she was still exhausted for some reason. When she eventually woke up, Kurt was browsing his war-torn copy of Perfume and lazily smoking a cigarette. Lily sat up, stretched, yawned, and stole the cigarette from Kurt, taking a long drag and exhaling the smoke with a sigh. Kurt looked up from his book and smiled at her, putting an arm around her shoulder and pulling her into his side.

"Hey you," he said. "Feeling any better?"

"Mhm," Lily mumbled. "Just tired. Thanks for reading to me."

"Of course," Kurt said, grinning. "It's my little gift to you while you're sick. Enjoy it while it lasts." He joked. Lily laughed, but then gasped and she sat straight up as she realized something she had forgotten.

"FUCK I FORGOT ABOUT YOUR BIRTHDAY!!"

Kurt laughed. "Lily, it's fine!" he said. "I don't care about my birthday anyways."

"I was gonna get you a giiifftttt," she whined, crawling onto Kurt's lap and burying her face in his neck. "But I've been so sick that I forgot! I'm sorry..."

Kurt chuckled to himself quietly as he held Lily close and rubbed her back. "Baby, it's ok, I promise," he soothed. "We can celebrate our birthdays together when you're feeling better."

"That sounds nice," Lily sniffled, pulling her face out of Kurt's neck and looking up at him with a small smile. He smiled back and leaned in to kiss her, but Lily stopped him by clamping her hand over her lips. "I don't wanna get you sick!"

Kurt rolled his eyes and pulled her hand away from her mouth. "I don't give a fuck," he mumbled, kissing her lips gently.