Aloveen Rising

19. A Haunted Past

Ethan woke up to the sound of the door closing, he sat up and peered through the soft light, "Is that you Blake?" He could see the outline of someone walking closer and he stood up warily then relaxed when Blake responded,

"Yeah, it's just me, sorry if I woke you. It's five in the morning you can go back to sleep if you want"

Ethan stretched then winced, the droning was worse than ever and his head pounded, "Nah it's fine, are you going to sleep?"

Blake laughed and turned the kitchen light on, "No, I don't work tonight, I can sleep then."

Ethan yawned and looked around the apartment, it looked more luxurious in the soft light, everything gently highlighted by the golden glow of the kitchen light,

"Do you want coffee?" Blake asked

Ethan nodded absently then walked over to stand beside him in the kitchen, they stood side by side for a moment then Ethan wrapped his arms around him and pressed his head against Blake's arm,

"Ethan," Blake said calmly, "We spoke about this,"

"I need a hug" Ethan mumbled into his shirt,

Blake could hear the pain in his voice and sagged, "As long as that's all it is," Blake told him, Ethan nodded and Blake put the mugs down and hugged him tightly,

"What's wrong?" he asked

Ethan shrugged, "I just feel crappy,"

"When did you last eat?" Blake stepped back and put his hand against Ethan's forehead, he frowned, "You're really warm, do you feel anything else?"

"The droning in my ears is making my head hurt but that's about it."

Blake sighed thoughtfully, "I'll make some toast, and grab you some medicine for the temperature," He finished making the coffee and toast then sat it on the bench in front of Ethan,

"Eat, I'll go see what medicine I have here,"

Ethan nodded and nibbled at the corner of his toast, normally he didn't eat vegemite but Blake had balanced it perfectly with the butter and before he knew it he had eaten all four slices. He slid his thumb over his necklace, something was wrong with him and even thinking about Nana wasn't helping. He stood up and tried to act natural as Blake walked back into the kitchen,

"Here," he said holding out his hand,

Ethan took the three little green pills and peered at them, "What are they?"

Blake smiled, "Basically the hospital's version of cold and flu tablets,"

Ethan couldn't help feeling a little suspicious, "What's the difference?"

"These" Blake gestured, "Don't make you drowsy and they last a bit longer. Fair warning though, they taste horrible,"

Ethan shrugged and sat them on his tongue then downed his coffee, he grimaced as he put the mug down, "You're right, they aren't nice,"