safe in my arms | solangelo au | under editing

Chapter Fifteen

Will

I call Nico at midday, like I promised. I'm sitting outside, my hair damp after pulling a little kid out of the deep end of the pool.

"Hey Neeks!" I grin at the phone even though he can't see me.
"Neeks?" His voice asks.
"Yeah! It suits you!"
"It doesn't."
"I think it does." I shrug.

"Have you eaten?" I ask. There's a moment of silence before he replies.
"Yes."
"What have you eaten?" I ask.
"An apple."
"And..."
"That's it." He says.

"Eat something else." I order.
"But I'm not hungry."
"If you don't eat I'll have to come home and cook you a massive meal, then make sure you eat it."
"You're probably going to do that anyway." He says.
"Maybe." I smile.

There's a long silence, then,
"I threw up."
"What?"
"I threw up basically as soon as I finished the apple." Nico says quietly. "I'm sorry."
"No, no, don't apologise. It's just... When did you last eat, aside from today?"
"About two or three days ago?" He guesses.
"No wonder you're throwing up, if your body is so unused to food." I groan. "Why don't you eat more?"

He doesn't answer, and I start to feel nauseous. "Nico, do you... Do you have an eating disorder?"
"I don't know." He admits quietly. "I've never seen anybody about it."

I put the phone down, and my head falls in my hands, as I try not to cry. I've got to get him to a doctor.

~~~

That night, I get in and pretty much collapse.
"What's wrong?" Nico asks, walking into the room. I'm laid face down on my sofa, groaning.
"There were these two kids..." I sigh. "They couldn't swim, yet they kept trying to dive into the water. I had to pull them out like, thirty times each."

"Don't you think you're exaggerating a bit?" Nico asks, sitting beside me.
"No." I say, sitting up. "So how was your day?" I ask. Nico shrugs.
"Not as stressful as yours, that's for sure." His smile doesn't reach his eyes, and I remember what he told me.

"Listen, I have an idea." I smile. He looks at me warily.
"What is it?" He asks nervously.
"Do you know how to swim?" I ask.
"No." He shakes his head.
"Do you want to learn?"
"No."
"Oh." Nico looks upset as my smile drops, so I try not to look so disheartened.
"Why?" He asks.

"I was going to pull in a few favours and teach you."
"Will, I don't want to learn because of all the people." Nico explains. "I don't like crowds, and they'll be judging me, and people try to dunk me under..."
"But that's the good thing!" I smile.

Nico raises an eyebrow.
"It's a good thing that people try to drown me?"

"No... That came out wrong." I blush. "I meant that it's okay, because I was going to arrange it so that I teach you at night. When the pool closes at seven, I could then take you and teach you how to swim, every night until you learn!"
"Really?" He asks.
"Yeah!" I grin.
"You must have pulled in a lot of favours."
"I did." I smile. "But it will be worth it."

"You really want to do this?" He asks nervously.
"Yeah... As long as you're okay with it." I smile. Nico takes a deep breath and thinks for a moment.
"Okay." He nods, starting to grin. "I'll do it."

"I have one condition."
"Huh?" His brow scrunches up in confusion. I want to smooth it down with my thumb, but I keep my hands to myself.
"I know you don't want to see a doctor," he nods, "but I want you to start eating again, building up slowly. Otherwise, I'm taking you to see a therapist."

Nico looks down at his hands, fiddling with a hangnail for a moment. He rips it off, making me grimace, then nods almost imperceptibly.
"I'll try as hard as I can."
"That's all I can ask of you."