Fuck It! #4: Things Will Be Alright

Chapter Four

"God, I'm so glad I'm roommates with you now," Jeff said, lying relaxed on his bed.

Wes wasn't relaxed a bit. "Mhm."

"Like, it's sooo much better than one of those crossdressers."

"Mhm."

"Also, I had an affair over the summer and I'm pregnant."

"Mhm."

Jeff threw a pillow at him, making him snap out of it. "Wes! You aren't even listening!"

"I'm distracted," he apologized.

"By what?"

"I'm just thinking. I don't know. I need sleep." He regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth.

"Yeah, that's smart. I could use some sleep too."

Wes changed in the bathroom, coming out in his boxers and a tank-top. At least, it looked like a tank-top to Jeff.

"Night," Jeff mumbled, turning off his lamp.

"Night," he replied softly.

Jeff was out like a light. Wes was insanely uncomfortable. He was breaking the number one rule, and he could tell why it was as high as it was.

He rolled over, coughing. Once he started coughing, he couldn't stop, trying to stay quiet so as not to wake Jeff. But his coughing only got louder and more violent.

"Wes, are you okay?" Jeff asked tiredly.

He only responded with more coughing.

"Wes?" he said, alarmed. Wes could hear him get out of bed, and the lights flicked on. "Oh my god, you're ble– OH MY GOD, YOU'RE COUGHING UP BLOOD!"

Wes realized he was right, seeing the red on the inside of his elbow. The more he coughed, the more came out. "David," he rasped, finally managing to get out the words.

"David, yes, I will get David," Jeff said, leaving the room in a hurry.

Wes managed to get himself to the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He finally pulled off his binder, coughing harder before his coughing finally subsided, leaving him breathing heavily on the tile floor.

"Wes?" David asked worriedly from outside the door.

"Asthma attack," he answered roughly. It was their code for 'something that would give away that I'm trans.' Like, when he didn't swim? It aggravated his asthma. Why didn't he do PE? Asthma. "I'm fine now."

"Do asthma attacks usually make you cough up blood?" Jeff asked worriedly.

"It's the coughing that does that. Cough too much, it irritates your throat, your throat starts to bleed, you cough up the blood," David reassured him.

Wes sighed in relief, not having known that. Thank god for my nerdy, medical-obsessed boyfriend.

"Jeff, I don't really mean to kick you out of your own dorm, but do you think we could switch places for tonight? I should really keep an eye on him, and I'm the only one of us who knows what to do when his asthma acts up."

"Yes, of course. I panic in the face of emergency, I'm not very helpful."

Oh, I love him so much. Wes waited, and David spoke a few minutes later. "He's gone."

Wes unlocked the door, sighing. "Thank you so much. We need to change rooming assignments."

"We really do, but first please tell me why the fuck you tried to sleep in your binder," David said, listening to his breathing and fretting over him.

"Because I'm terrified of him finding out!"

"I get that, but you could wear a sweatshirt or something loose instead of something super tight."

"I didn't think about that."

"Well, please do next time, if there is one. Or text me, I'll come up with some excuse."

Wes sighed. "I will. He... He scares me," he admitted. "If he finds out, he'll tell everyone, and he'll hate me. I can't handle either of those."

"Then change rooming assignments. I don't want you being scared or getting hurt because of him."