Saving Her || Ian Gallagher

Friend in Need

-Lexi's POV-

I walk in and see Ian sitting on the ground at the front of his bed. He's slouched over, taking swigs of a beer and staring at the ground. His hair looks like it hasn't been washed for days and I bet his body hasn't either. It looks like he might've thrown up a little bit on his shirt too. I've never seen him like this. I never thought he could be like this.

"Ian." I say, running over and kneeling down in front of him. I take the bottle away from him and he finally looks at me. His eyes are red, and sad.

"No...Lex..Lexi..you can't be here..." He says, his words slurring. His face is now concerned and he tries to push me away lightly. He's weak and has no strength.

"Ian, what happened?" I say, sitting on the floor in front of him. He just shakes his head and a tear falls down his cheek. I squeeze his hand lightly and then go to the kitchen and grab him a glass of water and bring it back to him. He looks so pale.

"Come on, Ian. Why don't we go to the bathroom?" I say, taking a hold of his arm. He looks like he's going to throw up any moment. It takes a few tugs but he eventually stands up with the help of his bed. I wrap his arm around my neck and wrap my arm around his waist. He's really heavy right now and it's not comfortable on my leg but I gotta help him.

We get to the bathroom and I help him back onto the ground near the toilet. He immediately throws up into it. Good timing. I get a washcloth wet and wipe his face even though he tries to push me away again. I grab the water and bring it to him and make him drink it. I sit on the edge of the tub and watch him. He rests his head against the cabinet underneath the sink and just stares at the wall in front of him. Eventually his eyes drift over to me.

"Ian, should I call Fiona?" I say, and he immediately shakes his head.

"No..please don't." He slurs out. I sigh. He looks so sad and it hurts me to see him in pain. I get up from the tub and sit down next to him on the ground. We sit in silence for a while.

"Lexi...I'm so sorry." He says, whispering as if he could barely get it out. Before I can say anything he starts crying. He's really in a bad place.

"Hey, hey, hey." I say, trying to calm him down. He looks at me for a moment and then twists himself around and then lays down on the floor, placing his head in my lap. I start to run my fingers through his hair.

He falls asleep after about ten minutes. Shit. I should text Serena. I pull my phone out of my back pocket and text her that I'm sorry and can't make it back tonight and that it was an emergency. And shit the ice cream. Oh well. Just gonna have to hope it doesn't melt everywhere. If I get up he might wake up and from the looks of it he hasn't slept in days. What was he apologizing for? Am I really the cause of all of this? I really hope not. However, I'm glad I'm here. And all of a sudden my anger towards him seems so irrelevant now. I guess I'll just watch some YouTube videos or something.

*2 hours later*

While watching a video Ian wakes up suddenly, scaring me, and throws up in the toilet. Jesus Ian. He rests his arm on the toilet and breathes heavily and I rub his back gently. He takes a drink of the water and then sits back against the wall across from the toilet.

"Do you feel a little better?" I ask, causing him to look over at me. He looks worse actually.

"I feel like shit." He says, placing his head in his hands.

"Why don't you lay down on the couch or your bed? I'll just put a bucket or something by you." I say.

"It's fine Lexi, just leave me." He says, not even looking at me. He's still drunk.

"No, what you're not gonna do is push me away when I'm trying to help you Ian. If I leave how am I supposed to know that you're not just gonna grab another beer?" I say, sternly. Before he answers, he throws up again and I sigh. He must've drank a lot.

I get up slowly and take his glass of water to the kitchen and refill it. I put it on his bedside table and grab the trash can from the bathroom and put it next to his bed. I grab his arm and at first he resists but eventually let's me help him up. We walk over to his room and I sit him on the edge of his bed.

"You should either change your shirt or take it off before you fall asleep. You puked on it." I say and his eyes wander down to his shirt. Without saying anything he just takes it off and throws it on the floor.

"Will you stay?" He asks, his tone softer now. I nod and go to the bathroom first. I flush the toilet and then look in the mirror for a second. What am I doing? He's a mess and it's the last thing I want to deal with right now. But he helped me one time when I was in need so it is the least I can do.

While staring in the mirror I forget that it's a medicine cabinet. Shit, Ian's pills. I open it up to see his pill bottle in there. I grab it and read the label which says to take one daily. If I had to guess, he's probably missed a few days of taking them. He probably shouldn't even be drinking while taking them. But he doesn't know that I know about them. I guess we will figure it out in the morning because for all I know that could be worse than what's happening right now. I walk back into the bedroom to find him asleep. Maybe I should stay in here in case something happens. I take off my boot and get into his bed slowly. I lay on the opposite side not touching Ian and not even getting under the covers. Eventually I fall asleep.

-Ian's POV-
*5 hours later*

I open my eyes slowly to a bright light shining in through my bedroom windows. I can barely open my eyes, not only from the sun but because I already have a headache. I get terrible hangovers. After a few moments I realize a heavier weight on my right arm. I look over a jump a little bit. Lexi? She is curled up on my arm, peacefully asleep. When did she get here? When did we get in bed? I'm so confused.

I look over at my bedside table and grab my phone. 20 missed calls? A ton from Fiona, a few from some friends, a few from Lexi, and shit...work! I'm in such deep shit. What day is it? I must've missed some days of work. This could be really bad.

I look over at Lexi and move my arm out from under her slowly. I get out of bed, trying to be as quiet as possible. As I walk around to the front of the bed I notice a few beers on the ground. Jeez. I walk out into the living room and it's even worse. I'm disgusted with myself.

Before I have time to adjust further there's a knock at the door.

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Hey guys! So I didn't even realize that the last time I updated was like January and that's crazy. It feels like I updated not even too long ago and I've had this part written for a while. I've been very busy and I know it's not much of a chapter but I wanted to give you guys something. Thanks for all the support! :)