Emails: From You To Me

22

"Oh my god Henri, how do you get a fever when I'm gone?" My mom panicked over the phone. 

...Or not...

"I-I don't know mom, it just happened. Maybe it was the quick weather change, I'll be fine." 

"Are you sure? I'll fly back right now!" Hearing the tone in her voice, I knew she would. 

"I'm sure mom, I'm about to get up to eat. I'll talk to you later, okay?" Her voice echoing through the phone was giving me a headache, so I was glad to hang up on her. 

"Okay, love you." 

"Love you too." Thank god the conversation was over, I turned back over into a pile of blankets to nod back off. 

It was hard to sleep, and when I'm sick, the hardest thing to do is rest. My mind never wants to be a peace, and even when I do fall asleep I'll wake right back up soon. I couldn't help but think of what Matthew was doing, he was probably with Lauren. The two of them were most likely together, happy doing whatever things couples do. 

Hey... Are you in class? Can't sleep lol.

Funny you'd say that. I'm on my way

What??? On your way here?

Obviously. Not in school either lol. 

How come? What are you doing?

Dying.

DYING?! Matthew?

No answer. I sent the same text message, still no answer. My heart thumped as every minute passed, what did he mean dying? I shouldn't over-react, if Matthew sent something like this, it must be a joke! 

Ding! Dong!

Who's there? Nobody was supposed to be here today, who would even be at my door at this time? I didn't order anything, and nothing was ordered by my mother either! What if it's a thief, just waiting to see if anyone's home so they can break in? If they broke and seen me here, what would they do to me? 

"Henri! I'm freezing out here! You wouldn't want me to die in the cold, now would you?" Was it Matthew? Why was he outside? He was serious about being on his way to my house? 

I got up as quickly as I could and rushed down the stairs, but they looked blurry and I stepped down each one. I shouldn't have gotten up so fast, but, he was waiting for me. I held onto the wall and made my way to the door, but it got darker and darker as I approached. When I opened it, I could see how relieved Matthew was to see me, and it was the same for me too.

...I can't hold on anymore...

"Ugh, my head hurts." I groaned looking around in the hazy space. I might be in bed, but I'm not sure how I got here. 

"You awake?" Matthew's voice came from the other side. 

Focusing my mind on him, "Matthew?" I'm sure I was dreaming. 

"In the flesh. You must be having a hard time, seeing I dragged you all the way up those stairs." He answered back and it finally kicked in. 

I am home and sick, but also in bed with Matthew who skipped class, who is also sick? It was a weird turn of events, but it felt nice to have another warm body in a cold bed. 

"Ugh, weird thoughts. Weird thoughts. Weird thoughts be gone." I covered my face with my hands and shook around to get that out of my head, but the idea didn't want to leave. 

"Henri..." He got my attention, "Can I tell you something?"

"Yeah," Why did he sound so serious? "You can tell me anything." 

He chuckled, "That's a relief, I've never been able to say something like that before." As he turned to face me, I uncovered my face. I stared into his eyes, and he stared right back. "I have a drinking problem... that's why I went to those classes."

"What?"

"I've been drinking for as long as I can remember. It started after my mom left my dad, she was smart, but I couldn't escape from him. Those kids think I'm crazy at that school, except you, you act like those rumors don't even exist." I continued to listen to his problems, and the more he spoke, I realized we were closer than I thought. 

"Thank you," He let out a deep breath. "I feel way better getting that out there." 

"You're welcome."  I didn't know what else to say. 

"I feel a little cheesy saying all of that to you." He began laughing and grabbed my hand. "If you ever need anything, come to me. I'll listen to you." 

I nodded and felt my face flush up. That was really cheesy, but it made me glad that he said it aloud. "Okay." Instead of bottling it all up like I usually do,  I'll tell him about it...

After we nap.