unconditional

7| dizzy

SAM

CLEANING UP THE remnants of my date with Mads, soft music and the sound of the shower running in the bathroom keeping me company, I've settled in this new sense of calm.

Rinsing our couple dishes, just as I set them in the dishwasher, Maddie calls, "Sam?"

"Yes?" I call back, shutting the dishwasher and grabbing the cleaner to spray the counter over.

"Do you think taking more ibuprofen is a bad idea? My head is killing me."

"You've had a lot today, let's try a couple other options before we just pump you up with more. I'll put a warm washcloth over your forehead and we'll see how that goes, yeah?" I quickly wipe the counter over, tossing the dirty towel into our laundry basket under the sink for the towels, and she replies a second later. 

"Okay,"

Deciding to straighten up the pillows on the couch and fold the blanket we left out, I ask, "Why does your head hurt?"

"Not sure."

Since our apartment is relatively small, she doesn't have to be too loud for me to hear her, and I just nod to myself.

"We'll keep an eye on it."

She doesn't reply, but I hear her continue showering, the sound of her moving bottles around a moment later.

Just as I plop down on the couch, the apartment tidied up enough, a muffled thud comes from the bathroom.

I brush it off, assuming she dropped the shampoo, but when the usual slew of curse words don't follow, I ask, "All good, honey?"

No reply.

Standing up from the couch, I walk into the bathroom and repeat, "You alright, Mads?"

When the only sound is a little grunt, I pull the curtain back, finding her sat on the shower floor.

Her usually pink lips have drained of color, so has the rest of her face, her cheeks pale. She blinks a couple times, looking almost shocked.

Cursing loudly, I shut the water off and demand, "Are you okay?"

She just rubs her wrist. "Ouch."

Grabbing the towels she set out, I wrap one of them around her and pick her up, setting her on the toilet lid so I can see her face.

"Hey, you okay?" I press, making her look at me when her eyes keep wandering around the bathroom.

She just nods, her eyes kinda glazed over, her face still drawn and pale.

Fuck, something's gotta be wrong.

"What hurts? Did you fall?" I feel my face drain of blood, tapping her chin when she doesn't reply.

She blinks a couple times, like she forgot I was there.

"My wrist, and I have a headache." She gingerly touches her head, wincing. "My ears are ringing."

"Show me where it hurts." I hold her chin firmly, keeping her eyes on me, and she leads my hand to a spot on the back of her head.

It doesn't take long for me to find the sizable bump.

"I'm dizzy," she covers her face with her palms, tiling her head back to the ceiling.

"I know, it's okay, we'll sort it out. But I want you to talk to me, tell me what happened," I press, rubbing my hands up and down her legs when I feel the goosebumps covering her skin.