Stung by the Wasp

Frayed

Jennie faced the following day trapped inside her own head, pining for the drugs she had grown so used to, craving badly for another shot, another hit. She lay in bed with a compress on her forehead, racked by a cold sweat and condemned to the pergatory between no sleep and a deep slumber. Taehyung didn't leave her side. Frustrated, Jennie sat up in the bed, kicking the duvets off her legs. Her hair clung to her forehead in greasy clumps.
"I can't believe you're doing this to me?" she cried.
"It's for your own good, Jen"
"It's ... I can't continue living like this" she said.
"You promised me you'd make the effort" he replied.
Jennie drove the heels of her hands into her eyes to null the desire to sob and scream. Her brain tormented her with its calls for attention. Noticing her distress, Taehyung shifted closer to her on the bed.
"I don't remember my life before drugs" she confessed.
"Well, isn't it worth knowing that you'll be able to have a life without them?"
"I'm not sure I want it. The pain is unbearable" she said, voice small. Her throat clogged with unspilled tears. Taehyung pulled her down into his arms, and Jennie caved in, letting two stray tears fall.
Taehyung kissed the top of her head.
"I wish I could take some of the pain away" he said.
"You wouldn't be able to handle it" Jennie teased, words becoming muffled in his shirt. Taehyung raised an eyebrow at her. Jennie grinned.
"You got jokes huh?" Taehyung said.
"No, I'm serious"
"Hey, I've had my fair share of pain too you know?"
Jennie rolled up onto her elbows, fixing him with a quizzical expression. Taehyung adjusted his pillows and sat up.
"Really?"
"Yeah"
Jennie eyed him. He had lowered his gaze, suddenly afraid to speak. It was unlike Taehyung to be lost for words.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.
"My ex girlfriend had cancer, and it took a drastic toll on our relationship as a result. I've never had to watch somebody die before. You don't forget it easily" he said.
"Did you love her?"
"Very much so"
"How long ago was it?"
"A year ago now"
Jennie stroked his jaw in a gesture of comfort. His stubble felt rough against her skin. He met her eyes, and they exchanged a look that could only be described as a connection of mutual understanding. Feeling brave, Jennie got to her knees and straddled his hips, breaching his space as she did so. Taehyung didn't flinch. His hands flew to her hips, and hers landed on the wall behind him, faces inches apart. Jennie's breath hitched in her throat. Taehyung swalllowed hard, applying a certain amount of pressure on his hold as he tried to control his urges.
"Do you miss her?" Jennie asked.
"Not at the moment" he replied.
"What was her name?"
"Joy"
Jennie noticed herself moving towards him, lips slightly parted. Her body yearned for a kiss. Taehyung met her halfway, and their lips collided gently. Taehyung's tongue was strong and his lips moist, and Jennie enjoyed the feel of them against hers, moving together to their own rhythm. Taehyung let his fingers hike up under her shirt, and that's when Jennie froze. She pulled away from the kiss, wiping the saliva from the corners of her mouth as she climbed off Taehyung's hips and back onto the mattress. Her heart raced inside her chest. The kiss replaced any artificial high she had ever felt whilst on drugs, and she loved it. Taehyung glanced at her with glassy pupils. He bit his lower lip as he drank in her features. Jennie flushed.
"Joy was a lucky girl" Jennie said.
"You remind me of her" he said.
"Do I?"
"A little"
Suddenly, her stomach lurched and she sprinted to the bathroom, a strong wave of nausea washing over her at that moment. Jennie purged the remains of her breakfast, much to her dismay.
"Jen, come lie down" Taehyung called from the bedroom. Jennie complied, dabbing at her watery eyes as she slid back into bed, feeling shaken and exhausted. Taehyung planted a kiss on her forehead as he went to fetch a glass of water from the kitchen.
Jennie howled in pain. Taehyung handed her the water, and a painkiller.
"This should help with the pain" he said. Jennie took the pill and swallowed it in a large gulp. She placed the water on the night stand and rolled over, shivering uncontrollably as the medication kicked into gear. The divan dipped underneath Taehyung's weight as he sat on it, pulling the duvet up to cover Jennie's exposed shoulder. Jennie sobbed into the pillow. Taehyung consoled her as best he could, refusing to leave her side until she had settled.