You groggily woke up against the bright light coming in from your window. You shifted, stretching, until you felt the instant headache. You sat up in bed, fighting the bile threatening to force it's way out of your throat.
It won the battle. You jumped up and sprinted for the bathroom, throwing up in the toilet several times. You flushed, then grabbed some toilet paper and wiped at your mouth.
The door opened, and you were surprised when you saw Ethan standing there with a bottle of cold water.
"When did you get here?" Yoy asked him shakily.
"I've been here all night."
"You stayed the night?" He nodded. "Did I ask you to?"
"No. I invited myself and tricked your drunk self into believing you did." He handed you the bottle of water, then sat against the wall.
You took a sip, swished it around your mouth, then spit it into the toilet. "Thanks, Ethan." You sat next to him, leaning your head on his shoulder.
"Hangovers are the worst. I'm sorry." He looked apologetic.
"Don't be. I brought this upon myself. I deserve to suffer."
"Don't even joke about that. You're hurting on the inside. I have a reason to be sorry for you."
"That doesn't mean that I can do something like this, Ethan."
"You needed a way to forget about it. At the time, you thought alcohol was the only way."
You sniffed. "I'm so stupid."
Ethan shook his head. "No you're not."
"There was another way. I knew there was another way." A couple tears fell from your eyes and onto Ethan's shirt. "But I did it anyway, knowing the consequences."
"And that's okay. Sometimes you need to do something, knowing that you'll be paid for it later."
You picked your head up and stood up, wiping your face. "You need to go."
He looked at you. "What?"
"Go, Ethan. I don't want you here. I don't want you to see me like this."
He stood up, staring at you. "(Y/n)..."
"I said go, Ethan!" You sobbed, turning around to look at him.
He stood still for a moment, looking you over. Slowly, he reached a hand up and brushed your tears away with his thumb.
"(Y/n)..." He looked at you with sad eyes that made you cry even more. "Don't push me away. Please." He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you in for a tight hug. "I'm not going anywhere, no matter how much you fight me about it."
You sobbed into his shoulder. Your mind begged you to stop, to push him away, but you didn't. You stood in his arms, crying hard until you ran out of tears.
Ethan rubbed your back when you were done. "Are you okay now?"
You sniffed, nodding your head. "Yeah, I think I'm okay." You gave him a quick squeeze, then pulled away, wiping your cheeks. "Thanks."
He led you back into the bedroom, laid you down on the bed, then left for the kitchen, bringing back a cold glass of water. You drank it gratefully while he got in bed besides you.
"You didn't have to do this." You whispered, putting the empty glass down.
"I wanted to. I wanted to be with you, and take care of you." He took your hand carefully. "I don't care how long I have to stay here with you, or how much you want me to leave. I'm not going anywhere."
You rested your head on his chest. "I know. Thank you."
He put his hand on your hair. "You're welcome. Anything for you."
The two of you fell back asleep.
