Painful Love (MC fanfiction)

44 | Unexpected Guest.

ASHLEY'S POV

I've gotten used to Michael waking up in the middle of the night to pee and then having difficulty walking back to bed. I have to be awake to help him, but sometimes I just don't fall asleep.

I don't know if I'm an insomniac and if I just can't sleep or I simply choose not to. I think it's the latter, but the possibilities of insomnia are quite high.

I laid on my back, staring at the ceiling as Michael's arms were wrapped around my waist, hugging me from my side. His head was rested on my shoulder and I don't know how that was comfortable for him.

He started to stir in his sleep, so I sighed and rubbed my eyes. He turned around, hands still intertwined around me and pulling me over him and to his other side. I gasped in shock, not expecting him to do that.

He chuckled at me. "What was that for?"

"My arm was falling asleep." Michael answered. So I nodded and ran my hands through his hair, humming a tune I've been hearing on the radio. I tried getting him to fall asleep again but he groaned and sat up, running a hand through his hair. I instantly understood what was going on.

"Come on." I said, getting up and walking the five steps to my bathroom door. I opened it for him and gestured him to come follow. He did, and he closed the door and did his business.

It took about seven minutes before he flushed the toilet and exited the bathroom, reaching for my hand so he could have support while limping to the bed. I rubbed his back when he sat down on the edge of the bed, but I could see his eyes glistening.

"Michael, what's wrong?" I asked in a hushed tone, aware of my sleeping mother.

"Everything is wrong, Ash." He cried. He nuzzled his head in my chest as I cradled it, kissing the top of his head every once in a while. "I should be out there touring. I should be playing for the fans. I should be producing music. I should be strong, like the other boys. But I'm here, crying at four in the morning because I have trouble peeing."

"Darling, if you say it's difficulty with peeing, you're making it sound less dangerous than it actually is. This is cancer, Mikey. It's serious and it should be dealt with first. If you win this fight and the cancer goes away, you can be out there touring again. You can give the fans what they want. You can perform every single new song you write day and night and back again, if you just win this fight. And who says you weren't strong? You had cancer yet you still played those rockin' shows back with 1D. And now here you are, because it got hard and you're fighting. Life needs to have some downs for it to have some ups, if not it'll just be a straight line and that's boring because that's dead. Keep fighting, and you can get what you want and give what they want."

He calmed down and I was so thankful of that because I was starting to run out of things to say in order to reassure him and I'd start repeating myself.

We laid down and he fell asleep. But yet again, I didn't.

~~~~~~~~~

"Morning, Michael. How'd you sleep?" My mom said, placing Michael's plate of breakfast on the table next to mine. He smiled at her, thanking her quietly.

"Same as always." He answered, biting into his blueberry pancakes. He never liked pancakes, especially the healthy ones, but he learned to love it when he started practically living here. He moaned, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Whoa, this is good. What's different?"

"Lots of sugar?" My mother laughed.

"What happened to being healthy?" Michael cringed as he said it.

"Doesn't hurt to eat something sweet once in a while." She smirked, glancing at him through the side of her eye.

Michael smirked back, slowly devouring his sugary sweet pancakes. Something he liked to call 'savoring'.