The Boy Next Door

moving toward recovery

hey guyss- this chapter's in caleb's P.O.V. bcz you seemed to like it last time... i'll probably begin updating more and more bcz my christmas holiday starts on wednesday! i can't wait to lock myself in my room and write up a storm!!! haha!

 im being serious tho...

ANYWAY i hope you guys enjoy this chapter! x -e♥︎

CALEB'S P.O.V.

I wake up to Ebony coughing. I guess we fell asleep and I spent the night at her house. "Did I wake you up Cae? I'm sorry!" She says between coughs in her adorable accent.

"No Eb, it's fine." I say, and get up to go get a cup of water for her. I feel awful the medications the doctors are giving her is making her feel so crappy. I return to the bed and give it to her.

"Thanks," she says.

"Anything for you, Eb." I look at the clock, it's 8:00 in the morning on Sunday. I rub her back and tell her to try to focus on taking deep breaths. I hate seeing her like this, all I want is for her to be healthy again. She finally stops coughing and leans her head back on the pillow. She sniffles and smiles weakly at me.

"Good Morning Cae," she whispers.

"Good Morning, I lov-" I'm interrupted by her hacking cough again. It sounds like it's coming from her chest, very painful. I fill up her water cup and she sips it until she stops. She looks up to me, tears in her eyes.

"It hurts," she says softly. I'm not sure if she's talking about her foot, her head, or her throat, but it doesn't matter. She's in pain. I hold out my arms and she climbs into my lap and I hold her as she cries and cries. "It hurts," she says over and over again.

"I know," I whisper. Tears begin burning in my eyes. Ebony doesn't deserve this! It shouldn't have been her. I want to ask her what exactly happened when she fell, but I haven't found the right time. She still seems so shaken. For now I'll just hold her close and make sure she feels safe. I rock her for a few minutes, and then look at her. She's asleep in my arms. She looks so peacefull. I kiss her forehead. Her breath is rattley and her eyes are puffy, but she's still gorgeous. I gently lay her head on the pillow and tuck the blankets up to her chin. Then I go downstairs to get her some tea. Laura and Joey are sitting at the island.

"Good Morning Caleb!" Says Laura, smiling. She looks incredibly tired, I probably do to. This whole thing has worn us all out so much.

"Good Morning Laura, Good Morning Joey," I say.

"Morning Caleb," says Joey. I give him a high five.

"Is she asleep?"

"Yeah, she is now."

"Can you give her these when she wakes up?" Laura asks, handing me three blue and white pills. "They're the ones that make her feel sick but they kill some of the pain in her ankle. The doctor recommended them, but I feel bad giving them to her."

"Yeah, they make her cough, but I guess if they're making her ankle feel better it's worth it, right?"

"Yeah, I guess... How did you sleep?"

"Pretty well."

"Listen Caleb, I'm so thankful for you. You're such an amazing boyfriend to Ebony. Really, I don't know what I would do without you."

"Laura, it's nothing. I love Ebony. I know she'd do the same thing for me," I say as I pour the hot water into a mug and add the teabag.

Laura tears up and gives me a big hug, "I love you so much Caleb," she says as I pick up the mug.

"Love you Laura," I say as I start to walk away. I climb up to Ebony's room and find her still asleep. Good, that will give the tea some time to cool down. I look at her and stroke her hair, and then watch over her, making sure she's safe. She moves a few times in her sleep, and mutters things to herself. I check my Instagram. It's clogged up with people demanding more information about Ebony. Sometimes I wish the fans would go away, and I could have a normal life just for once. Ebony coughs weakly and opens her eyes.

"Hey," I say softly.

"Hey," she whispers.

"I got you some tea, bub." She sits up and I hand it to her. She smiles gratefully. "Here, take it with these," I say as I hand her the pills.

"Thanks Cae, love you."

"I love you," I say, and kiss her on the cheek. She sips the tea and once she's done she leans against me on the bed. Her head rests on my chest, like normal. I run my fingers through her hair. Her new haircut is adorable on her. Sure, I liked long hair, but short hair fits her even better.

"I'm sorry," she says after a few minutes of silence.

"Why are you sorry?"

"Well, I'm a burden, Caleb. You obviously don't want to be doing this, who would? You've missed school and-" She begins coughing again, "and you wouldn't-" She tries to say between coughs, "you wouldn't-" She keeps coughing, unable to catch her breath.

"Shhh, Ebony. You're not a burden. There's no place I'd rather be right now. I love you and I love taking care of you. I love you when you're healthy, and I love you when you're sick. I love your everything." I say, trying to soothe her, I can't let her think like that.

Once she stops coughing she slumps back on me, trying to relax her muscles."I'm just so done," she says, tears in her eyes.

"I know, I know," I say softly. We sit in the bed in silence, holding each other's hands trying to soak up each other's warmth. Ebony is freezing. She's felt cold ever since it happened. I wrap a fuzzy blanket around her shoulders so she'll be warm. Then I just lay there with her, and enjoy every single little bit of her. I've never loved somebody so much, I've never cared for somebody so much, in my entire life. It kills me to see her hurt, it just kills me.

"Wanna play Minecraft?" She asks.

"Yeah," I say, smiling. I'm glad she wants to do something. I hand her her laptop and then grab mine. I think it's really cute when she plays Minecraft. I'm not sure if she really likes it, or if she's doing it for me. She likes to follow me around and pick flowers, it's adorable. Then, when I reach a shelter, she'll plant them all around it. It makes me laugh. The people on the world I'm playing on know who she is, so they kinda just let her be. After an hour or so of Minecraft, I realize something, Ebony would love creative mode. I show her how to put her Minecraft on creative mode and she becomes very excited, and immediately begins building a castle. I join in on her world and make a moat, we're having so much fun together, she's actually laughing for the first time in a long time. We go downstairs and eat lunch, soup from a local cafe. It's very good, and then Laura, Ebony, and I drink tea from England. (Joey hates tea.) Then we all go to the living room and watch Once Upon A Time, a show they've taken to liking. We play a few games like Apples to Apples. Soon it's getting dark and it's time for me to get home. I give Ebony, Laura, and Joey all big hugs.

"Thank you so much for being here, Caleb." Says Laura.

"I enjoyed it!" I say, "can I come over tomorrow once I'm done with school? Or maybe for lunch?"

"Yeah, totally," says Laura.

"I love you, Ebony. I'll text you," I say.

"Love you Cae, see you tommorow."

"Bye Caleb!" Says Joey.

"Buy buddy! Love you guys!" I say, giving them all big hugs.

"Stay strong, bub," I whisper in Ebony's ear as I hug her. We pull away and I head home.