Murder my Care

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When I wake up, Josh is gone. The curtains are pulled back and Emma is sitting up, eating something.

"Do you know where Josh went?" I ask her.

"Good morning to you, too. And, yeah, Josh told me he was going to do something at a hotel." She tells me. He must have to pay for another few nights.

"Oh. Do you know when he'll be back?"

"Nope." She replies after a sip of orange juice.

"How'd you sleep?" I ask.

"Sleep? Who could sleep with all the noise you guys were making? All of the 'creak creak creak' and 'get in the bed, man' and 'no, that might be awkward' and 'aw, come on, just get in the bed' and 'oh, alright' and then all of the cuddly noises and-"

"Woah, we were NOT cuddling!" I cut in.

"Well, I didn't even get to the part when you were all like 'my feelings took control' and 'I thought you DIED' and 'thank you for saving me!' 'No problem, darling'." She clasps her hands over her heart.

"He didn't call me that!" I yell and pretend to throw something at her.

"Call you what?" Josh asks, coming around the corner carrying a backpack.

"Emma was just doing a very poor imitation of us from last night." I tell him as Emma continues with kissing sounds.

"I don't remember doing...that." Josh says, looking disgusted. He lays the backpack on the bed and unzips it. "I brought you some stuff."

"Oh, thanks, man." I sit up carefully and prop up pillows behind me.

"I talked to your doctor and he said you can get out of bed and walk around a bit, and if you feel alright we can check you out. I thought you might like some clothes." He shows me a shirt and a pair of pants along with a hoodie, socks and shoes.

"Yeah, this gown thing doesn't do much. It rides up a lot when I'm sleeping, so it gets really weird and uncomfortable." I say and pull the clothes out.

"That's pleasant." Emma mutters. I ignore her and keep talking to Josh.

"Can you close the curtains, dude?" I ask him.

"I'll still be able to hear you." Emma calls out.

"But, you won't be able to see me." I tell her and whip the blankets off.

When the curtains are fully closed, I pull the gown off over my head and toss it on the bed.

After I finish dressing, I squeeze my feet into my shoes and kneel down to tie them. When I finish, I sit down on the bed and look at Josh.

"How are you doing?" I ask.

"I'm fine. You're the one who's been having a hard time."

"No." I pull him down next to me. "I want to know how you are. For real. How are you doing?"

"Like, since the argument?"

"It wasn't really an argument. You just said something that I didn't appreciate and then I stalked off like a child. But, yes, how are you from that?"

"Well, after you had been in the bathroom for a couple of hours I called Debby. She talked me through it and said I should talk to you about it. I waited a little longer, then went in and found you. I felt terrible, I still do, I feel guilty and completely responsible for what happened." He rubs his hands together stares at the ground.