Chronic Comfort [Meloghia]

Chronic Comfort

Ghiaccio peered through blurry eyes into the dark room. Pain ruptured through his skull originating behind his left eye. He clutched his face and pressed into the socket. The pressure only mildly relieved the pain. He had developed a headache throughout the day and hoped to nap it off, yet the pain persisted. He lay back down on the pillow and groaned. His other hand gripped his hair as he writhed through it.

He heard a knock at the door and then the squeak of the hinges as it opened. Only one person he knew that had the decency to knock but then barged in without waiting for a response. He felt the mattress depress as Melone sat down next to him and stroked his hair.

"How are you feeling?" Melone asked softly.

"Like my head is splitting in two!" He groaned and dug the heels of his palms into his eyes.

"Can I get anything for you, Glacé?" His mellifluous words soothed Ghiaccio's pounding head.

"I guess pills. Doesn't matter what kind. Just something." He followed the request with a quick intake of air as another shockwave of pain eradicated his thoughts.

"Okay, baby. Be right back." The weight was gone from his side and the room was quiet again. Ghiaccio sighed and pushed harder against his skull. He just wanted to dig into his head with a spoon and scoop out the affected area, as if that would actually help. But he couldn't stop visualizing reaching in behind his eye and pulling something out and with it the pain.

Suddenly he felt something close by, hair tickling his face. He peeked out from his hand to see Melone reaching over him to set a glass of water down on the nightstand.

"Here, take these," Melone said quietly as he pressed two pills into one of Ghiaccio's hands. His head appreciated the low volume. He slowly sat up and the change in elevation sent a new wave of agony rippling through his skull.

"Fuck..." he whimpered.

"Shhh, here." The whisper was barely audible when a cup was pressed into his other hand. Ghiaccio popped the pills and downed the water, handing the cup back to Melone. He slowly laid back down and nuzzled his face into the pillow in search of the coldest spot to ease his aching head. He didn't know how long Melone stayed there running his fingers through Ghiaccio's hair but it was long enough that Ghiaccio briefly slept in a daze. It wasn't a true unconsciousness but a resting where he was still aware of his surroundings but not of time.

When he awoke again, he was crying. There was now a cold cloth on his forehead that wasn't there before. It was doing little to quell the blinding white agony stabbing behind his eyes. The throbbing inside of his skull was so excruciating that he couldn't hold back his tears. He just wanted it to stop, but he couldn't think of anything past the searing pain behind his eyes. He covered his face as he cried.

"Hey, Ghia. It's okay." Melone whispered close to his face. "It'll be over soon, baby..." He felt his sweatpants being pulled off his body. The cool air of the room felt pleasant against his burning skin.

There was a sharp pinch in his thigh. It was minimal compared to what he'd been suffering up until now. Ghiaccio took gasping breaths while Melone cajoled him quietly, running his fingers through Ghiaccio's hair again. He became hyper-aware of the pumping of his own heart as the medication coursed through his whole body and back up into his brain. He grabbed Melone's hand tight as the medicine reached his head. The cool burn inside his skull made him tense as it doused the inflamed organ. It was several minutes of this unnatural icy burn before he began to loosen his vice grip on Melone's hand.

All feeling bled away from his weary body. Every muscle unclenched slowly and his hand went limp in Melone's. All tension drained from his face as the last of the burning subsided and the cool feeling pervaded his mind. He sighed once in relief. He lowered his hand from his face to rest against his leg. The site of the injection felt hot against his hand and a small bump was growing where Melone had administered it.

His eyes remained shut as he listened to the silence and Melone's breathing. He could finally take notice of the comforting feeling of fingers threading into his curls. He sighed once more and leaned into Melone's petting.

"Does that feel better?" Melone asked quietly. Ghiaccio softly nodded. "Good."

"Thank you," Ghiaccio barely whispered. His focus was quickly fading and sleep was creeping in on his ravaged mind.

"Get some rest, Glacé," Melone said as he wiped Ghiaccio's cheek of residual tears. Then he lightly kissed his forehead as Ghiaccio slipped away into a restful sleep.