Just Pretend

Chapter 10

 Kongpob arrived bright and early the next morning, right at the start of visiting hours. Arthit was still asleep, so he sat down and pulled out a novel. After a few minutes he heard some rustling and he glanced up, catching Arthit's eye for a split second before Arthit snapped them shut. Kongpob chuckled and put his novel aside. He leaned forward, placing his elbows on the bed. He brought his face closer and closer to Arthit's, until their noses were centimeters apart.

"P'Arthit," he whispered. "I know you're awake."

No response. Kongpob leaned back and sighed.

"Maybe I need to stop bringing you pink milk every day. Obviously all the sugar has made you lazy."

"You wouldn't dare."

Success. Arthit still had his eyes closed, the blanket pulled up to his chin, but at least he was speaking.

"Oh, so you are awake," Kongpob teased, standing and walking around the bed to the closet.

"Yeah, because you woke me up with your annoyingly loud page turning," Arthit said, finally opening his eyes to look at Kongpob, eyebrows narrowed. "Why are you here so early, anyway?"

"We have a busy day, P'Arthit. You're getting discharged, remember?"

"But who wakes up before 10 AM on a Sunday?" Arthit grumbled. "Surely my discharge can wait until a normal hour."

"It could, if we didn't have to drive my parents' for Sunday supper as well."

"Shit. I forgot about that." Arthit begrudgingly sat up, stretching and rubbing his eyes. "What time do we have to be there."

"Four o'clock, but we have to go to your apartment so you can grab what you want to bring with you to my place for now, and I don't have any groceries so I'll need to go shopping too." Kongpob was moving around the room, placing a change of clothes in the bathroom and gathering up any excess belongings to pack up.

Arthit groaned. How could he already have such a packed schedule before he had even been properly discharged? Grabbing his crutches he stood from the bed, hobbling toward the bathroom.

"I'll tell the nurse we're ready to leave while you get dressed, that way we can leave as soon as you're ready."

Arthit grunted in response, closing the bathroom door behind him

Twenty minutes later Arthit was dressed, his face freshly washed and hair styled neatly for the first time in weeks. The nurse came in and Arthit signed some forms while Kongpob finished packing up the rest of his belongings. Once all the papers were signed the nurse gave Arthit his discharge instructions and a small bag containing some medications the doctor had prescribed. Another nurse came in with a wheelchair, which Arthit begrudgingly sat in, laying his crutches across his lap.

"I can walk, you know. You don't have to push me."

"It's just hospital protocol," the nurse said as she wheeled Arthit toward the door. Kongpob followed behind, arms laden with bags.

"I'll go ahead and get the car, okay?" Kongpob sped his pace, forgoing the elevator to take the stairs down to the lobby. Luckily he had parked close and it didn't take him long to pull the car into the designated pick up zone. The nurse was just wheeling Arthit out the door when he pulled up and together they helped Arthit into the passenger's seat.

The drive was mostly silent, with Arthit staring out of the passenger window for a majority of the drive. Kongpob struggled to think of a topic to talk about, but all he could come up with was work or more things related to Arthit's injuries and he figured Arthit's first day out of the hospital should stay relatively free of medical talk. Eventually Arthit was the one to break the silence.