Christmas with the bad boy

Chapter 11

Damien woke up at four o'clock in the morning. He saw his mother sitting on the bed. "Bad dream?" She gently asked. "Yeah." "You're safe. Try and go back to sleep." He nodded, closed his eyes and fell asleep again in no time.

"Damien, time to get up," his father said as he gently shook him at nine o'clock in the morning. "Hey. Time to get up." When he didn't reply, he carefully turned his son over and saw how pale he looked. "You're ill. I'll stay here today." "No," he weakly said. "What?" "No. I'll be fine. Go to work." "Damien, you're ill. You need me." "I saw Mum." "You're definitely ill." "I really saw her. She came in here earlier." "Are you sure?" "I'm positive." "Fine. I'll just get you some water."

When Damien's father returned, he saw that his sons face had gone more white. "Damien, can you hear me?" He saw that his sons breathing was shallow. Damien's eyes slowly opened so he could slightly see. "Mum." "Shhh. Just relax." "I need you." He sat on the bed and felt Damien's forehead. He was cold. "You're cold and clammy." "Dad?" "I'm here." "Mum. She's...behind you." He moved his head to the left side of the pillow and remained silent. "Son?" When he didn't reply, he remained sat next to him as Jason entered the room.

"Damien, are you-" he was cut short to see that his friend was still in bed. "He's sick." "Is there anything I can do to help?" "You can get out of the house for a while. He was going out anyway." "I think I'll try going home." "Don't rush." "I know. Tell him I'll call him later." "I will." Jason then left and everything was silent.

Damien woke up three and a half hours later. "Dad?" "Welcome back. How do you feel?" "A bit better." "You looked clammy and you were cold." "Where's Jason?" "He's gone home to see how he'll cope. He wanted me to tell you that he'd call you later." "Thanks Dad." He smiled as he stood up, left the room and shortly returned with some toast and a glass of orange juice. "Here. Eat up."

After another hour, Damien looked and felt better. "You've got some colour back in your face." "Good. Is Jason still out?" "Yes. Has he called me yet?" "No." His phone then rang. "That might be him." He picked up his phone and answered it. "Hello?" "Hi Damien, it's me." It was Jason. "Hi Jason...yes...good...alright. We'll see you in a few minutes. Bye." His father looked at him with a small smile. "What did he say?" "He said he's spending time back home." "Good. Maybe it can help him to stay there again." "It would be nice if he could."

When it was dark, there was a knock on the front door. Damien was asleep and his father was still up. He stood up from the bed and went downstairs as he then opened the front door to see that it was Delia. "Hi Delia." "Hi mister Samuel. Is Damien in?" "He is. He's sleeping. He wasn't well today." "Oh. I'll come over tomorrow." "You can check on him if you like." "Thanks."

Delia then walked up the stairs and saw Damien fast asleep in his bed. "Can I go in?" "Of course you can." She walked into the room and knelt on the floor to see her friends face scrunched up. "Damien?" He then let out a quiet moan. "It's only me. Its Delia." She gently stroked his hair back and he became silent. "That's it. I'm here."

Damien took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. "Thank you." "It's not a problem mister Samuel. I'll go now and let you sleep. Please tell him I'll see him tomorrow," she said as she stood up. "I will. See you later." "Bye." She then left.

In the morning, Damien was awake and feeling better. "Hey son. Are you feeling better?" "Yeah. I'm really sorry about yesterday." "Don't apologise. Anyway, Delia came over last night while you were asleep." "Why?" "I think Jason called her and said you were ill. I think she just wanted to come over and see how you were. She also wanted me to tell you that she'll be coming over later today." "Jason?" "He's at home." "Still?" "I think he's still trying to get used to it."

After a few minutes, Jason entered the room. "Hey guys." "Hi Jason. How did it go at home?" "Fine. I think I'm ready to go back." "What about the funeral?" "It's in a few days." "We'll be there for you. We promise."