You Awoke With A Start {COMPLETED}

CHAPTER V: It Can Always Get Worse

Chapter Five: It Can Always Get Worse

The second part was about illness.

Life had never been better. Liz had basically moved in with you and Aiden and the three of you got along perfectly. Almost like back then. You saw Nicole's eyes when you looked at Liz the first few months of your relationship. Nothing would change the way you felt about her, and the way you saw her in Elizabeth. But after a while, it gradually began fading until it stopped completely. Liz was her own person who had no idea who Nicole was, nor would she ever. You and Aiden had made the mutual agreement to keep Liz out of the loop, in fear it would only complicate things. This gave you both an excuse to ignore the topic completely and try to pretend like it never happened. In the end, it did, and there was no avoiding it anymore, you and Aiden both knew in the back of your heads that things would never "get better", contrary to popular belief. At least, on the aspect of Nicole.

Aiden began to shake worse. His Parkinson's had advanced much faster than any of you or his doctors had expected, it elevated as if he were twenty years older and in much worse physical condition. He kissed art goodbye the day he was diagnosed and both you and Liz watched as the last shred of hope and happiness fled his eyes, leaving nothing but deep, unescapable emptiness in their wake. Though it felt horrible to say it, you were surprised by how much Nicole's death had affected him. Not that you ever doubted his feelings for her, but how much could you love someone to only cheat on them God knows how many times?

One night, you and Liz were on the couch, illuminated by the television as it glowed with Nightmare On Elm Street, and she turned around in your grasp to look at you. You raised an eyebrow curiously as she gave you a quick kiss on the lips, then on the cheek, then on the forehead. She took your face in her hands and looked at you with mascara-smeared eyes. "Happy Anniversary," she said softly, a hint of a smile on her lips. It must have hit midnight.

You nodded and replied the same as you intertwined your fingers with hers, "One year."

"What should we do?"
"Have sex on the Space Needle."
"I was thinking a pool table."
"Lame."

She tapped your shoulders to a rhythm you couldn't quite recognize and sighed, dropping the conversation quite abruptly.

For a moment you sat there and let her play imaginary drums on your shoulders and tried to determine what it was, if it wasn't just her own little melody. "The Cranberries?"

She shook her head.

"Gotta be Aerosmith."
"Nope."
"Foo Fighters."

She nodded, gnawing on her lip, the sexy way, with part of her bottom lip sticking out. She repositioned herself on your lap, you'd been in a borderline sex position for most of the movie and you rested your hands on her wide hips. Something was off with her.

"What's wrong, dumbass?"
You swear, she answered better to that name than any other. "Nothing."
"Don't be such a girl," you chided, scrunching your face as if you'd bitten into something sour. "What is it?"
She exhaled, defeated, "You left your wallet at my house last week."

You urged her to continue.

"I swear, I swear I wasn't being nosey, but when I picked it up, this picture fell out. Of you and Aiden...and this other girl."

Your stomach squeezed and began pulling itself into a vomit-provoking knot. Please, please don't ask who it is, you thought.

"She had really long dark red hair, kinda like mine when we first started dating, remember?" No, you didn't remember, but you pretended you did. "Come on, you know who I'm talking about."

"Elizabeth, please," you murmured, begging she'd stop digging before you broke down and told her every last detail. Her full name rarely left your lips, she had to have noticed the tension in your voice.

"Adam, it's okay, if it's an old girlfriend or something, you can tell me. You don't have to, but I want you to know that I don't care, even if you have a picture of her in your wallet." You could sense the hesitation in her voice, of course it was a problem having another woman's picture in your wallet, when wouldn't it be? She was just too afraid you'd get pissed about her invading your privacy to genuinely voice her concerns. That had always been an issue with her, though she had a rough and stoic appearance, she had a really fucked up past, almost as fucked as yours was, and it had resulted in her being overly cautious.

Sighing outwardly and pulling her down to your chest for a hug, you very softly said "She was just an old friend."

Liz knew well enough to end the conversation there, but she still seemed satisfied with your answer. You contemplated getting rid of the picture, maybe burning it, but your humanity stopped you. Elizabeth was okay with it. After that, the two of you finished the movie and once your girlfriend, who you loved more than anything (though you still neglected to say it), had fallen asleep, you scooped her up into your arms and threw her onto your bed. You were slightly disappointed when you came back in from the bathroom to see her still asleep and still clothed, you'd proposed the concept of sleeping naked many times but she reasoned that she didn't want to risk you squishing on of her boobs in your sleep. You didn't understand, but there was no way you were going to risk your two favorite things for a better chance of midnight sex. Life was good again.

The next morning, you woke up in agony.