Sadness and Sunshine

Chapter 6

We were the only ones on the elevator and that was fine with me. People made me nervous and so did pushing buttons. Elevators in general always scared me due to the unknown times when an accident could happen. Though the nervousness and fear was still there, I felt more calm.

As the elevator went down and the movement got to him, Frank's face looked rather green. I squeezed his hand gently and pulled him out into the hallway when the doors opened. He started gagging and as we walked down the hallway, it got more intense. I found a bathroom and shoved him inside, not caring what bathroom it was. I followed him into a stall and knelt on the floor with him, rubbing his back as he got violently sick. His stomach heaved visibly through his black shirt and he threw up a lot of red. It started coming out of his nose, and by that point he was choking and having a hard time breathing. I handed him some toilet paper and made him blow his nose, feeling bad for him with every fiber of my being.

I'd somehow forgotten that he was that sick. Some days were better than others but I'd never seen him throw up. As things got a little less violent he turned to look at me. His eyes were gray again and he was breathing sporadically. I helped him to his feet and got him to a sink, letting him drink as much water as he needed. I helped him clean up and steadied him, keeping him close to my body. He had no energy left and put his head on my shoulder, pretty much allowing me to do whatever I wanted.

With Frank in tow I headed to the pharmacy. I didn't care if he was being slow; it annoyed me but I knew very well he didn't feel good. I was scared to jostle him around too much, knowing he could throw up again at any moment.

When I got to the pharmacy counter, the pharmacist looked at us with the most worried look I'd ever seen. I knew Frank looked bad but every time I looked at him again it got worse. I just handed the pharmacist the prescription and sat down against the wall with Frank, letting him take the chair in the corner. He rested his head against the wall and wrapped his green jacket around himself, all light that he had in his face totally disappearing. I couldn't help but feel guilty. If I hadn't needed the medicine, Frank would be fine.

"I'm really sorry I made you come with me," I said, rubbing his side gently.

Frank breathed in as deeply as his sick lungs would allow him and curled up into himself. He picked up his head and rubbed his eyes, forcing a slight smile.

"I may be sick but I want to be here for you. I want you to feel safe, and I know that me being here is helping you. It gives me reason to live too," he said, his eyes looking over me with their sickly kindness.

No matter how sick Frank got or how bad the pain was, he was always so kind and gentle. I hated how the world could be so cruel to a kind loving soul like him. I held back the tears and grabbed his hand again, just needing to have something to hang onto. I could hear his stomach making some very questionable sounds but I wasn't sure if it was from hunger or if he was about to get sick again. Either way I wanted him to get back to our room so he could rest and have Lorraine take care of him.

I glared at the pharmacist as if that would make him work faster, and when he saw me it seemed to work. He got me my pills and handed them to me. For a brief couple seconds I had a flashback to when I took an entire bottle in one night. The thoughts were still there now but I couldn't do that now that I might get a chance to stay with Frank.

It was becoming more apparent to me that Frank was saving my life. Every time I looked at him, I felt happiness. There was a bond with him that I hadn't felt with anyone else before, and even when things felt a little tense I found safety and comfort in him. I knew it wouldn't last but at that time, I didn't want to think about it.

We avoided the elevator and managed to take the stairs. It was surprisingly easy for Frank to carry his IV stand, and when he got tired he set it down and we loitered on the steps. As time went on, the life came back to him and despite it taking so long, we got back to our room just in time for Lorraine to bring us food.