Reawoken Flames 《{ CraigxTweek }》

Chapter 8: The Pain

December 17th

"He's what?!?!" Kyle whisper-screamed.

"Keep your voice down!" I said, reaching over the counter and covering his mouth. I looked around, wary of any watching eyes. "Yes, Craig is living with us. But you have to keep it a secret!"

Kyle gave me a thumbs-up and I let his mouth go. He leaned over the counter. "So, why?"

"He called Stan the other night going through withdraw and begging us for help."

Kyle went wide-eyed. "You mean he's trying to stop drinking?"

"Trying and succeeding." I grabbed a tray from under the counter. I took off the plastic lid and offered the tray to Kyle. "Got a new banana bread recipe for you to try."

Kyle hesitantly took a piece. "Is it better than the other 20 times you've made it?"

"It's only been ten, but yes."

He looked at me hesitantly and slowly took a bite. He raised his eyebrows and let out a surprised 'mm.' I smiled. "Well?"

He nodded and swallowed, finishing off his piece and reaching for another. "This is great! Only took you ten tries but you finally did it. I guess 11th time's the charm."

I rolled my eyes in response. "Yeah, yeah, rub it in. "At least I finally got it right."

"I'm not complaining." He stuffed his face some more. "So, how long is he staying?"

"Until he either messes up or until he can move out on his own."

"Okay, now I'm curious. How much time have you spent with him?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, you know what I mean." I saw the smirk on his face.

"Don't get any ideas, Kyle."

"What? A guy can't be curious?" He said as he finished off another slice.

"Not when the person you're most worried about is married!" I said as I sipped on my tea.

He sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry. Well, I gotta get to work." Standing up, he threw some money in the tip jar and stretched. "Thanks for letting me engorge myself on the bread."

"No problem. See you tomorrow." I waved as he left.

~~~~~~~~

Craig was fast asleep on the couch when I got home. I smiled and rubbed his shoulder gently to wake him up. He groaned and opened his eyes, the grumpy and sleepy look in his eyes melted away as he smiled up at me. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep." He said groggily.

"It's okay, I just thought you might be uncomfortable laying here on the couch instead of in your bed."

He sat up and shook his head. "Ugh, my stomach is killing me." He rubbed his stomach and paused. "The hell?"

"What's wrong?" I sat down as he pulled up his shirt. "Oh my God, Craig." His abdomen was swollen and a large purple spot had formed.

"What the hell?" He seemed completely confused.

"You should go to the hospital. I'll go get Stan."

Before he could respond, I took off up the stairs and rushed into the bedroom. "Stan, something is wrong with Craig."

Stan looked up from his book. "What do you mean?"

"He's in a lot of pain and he has a big bruise on his abdomen."

Stan rolled his eyes. "He probably just got into a fight."

"Stan please, I really thi-" I was cut off by a loud thud and a scream.

Stan jumped out of bed and took off down the stairs, and I followed him closely. He and I both stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Craig was lying on the ground, writhing in pain and screaming as loud he could probably muster.

I ran to Craig's side and tried to calm him down. I looked at Stan. "Stan, he needs an ambulance!"

Stan wasted no time in whipping out his phone and dialing 911. He talked for a moment, and pocketed the phone. "They're on their way."

I nodded and looked back at Craig. He was looking up at me in absolute distress. I squeezed his hand tightly, trying to keep his mind off of the pain.

"It's okay, Craig. You're going to be okay."

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Author's Side Note

Yo guys, what's up? How's life?

This chapter was a little bit shorter than usual, mostly because it bridged the gap between the last event and the next event. So in other words it's a bit of a filler chapter. I'll make up for it in the next chapter, for a shocking twist is coming your way!

Thanks guys! Stay awesome