I'm going slightly mad // Hardzello

Chapter 72

"She broke up with you?" Joe repeats. Gwil dries off his face with the sleeve of his hoodie.
"She said that she has been thinking about it for a while now," Gwil says. He looks up at Joe to find a mix of unbelieve and pity hinting in Joe's eyes.
"What was her reason?" Joe asks. From the corner of his eyes, he sees Ben and Rami approaching them. He does not make a move to stop them. Ben sits down next to Joe. He casually wraps his arm around Joe's waist before nuzzling his face into the crook of Joe's neck. Rami sits down on the other side of Gwil.
"More than one. Her main reason was that I spend to much time with you guys." Rami's eyebrows furrow while he listens to Gwil.
"What is wrong with spending time with your friends?" Rami asks.
"I asked the same thing. After that, she called all of you some pretty nasty names. I disagreed with everything she said which made her even angrier." Gwil flinches while he thinks back of all things Eve said.
"Wait, what did she say?" Joe asks. He has grabbed Ben's hand in his own.
"She-" Gwil gets interrupted by a nurse: "Euhm Joe. How much I know all of you love each other you really have to go to bed. Ben, a doctor needs to check on him first. After that, we roll in a bed. For tonight it's very useful if you stay here. So with the permission of the hospital, you can sleep in a normal bed again."
"Ah, that sounds nice." Ben stretches which makes some muscles in his back pop.
"That doesn't sound good," Joe says while poking Ben's back.
"I slept on an air mattress for almost two weeks in your room every night," Ben says. 
"That sounds awful," Joe says while looking at Ben before letting his eyes glide towards the nurse.
"I'll be in my room within five minutes." He shoots her a smile. She nods in approval before walking away.

"Hey, Gwil. What about you come back to my place? If you want to, we can talk about it. After that, you can take the guestroom." Rami offers. Gwil looks at him with a smile on his face.
"I don't think she is still at home. She said she would pack her stuff and leave, but I also don't want to be alone. Are you sure that I won't bother you or Lucy?" Gwil asks.
"Never. Lucy absolutely adores all three of you." Rami says.
"But she adores me the most, right? Joe asks with a playful tone in his voice. His comment is received by three loud bursts of laughter.
"I'm going to call her. I want to know the answer." Joe pats down the pockets of his sweatpants.
"Ben, can I use your phone?" Ben has already grabbed the phone from his pocket and hands it to Joe.

"Ben, please tell me this is not bad news," Lucy says as soon as she picks up the phone.
"I kidnapped Ben's phone. Look, Luc, I have a question." He can't ask the question before he gets interrupted by Lucy.
"Joe, you are awake? Are you okay? How are you doing?" She says. Rami chuckles when he hears his girlfriend's voice.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Yeah, I'm fine. Just stuck here with a broken arm." He says. He can hear Lucy letting out a deep breath.
"Anyways, my question, who do you adore more? Gwil, Ben or me?" Joe asks as if nothing happened. Lucy stays silent on the other side of the line.
"It's me, isn't it?" Joe asks after a few seconds of silence.
"Yeah, sure." Lucy's ears are soon filled with loud cheering from Joe. A loud laugh from Ben and a groaning Gwil.
"Thanks, Luc. I love you." Both Ben and Rami let out an indignant 'hey' at the same time. Which causes Joe to burst out in laughter.
"Oops I think I made your boyfriend mad and by the looks of it, mine tries to be mad too. Anyways, Gwil and Rami will be coming your way soon. If you want to you can stop by tomorrow? I now have to go to bed. Hospitals suck." Joe says.
"I'll definitely stop by Mazzello. Don't worry about that. Goodnight to you and Ben then." She says before ending the call. Rami and Gwil say their goodbyes before leaving the hospital.

Once Rami and Gwil are seated in the car Rami waits a few minutes before starting the car.
"Everything alright?" Gwil asks. He tries to read Rami's expression.
"Yeah, the realisation that we really could have lost Joe just hits me right now," Rami says before rubbing his eyes with his hands before letting his hands rest on the steering wheel.
"It was pretty scary," Gwil admits.
"I don't think Joe realises how close he was too dying," Gwil says after awhile. Rami shakes his head. Although he knows that Joe has been mentally awake for a few days, he still thinks that Joe doesn't realise that it was really serious.
"Did you make up with Ben?" Gwil asks after Rami started driving.
"Yeah, I did. We are all good now. I'm sorry for putting you right in the middle of that, man." Rami says while driving off of the parking lot.

Ben and Joe are now cuddled up in bed. They decided that the would lay there for a few minutes before calling Joe's parents. Joe has his head resting on Ben's shoulder. The latter has his arm lazily around Joe's shoulder. With his free arm, he holds the phone that is ringing. Joe is just out of shot. Joe's mom picks up with her and her husband already seated on the couch. Ben has called both of them a few times during the past week. Of course, they stopped by as much as they could, but they still wanted to know if Ben could handle it all.
"Good evening. I have a little surprise. I have someone in my arms here awake and well." Ben moves his phone so Joe is visible. The latter waves excitedly at the camera.
"Joe, love." Is all Joe's mother can say before starting to cry. Her hand in front of her mouth is shaking rapidly. 

**********
Hey guys,

My exams are finally over. Man, was that stressful. I have more time to edit chapters on time now (hopefully). So, you should get the chapters more on time than they are now. 38 more chapters before this book comes to an end. It's crazy, isn't it? 

Anyways, I hope y'all have a nice day today. Don't forget to take care of yourselves!

Goodbye,

Xx Itsametaphorjoe