Writing's On the Wall

Chapter 9

T'Challa clenched his stomach and hurled into the toilet for the third time in an hour. "Maya, please-" He gasped and rested his head on the cool porcelain. You sat with your back pressed on to the door. "Here, drink this." You slid the bottle of blue electrolyte filled beverage to him and he gladly chugged it, "Slow down, it is going to come up a lot faster than you'd like."

He nodded and took slow sips. This had been going on for about 3 hours, after you made him eat a big greens based breakfast and take plenty of fluids, you monitored his activity and once he complained about feeling nauseous, you knew the organic vegetables and water were working rapidly to cleanse his system.

"I'm freezing." His teeth chattered but he was also sweating. "Hold on," You got up and hurried to grab him a blanket. "Here." You handed it to him and he quickly wrapped it around himself.

"I hate this." He mumbled. A small string of silence flowed between you two while you flipped your book and blew smoke from your tightly wrapped joint. "Do you mind me asking, what did you do when you were gone?"

You looked up at him, "You want the truth?" He nodded and shifted so that his head was now resting on the wall. "Well, I found myself some relief." You wiggled your eyebrows and watched as his face turned pale, "Huh?"

"I met someone T'Challa, and trust me he was keeping me very occupied." He grabbed his stomach and turned to throw up again, making you laugh. 

"I'm kidding."

"That is not funny, woman." He wiped his mouth and let out a shaky sigh. 

"I actually was just healing, treating myself. I cooked these ridiculously intricate meals for myself and Kali and Ayo of course, cooking is very calming and I forgot how good I was at it."

T'Challa listened and hung onto your every word, "I meditated and I did a whole bunch of regular shit others would find boring but I really liked it. The simplicity of it all was very, very-"

"Relaxing?" He asked. You nodded, "Yeah,"

"And what else did you do?"

"I found out that I can draw and paint. Of course I am no Picasso but I liked it. And I did a bit of songwriting." You mentioned casually.

He sighed and smiled, "I swear I have never meant anyone as talented as you."

You weren't sure if he was trying to make a move or if he was being genuine so you just left it alone and went back to your book. He drifted off, "Nuh uh. Drink."

"But Maya I am exhausted,"

You sighed and stood up, "Fine, do it your way, I'll just pack my things and-" 

"NO! NO! Please don't leave me-" His voice cracked and he managed to get enough energy to almost get up. It was obvious that he was about to cry at any moment, "Then listen to me."

"Okay," He grabbed the bottle, "Drink the rest and I swear you won't have to drink anymore, for now." He nodded a sipped at a steady pace. After he was done, he wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

After sitting there for a few minutes, you looked at him "How do you feel? Do you feel queasy?"

"Actually, I don't." He smiled, "Good, brush your teeth and come on."

T'Challa immediately followed your instructions and walked into the closet, where you were. "What are we doing now?"

"We are going jogging." He groaned, "I just threw up everything inside of my body. I feel weak and am tired."

"You have to sweat it out. I know this is extreme but you need to get it out of your system. For the kids, remember."

"What about you? Don't you want me to get better?" His eyes were wide and sad, "Of, of course I do but this isn't about me. T'Challa, you have to want this for yourself. Plus, we aren't together right now,"